Western River Railroad

The Western River Railroad is one of two rail attractions at Tokyo Disney Resort, the other being the DisneySea Electric Railway at Tokyo DisneySea. It differs from other Disney railroad attractions in that it does not circle the whole park. Additionally, this railroad has a track gauge is 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow gauge as compared with other Disney railroad track gauges of 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge.

At the time that the Western River Railroad was opened, Japanese rail regulations required that any railway line with more than one stop be subject to the same rules as any other conventional rail line, which included running on a timetable and collecting fares; this law was later abolished on April 1, 1987. As such, there is only one stop on the Western River Railroad in order to avoid having to charge fares and to allow the use of passenger cars that are not fully enclosed, which would not be allowed otherwise.[2]

The railroad was sponsored by Takara Tomy.[3][4]

Going clockwise around the loop, the train departs Adventureland Station, and passes through a Western-themed train station (though the train does not stop here).[5] After that, the train goes through a forest where passengers are able to see animatronic displays of wild animals and Native Americans.[5] Continuing down the line, the train crosses over a long trestle through the Critter Country section and the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad attraction in the Westernland section.[5] Finally, it enters through a deep tunnel containing the Primeval World Diorama (featuring animatronic dinosaurs) and exits back to the Adventureland Station.[5]

Western River Railroad
Locomotive shed (not open to public) Ferry transfer (via short walk inside park) Stillwater Junction Station (display only) Adventureland Bus and monorail transfers (via short walks outside park)

The Western River Railroad has four 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow gauge 2-4-0 steam locomotives built by Kyosan Kogyo Co., which were named after famous rivers located primarily in the Western United States (hence the name of the railroad).[6] All four locomotives were designed to resemble the Denver & Rio Grande Montezuma locomotive, which was built by Baldwin Locomotive Works.[7]

The railroad also has a fleet of twelve passenger cars, with three coaches assigned to each locomotive The passenger cars are based on the Narragansett-style excursion cars used on the Disneyland Railroad and Walt Disney World Railroad, with guests facing forward. Each coach has a small door in each row of seats that swings inward as a safety precaution.[2]

Western River Railroad rolling stock details[6]

Number	Name	Namesake	Image	Wheel arrangement	Date built	Builder	Serial number	Passenger cars	Date entered service	Notes
53	Colorado	Colorado River		2-4-0 (Porter)	1982	Kyosan Kogyo Co.	10096	Three reddish brown passenger cars (100 series)	April 15, 1983	The locomotive's number, 53, refers to the year 1953 when Walt Disney presented the plans for the original Disneyland. The livery is reddish brown. It has small diamond stack smoke stack. There is an elk on each side of the headlamp.[8]
28	Missouri	Missouri River		2-4-0 (Porter)	1982	Kyosan Kogyo Co.	10095	Three green passenger cars (200 series)	April 15, 1983	The locomotive's number, 28, refers to the year 1928, when the Disney animated short Steamboat Willie was released, the first cartoon with synchronized sound. The livery is green. It has a small diamond stack smoke stack. There are paintings of the Great Falls found by Lewis and Clark on the sides of the headlamp.[9]
25	Rio Grande	Rio Grande		2-4-0 (Porter)	1982	Kyosan Kogyo Co.	10094	Three red passenger cars (300 series)	April 15, 1983	The locomotive's number, 25, refers to the year 1925, when Walt Disney married his wife, Lillian Disney. The livery is red. It has a small diamond stack smoke stack, and a 2-4-0 wheel configuration. There is a grizzly bear on each side of the headlamp.[10]
20	Mississippi	Mississippi River		2-4-0 (Porter)	1991	Kyosan Kogyo Co.	10100	Three red/blue passenger cars (400 series)	October 8, 1991	The locomotive's number, 20, refers to the year 1920 when Walt Disney, along with his friend Ub Iwerks, founded his first company, Iwerks-Disney Commercial Artists. Some of the design elements on this locomotive are slightly different than those on the other three locomotives. The livery is a red cab with a blue boiler jacket. It has a straight cap smoke stack. There are bison on the sides of the headlamp.[11]

• Rail transport in Walt Disney Parks and Resorts

• Amendola, Dana (2015), All Aboard: The Wonderful World of Disney Trains (1st ed.), Disney Editions, ISBN 978-1-4231-1714-8
• Broggie, Michael (2014), Walt Disney's Railroad Story: The Small-Scale Fascination That Led to a Full-Scale Kingdom (4th ed.), The Donning Company Publishers, ISBN 978-1-57864-914-3

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Western River Railroad.

• Official website