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Copyright Ron Fink
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To this happy place, Welcome! Currently in development are book publications covering steel rail transportation at Walt Disney World.
Part 1 covers the former Fort Wilderness Railroad, and is NOW AVAILABLE.
Part 2 is now under development for the Magic Kingdom's Main Street Horse-Drawn Car with an estimated release date of July, 2011.
Additional parts will cover the theme park railroads: Walt Disney World Railroad in the Magic Kingdom, and Eastern Star Railway in the Animal Kingdom. Walt Disney World Railroads
Part 1
Fort Wilderness Railroad The Fort Wilderness Railroad coverage spans two volumes. The main volume contains the story of the railroad, and a companion volume contains four pictorial galleries for your viewing pleasure. The companion has a Photo Gallery, a 3D Gallery, the "Then n Now" Gallery, and finally an Art Gallery. The covers for the two volumes are shown below to the right.
The books are now available for purchase! Click on "Purchase" below each book cover... **Through September 15th, LuLu.com is offering a 15% discount on the Gallery Companion! Use coupon NEWREAD305 at checkout.**
You will be purchasing the book(s) from Lulu Press, Inc. at LuLu.com. Steel Wheel on Steel Rail Publications is not a business entity of Lulu Press, Inc. and does not process ordering, shipping, payments, or returns for these books. You must follow the policies of Lulu.com when purchasing these items.Last Update: August 24, 2010
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Purchasephoto copyright Ron Fink, |
"...books should appeal to both the railfan and Disney fan..."
The book should appeal to both the railfan and Disney fan. I will touch on Walt Disney's railroading inspiration for the reader's benefit, but Michael Broggie's book goes the long mile on that. (See the end of the web site for a link to the CPHS site in order to purchase a copy of Michael's book.) The Carolwood Pacific Historical Society's Un-Meetings at Walt Disney World have been great sources of information and inspiration. I have been able to spend a lot of time with Michael Broggie, other CPHS members, former Fort Wilderness Railroad cast members, and the WDW RR folks. The most influential former Fort Wilderness Railroad cast members are Vern Conner, Ron Fink, and Dave Martin. Their first hand knowledge of the railroad is tremendous and has really pushed the detail and accuracy of the story. They have been very patient with my constant questions! I had the privilege of talking with Roger Broggie, Jr, who was the shop foreman and project manager for the construction of the locomotives and cars in California. Roger was able to clarify a number of construction items on the trains and has been great mentor. Another wonderful person is Bob Harpur. Bob is the former Disney Imagineer who has contributed to every railroad in all of the Disney parks around the world! He held the enviable position of technical foreman for the Fort Wilderness Railroad from 1973 to 1977! His knowledge and stories have been invaluable in the creation of this story. A key person who has filled in the gaps on the story and corrected many misconceptions about the railroad is Jimmy Graves. Jimmy was intimately involved with everything steam at Walt Disney World since its inception and was the roundhouse foreman for the Fort Wilderness Railroad, from beginning to end! Another key contributor to the book has been someone whom we all know through his website on the Fort Wilderness Railroad. He is David Rose, webmaster of www.fortwildernessrr.com. His help with the the engineering of the railroad has been critical! A tireless historian and railfan has been invaluable with his help and knowledge of the old line. Best of all, he is on the Walt Disney World property most every day. His name is Johnny Chaffin and he is a cast member (engineer and fireman) on the Walt Disney World Railroad in the Magic Kingdom. At this point, I have conversed with and interviewed over 40 fans, guests, and former cast members of the railroad. Each has made first hand contributions to the book, and you will meet them all as you read the upcoming book.
"conversed with and interviewed over 40 fans, guests, and former cast members of the railroad....."
My over-all goal for the book is, like Michael Broggie's efforts, to keep the Walt Disney rail legacy strong. While Disneyland California has had a wealth of coverage, I felt that Walt Disney World's coverage was lagging. So far, over 2500 hours of effort have been expended on the book, which includes research, many trips to Fort Wilderness and the Magic Kingdom, and graphics production. I want these volumes to be the definitive source of information on these railroads, much like the wonderful Disneyland Railroad books by Steve DeGaetano. Steve has been a great source of help and guidance. Please visit the end of this web site for links to Steve's great books. And, much to everyone's interest, Steve is now working on a second edition of his Disneyland Railroad book!
"So far, over 2500 hours of effort have been expended on the book.."
To spark your interest, some of the graphic works are included here for you. Below is a composite of the Fort Wilderness locomotive and rolling stock. To create this composite required over 200 hours of research and computer work. There were no references for all of the details, especially the art work. Key photographs, especially taken by Fort Wilderness fan Dick Frampton, and engineering help by Michael Campbell have allowed me to create a historically accurate rendition of the train.

"...over 200 hours of research and computer work..."
The design and construction of the locomotive by Disney was quite an engineering undertaking, especially the construction of a steam locomotive in the 1970's! With the aid of engineering information from David Rose, Roger Broggie, Jr., and Bob Harpur, I have been able to create a construction composite of the locomotive. In the book, I'll walk through the construction of the locomotive, from the ground up!

A key part of the book's coverage is the right of way for the railroad. Vern Conner, Johnny Chaffin, and I have walked the old roadbed in order to pinpoint it for everyone. Vern has been a terrific guide since he has traveled these ways many, many times! Current aerial photos of the Fort will be presented with overlays of the track, crossings, grounding straps, insulators, and GPS coordinates. With the coverage in the book, anyone interested in finding and walking the old roadbed will have all they need to make the trek. The photos below are from our roadbed tracking adventures as well as the aerial overlay for the Gateway Depot area.
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David Leaphart, Vern Conner, and Johnny Chaffin take a few minutes to pose for a photo at the Gateway Depot area at Fort Wilderness....
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Vern and Johnny are plotting the old roadbed that ran along this current sidewalk...
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Vern is showing the height of the water tank crew platform at the current Gateway Depot...
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"...overlays of the track, crossings, grounding straps, insulators, and
GPS coordinates..." |
The history of the railroad will be made colorful by presenting "Then n Now" coverage. Photos of the railroad are presented along with a current photo taken from the same spot as the original photographer. Below are a sampling of these "Then n Now" creations.
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"Forever Friends" is a special "Then n Now" showing Vern and Dave Martin today and 1975. Vern and Dave have been friends since early school days in Florida. Dave started at Fort Wilderness in 1973, joined by Vern in 1975. They both had left Disney by 1977, but are now once again reunited friends in the Orlando area. The cab photo is copyright David Martin.
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A lot of effort has been expended to locate photographs of the railroad that have never been published. I have had the best time meeting various folks who enjoyed the railroad over the years and who have been kind in contributing their photos to this great story. I think you will enjoy seeing the railroad like you have never seen it before!
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copyright David Martin |
copyright Ron Fink |
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copyright Ron Fink |
copyright Jon W Paul |
"..This is a story of people, not just the railroad itself..."
This is story of people: fans, guests, and cast members. The experience and journey to create this story has been about those folks; their fun, enjoyment, hard work, and inspiration. To get to know them and establish wonderful friendships has pushed this experience way beyond writing the book! In this vein, we held a combination birthday part for the railroad and an event honoring the most enduring hero of the railroad, Jimmy Graves. With the "official" opening of the railroad being January 1, 1974, the year 2009 marked the the railroad's 35th birthday...........
Happy 35th Birthday, Fort Wilderness Railroad!!
Our combination event was held at Fort Wilderness in the Trails End restaurant on July 24, 2009. Our "Cast Member Reunion and Birthday Party" was attended by Johnny Chaffin, Vern Conner, Dave Dietzel, Pat Szuhay, Josephine Hilliard, Helen Graves, Jimmy Graves, and David Leaphart. Dave and Pat are currently cast members working at Fort Wilderness! Josephine works in the Trails End restaurant and told stories of riding the train to get her to work at the restaurant after parking at the Gateway parking lot. She said "that train always got me to work on time!" The party, complete with a "Fort Wilderness cake", was to have been an "hour luncheon" from 11am to noon. Well, pardners, the luncheon ended at about 4:45 in the afternoon! We had the best time and best conversations.Stories of the old railroad, of adventures by the cast members since the railroad, and of getting re-acquainted were bountiful. An example is Vern and Jimmy; they had not seen each other in about 30 years! It was an honor to be a catalyst and part of this event.
As mentioned, Jimmy Graves was our guest of honor. Jimmy was recruited by Bob Harpur to help restore and rebuild the locomotives for the Magic Kingdom in Tampa. Jimmy joined the Disney staff when the locomotives were delivered to Orlando. He worked in the roundhouse behind the Kingdom for about two years. During those two years, he worked on everything steam. This included the Magic Kingdom locomotives, ferry boats, riverboat, and Bay Lake launches. One of Jimmy's favorite stories is taking Roy O. Disney for a ride around Bay Lake on a steam powered launch in early 1971! (These steam powered launches still run today on Bay Lake, but have since been converted to gasoline engines.) Once the Fort Wilderness Railroad was underway, Jimmy moved from the Kingdom to the Fort reporting to Bob Harpur. Jimmy nurtured the railroad for its entire lifetime at the Fort and Disney, retiring in 2000. A special framed print was presented to Jimmy in honor of his efforts and dedication to the Fort Wilderness Railroad. The print is a one-of-kind, produced from the graphic efforts for the book. A photo of Jimmy with his print is below.
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"Jimmy nurtured the railroad for its entire lifetime..."