Engine No. 4 Ernest S. Marsh Joins
The Disneyland Railroad
July 25, 1959
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| Photo Credit Disney |
On July 25, 1959, The Ernest S. Marsh
locomotive (Engine No. 4) took its first inaugural run around Disneyland
at the hands of Chief Engineer, Walt Disney. Since the Disneyland
Railroad was originally known as the Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad,
this engine, added on July 25, 1959, was named for Ernest S. Marsh – who was
the current president of Santa Fe Railroad at the time. It was built in 1925 by
Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, Penn. – the same company that built
its fellow Disneyland Railroad engine, the Fred Gurley. The Disneyland
Railroad is
a 3 ft (914 mm) iconic narrow gauge railroad that was
inaugurated on the park’s live television preview on July 17, 1955. The
live steam railway was constructed for $240,000; the two original
locomotives cost $40,000 each. Riders use it as transportation to other areas
of the park or simply for the experience of the "Grand Circle Tour".
The Main Street railroad station is situated at the entrance of
Disneyland.
The
1.5-mile (2.4 km) loop originally only stopped at Main Street or Frontierland.
The Frontierland Station was renovated when that section of the park became New
Orleans Square in 1966. It was renamed to be the New Orleans Square station at
a later date. The loop was expanded to stop at Fantasyland (which became Mickey's
Toontown station) and Tomorrowland. Today there are 5 engines that make up the
Disneyland Railroad- Engine 1- C.K. Holliday, Engine 2 - E.P. Ripley, Engine 3- Fred Gurley, Engine 4- Ernest
S. Marsh, and Engine 5- Ward Kimball. All aboard!
And that’s what happened today in Disneyland History.
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