PDA

View Full Version : Lilly Belle On-Line Now!



Pages : [1] 2

smd4
01-12-2006, 12:10 PM
I've just received word from a highly-placed source that the Lilly Belle is ON-LINE right now, hooked to Holiday 5, being pulled by the Ward Kimball! No riders allowed yet. I was also told pictures would be forthcoming tonight on some of the fan sites!

AVP
01-12-2006, 12:38 PM
I've just received word from a highly-placed source that the Lilly Belle is ON-LINE right now, hooked to Holiday 5, being pulled by the Ward Kimball! No riders allowed yet. I was also told pictures would be forthcoming tonight on some of the fan sites!Actually, the Lilly Belle was put online yesterday. I had heard that would be the case, but I was happy to walk into Disneyland and see her yesterday. The car will run for a few weeks "empty," and then will be added to the Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour and used for VIP duty.

AVP

smd4
01-12-2006, 12:44 PM
Thanks, AVP. We need PICTURES!

Opus1guy
01-12-2006, 01:01 PM
Hooray! :)

Mark Mywords
01-12-2006, 01:09 PM
Aw, man. I might have to pony up for the Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour again just to see this...:)

CrazyTrain
01-13-2006, 10:00 AM
Great to hear!! :D

Opus1guy
01-13-2006, 06:41 PM
Went to Club 33 for lunch today with my friend who is the Member, and after spotting the Lilly Belle up at the station, he went to City Hall to inquire about a pass (which is a Club 33 Member benefit) and the hostess went in the back and came back with a Supervisor who apologized but stated what I had already read here...that they weren't allowing passengers just yet and that they were also waiting for new tickets to be printed and delivered.

Anyway, even if we didn't get to ride her...it was sure great seeing her back riding the rails!

Having a cocktail right now at the Grand Californian and typing this. There's some strange setup in the lobby right now. Planters running the entire length of the lobby that are hiding some sort of long bellows of air being pumped by a motor. I'm guessing it has something to do with drying out something left over from the recent fire.

:)

smd4
01-14-2006, 09:40 AM
Lilly Belle pictures can be found here: http://burnsland.com/disneyrailroads/viewtopic.php?p=18566#18566

Wendi
01-14-2006, 10:40 AM
I just saw Bassett's Lilly Belle photos and all I can say is WOW!!! I had no idea they were making this amazing little car!!! Will it be open to the public at some point in the future, or will it only be for VIPs and tours??? Looks absolutely lovely...

smd4
01-14-2006, 12:21 PM
I just saw Bassett's Lilly Belle photos and all I can say is WOW!!! I had no idea they were making this amazing little car!!! Will it be open to the public at some point in the future, or will it only be for VIPs and tours??? Looks absolutely lovely...They haven't really "made" it, they rebuilt it. The car dates from 1955!

You can ride it, apparently, if you sign up for the "Walk in Walt's Footsteps" tour, but mostly, it'll just be available to VIPs.

Opus1guy
01-14-2006, 09:14 PM
The car dates from 1955!

As one of the standard yellow passenger cars...yes. But as the completely redecorated VIP Presidential car, the Lilly Belle...that wasn't introduced until 1976.

Contrary to popular myth, Walt Disney never got to ride in the Presidential car the Lilly Belle. He may have ridden in the standard car the Lilly Belle was made out of at some time, however.

See:

http://www.mouseplanet.com/articles.php?art=mm051019sg

smd4
01-15-2006, 12:29 AM
As one of the standard yellow passenger cars...yes. But as the completely redecorated VIP Presidential car, the Lilly Belle...that wasn't introduced until 1976.

Contrary to popular myth, Walt Disney never got to ride in the Presidential car the Lilly Belle. He may have ridden in the standard car the Lilly Belle was made out of at some time, however.

See:

http://www.mouseplanet.com/articles.php?art=mm051019sgTrue, the "incarnation" of car 106 as "Lilly Belle" didn't exist until 1976, but the fact remains that the car can trace its lineage back to 1955. The original car that the Lilly Belle sprung from was not "standard" but in fact shared many of its design features with the current car.

I often wondered why the car would be offered as part of "Walk in Walt's Footsteps" for the very reason you suggest.

Thanks for linking to the article. I rather like it, myself!

--Steve DeGaetano

RikiGB
01-16-2006, 03:13 PM
I very much enjoyed the article by Steve De Gaetano "Lilly Belle". I was at DLR on Friday 1/13/06 on our date night with my wife and as we walked through the main entrenance I looked up at Main Street Station and saw the Lilly Bell at the end of the train. We went upt the stairs to MST to get a better look. I have only read about her and seen pictures but never in person. I asked the CM if DL was letting passengers on her. His reply was that it is reserved for only special guests and dignitaries. He said that the restoration was complete and they had put her on the train thursday afternoon to break in her new wheels and put some hours on them. It was dusk and it had no lights on inside so we could only see the outside but she was very beautiful and all shiney. It would be so great if DL would put her on display so the general guests could see here inside at least us SPH's. The CM did not know how long she will be on the train. Did anyone else see her too?

Opus1guy
01-16-2006, 03:47 PM
Did anyone else see her too?

Yup. See these two other current threads on this subject:

http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?t=52215

http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?t=52148

:)

Syndrome
02-08-2006, 06:03 PM
My wife and I were in the park this past weekend and were lucky enough to be let on the Lilly Belle. Here are some pics for anyone who's interested. The pics aren't the greatest quality though, I think I got too excited. :)

http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/8936/dsc014786ys.th.jpg

http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/4986/dsc013837wv.th.jpg

http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/6961/dsc013797np.th.jpg

http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/2996/dsc013807qk.th.jpg

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/3060/dsc013812ph.th.jpg

http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/1188/dsc013824zd.th.jpg

Syndrome
02-08-2006, 06:51 PM
Here's new links since my last post has been, let's say...modified. :rolleyes:

http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/5711/dsc014782er.jpg

http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/1690/dsc013836vs.jpg

http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/4464/dsc013790yj.jpg

http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/1919/dsc013804rr.jpg

http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/7421/dsc013817vk.jpg

http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/1795/dsc013823eu.jpg


The conductor told us that Ward Kimball's family was going to come out to dedicate the car soon. He also mentioned that it took about $650k to renovate the car. Pretty cool! :)

PrincessLeia
02-08-2006, 08:40 PM
Aw, man. I might have to pony up for the Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour again just to see this...:)
I took the WIWF tour last week and our guide said that LB would only be for VIPs and 33s, not for the tour. :( Maybe that will change in the future. Be sure to ask when you register for the tour so as not to be disappointed!

Opus1guy
02-08-2006, 10:20 PM
He also mentioned that it took about $650k to renovate the car.

I would be extremely suspicious of that number even being close to the actual cost of refurbishment of the Lilly Belle.

Syndrome
02-09-2006, 07:12 AM
I would be extremely suspicious of that number even being close to the actual cost of refurbishment of the Lilly Belle.

Yea, that's the # that the CM used. I agree, that it does seem kinda high. Although, I had never been inside the Lilly Belle before, so I'm not sure how big a refurb this was.

Syndrome
02-09-2006, 07:13 AM
I took the WIWF tour last week and our guide said that LB would only be for VIPs and 33s, not for the tour. :( Maybe that will change in the future. Be sure to ask when you register for the tour so as not to be disappointed!

Or just ask the conductor nicely. :) He said no at first, but gave in eventually. :D

Tinker Bell2468
02-09-2006, 12:58 PM
What is the big deal about this car?

Opus1guy
02-09-2006, 01:12 PM
What is the big deal about this car?

Same attraction as on real commercial trains for over a hundred years: It's an elegant, richly decorated, comfortable, private railcar. Take a look at the pictures.

http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/1795/dsc013823eu.jpg

Tinker Bell2468
02-09-2006, 01:17 PM
Oh. How long did it close, because about a year ago I was riding the train and the CM working the train at the time asked if w. We said yes and he took just us kids to the back of the train and put us in our own little room. It was covered and had a little door. Does anyone know what this was?

Opus1guy
02-09-2006, 01:47 PM
Oh. How long did it close, because about a year ago I was riding the train and the CM working the train at the time asked if w. We said yes and he took just us kids to the back of the train and put us in our own little room. It was covered and had a little door. Does anyone know what this was?

That was the regular workman's caboose. It's not a private railcar. It's a caboose.

On the train that pulls the Lilly Belle, there is no caboose. The Lilly Belle is the last car, as was common for "Observation Cars" of the period.

hbquikcomjamesl
02-09-2006, 04:28 PM
1. Only freight trains ran with cabooses. Along with the occasional mixed train in which the passenger accommodations were in an expanded "rider" caboose. The purpose of a caboose is to provide the conductor and rear-end brakeman of a train with a place to ride, and do paperwork, and watch over the train for problems. As well as a place to hang the marker lamps that indicated the end of the train (in fact, technically, it's not a train unless it carries some approximation of marker lights) Today, the function of a caboose is usually taken care of with a small telemetry device called a FRED ("Flashing Rear-End Device") or an EOTD ("End-Of-Train Device") that rides on the free coupler of the last car, carries a flashing red light to serve as a marker, and plugs into the brake hose to radio any brake pressure problems to the locomotive.

2. The Lilly Belle is what's known in railroad parlance as a "Business Car." This is a catch-all phrase used to refer to private passenger cars used by railroad management to take inspection tours, and/or entertain VIP guests. Generally, they had one or two staterooms (equivalent to the best sleeping car accommodations available to the public, or sometimes better), a kitchen, and an area that could serve as a dining room, lounge, and office, as needed. Those built after the "heavyweights" gave way to the "Streamliners" were the only streamlined passenger cars ever built with open observation platforms; for safety and for reduced wind resistance, the "observation" areas at the tail end of ordinary streamlined observation cars were always fully enclosed.

3. For the first year or two, the Lilly Belle WAS part of the Walt's Footsteps tour. And before that, for the week or two that the experimental backstage tour ran before its plug was pulled, it was part of that as well (and had its own page, and its own visa stamp, in the "backstage passports" issued for that tour). In both cases, to anybody who understands what a business car is, just riding aboard the Lilly Belle was worth the entire price of the tour (just as, for Club 33 wannabees, the visit to the downstairs lobby, and the opportunity to see the inside of the elevator, are worth the price of the present Walt's Footsteps tour). My understanding was that the car was pulled from the tour because of a broken antique light fixture, that turned out to be almost impossible to replace, and/or excessive wear-and-tear on the antique furniture. It may or may not return to the tour; I guess I'll find out eventually, since I take that tour every July 4th, and have since its inception.