Train Tunnel
I usually share photos that come from the same batch, but today I am choosing a THEME instead. And the theme is the TRAIN and the TUNNEL. The western train tunnel, that is. Anyone who uses the eastern train tunnel is deranged! We all know it's true. "Don't go over there, Johnny! Please!!". "Ha ha, whadaya gonna do about it?" (flicks toothpick at the nearest child).
This first scan is from April, 1970. Spring is in the air! So is love. So is the smell of popcorn and train exhaust, the most bewitching aroma of all. Fred Gurley's train sits at the station, it's mighty nice of him to let us ride it, but that's just how he is. He'd give you his last dollar if you asked. It might be sunny and clear, but it wasn't that warm - we see plenty of coats (pay no attention to those reprobates to the right). The lady in the foreground has an impressive bouffant, three entire cans of Aqua Net gave their lives for it. Monstro the whale growls at us from his poster. Whales growl, right?
Next it is October, 1971. Eighteen months after the previous photo (I counted). But Monstro is still growling at us (he's phoning it in though). This time we can see some of the posters inside the tunnel - I recognize the Tom Sawyer Island and Submarine Voyage posters, but can't discern the others. Maybe one is the Rocket Jets? The C.K. Holliday with its magnificent balloon stack (made from pressed balloons) is now overhead. If we run, maybe we can catch it!
21 comments:
Major-
I was kinda wondering why poor 'ol Monstro was the only AP visible near the western tunnel. It appears by around 1968 the AP count was reduced to just the one-? And was still around by 1975, but soon vanished from the venerable green fence.
Thanks, Major.
Could that be a mini wig (wiglet?) on top of that blond ladies head? The color doesn't quite match the hair on the forward part of her head. Also, they did make small elaborate wig pieces, to go on just the very top of the head. I remember going to a Bob's Big Boy in the mid-seventies, and all of the waitresses had what looked like a basket of woven hair on their heads....almost like it was a required part of the uniform.
As soon as Johnny flicked that toothpick at the kid, we knew he was gonna pay for his evil ways. He was immediately rounded up and thrown into Disneyland Prison; the churro factory below the Castle, where he remains to this day. But nobody makes churros better than Johnny! If he had flicked a chili bean instead of a toothpick, his life would have been completely different.
Like Tokyo! noted, I think Bouffant Lady's bouffant is synthetic, and came from the bouffant factory (in Oxnard). I like the colorful cluster of balloons beyond the tunnel.
Yes, I can imagine that 18 months of whale growls would get stale and monotonous rather quickly. I can't blame Monstro for phoning it in.
I bet they make cotton candy in that "balloon stack". Just twirl a paper cone around inside that stack for a few seconds, and you've got a big fluffy mass of pink cotton candy! I think the right-most attraction poster is for the short-lived "Mickey's Wild Adventure" dark ride, where the Mouse, having 'snapped' from always having to be the 'good guy', runs around town with a large kitchen knife, slashing everyone he sees... it was a VERY dark ride!
Interesting how both photos are so much alike, but form different times. Thanks, Major.
The Storybookland poster may have been replaced , but the single gate poster frame remained ( one on each tunnel entry ) into the mid 1980’s. The poster frame became a “showcase” frame … I’ve got images of “The Disneyland Railroad Bicentennial Special” poster , “Space Mountain” , “Big Thunder Mountain” , “PeopleMover Thru Tron” and what I think was the last attraction poster used “Pinocchio’s Daring Journey” lasting til about 1985/1986. For a short time the souvenir pink Disney Gallery exhibit poster with the castle “The Art of Disneyland” poster was pasted up for a short time in 1987. Very shortly after the poster frames were removed from the gate.
Blonde Bouff is giving off some Peggy Lee vibes..https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCRZZC-DH7M. Is that all there is? Brilliant performance...in my older years I appreciate the words more. There's another Peggy Lee impersonator over there on the right...and it seems that someone else is also impersonating Minnie Mouse with polka dots...and is that Flower's head? One of the Osmond's is there on the right as well....diving into his guide book with Susan Dey. At work I study human traffic patterns and why people go "this way" instead of "that way"....in most cases it has to do what side of the road you typically drive on. At Disneyland the West Side Tunnel was used much more than the East Side. As a TG...if you were waiting for your Tour, you wouldn't be standing in the line up at the Tour Desk...especially if the phone room was full. So these positions in the tunnel were actually named and numbered. A Tour Guide would stand on each corner of the tunnel greeting guests and answering questions. You were absolutely NOT allowed to speak to the other Tour Guides. You could only speak to guests. The leads were watching like hawks. If the tunnel was fully staffed with four, and there was still more TG's to disperse: you were sent to the Main Gate: again to very designated spots: to answer questions and greet: and NO socializing. The Main Gate sup's were out there monitoring you there. Later, when the "Mall" was built, we were sent to the end of the Mall to greet people coming off the Parking Lot tram. That was actually kind of fun to wave and giggle about: and out of the "monitoring" that was going on at the gate and in the tunnel. Probably too far for the monitors to walk. There would be absolutely NO down time: you were doing something...even if that meant going into the TG lounge and collating guidebooks in stacks of 25 with a rubber band around them. Yes...that was a thing too as guidebooks came in big cases and needed to be more manageable when putting them into their little slots in City Hall or other places. And yes: those little slots were engineered to take one stack of each pre-rubberbanded guidebooks to make it simple and quick to stock. EVERY detail in EVERY way was calculated...and then there were some things that you would just scratch your head. In addition to DOING all these things....all the "things" would be documented in a written SOP: Standard Operating Procedure: right up to what rubber band you would use, how you would order the rubber bands, how to place the rubber band on the stack (doubled, not singled.) The mind boggles. And is that all there is? Rubber bands? Yep....pretty much....so keep dancing. Thanks Major.
I can't really add much about the trains--except that the Major got the stack terminology correct by calling it a "balloon" stack. These are frequently mislabeled as "diamond" stacks (an example of which can be found on the Ernest S. Marsh).
In the second photo, the glossy black steam-operated air compressor can be seen right in front of the cab, with a nice, shiny silver plate on the upper portion proclaiming it to be from the Westinghouse Air Brake Co. ("WABCO"). George Westinghouse invented the air brake in 1869! The compressor would pump up air tanks on the locomotive, the pressure from which is used to push the brake shoes onto the wheels for smooth, if not efficient, stopping.
Before that, a Brakeman would have to run along the tops of the cars, tying down the brakes by turning brake wheels on each car (an example of which can be seen at the front of the car in the first photo, between the car and the Gurley's tender). Them's the brakes.
That's all I got.
@ TM!-
"Could that be a mini wig (wiglet?) on top of that blond ladies head?" Yes, 'wiglet' it is - and there was no better place to spy them than at Bob's Big Boy, as it was part of their 'look'.
Years of watching the patterns of 'people flow', especially working Crowd Control positions on the JC, Pirates and Parade, made me a contrarian when confronted with crowds. When most folks zig...I zag. And if a shorter line looks open, I take it. And my instinct when entering the Park from the Main Gate was taking the East tunnel. Considering that the distance from the canoes to the Pit and back was rather long when taking a lunch break, we were pretty adept at slicing though crowds politely but exceptionally quickly. That ability has remained with me to this day. KS
We were always an East Tunnel family, no idea why, just felt right.
I’ve heard the Main Street shops were originally placed so things you would want on the way in, coffee, film, etc. were on the right because most folks would’ve walked on the right (east side) and things like souvenirs were on the west side where you would walk going out. I know this was our pattern all my childhood. And guests didn’t walk in the street, just like a real town.
Now I choose based on where we are heading first, Indiana Jones or Space Mountain, or where the crowd looks lighter.
KS, I’ve learned a little of that “herd science”, comes in handy in airports and other places with big queues too.
These pictures worry me a bit, the retaining wall has been painted “go-away green” and now I’m afraid that with nothing to support it, the embankment will slide down on the walkway.
Thanks Major!
JG
KS: I still have "the ability"....it comes in handy for the Airports of the world, and Grand Central....always look ahead and you can usually predict the timing and zig zagging so that there is never a reason to stray from the path...most mortals do not understand this sorcery: but when ALL mortals do (rush hour GCT + GCT Subway station) it is an amazing choreography...that at some point I will document...and make into a documentary...citing Disneyland is where it is learned the fastest.
Nanook, the Disney folks realized that those attraction posters were awful and needed to be relocated to a place where they were less visible.
TokyoMagic!, you could be right. We had a teacher in grade school who wore a wiglet, we called her “Wiggy”. She was weird. However, I like to wear a wiglet, as you know, since you have met me.
JB, Johnny went on to fame and fortune! That’s how it often goes, the wicked are not punished for their discretions. They bully the nice people around. We’ve all heard “whale songs”, and frankly, I am not impressed. No rhythm, questionable lyrics, and it turns out that all they sing is country music. No thank you. What does a whale know about pickup trucks, anyway? Cotton candy, now I imagine a sooty wad of cotton candy because it was created in a train’s stack. I like your Mickey Mouse ride concept!
Mike Cozart, I realize that I am very biased, but I was always a little disappointed by some of the later attraction posters, including the one for PInocchio’s Daring Journey. They lacked the “punch” of the examples from the 50’s and 60’s. But I know that others love them, and hey, if they do, I’m happy for them!
Bu, I was thinking more of Mimi from the Drew Carey Show - she has that blue eye shadow thing going on. Did you know that I sat next to Drew Carey when I was at my one trip to Las Vegas? I was sitting at a counter eating lunch (maybe in the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino) and Drew was just a few feet to my left. It’s true. It really does seem to me that I have almost always gone through the western tunnel entrance - it just feels right somehow. The last time I went to the park, however, I entered the plaza between the two parks from the east, which was a first. I guess I can understand why they didn’t want TGs to talk to each other, but on the other hand, the occasional comment doesn’t seem to be a big deal. Rules are rules I guess. I honestly don’t ever remember seeing Tour Guides at the park until maybe the 90s, but I also might have walked right past them without registering what was going on. That’s pretty much how I live my life. I’m glad that they put TGs to work all the time and never let them rest. If they had time off, they would descend into drugs and madness.
Steve DeGaetano, yay, I got something right! Please mark it in your journals. I wish I had invented the air brake, but instead I just invented the stupid iPhone. Such an embarrassment. Air brakes may have been inefficient, but way more efficient than running atop the cars and turning the brake wheels by hand! That must have been exciting!
Nanook, seriously? Wiglets were an official part of the “look” at Bob’s Big Boy?
KS, I’m sure that years of observation would affect how you interacted with the park, it makes sense. I’m sure all of your friends were the same way! However, entering the park through the east tunnel, I am afraid I can’t condone that behavior. ;-)
JG, WHAT? I just can’t believe what I’m hearing. Perhaps I am the one who is mad. Nah, just kidding. I do think I tend to walk up Main Street on the right, it’s ingrained in me. When I go to the grocery store, I move to the right to let oncoming shopping carts pass, but sometimes you’ll get the weirdo who wants to pass you on your right. Prison is too good for them. I also tend to head right into Tomorrowland for Space Mountain, but that is my particular favorite, even though I do like “Indy” quite a lot. I hadn’t noticed that the wall was “go-away-green”, it’s like it doesn’t even exist!
Major, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that wiglet. You’re not supposed to wear it on your chin.
Count my family among the East Tunnel Barbarian Horde. We also read from right to left. It takes me forever to decipher GDB each day.
I like Indy, too, but lately it’s been a pain to get through due to all the construction. Still, the Speedway is one of my top 500 race tracks.
Major it’s funny you used Pinocchio’s Daring Journey as an example because that 1983 poster was designed to specifically emulate the simple look of the earlier posters and was designed by animator Bill Justice. In defense of the l second generation posters , they reflected the current trends of poster making - and the entire attraction poster program was saved by some imagineers who were silk screen experts who wanted to show management what was currently capable when management wanted to be the attraction posters all together ….
Chuck, I like to surprise people, they never know where my wiglet will be. When you mentioned Indy construction, I thought, “Is that area under construction?”. I still don’t really know (though it wouldn’t surprise me)! I’ve never seen a live auto race, they are boring as heck on TV, though supposedly seeing one in person is another thing altogether.
Mike Cozart, I am aware of some of the posters from the 70s (two of which I own), those are REAL masterpieces (the Bicentennial train poster, the Jungle Cruise poster). But I still can’t say I like the Pinocchio poster, as much as I admire Bill Justice. I used to see Mr. Justice on occasion at Howard Lowery’s gallery, he’d just saunter in and say hello to whoever happened to be working that day (it probably didn’t hurt that it was often a very pretty young woman!). It was crazy. “Hey, look who walked in!”. I also agree with you, graphic styles change with the times, but many of those “later” posters (the newer “Pirates” poster and the “Splash Mountain” poster, for instance) are very busy and not attractive to my eye. Others may disagree! I don’t mean to be too critical, I guess it’s like anything, there are styles I like and others that I don’t care for.
BU, JG and Major....I have to admit that my continued "zigging and zagging" and insistence of not going at the pace of the 'herd' annoys my wife. I met her at the Park and she never had the experience of being IN the crowd as she was slinging hamburgers at Hungry Bear or Mint Juleps at the bar next to Pirates. While on a hot day on Crowd Control, I would pop into the side door and get a julep for free. :) KS
Yes, 'wiglet' it is - and there was no better place to spy them than at Bob's Big Boy, as it was part of their 'look'.
Nanook, thanks for confirming that!
As far as crowd or traffic flow....I am remembering something from my very first time at the Magic Kingdom in Florida. We pulled up to the parking lot toll booths, and there were lines of cars for all the booths except the two booths on the far left. Of course, you don't want to pass everyone else, and look like your are doing something sneaky. And you don't want to look stupid if those booths end up being closed for some reason. But they both had their green lights on overhead, so we bypassed everyone else and went to one of those booths. The employee in the booth told us we were smart and that most people don't pay attention, so when they see a line, they just get in it without much thought. He also told us that when in doubt, "go to the left" because most people "go to the right." I don't know if that applies with everything, or just the parking lot toll booths at WDW.
As for my family, we always went to the left and used the west tunnel at Disneyland.
Major has some Bob’s Big Boy photos from my cousin, Stu—proving the hair styles, as commented here. (They may have been lost in the computer crash, last year, though??)
I’ll be back, later.
Bu, on the one hand, all that calculated, thought-out-ahead-of-time stuff makes me feel good that somebody (everybody) at Disney is doing something right. On the other hand, it seems dystopian and creepy. I have befuddled myself.
Major, I was completely unaware of the finer details of "whale song". I could probably listen to country music whale song if it weren't for their twangy accents... and their incessant banjo playing. I worried that my "Mickey's Wild Adventure" concept might be a bit too violent for GDB. I thought about toning it down 2 or 3 times before going ahead with it. It was close to 1:00 am and I wasn't thinking too clearly anymore.
JB, I liked your ride concept, too. But instead of a ride-through, make it a walk-through....through Karen Black's apartment in "Trilogy of Terror." And instead of a Zuni fetish doll coming after us with a kitchen knife, it's Mickey stabbing us in the shins and ankles. You score points every time you are able to stab him back, but if you can capture him and throw him in the oven, you win bonus points!
Since Steamboat Willie is now public domain, maybe Universal could make a maze like that for their Halloween Horror Nights event.
"Did you know that I sat next to Drew Carey when I was at my one trip to Las Vegas?"
Major, I bet Drew didn't recognize you, with your wiglet on.
Fun day, today. Thanks, Major.
Major: I would see and sit next to Drew Carey frequently at the "Rock and Roll" Denny's on Sunset. This was back when he was a hearty eater. Rock and Roll Denny's is actually what the put on their receipts...and it used to be a big hang out for all peoples of the entertainment business and me :) Not sure if it's still there, but I have fond memories of Grand Slams next to Drew.
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