The connection between Walt Disney and his affection for
railroads has been well document. From an early age growing up in a small midwestern
town where trains raced off to destinations that ignited his imagination to the
building of a backyard railroad that lead to the creation of a theme park
empire, Disney WAS a “train buff” for his entire life. Even Mickey Mouse was
“born” during Walt’s infamous 1928 cross-country train trip. When envisioning
Disneyland in the early 1950s, it was a railroad, not a castle, that was the
first attraction that greeted visitors.
Millions of passionate Disney fans continue to share
Walt’s love of trains at resorts around the world. It is only natural that
Disney trains have spawned successful lines of park souvenirs and licensed merchandise.
For decades, one Disney keepsake was absent… an o-gauge replica of an “actual”
Disney Resort steam locomotive. (In 1990, Lionel Trains sold a 4-4-0 “American”
locomotive to celebrate Disneyland’s 35th anniversary but using
existing tooling.)
Around 2010, sensing an untapped market of both toy train
collectors and Disney fans, MTH Electric Trains of Columbia, Maryland entered
into a partnership with Disney Parks to produce an o-gauge version of a resort
engine. The famous Walter E. Disney locomotive,
found at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, was chosen as the
first model. The Walter E. Disney is classic 4-6-0-wheel configuration
locomotive originally built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1925 for the
United Railways of the Yucatan in Mexico. It was one of five engines purchased
by Disney Parks in 1969 for WDW (only four were eventually restored for park
service).
Tooling was developed and the model locomotive was put
into production with an anticipated 2012 release. The units would feature a die-cast
boiler and chassis metal wheels and axles precision flywheel equipped Motor
Metal Handrails and Decorative Bell Decorative Metal Whistle Constant Voltage
Headlight Die-Cast Truck Sides Remote Controlled Proto-Coupler® Synchronized
Puffing ProtoSmoke® System Colorful Paint Scheme Locomotive Speed Control In
Scale MPH Increments Die-Cast Tender Body Proto-Sound 2.0 With The Digital
Command System Featuring: Passenger Station Proto-Effects Unit Measures:17 1/2”
x 2 7/8” x 3 1/2” Operates On O-31 Curves
Samples of the locomotive appeared on display the York
Train Show and at an exhibit of Disney train at the Disney Museum in San Diego.
So what happened? Why are there not thousands of Disney
locomotive making the “Grand Circle Route” around Christmas trees and home
layouts?
During a 2017 podcast produced by Notch 6 (episode 109),
Andy Edelman, Vice President of Marketing for MTH provided some background what
happened to the project:
“When we developed the tooling, it was developed around
that Disney engine that runs down in Florida. What happened with the project is
that we could not get the sign off on the (miniaturing) facilities inspection.
Disney is very cognizant of the regulations that the product be built in an environment
where people are playing by the rules; like they are not hiring children to do
assembly. And we (MTH) certainly subscribe to that. You have to get everything
passed by auditing; and every time they seem to have another regulation, they’d
throw on there and we got frustrated. So we said, we are just going to paint
these a different paint scheme and be done with it. That’s what happened to the
deal. I’m sure if we were a little more diligent we could have worked through
it but every time we do those inspections, it cost a lot of money and it was
proving not to be a worthwhile effort. And I get where Disney comes from and
why they do that. But it was a lot of hoops to jump through.”
Following the collapse of the MTH/Disney partnership, the
pieces in the WDW RR paint schemes had their graphics painted over into one of
three styles. Two were made into a new “President Series” honoring George
Washington and Abraham Lincoln and one was painted to represent the “Great
American Circus.”
On December 1, 2012, the two “President Series”
locomotives were offered as an exclusive MTH Railroader Club premium. These
attractively decorated die-cast steam engines were sold in a very limited
production - with just 125 of each scheme produced. Units cost just $299.95.
This special offering was only sold directly through MTH and was not available through
any M.T.H. Authorized Retailer locations.
Do you have any research, pictures or information to add? Email me at Rocketship7@aol.com. NOTE - This article is a work in progress.
