Walt Disney’s Trains

This family-friendly exhibition, organized with San Francisco’s Walt Disney Family Museum, explores the influence that railroad trains had on Walt Disney‘s life and work. It also tells the story of how his railroading legacy lives on to this day in Disney films and theme parks around the world. The exhibit includes a wide variety of artifacts, firsthand accounts, archival videos, images of Walt and his trains, and one-of-a kind items, including Walt Disney’s own Carolwood gondola railroad car, an illuminated model of Disneyland’s Main Street U.S.A, and a custom model train created in partnership with the Napa Valley Wine Train by the Napa Valley Model Railroad Historical Society. 

We learn how Walt’s passion for trains inspired Disney studio short cartoons and feature films, and influenced his personal life at home. The exhibition reflects Walt’s railroad journey from his early years to the creation of Disneyland and beyond, and reminds us that, over a century later, Walt’s railroading influence remains a vibrant and relevant force.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.