Fort Wilderness Train

[donaldduck1967]

Originally posted by DVCDAVE
A GOOD thread will never die !!!

How true how true. Just a few coments. One of the reasons the train was shut was due to the narrow gauge and inexperience of the train crew there was a lot of derailments. Also here is a likn to a picture of one of the trains salvaged by the Carlwood Historical Society.

http://home.hiwaay.net/~jlspence/traincomplete.jpg

 

[DVCDAVE]

All True,

The de-railments were caused by the poor bedding, that was a result of building it in haste by an inexperienced engineer. Further, the water capacity of the engine was insufficient for the inexperienced cast in charge of its operation.

This is cited in book I mentioned previously.

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

I have got to get that book !

 

[EMT-319]

I remember riding the Fort Wilderness train as a teen during it's first year of operation.

The engine was always breaking down as it kept running out of water. They had to bring a water truck around to keep filling it up.

I remember guests saying that the water truck got around the campground faster than the train.

The train was very slow!

That was back in '72 or '73. At that time, Disney World was out in the middle of nowhere. I remember that the park (MK) would empty out at 6:00 pm (that's when the tour busses would return to Orlando) and you would have the whole park to yourself. The only places to stay then were The Contemporary, PV, and FW.