California Adventure Loses a Little Bit of Soul

I was sorry to read that as part of the retheming of Disney's California Adventure they've removed the Western Pacific locomotive that stood in the entry plaza:

Another remnant of the original concept of Disney California Adventure has been removed as part of the theme park’s $1-billion makeover.

The classic passenger train, on the west side of Sunshine Plaza near Condor Falls, was recently removed with the aid of a 90-ton crane.

Disney spokeswoman Betsy Sanchez said the California Zephyr was removed overnight on Aug. 5, put on a flat-bed truck and donated to the Western Pacific Railroad Museum in Portola, Ca.

“Walt Disney’s love of trains made this donation perfectly fitting,” Disneyland Resort President George Kalogridis said in a statement. “The expansion of Disney California Adventure park provided the opportunity for us to make this meaningful donation.”

Part of California Adventure since the theme park opened in 2001, the train operated as an ice cream shop and a bakery.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Matt Gottula, a former Disney employee and a blogger, had fond memories of the two eateries.

“Cast members (employees) who worked there called it simply, ‘The train,’” Gottula said. “It’s a shame to see it go. The train is one of the few elements of the original entrance that really worked.”

While the train cars were replicas, the cab used to be an operational locomotive that was part of the famous train line that originally ran from 1949 to 1970. The train line was 2,438 miles long and ran from Chicago to Emeryville, Ca.

Sanchez said the number on the cab of the locomotive was 804-A, a nod to the last locomotive to lead a westbound California Zephyr into Oakland on March 20, 1970.

I'm also a former Disney employee and blogger, and I know how Matt feels.  We bought a lot of ice cream in the store that was built in the imitation California Zephyr cars. It was one of my favorite sights in California Adventure, but I can't believe I never took my own photo of it. I've looked through lots of Disney trip pictures but couldn't find one of the train.

Our first visit to California Adventure was the second day the park was open, and I recounted that experience here. Even though it was brand new we had the place to ourselves. I could see they were in store for some problems.  Hopefully the new theme, focused around Hollywood when Walt Disney arrived in California, will work better than the old one.