Tuesday, September 02, 2014

Main Street Station, 1956

Here are two 1956 views of Main Street Station from different lots. 

Bowser (with the rolled-up sleeves) is taking a photo that I wish I could see… a nice detail of the C.K. Holliday. As usual, the "Holliday" is pulling the Freight cars...


… while the E.P. Ripley pulled the Passenger cars. I love the names on these cars: "Colorado Rockies" (Wikipedia says it is "Rocky Mountains", but that's not what is says in this picture),  and "Land of Pueblos" are visible here. There was also "Navajo Chief", "Painted Desert", and "Grand Canyon". Those names evoke the romance, natural beauty, and history of the American Southwest.


19 comments:

Nanook said...

Major-

Golly - yet another instance of 'flaky facts' in Wikipedia. Thankfully, GDB can disprove the "facts" as Wikipedia wishes them to be.

And as for the rolled-up sleeves look, all we can do is hope it's the next latest trend. (Although we're going to have to come up with a substitute for the requisite pack of smokes - that's just sooo 1950's-!)

Thanks, Major.

K. Martinez said...

I once compiled a list looking at various photos of the early SF & DLRR passenger train. This is what I found:

Loco #2 E.P. Ripley
101 The Combine (Baggage)
102 Navajo Chief
103 Colorado Rockies
104 Land of Pueblos
105 Painted Desert
106 Grand Canyon (Observation)

And that was without using Wikipedia.

Chuck said...

I love early SF&DLRR photos.

Ken - Great photo analysis work!

Additional trivia that I'm sure everyone who reads this blog already knows - the observation car "Grand Canyon" was converted into the "Lily Belle" (the parlor car, not Walt's wife).

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, the funny thing is, most website just repeat Wikipedia's error.

K. Martinez, you were willing to do the work, unlike me! Also, I didn't mention the combine because it isn't a cool name (even though it was a cool thing).

Chuck, in the past I had heard that it was possible to ride in the Lily Belle if you timed it right, but apparently now it is only available to VIPs and Club 33 members. Arg.

Tom said...

I love the attention to detail, naming the cars of each train. Might have been lost on some but all those details add up to an immersive experience.

Chuck said...

Major - I'd heard the same thing. Felgercarb!

K. Martinez said...

Yep, that makes me a day late and a dollar short for a ride on the Lily Belle. Bummer.

JG said...

Ha, Wikipedia also describes how the German infantry beat the Canadians at Pearl Harbor to win the Civil War and conclude the Treaty of Westphalia.

I love my OCD detail friends at GDB.

Thank you all.

JG

Snow White Archive said...

Yep, most websites do just repeat Wikipedia errors. Have found that a lot in my SW research. Major, glad you have your own photographic evidence to disprove the mistakes.

Nanook said...

Dear All-

I'm afraid the above-cited example is just one more reason why well-researched, verifiable information, published by reputable sources is still needed in this age of "crowd-sourced 'facts'".

The most frustrating development of the internet-age is when Person A poses a question on-line. Person B, with no reason to mislead, replies with a piece or pieces of what he supposes to be the correct answer(s). Then those "answers" are read by Person C, who presumes that information to be factual, and repeats the information in another forum. And the process repeats itself, shoring-up the original Incorrect Answers as Facts, as they are now cited over and over again as correct.

Vigilance is needed more than ever in this information age.

Major Pepperidge said...

Tom, I kind of wonder if Santa Fe came up with the names rather than the Imagineers?

Chuck, "Felgercarb"?? Is that like "fubar"?

K. Martinez, I know, I even heard a podcast not that long ago telling listeners how to go about getting a ride on the Lily Belle. Oh well….

JG, the day that the Germans invaded Pearl Harbor was called the "Day of Infancy" by Teddy Roosevelt.

Snow White Archive, it is true, especially when it comes to Disney stuff!

Nanook, I don't know if you look at FaceBook, but it is astonishing to see how much bad info is disseminated there. "Check out this opening day photo!"… meanwhile, the men have huge sideburns (obviously from the 1970's). Arg.

Steve DeGaetano said...

I used to go in and regularly correct the errors on the Wikipedia Disneyland Railroad page. I gave up after several instances when my corrections were simply changed back to the incorrect information.

Steve DeGaetano said...

Just checked the Wikipedia DRR page again after posting here. Seriously--that page has errors in nearly every paragraph!

K. Martinez said...

when I posted the information, I should've provided backup photos. Here's what I was able to could find:


http://davelandweb.com/dlrr/popup.htm?images/mainstreet/1950s/RK_1955_N20.jpg

http://davelandweb.com/dlrr/popup.htm?images/mainstreet/1960s/K2TPBKYC_8_62_N17B.jpg

http://davelandweb.com/dlrr/popup.htm?images/mainstreet/1950s/KTPBK_Summer55_N22B.jpg

http://davelandweb.com/dlrr/popup.htm?images/mainstreet/1960s/K2TPBKYC_8_62_N18B.jpg

http://davelandweb.com/dlrr/popup.htm?images/mainstreet/1950s/KTKT_DLRRRetlaw.jpg

http://davelandweb.com/dlrr/popup.htm?images/1950sRKT_MIU_N13.jpg

Major Pepperidge said...

Steve, stuff like that drives me crazy! It is almost like the stupidity is willful. Well, they always say that you should use Wikipedia as a reference with a grain of salt, and it sounds like a spoonful is more like it.

K. Martinez, I believed you! But thank you for the Daveland links. Man he has some nice photos.

K. Martinez said...

Major, I didn't think you disbelieved me. I just thought I should provide links for credibility.

Yes, Daveland have some beautiful photos. It's you two along with "Stuff From The Park" that have provided so much high quality historical visual documentation on Disneyland on a constant regular basis. I just can't imagine my mornings without you guys.

Chuck said...

"Felgercarb" was a substitutionary swear word from the original 1978-79 "Battlestar Galactica." While never explicitly defined, in context, it seems to have meant "poop."

Melissa said...

Your attention, please! The Disneyland Limited is now arriving from a trip around Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom. Passengers will stand by to board.

(I haven't heard anyone say "felgercarb" in yahrens!)

MRaymond said...

Personally, I like this version of the Mickey floral arrangement than the one we have now.