Disneyland Railroad Lilly Belle Custom Built Coach Completion

[Imagination Station Kids]

HI folks,
Imagination Station Kids On Track has completed a 5 year project to rebuild a Disney coach to resemble Walt Disney''s Lilly Bell passenger car.
This car has been revised somewhat and will be run by kids and families on our Disneyland train.
Now, before all the rivet counters come to life, let me say this;
This car was put together by 6 adults and 9 kids as a project to compliment the custom built Disneyland Railroad LGB 2-6-0 (Bobby Driscoll) with Barry''s Big Trains custom drive in it, which is proudly displayed in another post on this site. So the car isn't exact.
The locomotive does not resemble an actual Disney engine but takes on several features displayed on various Disneyland Railroad locomotives.
The Lilly Bell passenger car is very close to correct except for the green handrails, red deck, windows at the end of the car and the short LGB body length.
We wanted a train with Walt''s car at the end but LGB just didn't manufacturer their Lilly Belle with hardly any correct features.
Tremendous amounts of donated time and finances were applied by volunteers and the results were stunning.
We were going to paint the handrails green as seen in the photos of the prototype but the car looked so gorgeous with gold handrails that the decision was made to leave it that way.
We added working lanterns, imitation curtains, metal painted wheels and trucks and many other features. We believe that this car will make a very unique and special addition to our 10 car Disneyland train which will be pulled by the Bobby Driscoll locomotive (as pictured) or possibly the Lilly Belle 4-4-0 (as pictured) or our LGB Fred Gurley.
We just thought you guys might enjoy the handiwork and appearance of this passenger car and share it with your kids and family.
All the best from everyone at;
Imagination Station Kids On Track Model Railroad And Train Safety Program. TM (E.Helena, Montana, USA)
A child's gateway to imagination!


(Prototype photos are the property of their prospective owners)



Construction of this car & usage of the Disneyland Railroad/Lilley Belle names were allowed solely by written permission, to us, from Disney and are not to be used without their authorization in any way.
All rights reserved.

 

[stockers]

Excellent work. I am glad to hear that Disney played ball and gave you their permission - always a good idea to get permission if you are fund raising as it is no longer a private model and becomes a commercial operation.

 

[Imagination Station Kids]

Yea,
It wasn't real hard to get them to agree, as long as you're honest and keep your word.
They were very nice about it, however, they said that we were the only requesting party that had ever been given permission because of how important and special the Disneyland Ralroad and Lilley Belle names are.
We just did this project so kids can enjoy, in person, Walt''s favorite railroading hobby.
We Don't do anything commercially, except set up layouts to allow disadvantaged and really all children of all ages (and us older kids at heart) across the west coast to have fun running trains that other modelers would never allow access to. We quite simply have done this non profit for 28 plus years and in the process we are trying to promote the hobby of model railroading to our upcoming generations to keep it alive in an electronic media world. That in itself is the biggest battle of all.
It really provides lot of unique fun for everyone involved!
Thanks to Disney, kids of all ages, who may not ever get the chance to go to Disneyland can now still have a small part of it and actually become an imaginary locomotive engineer on this Disneyland Railroad train and learn about the history of Walt''s love for trains, in the process.
Thanks to all the folks who work at Disneyland and on the Disneland Railroad for giving us a special place to become a child again and for our children to experience the magic first hand!
Ken
Imagination Station Kids On Track

 

[Xav204]

very very nice

 

[Imagination Station Kids]

Thanks, a lot of folks seem to enjoy it!
We sure do!
Saw your photos, nice stuff! I have a few Playmobile items also. Mostly scenic items, loads and such.
Appreciate your comment, I'll pass it along.
Ken

 

[Xav204]

It's the first thing I do each time I have the chance to go to DisneyLand Paris : to take the train
You made wonderful job

 

[Imagination Station Kids]

Thanks! I would love to see Disneyland Railroad Paris someday but unfortunately that is probably not in the cards. I don't know how different from the Disneyland parks the Paris location is but one thing I am sure of is that the train is the first thing I would ride also. It's kinda where I got my railroading start, on board the Disneyland Railroad as a child.
Glad you liked the car and thanks again for a great reply!
Ken-ISKOT

 

[Capt. Jack]

Wow. Turned out really great.

 

[Imagination Station Kids]

Thanks! Glad you like it. KJ

 

[Riograndad]

Now that I like

 

[Imagination Station Kids]

Many thanks! KJ

 

[dunnyrail]

It's the first thing I do each time I have the chance to go to DisneyLand Paris : to take the train
You made wonderful job

Having spent many hours in line (queues to us Brits) at Disney I would now just spend all day Riding and Photing the Trains at whichever Disney Theme Park I visit next.

 

[Imagination Station Kids]

I have to agree since the Disneyland Railroad is strictly responsible for my fascination in trains and I primarily ride the train myself when attending the park. It's worth the wait in line, every time.
Appreciate the compliment and wish you the best! KJ

 

[stockers]

German disneyland! ?

I'll take this anyday.

 

[Imagination Station Kids]

Nice photos!!!
Wondering where it's located though?
Fancy bridge as some of the kids viewing have stated!
I assume in Germany. Some of our family is from Germany so there is some curiosity here.
Thanks for posting! KJ

 

[stockers]

Near to Dresden, Germany.

 

[Imagination Station Kids]

Very nice! Showed the photos to the family and they weren't even aware of a train ride at that location but they asked me to thank you for showing us that.
If you have any side shots of the train, that'd be nice too. We'll save them if that's ok with you.
All the best! Ken

 

[stockers]

Have a look at our trip report to the area last year.
https://www.gscalecentral.net/threads/saxony-revisited-or-four-go-mad-in-saxony.309157/

 

[Imagination Station Kids]

I took a quick look at the post. It's quite fascinating and I will take some time this evening to study it in more detail.
I appreciate you showing it to me and I love the photos.
Thanks! Ken

 

[stockers]

No problem. Also have look here - this a locally produced tourist brouchure.
https://www.gscalecentral.net/threads/german-narrow-gauge-booklet-brochure-free.309336/