Friday, September 09, 2011

Frontierland, January 1960

Continuing yesterday's Frontierland fest, here are three more from 1960... these are from January rather than June, though.


We'll start with this view of the Mark Twain. Nothing too unusual about that... until you notice the activity to our left. Cascade Peak is in the early stages of construction! Apparently lots of wood (and relatively little steel) was used in the framing of this structure, which partially explains why it had rotted out so much that it was torn down in 1998. Neglect explains the rest.


Here's a nice (blurry, but nice) twilight view of the wonderful C.K. Holliday E.P. Ripley as it chugs in to Frontierland station. (Somehow I originally wrote "C.K. Holliday", though I should know better... the picture file is named "Jan_1960_Ripley"!)


The little mining town of Rainbow Ridge had closed for the Nature's Wonderland expansion in October, 1959. It had a way to go, as you can see by the haphazard train rails on the ground, and the unfinished sign above the Last Chance Saloon.

9 comments:

Chiana_Chat said...

Cool! I'll check out the glimpses of construction laters, mmm off to catch the E.P. Ripley...

Major Pepperidge said...

Chiana, does this mean that you will be going to the park today ("Dapper Day")?

Chiana_Chat said...

Aw I wish it did. I'd get Dapper too. No for now I can only go thru' the window into imagination your pics provide.

Nancy said...

very cool...never saw any images of construction on the Peak before

i didnt know that there was a time when you got right onto the platform to wait for the train. nowadays you are behind the barriers and not on the platform till the arrivals have departed

as for Rainbow Ridge....*sigh*.... never too much of this sleepy little town :-D

wonderful set again today!

Connie Moreno said...

Gee, these are so cool! If you crop out the construction in the first photo, I would swear this was a shot taken in the 1890's (give or take a few years)

And the Frontierland station! WOW! I sure don't remember being able to walk out on to that platform but pictures don't lie, do they? LOL

Anonymous said...

The picture of the engine is the Ripley, not the Holliday...in case you care to change the description.

Major Pepperidge said...

Anon, I have no idea how I managed to make that mistake! I mean, besides the totally different stack, the words "E.P. RIpley" are clearly legible! I'll change it...

Orange Co Native said...

Major,

I agree. Disney should have used steel to build Cascade Mountain.

However there are plenty of wood frame houses built before Disneyland even existed. Not all have stucco either.

Yes I know. Cascade Mountain had lots of water on it everyday. Still. There are plenty of houses in the snow and rain much of the year.

Part of me thinks they just wanted to tear it down. Why? Who knows. Maybe the electric bill was getting too high. Cutbacks.

JG said...

The mine train load queue was on the side of the boardwalk away from the Rainbow Ridge buildings, they were always tantalizingly out of reach across the track, like the station at New Orleans Square. I recently found a picture of my Dad and I on the boardwalk with the train behind.

Now it's almost completely out of reach and difficult even to photograph, since you are down in a hole below the track where the old load platform used to be.

The micro scale of the little town is more noticeable here than other places in the park. These miners must be related to the Seven Dwarves.

The current color scheme is much more drab and weathered, matching the theming of Big Thunder, but the old amusing sound tracks still run, some of the time. Music from the dance hall, typewriter from the newspaper, laughter and gunfire from the saloon, etc.

Still touches memories. Thank you Major.

JG