It was one warm fall morning in 1954 that Vilmer picked up a
copy of the LA Times. Before scanning the help-wanted ads, Earl sipped his
coffee and began reading an article about a project that the rest of the world
was also just learning about: Studio mogul Walt Disney was building an
amusement park in the sleepy little town of Anaheim, just south of Los Angeles.
Not much of the article intrigued him; he had been to amusement parks before.
Merry-go-rounds and donkey rides didn’t particularly interest him. Perhaps he
could take Judith there next summer, when it opened. And then, he read
something that was to change his life for the next 17 years: A steam railroad
was planned to operate around Disneyland. Suddenly, Earl heard his
calling—“like the clang of a bell to a retired fire horse,” as was written about
him some years later.
Earl put down the paper and coffee, grabbed his wife and
Judith by the hands, and walked from their apartment down the street to a pawnshop
in Old Town Pasadena. There, he purchased a well-used portable typewriter and
headed home. On September 22 1954, with seven-year-old Judith watching quietly
nearby, Earl composed a letter to Studio machine shop head Roger Broggie that
began unassumingly: “Dear Sir: In a manner of introduction, I am greatly
interested in the Disneyland project and would like to offer my well-rounded
experience in railroading and railroad equipment.” The letter went on to lay
out Vilmer’s vast and varied experiences with railroading in minute detail,
which surely must have appealed to the meticulous Broggie. But the sentence
that probably sealed the job with the “top man,” Walt Disney, stated simply, “I
have always been a firm believer that the steam locomotive would never become
useless – Disneyland will substantiate my belief.”
And so it would.
That letter resulted in a an invitation to lunch with Roger
Broggie, a lunch that ended with Broggie grabbing the tab and offering Vilmer
the job of overseeing the construction of the Santa Fe & Disneyland
Railroad, as well as the horse car tracks that run the length of Main Street.
Vilmer’s determined square jaw, calm military bearing and trademark flattop
haircut seemed to tell Broggie that Earl was a no-nonsense railroader who would
know how to get the job done, and done right. As the May 1958 Disneylander put
it, “Roger Broggie put Earl to work when our Santa Fe & Disneyland trains were
still on the drawing boards. That was the day Earl went back to
railroading…with his know-how affording pleasure to every guest who ever
boarded a train at Disneyland.”
In the new Roundhouse, Earl Vilmer, far left, inspects the
Park’s first two engines as they come together.
Earl worked directly under Broggie, supervising workers as
they surveyed the track right-of ways, laid down the wooden cross ties, and
spiked the rails into place. When not overseeing the track gangs, Earl would
venture into the newly constructed roundhouse to check on progress as teams of
machinists and mechanics constructed Disneyland’s first two steam locomotives,
the C.K. Holliday and the E.P. Ripley.
Work on the railroad progressed rapidly, no doubt in part
because the trains were so close to Disney’s heart, and in part because the man
supervising the construction knew precisely how to build a railroad from
scratch. The railroad was the first attraction completed at the Park, and on
June 18, 1955, Earl stood by proudly with other spectators, snapping photos
with his instamatic, as Walt Disney himself posed for pictures in the cab of
the E.P. Ripley during her first “steam-up.” A month later, the Park and the
Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad opened to the world. Earl was given three
Silver passes so that he and his family could attend the opening day
festivities, but they remained unused. Perhaps Earl was just too tired from the
massive project to attend the gala press event, instead watching it on TV from
the comfort of his restful easy chair.
But Earl didn’t rest for long. The task of building the
railroad had been completed, but there was still much work to do. Roger Broggie
asked that Vilmer stay on at Disneyland, supervising the steam train operation.
The congenial work atmosphere that existed at Disneyland was indeed infectious,
and Vilmer agreed to run the railroad. He supervised a crew of four locomotive
engineers and three “junior” engineers, laying out work shifts and supervising
mechanics that worked on the trains. Vilmer wrote what may even be the Park’s
first “SOP,” or Standard Operating Procedures manual—a two-page list of 22
instructions governing how the railroad would be run. Such edicts included,
“Engine men will be attired in the prescribed uniform while on duty” and
“Signal to proceed from Conductors signify only that train is loaded and ready.
Movement to main line is Engineer’s responsibility.” In 1957, Earl was ready
for his close-up, appearing on the Tuesday, March 26 episode of the Mickey
Mouse Club to explain the workings of one of the Disneyland locomotives.
As the Park grew in popularity, its need for experienced
managers grew as well. In 1959 Admiral Joe Fowler promoted to Earl to General
Superintendent of Construction and Maintenance. These were heady times at the
Park; there were employee bowling, golf and softball leagues, cast member
magazines edited by the likes of Wally Boag, and a sense of camaraderie that
infused every aspect of work there. And always, Walt was present through it
all. In 1965, Walt and Roy Disney hosted a dinner to honor all the Disneyland
employees who had been with the Park since opening. Walt Disney himself
presented Earl with his 10-year service plaque.
Just a year later, the company seemed to change. (Walt
Disney died).
As Judith Parker notes, “My father loved and worshipped Walt
for his vision and meticulousness. He loved to tell a story about a fully-grown
tree in the Park that Walt ordered to be moved 6 inches because it didn't
conform to the vision he had of the area. After Walt died, my father despaired
that the company was being taken over by MBAs from USC.”
With his boss and fellow steam train enthusiast gone, Earl
thought about retiring himself. He had seen a lot in his life; the sooty bowels
of the Kansas City Southern roundhouse; the hot, yellow Persian deserts during
wartime; the steaming jungles of Venezuela. Perhaps now was the time to think
about growing a little vegetable garden in the back yard. Play some golf. Maybe
do a little fishing…
But Roger Broggie had other plans for Vilmer. One day he
called Earl into his office to discuss a new project. Walt had previously
shared his vision of “Disney World” on television—an ambitious development in
central Florida that would encompass many thousands of acres. And, it would
include a version of Disneyland within the property, which would eventually be
known as the “Magic Kingdom.” Like its California counterpart, a railroad would
circle its berm—and someone would have to supervise the project from beginning
to end. How could this veteran railroader with steam in his blood walk away
from such an opportunity? He didn’t, and Earl got to work straight away.
Retirement would just have to wait.
One of Walt Disney's final film appearances promoted the
Florida Project
The first order of business was to procure the steam
locomotives. Because Disneyland had saved money on the Park’s third and fourth
locomotives by purchasing the engines used and refurbishing them instead of
building them from scratch as they had done with the first two, it was
determined to try and find suitable used locomotives for Florida.
In October 1967, Earl took a series of flights that
eventually landed him in Merida, Mexico, on the Yucatan peninsula. There, a
branch of the United Railways of the Yucatan was still operating narrow gauge
steam locomotives, using them to haul hemp, sugar and passengers. They were
known as “rope trains,” and the locomotives were called “Fire Bulls,” in the
local Mayan dialect. Vilmer inspected four locomotives, and reported back to
Roger Broggie in a memo dated October 21, 1968: “The four steam locomotives
inspected at Merida, Mexico are in good condition compared to [Disneyland’s] #3
and #4 when received. One of the engines came 100 miles under its own power on
the day I saw it. The locomotives are standard narrow gauge and are
considerably larger and heavier than the Disneyland engines, however I believe
they can be fitted to our need in Florida after the Disney treatment.”
Negotiations ensued, and eventually the locomotives were
acquired from the Mexican government. Of course, they needed lots of work to
meet the high Disney standard of appearance and reliability, and a suitable
shop facility was required to transform the engines. Vilmer suggested the Tampa
Ship Repair and Dry Dock Co., after negotiating a price for labor and
materials. While the shipyard workers may not have been skilled in steam
locomotive rebuilding, Vilmer could teach them, and the shipyards were a
suitable heavy-industrial facility that could accommodate large machinery such
as steam locomotives.
Over the next three years, work continued on the engines,
and Earl also supervised the construction of four complete sets of cars that
the engines would pull. As part of the project, Earl reprised the role he had
during Disneyland’s construction, and oversaw the building of the main line
around the Magic Kingdom, as well as the horse car track on Main Street. It was
déjà vu all over again!
Engine No. 2, the Lilly Belle, was the first locomotive
completed in May 1971, with two others arriving by July. With three train sets
finished prior to Park opening, Earl assisted Mickey Mouse in driving the
golden spike signifying the railroad’s completion. The Magic Kingdom was
unveiled to the world on October 1, 1971, with three gleaming steam trains rolling
along meticulously groomed tracks. The fourth locomotive would be completed by
December, rounding out the quartet of steam locomotives that continue to puff
proudly around the Park to this day.
For Earl Vilmer, the opening of the Florida Park couldn’t
have been a higher note on which to end. He had been with the Disney Company
for 17 years, built two railroads from the ground up, and supervised the
construction and rebuilding of several locomotives and train sets. Now, it
really was time for him to retire. In a letter to Admiral Joe Fowler dated
December 3, 1971, Earl announced that his retirement would commence on January
1, 1972.
Earl stayed in Florida with his wife of nearly 50 years,
enjoying a quiet retirement, but the spirit of adventure never left him.
Daughter Judith writes, “He wanted to travel, but my mother didn’t…So he
puttered around in his tool shop in the garage and fixed things and invented
solutions to household inconveniences or problems.” The Vilmers would often go
out dining and dancing. “He was a great dancer and I always enjoyed dancing
with him,” Judith recalls.
On March 17, 1981, Earl Vilmer passed away. Earl had seen
much in his 75 years; he had traveled the world, all the while being involved
with steam locomotives and railways in one form or another. His Midwestern
upbringing and love of steam trains no doubt endeared him to Walt Disney—the
two shared much in common on the separate paths of their lives that eventually
intersected in an Anaheim orange grove. Of all things, Walt Disney wanted his
Park to be surrounded by a train. Earl Vilmer, was the person responsible for
making Disney’s dream of the Disneyland Railroad into a reality—an Imagineer
whose story is little-known—but deserves to be told.
No comments:
Post a Comment