Reminders Of The FW Railroad

[bama_ed]

Folks,

On my visit during Thanksgiving week to the Fort I took the time to pay some homage to the FW Railroad. The first time I visited the Fort around 1980 the train was already closed down although I think the tracks were still in place at the time. But last week I found that a portion of the railroad still survives; abandoned and overgrown but still there and a reminder of the Fort's past.

I know there are others on the board who are FWRR experts and I don't include myself in that category. But as a fan I wanted to explore what I could find. The current sidewalks today around the Fort follow a good portion of the railroad bed. The raised berm between the 700 and 800 loop is the old railroad bed. The new golf cart parking down by the bus loop at Pioneer Hall has the berm coming in from the right.

But last week I found a rail; and more than that I found wooden ties, plates, spikes, ground wires, and gauging rods. While most of the railroad was pulled up and bulldozed over part of it was abandoned but left in place. And it's still there...

Here is a rail:

Actually it has a partner running beside it - a pair of rails:

A spike in the sunshine on the rail:

What looks like a grounding wire on a rail:

What I call gauging rods or adjustable rods to maintain proper seperation between the rails (which was a problem for the FWRR):

A plate that held the rail to the ground via three spikes and one bolt (only one spike shown here):

The plate in place:

I had to be careful because I don't think the Disney Po-Po would want me doing my current assignment; we were close to civilization:

There was evidence that I had not been the only one crawling through the underbrush looking for the FWRR. And I know other's like YNOTTONY99 are more knowledgeable about the FWRR. But after seeing the new logo at the Meadow Pool slide in-person for the FWRR (not authentic but still in good taste) and seeing the old River Country ticket booth building now at least presentable near the new entrance for Mickey's Backyard BBQ, I was glad to find a part of the Fort's past.

The FWRR may be gone but a piece of it is still around for us to see and remember what was.

Bama ED

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

found that a few years ago, watch for the red ants !

 

[bama_ed]

found that a few years ago, watch for the red ants !

I did meet a couple of them actually when I stopped to take some pix; nice people but they don't say a whole lot....

Bama ED

 

[PrincessNP]

Those are some really cool pictures!! Thanks for braving the ants and getting us up close and personal to the FWRR!!!

 

[truck1]

Youll be happy to know, that all 4 of the Ft Wilderness engines and a few of the cars did survive Disneys storage system.Theres 1 or 2 cars that were on Typhoon Lagoons parking lot,(not sure if they are still there) as decoration and a few I think are with several of the engines out west.Others are in private hands.

There is presently 3 owners of the engines,1 owner has 2.
Also, a lot of the track was given/sold etc to the Brevard County Zoo.
If you can get your hands on it, its out of print, but Michael Broggie, wrote a book on the history of the Disney trains both for all of the parks, and the Fort, and it explains in detail what really happened and why the trains were taken out of service.

 

[lawnspecialties]

We rented canoes the last time we went. Toward the end of one of the canals appears to be bridge supports on the shore for an old train bridge. You could probably find all kinds of stuff there.

 

[BradyBz12]

Speaking of the FWRR - check out this snazzy poster on eBay

 

[2goofycampers]

Speaking of the FWRR - check out this snazzy poster on eBay

Nice, but pricey !

 

[PixieDustLove]

think if we send in enough letters requesting a new RR at FW disney would grant us that wish? that would be something i wish for my children to experience! they're 3 and 2 so there is somewhat of a time crunch

 

[truck1]

As much as I would love for Disney to bring back those trains, I doubt they will. Most of the people, in a position of power, that either have rail experience, or a true interest in trains are gone, and the common thought in Burbank is save money save money save money.In the end, the busses are cheaper form of transportation and theyll probably stick with it.Those particular trains were considered thorns in the sides of the Fort Management, for a number of reasons, mostly due to major mistakes made before the first piece of track was laid.

 

[bama_ed]

Youll be happy to know, that all 4 of the Ft Wilderness engines and a few of the cars did survive Disneys storage system.Theres 1 or 2 cars that were on Typhoon Lagoons parking lot,(not sure if they are still there) as decoration and a few I think are with several of the engines out west.Others are in private hands.

There is presently 3 owners of the engines,1 owner has 2.
Also, a lot of the track was given/sold etc to the Brevard County Zoo.
If you can get your hands on it, its out of print, but Michael Broggie, wrote a book on the history of the Disney trains both for all of the parks, and the Fort, and it explains in detail what really happened and why the trains were taken out of service.

I have the Michael Broggie book which is IMHO the source for all things Disney-and-Railroad. It does have a chapter devoted to the FWRR. I think this section in the brambles between 1500 and 300 (or now the dog park) was left in place and abandoned. My brother from Kennesaw gave me a spike and it is not a full scale spike but miniaturized like the FWRR trains themselves.

The Disney goobs would never do something like the FWRR ever again. They're too driven by the bottom line. I'm well familiar with the corporate snobbery that goes with these decisions - they think they know best. Customers, what are those? They'll take what we charge them for and LIKE IT. You think any of the Fort management would actually care to talk with any of us?

Bama ED

 

[duranfan]

that poster is certainly a unique piece. It will be interesting to see what it sells for. We were able to acquire one of the railroad "lights' when they dismantled the train intersections.
Basically at loops/roads where they had gates they had these black antique looking laterns that had red glass inserts that would light up. Probably not worth a lot but a fun piece of memorbilia that I wouldn't sell anyway.

I agree they will never put the steam engines back in. I think they are considered not enviromentally friendly and even back in the early 80s I recall the economics of running the train doomed it since the park was so small back then. Plus, can you imagine the safety issues. Just today I read where one of the mini boats expected the big disney boat to get out of THEIR way.

 

[truck1]

I have the Michael Broggie book which is IMHO the source for all things Disney-and-Railroad. It does have a chapter devoted to the FWRR.

Bama ED

I love that book. Thats where I caught the part of the mismanagement of the trains from day 1.

I agree they will never put the steam engines back in. I think they are considered not enviromentally friendly and even back in the early 80s I recall the economics of running the train doomed it since the park was so small back then. Plus, can you imagine the safety issues. Just today I read where one of the mini boats expected the big disney boat to get out of THEIR way.

Safety issues aside, as a short excerpt from the book, the FWRR was doomed from day 1.
1. problem was the trains themselves were too small and didnt have the pulling power to actually pull a fully loaded train.
2. The tracks were laid by amatures,not the trained rr workers that laid the track for the WDWRR in the MK or DL.They tried to do it cheap, and not properly and the short version is that it led to a lot of washouts and derailments.
3.The trains themselves were built too small and didnt carry enough fuel or water for the entire day.This led to a lot of fueling/water stops and running out of fuel water or both.
4. The crews themselves were from attractions and not the steam train dept.This had a lot to do with the above, as the steam train group takes a lot of pride in their engines, and the attractions dept is basically a button pusher.There there until something better comes along or there done with college.(at least now).


What I would loved to have seen is that the steam train brought back when they built the WL and run the train to there as an alternative to the busses.(Assuming they fixed the other issues first)

 

[nurb]

Hello all, I'm new to the board, so Hello! I thought you guys might be interested (hopefully I'm not posting old news) but the Carolwood Collection is producing a G-Scale electric version of the Fort Wilderness Trains. They sold a live steam version a few years back, but I missed out on that one. I'm too new to post links so a quick google search should do the trick.


BTW, I have no connection with those folks, I'm just a disney nerd with a soft spot for the FWRR.

 

[Judy in Texas]

Hello all, I'm new to the board, so Hello! I thought you guys might be interested (hopefully I'm not posting old news) but the Carolwood Collection is producing a G-Scale electric version of the Fort Wilderness Trains. They sold a live steam version a few years back, but I missed out on that one. I'm too new to post links so a quick google search should do the trick.


BTW, I have no connection with those folks, I'm just a disney nerd with a soft spot for the FWRR.

Here is the link:

http://www.carolwoodcollection.com/

 

[DaveInTN]

Very cool. And pricey.

 

[AuburnJen92]

For G scale, that is pretty standard for a custom line. Now, all I have to do is rat-hole some money....where to find some money...