PLEASE READ THIS FULL DESCRIPTION.
Access to this geocache is absolutely free of charge, BUT, it is only accessible one day a month, typically the 3rd Sunday of every month from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm when this venue is open to the public. For more information, visit:
https://www.facebook.com/WaltDisneysBarn/
http://www.carolwood.org/
Walt Disney had a very strong affinity for trains, railroads and railroading. As a youth, he worked as a “news butch” on the railroads. As the genius creator of Disneyland, his primary goal was to build a place where kids and their parents could play and enjoy amazing experiences together, and famously, he “wanted it to be surrounded by a train.”
But unknown to many, in the years before Disneyland, Walt indulged in the rather elaborate (and expensive) hobby of “live steam” scale model backyard railroading. He had his studio machine shop build from scratch a fully functional, steam powered, 1/8 scale locomotive and rolling stock. He built a full track layout, including switches, trestles, and tunnels, at his Holmby Hills estate, located on Carolwood Drive. He named it the “Carolwood Pacific Railroad”. And, to serve as the workshop and control center for the railroad, he had his studio carpenters construct an old fashioned barn right there in his back yard. Half a century later, the little railroad was long gone, but the barn remained on the Disney estate, serving as a landscape maintenance shed in its later years
.
Walt at the controls of his beloved Carolwood Pacific Railroad "Lilly Belle" Steam Engine. "Walt's Barn" is seen in the background.
.
The main goal of this geocache is to encourage you to visit Walt Disney’s actual Carolwood Pacific Railroad barn. In 1998-1999, “Walt’s Barn” was disassembled and removed from the Disney estate, and relocated to and re-assembled here at the L.A. Live Steamers Railroad Museum (LALSRM). The barn is operated by the Carolwood Foundation, a non-profit organization whose mission is to preserve the knowledge of, and share with the public, Walt Disney’s railroading legacy. Per the Foundation’s website, “Today, Walt’s Barn is a living showcase… filled with trains of all scales. Many of Walt's personal items and tools are displayed including work benches he built himself.”
.
"Walt's Barn" at its present day location at the Carolwood Foundation portion of LALSRM, open for public viewing and enjoyment.
.
In order to earn credit for this geocache, you are required to take and post to this geocache page (not emailed to the cache owner) a photo of your GPS or smartphone, or even yourself or yourselves if you wish, that shows recognizable proof you visited the barn on a public entry day (or with personally authorized arranged entry on an off day). After 1/1/2020, pictures of the barn taken from outside the fence line or via illegal entry (trespassing) will not be accepted. Pictures can display the barn itself, or any recognizable feature associated with it inside or outside, including dedication plaques, or any memorabilia stored inside the barn. Also on display next to the barn, and accepted for posting, are pictures featuring the original Santa Fe and Disneyland Railroad “Combine” passenger/freight car that regularly rolled on the Disneyland tracks for decades, as well as legendary Disney animator Ollie Johnston’s depot from his own backyard miniature railroad. More on both of those as you scroll to view the pictures below.
Virtual Reward - 2017/2018
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between August 24, 2017 and August 24, 2018. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards on the Geocaching Blog.
.
Walt and friends working on the Carolwood Pacific Railroad, with the barn in the background.
.
Walt posing behind his beloved "Lilly Belle" 1/8 scale live steam locomotive. This little jewel became the exact model for what would a few years later be constructed as Engine No. 1, the "C.K. Holliday", of the Santa Fe and Disneyland Railroad.
.
The "Combine" passenger/freight car immediately behind the fuel tender of Engine No. 2, the "E.P. Ripley" in the early days of the Santa Fe and Disneyland Railroad. The Combine car is now preserved and available for public viewing and enjoyment near Walt's Barn at the Carolwood Foundation portion of LALSRM.
.
The "Combine" passenger/freight car riding the rails of the Santa Fe and Disneyland Railroad. The Combine car is now preserved near Walt's Barn at the Carolwood Foundation portion of LALSRM, and available for public viewing and enjoyment.
.
Legendary Disney animator Ollie Johnston, posing in front of the miniature depot of his backyard live steam railroad.
.
Ollie Johnston's Depot now resides near Walt's Barn at the Carolwood Foundation portion of LALSRM, and is available for public viewing and enjoyment.