From Plantation to Theme Park
For Disneyland's 50th anniversary, the company had a great idea: add a fifth train to the Disneyland Railroad and name it after Ward Kimball, a Disney Legend and, like Walt himself, a railfan. This is the story of how a locomotive built in 1902 became part of the Happiest Place on Earth.
The story begins not in a theme park but at a Louisiana plantation where a small locomotive called the Maud L. was first put to use over a century ago hauling cane sugar through the hot, humid fields. As the Maud L. ran down over the years, she was destined for scrap—but then her "life" took a change for the magical.
Disneyland Railroad expert Steve DeGaetano tells the tale of how the Maud L. became the Ward Kimball:
- The early years of the engine destined for Disney, including its quiet decades at a theme park in Ohio
- Disney's acquisition and rebuilding of the Maud L., and its rebranding into the Ward Kimball
- The inaugural run of the Kimball at Disneyland's 50th anniversary celebration
- A fascinating look at how Disney tests, operates, and maintains its steam trains
- Plus, an account of Walt Disney and Ward Kimball's lifelong friendship, a bond forged from animation, steam trains, and theme parks
The whistle blows. A puff of steam rises over Main Street Station. The Kimball has come. All aboard!
