Dispatch From Disneyland
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One of the boys...

Continuing the series of the possible little inspirations in Walt’s Life that led to Disneyland.

The boys down in the scene shop were used to Walt’s little unannounced walk-throughs. If no one had seen him approaching, he was usually polite enough to cough twice outside the door before entering. Their part of the bargain was that they would all make sure they were busy doing something, anything, when Walt walked through the door.

Today was a little different. A couple of Walt’s best animators were hanging out in the shop working on their hobby of miniature steam trains. Ward Kimball, Frank Thomas, and Ollie Johnson liked to spend whatever free time they could steal from the animator’s board to take advantage of the studio’s machine tools.

If you were a fly on the wall that day you might have heard Frank tell this joke.

"Three engineers and three accountants are traveling by train to a conference. At the station, the three accountants each buy tickets and watch as the three engineers buy only a single ticket.

"’How are three people going to travel on only one ticket?’ asks an accountant. ‘Watch and you'll see,’ answers an engineer. They all board the train. The accountants take their respective seats but all three engineers cram into a restroom and close the door behind them.

"Shortly after the train has departed, the conductor comes around collecting tickets. He knocks on the restroom door and says, ‘Ticket, please.’ The door opens just a crack and a single arm emerges with a ticket in hand. The conductor takes it and moves on.

"The accountants saw this and agreed it was quite a clever idea. So after the conference, the accountants decide to copy the engineers on the return trip and save some money (being clever with money, and all). When they get to the station they buy a single ticket for the return trip.

"To their astonishment, the engineers don't buy a ticket at all. ‘How are you going to travel without a ticket?’ asked one perplexed accountant.

"’Watch and you'll see,’ answered an engineer. When they board the train the three accountants cram into a restroom and the three engineers cram into another one nearby. The train departs.

"Shortly afterward, one of the engineers leaves his restroom and walks over to the restroom where the accountants are hiding. He knocks on the door and says, ‘Ticket, please.’ "

They must not have heard the coughs over the laughter because Walt walked in right in the middle of all the guffaws. The scowl on his face would have scared any juvenile delinquent straight. A sudden uneasy peace dropped over the group and a at least a few of the shop workers saw pink slips flash in front of their eyes.

The deep silence was unexpectedly pierced by the shrill sound of a train whistle. All three animators gave their patented ‘not-guilty’ look to Walt. In return he lifted an eyebrow. And then broke into a wry smile, "so you like to play with train’s, eh?"

"I used to sell newspapers on the old Kansas City route." Walt then launched into his standard ‘working on a train’ story speaking mostly for the benefit of the new workers in the shop.

Meanwhile off in the corner Ward, Frank, and Ollie conspired. "So Walt," Ward said. "If you like trains so much, why don’t you come join us one afternoon."

Walt shook his head, "No, you guys know I’m too busy fixing your mistakes."

"Our mistakes? If you and the story guys weren’t so busy making changes all the time we wouldn’t have to come down here all the time and blow off steam," countered Ward.

Frank and Ollie chimed in, "Come on Walt. Give it a try, you’ll see how relaxing it can be blowing off a little steam." A quick steam whistle blast punctuated the remark and gave everyone a chance to release some nervous laughter of their own.

"Why don’t you give it a try, Walt." Bowing to pressure Walt reached over and gave the whistle cord a tug. A long loud whistle followed and a smile emerged on Walt’s face.

Thereafter Walt was a frequent visitor to the scene shop. He worked diligently to learn all the tools and tried to fit in as one of the boys. Eventually, he started building an engine that would become the lead on the first train in his famous backyard setup.

Walt’s love of trains led to it being a constant presence in all the early designs of what would become Disneyland. If you’re interested in reading more about Walt’s love of trains I recommend Michael Broggie’s excellent Walt Disney's Railroad Story : The Small-Scale Fascination That Led to a Full-Scale Kingdom (purchase at Amazon.com)

You can also visit the barn Walt built in his back yard to store and work on his trains. It has been faithfully rebuilt in the Los Angeles Steamers park near Griffith Park in Los Angeles. The Carolwood Pacific Historical Society works hard to maintain this aspect of Walt’s legacy, we have them to thank for preserving this important link to Walt Disney’s life and inspirations.

Related Links

• Walt Disney's Railroad Story : The Small-Scale Fascination That Led to a Full-Scale Kingdom
• LaughingPlace.com article on the opening of Walt's Barn
• Carolwood Pacific Historical Society

-- Indigo

-- Posted March 7, 2001