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Gurley Story (continued)

The tender was gone over with a fine-tooth comb, and deteriorated areas were removed and rebuilt with new material. A new rear frame was built by Boschan; the original having suffered too much damage over the years to make repairs feasible.


The left cylinder of the Gurley. The square portion on top contains a valve that allows
steam into either end of the round cylinder below. Photo courtesy Matt Walker.

Once repairs were made, parts like the tender were shipped back to Disneyland for painting by Disney craftsmen, and once properly painted, the parts were shipped back to Boschan and installed.

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The Fred Gurley nearing completion in Paul Boschan's shop. Photo courtesy Matt Walker.

Following the pattern set initially by the E.P. Ripley's first major rebuilding in 1997, and continued with the C.K. Holliday, the Gurley was to be repainted in a style reminiscent of her days in Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad garb. The boiler jacket received the same DuPont Imron dark metallic midnight blue hue that was recently applied to the C.K. Holliday in order to more closely approximate the original coloring.  The brass dome bodies returned, as did her tender scrollwork--this time proclaiming only "Disneyland Railroad."


The rebuilt tender tank sporting her new (old) filigree and lettering.
Photo courtesy Matt Walker.

The return to the retro-style paint scheme has not been without its detractors, who believe that the "ribbon" style lettering on the tender does not look as authentic as the previous scheme. Still, it's refreshing to see that the Park respects its own past, and will resurrect its history from time to time.


The newly--if incorrectly--repainted brass sand dome sits atop
the freshly-painted boiler jacket. Photo courtesy Matt Walker.

Unfortunately, in an error attributed to miscommunication, the painters applied the incorrect striping and lettering to the two domes.


Matt Walker artfully captured the reflective luster of the polished brass in
this view. Note the care applied in the detail of the number's drop shadow.

Allegedly, over the phone, Imagineer Kim Irvine--the talented art director on the project known for her efforts to bring back fondly-remembered elements from the Park's past, such as the "retro" paint job on the engine--told the painters to stripe and letter the steam and sand domes "as they used to be." The painters took that to mean that they should apply the most-recent striping and lettering patterns, instead of the style she wore in 1958. So, the sand and steam dome wear the post-SF&D RR styles, while the rest of the engine sports the 1958 look! 

In an interesting turn, Disney replaced the original builder's plates--which were themselves knock-offs--with newly created reproductions. But where did these new reproductions come from?

In February 2007, I had the idea to have a set of reproduction Gurley builder's plates made for myself. I had always liked the style of the little Baldwin's 1894-style plates, and thought it would be a neat looking piece to hang on the wall of my train room. I also thought others might interested. So, working off a tip from a friend, I contacted Wayne James, from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and commissioned him to reproduce the plate.

Wayne is a true craftsman who is frequently called upon by railroad museums throughout the country to reproduce missing or damaged builder's plates for real stream engines. I worked closely with Wayne to assure the accuracy of the plates. Folks who wanted their own copies could contact him directly for their own plates, which Wayne would then cast either in brass, or less-expensive aluminum.

Over the course of several weeks, Wayne created a detailed pattern, relying on photos of the Gurley plate supplied by Matt Walker and others, and using the known dimensions of the real thing obtained from the roundhouse and Baldwin records. Some of the numbers had to be hand-cut by Wayne to assure accuracy. Eventually, Wayne did a test casting of the plate, in aluminum, and sent it to me for approval. It was stunning; matching the plates the Gurley wore down to the last detail. After I approved the pattern, Wayne began casting plates for those who purchased them from him over the next several months.


This is the pattern--still in the making--used to create the Fred Gurley's new
builder's plates. Photo courtesy Wayne James.

Among those customers was Paul Boschan. He purchased two plates in brass from Wayne, and showed them to the Disney roundhouse personnel. Disney agreed that the new plates should be used, and the plates the engine wore since 1958 are now stored safely in the roundhouse display case. While certainly not expected, those who purchased their own copies of the plate can now proudly say their plates were created from the exact same pattern as the ones that the engine now wears!


The Fred Gurley's new builder's plate, on the right. The numbers and letters have been polished to a mirror finish, and the background will soon be painted black. See the box below for an explanation of the "XO" plate on the left. Photo courtesy Wayne James.

Two Builder's Plates?

Paul Boschan studied history in school, and likes to apply that knowledge to his occupation when he can. He also wanted to add a little "personal touch" to the Fred Gurley, much like the little class lamps he installed on the Ward Kimball (which have since been removed by Disney).

Back in the days of steam power on American railroads, sometimes a locomotive's boiler would need to be replaced. The railroad would request the manufacturer to build a new boiler, which would then be installed on the engine. To indicate that the new boiler was not original equipment, sometimes the manufacturer would install what were called "extra order" plates, with a serial number and the year of the new part's construction. These were known as "XO" plates.

Since Boschan built a new boiler for the Fred Gurley, he figured it would be historically appropriate for the engine to bear "XO" plates from Boschan Boiler & Restorations, Inc. He contacted Wayne James and commissioned a Boschan "XO" plate. Boschan's XO plate features the date of the boiler's construction, and the Boschan job number, 230. The plates, along with reproduction Baldwin builder's plates (also by James) were affixed to the boiler while in the roundhouse.

Sadly, going the way of the Ward Kimball's class lamps, the XO plates were removed by Disney before the engine entered service. The photos in this article are the only images available showing the plates installed on the boiler.

Most of the work took place in Boschan's Carson facility. Disney wished Boschan to complete his re-assembly of the engine at the Disneyland roundhouse, but Paul insisted that he test every single system on the locomotive before delivering it to Disney.


The plumbing in the cab is coming along nicely. The brass vertical cylinder on the left is the hydrostatic lubricator, which supplies oil to the moving parts of the air compressor. The vertical pipe and valves just left of center is the injector, which the fireman uses to force water into the boiler. The blank black circular plate will hold the steam and air brake gauges. The three valves directly behind the plate route steam to the various locomotive accessories, and the angled steel bar in front of the plate is the throttle lever. The brass lever just below the throttle is the brake lever. Photo courtesy Matt Walker.


The engine is now ready to leave Boschan's shop and begin her trek to Disneyland.


The engine's return to Disneyland and more, will be covered in the next installment of this series.

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Steve DeGaetano is author of Welcome Aboard the Disneyland Railroad! Steve’s latest book, the history of Disneyland’s newest locomotive, the Ward Kimball, is now available. You can read more about From Plantation to Theme Park, the Story of Disneyland Railroad Locomotive No. 5, the Ward Kimball, and place an order for it, by using this link.

Steve DeGaetano may be e-mailed at [email protected] - Please keep in mind he may not be able to respond to each note personally.

© 2008 Steve DeGaetano


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