Monorail Blue, March 1962
Cerulean. Cobalt. Ultramarine. Windsor. Periwinkle. SO MANY KINDS OF BLUE. But I only have eyes for Monorail Blue! We've certainly seen photos like today's examples many times, but can anybody truly grow weary of seeing a streamlined Monorail gliding above a tropical lagoon? It's like getting tired of beautiful sunsets. Hey, I ordered a cloudless day - I want to talk to the manager.
"Zoooooom!". Monorails don't make that sound, but wouldn't it be cool if they did? They should let the Monorail pilots make race car noises over an external PA system for the entire ride. "Nyeeeeerrrrrr! Screeeech! Bwaaaaaarrrr!". All for one $22 uncharge.
30 comments:
Major-
The future certainly looks 'futuristic'-! Thank you, Bob Gurr.
And thank you too, Major.
Both of these photos are great. I added the first one to my Disney Stuff folder. The second one has some blur, but it's Monorail Motion Blur, so that's OK.
Major, how about cornflower blue? Cadet blue? Thanks for the Monorail pics.
What is that contraption over in the Motor Boat Cruise waterway (second pic)?
Thanks, Major. These are beautiful!
Where is the Viewliner?! They ruin everything! The Monorail remains timeless, and I've yet to see such transportation in the "future" yet, and since it hasn't happened, it's still in the future, which still makes it Tomorrowland. Wait...I don't see a Peoplemover yet....well...that thing in the Houston parking lot everyone complains about...maybe that is why it didn't make the Tomorrowland cut? I'm not sure why Tomorrowland is either Jules Verne or Planet of the Apes. I also did not every really see the extra silvery stuff inbetwixt the Monorail cars before. I'm sure it's been there, I'm just seeing it today. The Monorail is impressive today, in 1959 they must have been pulling their hair out. It would have been cute to see Mermaid families out there...or full size Sea Monkeys! I was completely fascinated by Sea Monkeys and couldn't wait for them to build their castles and village and wear little Sea Monkey crowns. $22 is the new "E" ticket price, so it makes sense that it would be. The Monorail as we know has a very specific sound, and horn, and as a kid at the Main Gate you could hear it coming which was all part of that great first act. Also as I kid I felt that the people who would enter Disneyland from the Hotel directly into Tomorrowland were getting a false sense of "story" as they did not experience, the Parking Lot, the ticket booths with music, the Mickey floral, Main St. etc. etc. So they didn't see the show unfold through the different acts which of course is the intended course of the Disneyland story. On the Monorail, you just ate your breakfast at the hotel, you entered the Monorail rather expediciously (if I remember correctly) and then get dumped into Tomorrowland? Even as a 12 year old it defied logic. My friends wanted to get "in it" so our parents would drop us off at the Hotel rather than the mess of the gate. Good for them, good for us...however, as an odd kid...it didn't make sense theatrically. AND you would have to "waste" a ticket to get into the park..just to get in...that made the least sense of all. Or maybe it was a special ticket book...(?) Don't remember...
The monorail's blue and silver color scheme makes it look like a giant fish above the lagoon! Interesting fact: They originally were going to use a real giant fish, but couldn't figure out how to get it to stay on the beam. Plus, the smell was fairly terrible. And how to get people inside? Problems, problems. Finally they just went to Bob and said "Can you fix this?" and there ya go!
And if that's not true I'll give back your 22.00! (less interest and handling fee)
The first shot is gorgeous. It all looks fresh and new like Tomorrowland should. Thanks, Major.
Both good shots in their own way. The first is like K. said and the second has that speedy blur that works so well in that photo. Entered into the park numerous times via the hotel/monorail style, but you have a point. Main Street was the best way to start the day.
Thanks Major.
My goodness, blue is now my favorite color. Ken nailed it.
Perhaps the monorail experts can tell me which Mark this one is? I see it has the Cadillac taillights, which I thought only Mark I had. But there are four cars, not three, so not Mark I today? I do remember those taillights and the Santa Fe logo, they made it seem like the monorail was only just months away instead of lifetimes.
Yes, entry via monorail cuts out Act 1, just as exiting that way cuts off the final Act, strolling down Main Street with a cruise through the book shop, Penny Arcade, and the Emporium. But, in the rain as on my last visit in 2017, it can have advantages too. On a multi-day visit, you can do both.
Thank Major.
JG
@ JG-
These would be the Mark II trains.
As somebody else (JG, maybe>) commented recently, I love the red Santa Fe logo on Old Bluie.
Bu, I know what you mean about Tomorrowland options. Why does it have to be Jules Verne or Planet of the Apes? Why can't it be Logan's Run, but for old people like us (except Andrew)? Cool transportation systems, animatronic robots, and a purpose for the Carousel of Progress again!
Nanook, since you live in a city with an operating Monorail, every day is the future for you!
JB, oh, there are LOTS of other blues, I just named the ones that are most popular with Internet influencers - our greatest Americans. You understand.
TokyoMagic!, it just looks like some kind of awning? But I can’t really tell. What else could it be?
Bu, I’m not really sure why Monorails didn’t catch on in cities; sure, the Disneyland versions are basically fun rides, but the scaled-up trains in Florida show that they could really be used as a real form of transportation. These days I’d think that it would be MUCH cheaper to build a train that runs “up in the air”, however… people might not want to have the tracks and trains above them or next to their apartments. Oh well. Yes, that flexible “accordion” stuff between the trains has always been there, it wasn’t supposed to be noticed, so…mission accomplished. I don’t recall ever seeing the mermaids in the Sub Lagoon in person, but I sure like the idea. And Sea Monkeys would be even better (?). Mom, Dad, and two kids (Chip and Lucy). I agree about taking the Monorail from the Hotel right into Tomorrowland, because I did it once. It was kind of cool and convenient, but I missed going under the train tracks (and seeing the train), walking up Main Street, etc. It was an entirely different experience.
Stu29573, I never thought about it, but the blue/silver Monorail does look like some sort of sleek shark. As for smelly fish, you can splash Old Spice on just about anything. Problem solved. That being said, the Disneyland monorail is (generally) much less slimy than a fish.
K. Martinez, I’ve grown jaded over the years, but photos like that first one used to really get me excited about Disneyland!
DrGoat, for the most part I am not crazy about blur of any kind, but sometimes, motion blur can enhance a photo! And I agree with you and Bu, the original way of entering the park is by far the best. It really is a cinematic experience!
JG, that’s the Mark II Monorail! The Mark III wouldn’t come along until the late 1960’s, and it’s identifiable by the larger windows on the side (among other things). I think the Mark IIs were basically Mark I trains with an added car, but I could be mistaken. As I said to Bu, I did take the Monorail directly to Tomorrowland once, but it was a weird experience. It was nice to be right there to hop on to Space Mountain, but my partner and I didn’t even see Main Street until we decided to eat something later that evening.
Nanook, you win a cigar!
Chuck, Logan’s Run would be good, or how about The Phantom Empire, the wonderful sci-fi movie serial with Gene Autry?? Now THAT’S a city of tomorrow!
Wow. What a sight, and can just feel that light.
Nice that we can make out just where the motorboat lake has been pushed north of the submarine lagoon, but illusion it as one body of water., oh that clever Disney design. Agree, the slight partial blur makes that photo even better, amazing.
I like Monorail Blue the best, but have a question for Mike Cozart or anyone:
What colors were the Monorails in the 60s to mid 70s? Red, blue, yellow, olive green, purple...orange?? Am I missing any?
Love these pictures, thanks Major.
Major, I will have to check out Phantom Empire. I'm currently watching the first Superman serial (1948), but will look for it after that.
Sue, just the first four colors - red, blue, yellow, and green. Those colors lasted until the Mark IIIs were rebuilt into the Mark Vs in 1987-88. The Mark Vs were red, blue, orange, and purple
Thanks, Chuck. What’s strange is that I only remember seeing blue and red ones, in my childhood years.
No problem, Sue. Even stranger, now that you make me think about it, I don't remember seeing any colors on the Monorails on my childhood visits. Actually, I really don't remember seeing the Monorail moving on the track except in the Parking Lot. I remember riding the Monorail, and I remember watching it pull into the station at the hotel, but my brain didn't record any colors. I remember the guidebook photos showing colors, but I have no personal memories of those colors in person. Odd.
Yep, we’re both odd.
Michaeland, I guess the Motorboat waterway is part of the “dark” water system, while the subs are part of the “clear” system? What if the two mix? Is it like matter and antimatter colliding?
Lou and Sue, don’t forget Papaya Pink!
Chuck, I originally watched The Phantom Empire on our local PBS station (something called “Matinee at the Bijou”) it blew my mind! Pretty ambitious for a low-budget cowboy serial. I’ve never seen the old Superman serials.
Lou and Sue, yes, the red and blue ones were around for many years until the Mark IIIs added the yellow and green.
Chuck, I feel like I remember the sound of the Monorail’s horn more than I remember the Monorail itself, if that makes any sense. And as I’ve related before, my family NEVER rode the Monorail when I was a kid, which also makes no sense. It was right there!
Lou and Sue, welcome to the club!
Tokyo!, "contraption" is a good word for that thing. Major must be looking at something else because no matter what angle I view it from, I can't make it look like an awning of any sort.
Just to clarify: The thing I'm looking at, and I presume TM! too, is that Seussian-looking thing, in silhouette, on the left edge of the barrier that separates the Motorboats from the Sub Lagoon. Looks like it has a bunch of pipes and gauges and valves going every-which-direction. It looks a little bit like an everglades airboat, but I'm sure it isn't.
Major, and Nanook, thanks! I thought it was Mark II, but not sure. Some day I will have to write it all down.
I thought for a while that the Cadillac taillights disappeared after Mark 1, glad to see I was wrong, and that Mark II must be responsible for my memory of that feature.
JB and Tokyo, I see that thing under the bridge, but I have no idea what that might be. It resembles a boiler or water heater, but why would that be visible? Under extreme zoom, it might be a piling in the water with signs attached. I will go look at Daveland for photos from the other side.
Major, the motorboat lagoon is part of the Dark Water, and yes, if Dark and Clear water touch, it sets off an Anti-Matter explosion. That little wall under the bridge was very important to prevent that happening.
The only monorail color I remember is the green one, just like two of our cars of that era.
JG
Definitely something under there...
But it's always just out-of-sight in the shadows.
I'm thinking it is something to do with pumping the Dark water, but can't be sure. One or two of these sub pics are a little clearer than today's photos, but there were no views of that location from the Motorboats.
Here's Daveland:
https://davelandweb.com/sub/images/50s/KTPBKYC_10_59_11B.jpg
https://davelandweb.com/sub/images/KTPBKYC_6_60_N33B.jpg
https://davelandweb.com/sub/images/60s/CCS_7_60_N02HW.jpg
https://davelandweb.com/tomorrowland/images/8_60_N20.jpg
https://davelandweb.com/sub/images/60s/KTPBKYC_1_61_N30B.jpg
https://davelandweb.com/sub/images/60s/PBTRStars_1_62_N34B.jpg
https://davelandweb.com/sub/images/60s/K2TPBKYC_8_62_N26B.jpg
JG
I just had another thought, which is amazing for me. Two thoughts in one day, almost a record.
The Matterhorn uses Clear water in the waterfalls and the Alpine Garden streams.
The Matterhorn was built with the Submarine Lagoon.
Maybe the shadowy gadget is related to pumping Clear Water to or from the Lagoon to the Matterhorn?
JG
Reminds me of one of my favorite bits of Victorian poetry:
https://www.bartleby.com/337/1635.html
Bob Gurr LOVED Cadillacs …. The Mark I and Mark II Monorails used some Cadillac design elements and the 1967 Disneyland PeopleMover used the front end cutaway Angels from a 1965 Cadillac to create its silhouette.
Major-
"...since you live in a city with an operating Monorail, every day is the future for you!" Have you seen the design of the Seattle Monorails-? It's not what one would describe as 'future' or 'futuristic'-!
@ JG; JB & TM!-
Based on the article in The "E" Ticket, that "contraption" is most-likely an isolation valve, stopping the dark water flow from leaving the Motor Boat Cruise 'lake', before it enters an underground pipe heading towards the Hub and Fantasyland - resurfacing in the moat surrounding the Sleeping Beauty Castle.
I really liked Logan's Run!
Of course it was filmed very close to me, in Dallas!
@ Melissa-
Lovely. And, undoubtedly the very inspiration for Bob Gurr when designing the Monorail trains.
JB, yes, I think the Major was looking over by the Motor Boat Cruise sign, on the far left of the photo.
JG, thanks for those additional views. Funny, I've never noticed anything over there before. But now it looks like it wasn't just there temporarily. And yes, it does look a little Seussian!
Nanook, thanks for that information. I do have that issue of "E" Ticket Magazine, but read it many years ago. I'll have to get it out again and reread that article!
Thanks guys, for researching the 'contraption'. So, it looks like it's some sort of pump and/or valve that has something to do with the Matterhorn and/or the Moat. The explanation isn't exactly crystal clear, but it's enough to satisfy my curiosity. I'll be able to get by at least one more day without going to the "funny farm".
Post a Comment