I'm marking this as a RUMOR because I don't know if there's any truth to it or not. According to Save Disney Steam, the bean counters at Disney Corporate are considering replacing the steam engines of the WDW railroad with cheaper-to-operate substitues. ; All I know about this is what they've put on their web site, which isn't much. ; From a financial standpoint, it would certainly make sense, but we'd all hate to see it happen. ; I mean, who gets excited about the train in Animal Kingdom? This could be true or it could just be a typical fan overreaction. Wasn't one of the engines being rebuilt during our tour in Dec. 2012? Has anyone else heard anything about this?
I don't know what to make of the rumors. ; Lilly Belle has been out for refurbishment since sometime in 2010. ; This is a reoccurring rumor that I've heard a couple of times before and nothing has ever come of it, however given the supposed source of the current round of rumors, I'm somewhat worried this time. ; On the other hand, the Carolwood Pacific Society hasn't said anything about it and one of the Carolwood board members stated on another forum that he had no knowledge of the rumors. ; As strongly as the Society advocates steam preservation, I doubt they would ignore the issue if the trains were in serious jeopardy. ; So again, I really don't know what to make of it. I've heard so many stories this time, that I don't know what to believe, so I won't repeat them here.
WDWRR is still running low sulfur diesel. ; I've taken the Magic Behind Our Steam Trains Tour several times and was told once that the WDWRR was trying a biodiesel mix. ; That tour was around the same time that Disneyland was switching over, so the guide may have had his parks confused. On every tour since then, the guide has made a point to state that the WDWRR has never run biodiesel, so I'm inclined to think that one guide didn't know what he was talking about
I'd keep an eye on it. The guys behind Save Disney Steam seem to have good sources. ; And the Society could be doing things quietly behind the scenes and just not saying anything yet. If that's the case, it isn't a huge problem yet. If things start looking really bad, I would expect a public and very vocal campaign from the Society. That's the point at which I'll worry.
It wasn't an overreaction. Carrolwood posted this to their Facebook this morning. ; This does not look good
Steve Burn's podcast, Beyond The Berm discusses the current rumors here: http://www.beyondtheberm.com/media/btb-episode-33.mp3 Fast forward to 4 minutes into the podcast. ; That's where the discussion starts.
Update: I received the following via email from CPHS this morning: "To: Members of the Carolwood Pacific Historical Society From: Michael Broggie While our Society doesn't engage in rumors, lately there's been a flurry of misinformation and assumptions surrounding the possible conversion to Diesel-hydraulic, or the replacement, of the vintage Baldwin steam engines at Walt Disney World. This message is to inform our members that this is not going to happen, now or for the foreseeable future. Please share this information with anyone who values Walt's legacy of preserving America's steam railroad history. Thank you. Michael Broggie" Thank you to everyone who signed the petition. While it is unclear whether the petition or the Save Disney Steam Facebook page had an impact on the decision, it certainly didn't hurt.
That's great news. Sometimes the internet is a wonderful place, sometimes it's just an electronic edition of the National Perspirer.
