This locomotive has been converted from an LGB 21181 to a Disneyland Railroad 2-6-0. Many of the original parts have been replaced or removed including the cow catcher, smoke stack, whistle, etc. Additional parts were added for cosmetic appearance including front deck handrails, large tensions wheel & brake wheel, antlers, decorative cylindrical parts, etc. Wood load was permanently removed as is the case with prototypical Disney engines. Except for the number 19, all graphics were removed and replaced including, D&RG logo on the tender & the #19 on the cab. These were replaced by the Disneyland Railroad name and the locomotive was named after Bobby Driscoll who was Walt Disney’s favorite male child actor. Bobby starred in films like Treasure Island, Peter Pan, Song Of The South, So Dear To My Heart and The Window which was his most famous film. He also was the lead child on the The Mouseketeers. We named this locomotive after Bobby due to his tragic young death & in honor of his work and extremely close association with Walt Disney. The drive, as mentioned in previous posts is no longer an LGB. It has been replaced by a custom engineered drive from Barry’s Big Trains in Phoenix, AZ. Dave Goodson from Washington rebuilt the wiring and Stan Ceadarleaf provided the decals. The tender was redone by Bob KleinMann in Hamburg, NY. Caboose Hobbies in Denver, CO. helped obtain the original locomotive. The fully engineered and rebuilt locomotive is estimated in value at over $3000,00 but it actually was a labor of love, donated by all of the people involved and the kids of our local community who earned a large portion of the funding for the project. There are too many folks involved to mention everyone here but our sincere Thanks goes out to everyone, young and old that helped in this 3 1/2 year project. Yes, we could have purchased an original Disneyland Railroad locomotive on Ebay, however we would not have the combination of our own design to match the train, a bullet proof drive that will not be damaged under constant strain or a locomotive dedicated to one of the most important and forgotten child stars ever seen on television and in the movies. In the end we have a unique locomotive and train that children can run on our displays for as long as I will be alive to see it. It may not be an original but in our opinion, it’s better. Enjoy the photos of before and after! In honor of Bobby Driscoll and Walt Disney!
Check out our YouTube video of this locomotive before completion, in operation!
Ken c/o Imagination Station Kids On Track Model Railroad And Train Safety Program