| Station Story: Part Two
(continued)
The water tower is only one vital service structure situated in the Frontierland
Station complex. The other is the blowdown vent, also known in steam days as a
"steam funnel." As part of the safe operation of a steam locomotive, scale,
sediment and other detritus accumulates in the boiler water, as gallon after
gallon is converted to steam and used, leaving the sediment behind, which tends
to gather near the bottom of the firebox. That sediment needs to frequently be
purged from the boiler system, in a dramatic procedure known as a "blow down.
Here is a blowdown in progress at the roundhouse:
Operating Engineer Ron Mason blows down the boiler of the C.K.
Holliday. The
"steam" you see is actually water that is hotter than the
boiling point. When
it hits the atmosphere, it explodes instantly into steam. This procedure
needs to be done several times a day out on the line.
The blowdown procedure must be done several times a day by each engine, but
it was necessary to figure out some way to direct the explosive blast of steam
and water safely away from the train and any bystanders. At Frontierland
Station, the blowdown steam is directed into an innocuous above ground "storm
drain" near the water tower. From there, it is directed underground, and is
allowed to vent behind the freight house.
The Disneyland Railroad's "steam funnel" When an engine
abruptly blows down, this is where everything is vented.
At the southern end of the station, we find one last bit of real railroad
history. Here, we can find a railroad signal called an "order board." In the
days before direct radio communication with a train crew, the station agent
would receive orders from the dispatcher via telegraph. If those orders changed,
and approaching train crews needed to be alerted, the station agent could change
the order board manually, lowering one of the semaphore blades, essentially
telling the engineer to slow down or stop in order to pick up the new orders,
which were written on thin paper called "flimsies."
This Order Board has been signaling the arrival
of Disneyland
Railroad trains for many decades.
The order board at Frontierland Station, like many of the things on the line,
is quite authentic. William White, chairman of the board of the Delaware &
Hudson Railroad, donated it to Walt Disney.
The signal is not just decorative; in fact, it is quite operational, and the
blade closest to the track (the white signal arm, as seen above) will drop upon
the approach of a train. Parents--this can be used to great effect when
"predicting" the arrival of a train. But you didn't hear that from me! Just for
historic fun, here is a shot of an actual Delaware & Hudson order board in use,
in the 1950s:
This is the Delaware & Hudson Railroad at Tunnel, New York. Note the
signal on
the station's roof to the left--a sister of which still functions at
Disneyland.
So...What is the station's proper name? Frontierland, or New Orleans Square? Certainly the station was first known as Frontierland Station. There is
little debate about that.
However, its proximity to New Orleans Square certainly had it's effect, and in
1996, the station underwent a name change. Henceforth, it would be known (sadly)
as New Orleans Square (and Frontierland) Station.
The sign after the station changed names...but not identity.
New Orleans Square Station? Frontierland Station? You decide.
So, while Frontierland Station may have been moved more than any other
Disneyland depot, it's also worn more names! But regardless of what you choose
to call it, Disneyland's western-most train station exudes a charm all its own,
a charm born of the Eastlake Victorian architecture Walt was fond of, and of the
dozens of details, large and small, that permeate the vicinity.
Attention to detail is very apparent at Frontierland Station. The
authentic baggage cart carries milk cans, casks, luggage--and a crate,
addressed
to "Earl Cox, Mercer, MO." Cox was one of Walt's uncles.
Beside Main Street Station, Frontierland Station is the most evocative. In
fact, maybe it is even more so. We may not be able to enter the station's actual
structure, but we can see what once was, across the tracks.
Frontierland Station, tranquil and serene, before the arrival of the
morning's first train.
The energy that is created at Frontierland is apparent at no other
station--which are merely dropping-off points for passengers. But here, the
trains take their much-needed water, and eject some of their waste in explosive
and exciting fashion. Main Street, Toontown, Tomorrowland stations are all
interesting in their own way. But at Frontierland, railroading takes
place.
The next time you board the train at Frontierland, take some time to
notice the plethora of details that abound here. After all, it's these details
that make Disneyland what it is.
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