Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, July 17, 1980
Here are three more photos of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, as taken by Lou Perry, and scanned and shared with us by his daughter Sue B.
It can be difficult to capture a speeding runaway mine train as it careened along the tracks, a millisecond could make the difference between a clear shot and a blur.
The main queue structure looks appropriately weathered and grungy. The miners loved to spit a lot, which actually helped preserve the old wood. Try it the next time you are fixing your deck! The hoodoos in the background look great during the day, but when lit at night, they are especially impressive.
That darn train passes too fast! I'm going to suggest that they slow the roller coaster way down. Make it more like an old-west Peoplemover. I'm sure all the guests will appreciate my regard for their safety.
There are three more Big Thunder phtotos from Lou and Sue, coming up soon. THANK YOU, Lou and Sue!
7 comments:
Major-
These images easily capture why this is such a beloved attraction.
Thanks to Lou and Sue.
I can see Sue in that first pic! Okay, probably not. But I can see the Matterhorn playing hide-and-seek with us behind that tree.
Thanks Lou, Sue, and Major!
Spit made from chewin' tobacky and red-eye; either it'll preserve the wood... or dissolve it into cellulose goo. (Better test it out before trying it on your deck.)
In typical Lou fashion, he gives us an establishing shot of the queue building, then provides detailed pics of the Train amongst the theming. I wonder if he got all the views in a single cycle of the ride, or if it took 2 or 3 Train trips?
I like the 3rd pic best. A motion-blur action shot of the Train careening into the cavern.
Tokyo!, Don't be silly. The Matterhorn is in Switzerland, and these shots were clearly taken in the American Southwest.
Thank you, Sue and Lou, and Major.
Them haunted trains sure do move!
That's a more respectible way of preserving the wood than what they did to weather the roofs in Storybook Land!
I'be only ridden the WFW version, so I'd be all turned around at Disneyland!
Get pics, Lou and Sue!
Since I was in the Park the same day, I had to zoom in on these photos to see if my head popped up anywhere....and no....but possibly I'm in another July 17 1980 photo...a very special milestone day....and where is that button I got?! And all the other stuff? Hmmm...who knows....I do enjoy that Big Thunder is the same look/vibe/etc. that it's been for now....47 years! To me: it's the "new addition to Frontierland"....but I look back at this day...in year 25 of Disneyland...and think: so this is almost twice as old as things like Peter Pan were on this same day....and of course I think I rode every single ride in the course of the around the clock day....watching the sun come up was actually pretty cool....and people went home: only the die hards were there at 4am....So it was wonderfully desolate...I don't remember much that day, however I took loads of photos: all gone of course....Major: you would have had a field day with my albums.....nothing like Lou....but I think I was a mini-Lou. Capturing the unusual, and not the usual. Thanks to Lou and Sue and Major. These photos make me crave a good box of popcorn....called "BuPopz"....coming soon....
Major, you are on to something with the Old West PeopleMover idea. It would be like the old Mine Train except slower. It could go through the Davy Crockett Arcade, the Shooting Gallery, and the Pendleton Store. Maybe they could name the trains like they do for the subs: Wyatt Earp, Wild Bill, Shane, etc.
Lou Perry’s pics never disappoint. I can envision him standing for several ride cycles waiting for the perfect view.
Thanks Lou, Sue, and Major for these views. I’m going out now to preserve my deck.
JG
Choo-choo-choo from Lou & Sue & the Major, too! Ptoo! Ptoo! (That's the sound of the miners' spit hitting the cuspidor.) I love how you can feel the motion of the train just from seeing its angle as it banks around the curve in the picture. Big Thunder will never feel old to me because it was the shiny new thing people were talking about on my first visit to the Magic Kingdom. Funny how that works - time is a harsh mistress.
Big thanks to everyone who made these memories possible today.
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