Steve DeGaetano
The Ward Kimball: The Story of Disneyland Engine No. 5Steve DeGaetanoFrom Plantation to Theme ParkFor Disneyland’s 50th anniversary, the company had a great idea: add a fifth train to the Disneyland Railroad and name it after Ward Kimball, a Disney Legend and, like Walt himself, a railfan. This is the story of how a locomotive built in 1902 became part of the Happiest Place on Earth.The story begins not in a theme park but at a Louisiana plantation where a small locomotive called the Maud L. was first put to use over a century ago hauling cane sugar through the hot, humid fields. As the Maud L. ran down over the years, she was destined for scrap-but then her 'life' took a change for the magical.Disneyland Railroad expert Steve DeGaetano tells the tale of how the Maud L. became the Ward Kimball:The early years of the engine destined for Disney, including its quiet decades at a theme park in OhioDisney’s acquisition and rebuilding of the Maud L., and its rebranding into the Ward KimballThe inaugural run of the Kimball at Disneyland’s 50th anniversary celebrationA fascinating look at how Disney tests, operates, and maintains its steam trainsPlus, an account of Walt Disney and Ward Kimball’s lifelong friendship, a bond forged from animation, steam trains, and theme parksThe whistle blows. A puff of steam rises over Main Street Station. The Kimball has come. All aboard!
