Photos From Walt Disney's Barn

In Friday's episode of The Mouse Castle Lounge, I paid a visit to Walt's Barn in Griffith Park, just up the road from the Los Angeles Zoo. It was a wonderful trip back in time to a world of steam locomotives and, oh yeah, the exact same barn that stood in the backyard of Walt Disney's Holmby Hills home in the 1950s. It was a wonderful place to enjoy the holiday season surrounded by Disney magic with a little bit of pixie dust thrown in for good measure. Here are some more pics from my visit:

Walt's Barn in Griffith Park is operated by the Carolwood Foundation,
which dedicates itself to preserving Walt Disney's railroad legacy.
Hey, the guy liked trains.

The barn opens to the public once a month on the third Sunday of each month.
Inside, you'll find an impressive collection of train memorabilia like this gondola car
from Walt's own 1/8 scale Carolwood Pacific Railroad. Sometimes you'll even run
into a Disney celebrity like Margaret Kerry, the original live-action model
for Tinker Bell in Disney's Peter Pan.

It seems Margaret has also bumped into a celebrity.

Walt's Barn isn't just about trains. The Carolwood Foundation
is restoring some of the few remaining miniature buildings that
stood on the banks of Disneyland's Storybook Land
Canal Boats in 1959.

The Los Angeles Live Steamers operate a steam plant that demonstrates the
abilities of steam powered engines. Ask them to crush an aluminum can for you.
I dare you.

The Retlaw 1 Combine once ran the rails on the Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad.
Today, it's on display right next to Walt's Barn.

Both the exterior and interior of the combine have been fully restored.

Why is it called a combine? Because it's a combination passenger car
and baggage car.

The last time I saw the Retlaw 1 combine was a week ago. The first time was
when my dad shot this footage at Disneyland in 1964. I was two years old.
Jump to the 5:20 mark to see the combine in action.

Hey, look who else Margaret ran into! Sam Gennawey,
author of Universal vs. Disney and a previous guest in
The Mouse Castle Lounge.

Happy Holidays from Walt's Barn!