Walt Disney's lifelong passion for railroads started while he was a boy growing up in Missouri.
He and his older brother Roy would often wait for the trains that roared through their home-
town of Marceline. Often, their uncle, Mike Martin, would be at the throttle of the mighty steam
engine and would wave to the boys as he passed. During visits to the family farm, Mike would
entertain the boys with exciting stories of life on the rails, and legendary figures such as Casey
Jones and Buffalo Bill.
Many years later, Walt rekindled his love of trains. In the 1940's, he frequently visited the
backyard railroads of two of his key animators, Ward Kimball and Ollie Johnston. He decided
to construct a home with enough land to allow him to build his own backyard railroad. It was
located in the Holmby Hills area of Los Angeles on Carolwood Drive, and he called his railroad
the Carolwood Pacific.
He decided that the size of his steam engine would be one-eighth of a full-scale locomotive. He
based his engine on the famous Central Pacific 173, which was the first steam engine built in
California. Walt, Roger Broggie and the machinists at the Disney Studios machine shop built
the large-scale miniature. Its first run at Carolwood was in May 1950, and he named it "Lilly
Belle" in honor of his beloved wife, Lillian.
Walt's friends and family enjoyed the Carolwood Pacific for over three years. Walt even started
work on a second engine to handle the many guests that came to Carolwood. Over time, how-
ever, the dangers of running a railroad at his home became troublesome for him. He shut down
the Carolwood Pacific and set his sights on a new goal: a wondrous park where families could
play together. His first description of this magical place was, "I just want it to look like nothing
else in the world... and it should be surrounded by a train." This vision would become the place
we all know as Disneyland.
In 1993, Michael Broggie, son of Roger and author of "Walt Disney's Railroad Story", founded
the Carolwood Pacific Historical Society. We are dedicated to preserving and promoting Walt
Disney's rich railroad legacy. Among our activities are the care of Walt's Carolwood barn (now
located in Griffith Park), the restoration of Walt Disney World's Fort Wilderness railroad, and
products such as this recreation of Walt's Lilly Belle. You may learn more about us at www.
carolwood.com. We hope that you will consider joining our Society.
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Instruction Manual - Lilly Belle 1:20.3 Scale, Live Steam
The Carolwood Pacific Railroad - A Brief History
