Walt loved trains about as much as you can imagine. As a railfans myself, I sure would of loved meeting him

Say what you will about Disney now, but I think we can all agree that Walt is friggin amazing

Disneyland's are always bound by trains. Walt wouldn't have it any other way.

The kids today have no inkling what they’re missing without Walt at the helm. Theme parks and Disney movies are but a scratch on the surface of what Disney used to be.

That was excellent! Brought tears to my eyes remembering watching Disney with mom, dad & little brother every Sun. night back in the 1960’s. A different & better world then!

To add context, Walt was going through a midlife crisis and losing interest in animation after a strike at his studios left him feeling personally betrayed by his illustrators and animators. He ended up diving head first into model trains including his own personal backyard railroad. His ideas and designs for that literally ballooned into Disneyland as more and more creatives were inspired. Even lead to the development of WED Imagineering. Say what you will about Disney but I have always seen him as an idealist caught in his own head.

I just love this. Feels like Walt was just "I'm gonna make a special about trains and if people watch it that's a bonus."

Walt was an example of the rule that if you do good, you will do well. He got rich via quality entertainment. I've seen references that he would go out incognito to run the Disneyland engines, with engineer's clothes stored at the station, and was frequently seen walking around the park. I'm actually sort of glad that Disney Inc dropped Walt's name, so his reputation was preserved.

9:40 Kirk Douglas almost sued Walt over this segment. Apparently he didn't realize that Walt filmed him and his sons on the train with the intention of using it for his weekly "Disneyland" show and was furious when this showed up on TV. He asked Walt to remove the offending footage for future rebroadcasts, but was rebuffed, leading to the suit. Douglas later changed his mind and dropped the matter, saying, "You can't sue God." That's also why he didn't work with Disney again until 1986's "Tough Guys," which ironically also featured a train, the famous SP 4449.

If Walt lived longer, the world would be a better place. Without Walt, there is no Disney in Disneyland

Walt Disney was a rich man -- rich in vision, skill and the desire to share what he built. Like many of us I shared in the wealth of experience Walt brought to life.

Walt Disney was a generous and kind hearted gentleman. He gave so much fun, knowledge and laughter to many children growing up. His show was always a highlight at our place back in the days of black & white TV.

This could not be a more perfect video. I am a member of Southern California Live Steamers which Ollie, Ward, and Walt were members of in the 1950s. I have been doing research into their railroads and this was a perfect suggestion.

We have a 7.5 gauge railroad in our backyard, thanks to Walt. It had always been a dream since learning of Walt's Carolwood pacific as a child, that I may enjoy the excitement of having my own ride on railroad. Sure would have loved to have seen the Carolwood Pacific in it's entirety.

That an engine that small could pull that many people. It's left me flabbergasted!

This was perfect timing. We just had our fall open house at the Finger Lakes Live Steamers, and it was great to see all the little young ones having a great time riding the trains. It is always amazing to meet and greet the parents of the young kids who remember coming out when they were young and repeating the memories again. I makes you feel good that we try hard to keep this hobby alive. God bless Walt, as he inspired millions, and I think he was always a kid at heart ❤️.

Cool to see the footage of Ward Kimball's locomotive being moved. I remember him from I Love Toy Trains.

Hearing 'When you wish upon a star' brings back happy childhood memories. Watching Disneyland on tv every Sunday afternoon in the 1960s was magical. Nobody was better than Walt Disney at awakening childrens' wonder and imagination. Now at 69 I've lived longer than Uncle Walt but I'm forever grateful to him for what he gave children.

Betting Walt Disney believed in an old saying about “Sticks and stones can break my bones but names will never hurt me.” Derogatory is in the mind of the over sensitive beholder or those expressing or wanting to feel harm. Disney would have laughed about the term justifiably so. Loving trains like loving Walt is pure true heart happiness. Regrettably there are those on BOTH sides of railroading that get caught up in their own self righteous stupidity and malice towards others by warping meanings instead of following Walt’s example of kindness toward ALL those around him right or wrong in their enthusiasm. I accidentally met this saintly man as a teenage no buddy a year before he passed and was treated like a family friend. Hopefully he’ll give me and my wife a ride through Heaven’s gate after my debts are paid in full. 🚂 ✝️

Walt always had the heart of a child it seems. Couldn't imagine spending weekends with the boss and loving every minute of it!

"Foamer" generally is used in a derrogatory fashion, usually applied to railfans who exemplifly the worst aspects of the community. Comes from "foaming at the mouth" like a madman, and also refers to a poor-steaming locomotive. Personally go by "ferroequinologist" myself, "one who studies iron horses".

Walt, a big kid with big child-like dreams, and these dreams built Disneyland. We should all be thankful that a man like Walt ever existed.

I'm sure you all know, but it wasn't mentioned that Ward Kimball, as well as being an 'Archfoamer', his 'day job' at Disney was one of Disney's top animators and gets a credit in many full length and short movies. But the important thing that wasn't mentioned was; Ward Kimball was the trombonist and leader of one of the best Dixieland Jazz bands EVER. The Firehouse Five plus Two, with many albums and television programmes to their credit. Runnin' Wild; The World is Waiting for the Sunrise; Flamin' Mamie; Show me the Way to the Fire and Fireman Save My Child all bring a tear to my eye and a smile to my lips.

Makes me wish that I could have been there when Walt and Walter Knott got together to talk trains.

You have to admit no matter what Walt Disney could talk about you could listen to his voice all day & never get tired of it. He just had one of those voices that was enjoyable to listen to.

I'd wanna talk to Walt, not about Disney or anything, but about trains. I bet I could sit and talk about trains with him for hours

I just want to note that there is a spectacular "Walt Disney Family Museum" at the Presidio in San Francisco, CA. I have been to a great many museums, and this is one of the best. It is not just a bunch of static displays (although it certainly has many including the special "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" Oscar with the Big Oscar and seven little ones lined up next to it), but is mostly a very living visual treat worthy of what Disney created over the years. Really first class with many interesting video presentations of all sorts. And, you can even see his Carolwood Pacific Railroad train.

Walt loved choo-choos to the point he made an entire film about choo-choos.

As an early enthusiast towards steam powered locomotives, I belonged to the Southern Pacific Jr. Engineers club in the late 1940,s and was able to visit one of the backyard layouts in Beverly Hills CA put on by Richard "Dick" Jackson. This video brought back many wonderful memories

THANK YOU @WALT'S NEPHEW . I'M NEARLY 70 YEARS YOUNG ( Visited Disneyland in '55 and beyond , was even a Cast member in the 70s) and " grew up " with Walt Disney and family , vicariously of course , beginning with black and white through the advent of Walt Disney's WONDERFUL WORLD OF COLOR . My Parents , as others , were hungry for a family diversion and knew some of the Contracters called upon to construct the Anaheim Park .. The mostly Wonderful stories were many and I can attest to the glorious outcome of their labors ! My siblings and I have indelible impressions and our Kodak memories survive . Thank you for sharing !

I have heard that these trains are considered " Miniature Railroading " and the smaller sizes of trains are considered " Model Railroading ".

Walt was a great steam enthusiast , when he was in London he would often visit Bassett Lowke for models etc.

God! I miss Walt Disney.

Kirk Douglas driving a train...

When I saw Walt Disney (The Wonderful World of?) in color at my grandparents house in the 60's (we didn't have that luxury at my house) it was a life-changing experience that I will never forget. Seeing the older stuff doesn't seem out of place to me in B and W.

We foamers need not be ashamed of or apologize for our love of trains-the people derisively spitting the word at us are the ones without memories worth saving and I feel sorrry for them. A lot of foamers do carry it way too far though and are a minor embarrassment thus furthering the perception that we’re a bunch of mindless, out-of-control idiots. Ever been to a football game? Who are the foamers now?

Patrick Sawyze was a foamer he had a big model train called The Swayze Express

If my profile picture doesn't make it obvious, I am very much a railfan, though I'm also fortunate enough to have visited Walt Disney World and grown up during the "Disney Renaissance." I also remember hearing somewhere (possibly on this channel) that when Mr. Disney was in the park, he didn't want to be called the "Company CEO" or "President of Disney" or other important-sounding titles, he simply wanted to be referred to as the park's "Chief Locomotive Engineer."

What a fascinating bit of film. Thanks for uploading.

Thank you for sharing a story from my childhood memories. Took me out of the present and back to a perfect time in my past. Loved it.

I used to love watching the magical world of Disney on Sunday evenings as a kid. I took my kids to the parks until about 4 years ago when we washed our hands od todays Disney.... walts vision was truly magical. Todays Disney has nothing to offer my family.

As a child I had one opportunity to ride on the Disneyland Railroad while my family was visiting relatives in La Puente, CA. I loved the whole experience. When I went to work at the Roaring Camp and Big Trees Narrow Gauge Railroad in 1971, I was taught to be a locomotive fireman by 3 men who worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad and spent their days off, working on the steamers at Felton, CA. Neal Vodden, Gene O'Laige and Charlie Hoyle spent hundreds of hours teaching me and other young men and women how to run those steamers. Walt's smaller Disneyland Railroad locomotives were built and maintained by the same machine shop and foundry that built the replica locomotives that operate at the Golden Spike National Monument near Corinne, Utah. Foamers originally meant steam locomotives that got contaminated water in their boilers. It caused foam on the top of the water as it boiled and could give a false water level in the water glass. If it got too bad, foaming water could boil over into the steam pipes and get into the cylinders, damaging or wrecking the locomotive. So foamers, applied to railroad enthusiasts, was not always a term of endearment. Many train watchers today regard the name as an insult.

That’s what I call dedication. Awesome!

What a powerful little engine, the kids were adorable, but I had to laugh at the adults.

Would like to add that Walt's Carrollwood barn has been preserved at the L.A. Live Steamers in Griffith Park.

I am 77 since Deisneyland open all ways wanted to go to it but never did Remember it all starting back in the 50ths I still love it Well done Walt Disney great man

@ 07:00 ZOMG!!!! THE CARROLWOOD PACIFIC! So glad his estate did what they could to preserve this legacy!

We watched all of the Walt Disney TV shows and movies back then. The genuine guy always showed through. Too bad young people missed out.

I wish Walt was still around so I could show him the Dusty Star Line at my home. I'll bet he would have gotten a big kick out of it.

AMAZING!! AT 10:01 THE SEGMENT WITH KIRK DOUGLAS FROM MV "20000LEAGUES..." WAS ORIGINALLY CUT OFF WHEN IT WAS ON THE DISNEY CHANNEL ON CABLE TV IN 1980S!!!!! OK 👍 👌! MON.DEC.19.2023A.D.SES.GBW.

all those men and people are gone..walt had so much love and heart in his hosting disneyland..it was truly for people to watch fantastic television in the 60s

The world we see here in this short movie only exist in our recollections...how it all has changed....

Thank you for sharing with us !

1980 on the dot ,was a good time to watch Disneys Lassie reruns and a host of other long forgotten made by Disney shows/movies.

Hahaha, so that's where the idea for the Donald and Chip and Dale-cartoon came from! The animators - and their boss' - own backyard! Obviously, but still, man, those wacky guys and their hobbies, it makes you smile, it really does.

Remember, this man's engine was hand made, not a kit, which is hard enough! Also, does walts railroad still exist?

So Walt paid these guys really well, to be able to afford the live steamers and 1:1 scale NG loco

I'm going to guess the cartoon after this was "Out Of Scale"

Amazing to have a train locomotive in your backyard. I would love to have one myself, the train I choose is Ward Kimball design Casey Jr train from Dumbo

And now Emma is going though a full restoration again and hopefully be put back into service along with Chole at SRCM

Walt never ran out of ideas.

Thank-you for posting. Josh is a great conservation officer, and I really miss your 2nd cousin Sharon I went to the same high school as her. She was very inspirational. Especially getting her bachelors degree in office management. I went back to school and got my Associates of Arts degree from 4cs with a concentration in social work with a minor in communications.

I think the cartoon they were talking about it's the one where Donald duck has his model railroad and needs to move a tree because it's out of scale. I think that's even the name of the cartoon with Chip and Dale. I'm sure everybody watching this knows but those used to be real steam engines at Disneyland

if anyone wants to see the cartoon that was shown after this Its called Out Of Scale with Donald Duck & Chip n Dale

I didn't know people rode on their scale model trains. Pretty amazing - shows how well railroads can carry large loads efficiently.

Although this fascination with trains may seem self-indulgent, a number of Disney people helped save several real locomotives from the scrapper's torch, including one of the few surviving locomotives that once ran on the Hawaiian islands. Knott's Berry Farm also preserves some remarkable railroad equipment from America's past.

Loved this!!! As a former railroad worker and closet FOAMER….was wonderful. Walt Disney was an amazing man.🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸❤️❤️❤️❤️👍👍👍👍

Wow does this bring back memories

I'd bet the price of a ticket to Disney World that not only did Walt NOT know the term "foamer," he would never have used it pejoratively.

What’s still crazy for me is that Walt was friends with Billy Jones, the man of our railroad’s namesake. I’ve have long history with the Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad and now a longtime volunteer, but also being a history buff and aspiring railroad historian, I was more than thrilled to hear Walt’s part in its history. For example our current logo was designed by Ward Kimball himself after Billy Jones called Walt about an issue with the former logo which looked too close to a certain character from Warner Bros that they just couldn’t have. Walt said he’d have one of his animators design him a new one and Ward’s result is what we still use today! Another cool thing was that Billy was one of the engineers during opening day of Disneyland. My gratitude for hearing more details of these stories goes to Bill Wolf, who I had the immense pleasure of meeting and talking with. He’s the local historian of primarily the Los Gatos area who grew up when Billy had the original Wildcat Railroad in his orchard up the street from where it now resides. Bill shared his elaborate collection of local railroad memorabilia from around the area including things from Billy Jones personal collection and also things from the early BJWRR days. At the end of my visit he even gave me some of Billy Jones’ trip reports from his time as an engineer for the Southern Pacific which I’m honored to have received. So, seeing this video seems almost personal as in a way I feel I have a closer connection to these fellow railroad enthusiasts that, even though I’ve never met, would’ve had a pleasure to meet. So thank you for sharing such a neat video!

Emma Nevada will have her third first steam up very soon on the Grizzly Flats Railroad at the Southern California Railway Museum!

Walt Disney, Mr. Wizard, and Mr. Rogers were forerunners of the KZfaqr. Talking about interesting subjects that weren't Out Of Reach for the average guy.

Ok. Now I want to see the animation he talks about at the end!

As a lifelong railfan and railroad man who grew up on the old Mopac main line here in Texas, I can say with utmost respect and certainty, Mr. Disney was truly a giant among railroad men. He's up there with the likes of Bob Soule Jr. And good old Bill Purdy.

Loved to get to see his live steamer Lilly Belle at the Disney family museum in San Francisco. Just thinking that the old boy himself rode that engine.

I wish Walt Disney could have seen the Nickel Plate Road 765 back in the 1940s it would have been extremely cool.

The real magic is how Tinkerbells top always stays up .

The real term for a train enthusiast is a ferroequinologist. Trains are my fave and I'm so glad to know Walt loved them too.

I've been waiting to see that Kirk Douglas scene since it first aired. Thanks for posting.

Great video! So good to see life in the 50s again!

These fellas were brilliant!

When I waa a kid I wished I was Ward Kimball. He worked at Disney Studios and owned a real steam locomotive and wild west rolling stock.

Some people are crazy. Other's are completely awesome. You decide where these folks fit!

An amazing and terrific man!

Outstanding 💨

If Walt was around today to see what they did to his company, he would have a stroke.

I love this

Love the lights

Awesome video. I had a garden railroad for a long time until we moved.

Walt himself and Ward Kimball were some of the biggest foamers of their time!

9:10 there was a guy behind an elementary school in the city of Staton Ca. back in the late 60's he had a backyard railroad kinda like this, I used to go there after school and ride the trains, you could rent or borrow a flat car and push it up the hill and ride it down, it was so much fun. He had a few other rides as well. I guess I was a foamer and I did not even know it.

I am so old, I remember this on Sunday nights!

Wow, that opening credit and song are so provocative of my childhood in the 60s. Tingling.

Awesome video! Been into trains (prototype and model) since I was two years old.

Mr Disney was a big AT&SF Fan

For Walt, that backyard railroad was his own personal Disneyland.

Loved it

They keep a couple of model HO gauge trains next to the ice bucket where they keep Walt's head. Walt would have wanted it that way.

Thank you SO MUCH for putting this up! Who knew Walt had a backyard RR? I must have seen this as a boy, it explains my lifelong fascination with trains and model railroading. Yes, I am a "foamer." Curse you, Walt Disney, corrupter of youth!!

Great video. Its sad the Grizzly Flats depot burned down.