Thursday, May 17, 2007

Souvenir Views part 1

For the next few days I'm going to be cheating...I'll be posting views from a series of souvenir slides. They're from the early years though (possibly even from 1955, since one Tomorrowland slide has no Skyway), and in some cases the views are unique. I've seen some of the exact same images on other slides, by other manufacturers, only they have faded or turned magenta. The ones posted here are from the "Treasure Tone" series, and they have retained their vivid colors (they must be Kodachrome). I think that they're pretty neat, but for those of you that aren't interested in souvenir slides, come back in three or four days.

Slide #1 shows a rare view of the Yellowstone Coach as it makes its way through the desert. I don't know much about the Yellowstone Coach...it doesn't seem to have lasted very long, and apparently took the same path as the Stagecoach and Conestoga Wagon. It looks like you got a better view and a bit more air in this contraption.


Slide #2 shows the C.K. Holliday, in the same general vicinity as the Yellowstone Coach. It's pulling the freight cars...I wonder if anybody was ever injured while standing in the "cattle cars".


Slide #3 is a nice look at the old exterior of the Peter Pan attraction. There wasn't enough money in those days to make Fantasyland look the way Walt wanted (I'm sure he'd approve of the 1983 refurbishment), but the flags, shields, and stylized tents worked surprisingly well...these facades make the whole land look festive and colorful.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Major!

These are very rare indeed! I have seen a boat load of faded commercial slides, and even when the color is corrected, it’s just not the same.

Where did you get these slides? I love the first two. I have never even seen that Yellowstone Coach, I have only read about it. I have often wondered too if people got hurt in the cattle cars! How long did they keep the freight cars on the line? I collect old DL tickets and train tickets for the freight cars are extra rare.

Thanks for this series and your previous series’. You have great taste and offer some rare scenes.

Tim

Major Pepperidge said...

Thanks for the nice comment Tim! I have had this group of slides for several years, I think they were in a lot of other non-Disney slides. Normally I would have been disappointed in "souvenir" slides, but these were so great (and of course, not faded).

I'm glad you are enjoying the blog!