The Walt Disney World Railroad has been closed for a LONG time as the construction of the new TRON attraction continues in Magic Kingdom.
Magic Kingdom
Recently, we got some updates on just what’s been going on with the railroad while it has been closed, and now we have some more exciting railroad news!
According to Scott Gustin on Twitter, testing of the Walt Disney World Railroad is set to begin today, December 8th. Gustin notes that this testing is part of the refurbishment of the Railroad overall. Gustin also shares that the train itself won’t reopen to guests until the construction of the new TRON attraction allows.
UPDATE: According to the Orlando Sentinel, Disney officials have confirmed that they plan to start using their railroad trains along “select segments of the new track.”
The Walt Disney Railroad
While it still might be a while before fans can board the railroad again, it is exciting to hear that some testing will take place soon as part of the overall refurbishment.
The Orlando Sentinel has shared that Cast Members have used the extended downtime the railroad has had to do “repairs, maintenance and refurbishment.” Greg Kelsaris, a project manager in Disney World’s facility asset management department shared, “We’re doing a lot of things that either haven’t been done since Walt Disney World opened, or just kind of really revolutionary things.”
Walt Disney Railroad Steam Train “In Residence” at Main Street, U.S.A. Station | 2018
Refurbishments have been done from the rails to the roofs. Kelsaris shared that this is the first time they’ve really taken things apart when it comes to the railroad to see what they can improve, restore, or otherwise refurbish.
Some of the things that are being updated are the wooden railroad ties. These wooden ties are being replaced with composite ties. Kelsaris said that the wooden ties had about a 3-5 year life span, but the composites will have a life span of about 25 years.
Fantasyland Train Station
The path for the Walt Disney World Railroad has also had some minor changes. Kelsaris noted that the path has moved a few inches up and down, or left and right, here and there. Kelsairs said, “What we’re looking to test is basically the elevation of the track to make sure the grading is correct … and kind of do all the adjustments that we’ll need to do before we open to guests again.”
But the entire railroad track isn’t ready for testing yet. The Walter E. Disney locomotive is the one that is set to be used for testing. The engine for this train is the one that actually recently underwent some refurbishment.
Disney shared an update about the railroad not too long ago and noted that the Number 1 Engine on the train has been completely refurbished while the railroad has been down.
The train looks great!
According to the Orlando Sentinel, the next engine that will be up for refurbishment will be the Roy O. Disney locomotive, followed by the Roger E. Broggie.
Kelsaris shared, “That kind of rebuild process hasn’t really been done since park opening…It’s really incredible to return them to their glory and, honestly, improve some things on them.” According to Kelsaris, they really have taken their time to go through all of the parts on the train to see if they can improve or need to replace things.
Though major changes aren’t expected to result from the Railroad testing, it will give them the chance to get some “run time” on these trains. Kelsaris said, “It’s just nice to kind of get the wheels turning.”
Fantasyland Train Station
An official opening date for the railroad has not yet been announced. An opening date also has not been announced for the TRON attraction. We’ll be sure to keep an eye out for more updates and let you know what we find!
Click here to see what rid will CLOSE for a brief refurbishment in Disney World soon!
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That sounds great. I hope that they have also had time to re-imagine and refurbish the sights along the line. It is very aged and tired looking on the back side behind the Rivers of America. A Daniel Boon tribute or a Lewis and Clark expedition could easily be located along the river. Lets hope that the entire route is new and improved for the guests who have been waiting so long for its return to service. Disney, please don’t let us down.
I love those trains. They are really special because they are beautiful and have real history not being fake Theme Park replicas.
We were at the Magic Kingdom on Tuesday and the area in front of Tron is far from ready to allow the reconnecting of the tracks. We got a long wait.
Might be a great time to restart “The Magic Behind Our Steam Train Tour”. The trains are sitting there all day long doing nothing but short test runs. It’s a unique opportunity to offer this tour during regular park times. You could ride the train from Storybook Circus Station to the Roundhouse.
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events-tours/magic-kingdom/magic-behind-steam-trains-tour/
Date check
No stand-by for Space 220…lounge
Trying to make reservations 60 days out and nothing
With all the additional costs and charges. WDW magic is going way down the drain
We were in MK today and heard the train whistles, looked around thinking it was odd since they weren’t running, they must have lit them off and were testing systems on the engines.
Anthony, this post is from December 8.