- 7/11/2025
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00:24Walt Disney and his staff didn't invent the monorail on an elevated track concept.
00:29Various monorails had been successfully built and demonstrated in America since 1876,
00:35the year a steam-powered monorail debuted in Philadelphia Centennial Exposition.
00:41One of the original drawings for Disneyland showed a monorail going across the entrance.
00:45It was a hanging monorail because at the time that's what people thought of as a monorail.
00:49Then he started researching it. He was in Germany.
00:52He went to one town where they had a swinging monorail that had been there for many decades.
00:56It took people down and over a river and his wife Lillian got a bit ill on it because it swung
01:02and she didn't really like it. So that kind of made Walt put that on the back burner.
01:06During the same trip, he's driving and just at that instant, a monorail goes flying by from one end to another.
01:14But what it was is he saw for the first time the Alweg monorail,
01:16which put the monorail on top of the beam as opposed to below the beam.
01:20The thing was actually working and he was really impressed.
01:23He thought the idea was really neat. He didn't like the monorails.
01:26They looked like, as Bob Gurr, who did design the Disneyland monorail, said,
01:30like a loaf of bread. But he loved the idea.
01:32So he made a deal with Alweg. Alweg came.
01:35They were starting to work with Roger Brogy and Bob Gurr to put it together.
01:39Walt came back from that first trip, handed me a bunch of drawings of here's a monorail.
01:45We're going to do a monorail.
01:46Remember, this is in early November of 1958, and we're going to open this train the following June.
01:53Only eight and a half months from the time Walt showed me this picture
01:56until I gave Richard Nixon, the vice president of the United States, a ride on it.
01:59He's got Mrs. Nixon and the two girls, and he comes up to take a look at the train.
02:04To open the first operative monorail system in America,
02:08it is our good fortune to have our friend and fellow Californian,
02:13the vice president of the United States, Mr. Richard Nixon,
02:16and his charming family, Mrs. Pat Nixon, Julia, and Patricia, his daughters.
02:23Mr. Nixon, our vice president.
02:25Well, thank you very much, Walt.
02:27Since this first monorail system is a system for the future,
02:32and since, of course, Disneyland is a place which children love above everybody else,
02:37I think it would be nice if our two daughters, Patricia and Julie, would cut this ribbon.
02:43Go right up there.
02:45And let her go!
02:50So we got into the cab, and Walt's explaining about the monorail,
02:54and says, well, you know, Dick, I drive the steam trains,
02:58but this is a modern electric train.
03:00I always let Bobby drive it.
03:02And then he says, give him a ride.
03:04And without telling anybody anything or getting on the radio,
03:07I just drove off.
03:10Which, to Nixon's great joy and surprise,
03:13when those days the train went out, made a right turn,
03:16turn around, came back over the sub-ride,
03:18where you could actually see the platform,
03:20Nixon apparently saw all the Secret Service was on the platform,
03:24which now I was horrified.
03:26I just kidnapped the vice president of the United States
03:28right out from underneath the Secret Service.
03:30This was the first passenger-carrying monorail of its kind in the Western Hemisphere
03:40to operate on a daily basis.
03:43And it was the direct result of one of Walt Disney's commitments
03:47to develop an entertaining attraction that also provided a practical, futuristic mode of transportation.
03:53In 1958, Disney Imagineers traveled to Europe to examine an experimental monorail
04:02developed by the Allwig Corporation near Cologne, Germany.
04:06After considerable study,
04:09they recommended to Walt Disney that he introduce a similar model at Disneyland.
04:14Disney designers, assisted by Allwig engineers,
04:18developed what became known as the Mark I,
04:21a monorail system built at the Burbank Disney Studios by WED.
04:26WED stands for Walter Elias Disney Enterprises,
04:30the design and imagineering arm of Walt Disney Productions.
04:33The Mark I was purposely designed to demonstrate operability
04:38under different topographic conditions.
05:03The Disneyland Allwig monorail system was unveiled at Disneyland
05:09on June 14, 1959, by Walt Disney and Vice President Richard M. Nixon.
05:16Mrs. Nixon and their daughters, Tricia and Julie,
05:19also participated in the ribbon-cutting ceremonies,
05:22which were viewed by a national television audience
05:25watching a special Disneyland 59 TV show.
05:28The monorail beamway was extended to the nearby Disneyland Hotel in 1961,
05:35making the system the first in America to run adjacent to a major highway
05:39and cross a city street,
05:41a total length of nearly two and one-half miles.
05:44The present monorail system at Disneyland, the Mark III,
05:48was designed by WED to accommodate a growing Disneyland audience.
05:52In 1969, after almost five years of research and development,
05:58four new streamlined five-car trains were built
06:01to replace the earlier models that had carried over 30 million passengers
06:06more than 850,000 miles in 10 years.
06:10The Mark III trains contain 127 passengers and are 137 feet long.
06:16A new frame and body for the trains was designed to be driven
06:20by an advanced engineered electrical power unit,
06:23and a new suspension system created a smoother ride.
06:30The Mark III has a top running speed of approximately 35 miles per hour,
06:35although it seems to be going a lot faster.
06:37But this speed is used only for crossing the Disneyland parking lot.
06:42Within the park, the trains run between 15 and 18 miles per hour,
06:46utilizing an air and dynamic braking system.
06:50The Mark III drive and braking pneumatic tires
06:53run on the top surface of the monorail beamway,
06:57and the guiding and stabilizing wheels contact both lateral surfaces of the beam.
07:02The Disneyland monorail system has changed greatly over the years,
07:07but many of the same technological principles have been maintained
07:10throughout the development of the system.
07:12The trains have always been electrically powered,
07:15operating on 600 volts of direct current,
07:18transmitted along a pair of copper and steel bus bars
07:21mounted on the right side of the beam.
07:24The monorail is powered by four 100-horsepower traction motors,
07:29in contrast to the 455-horsepower motors of the Mark I and II.
07:35The undercarriage of the trains straddles the beam in such a way
07:40that the drive and braking wheels run along the top surface of the beamway,
07:45and the guiding and stabilizing wheels contact both lateral surfaces of the beam.
07:50These wheels, eight rolling in a horizontal plane
07:53and four rolling in a vertical plane,
07:56are connected together by means of a welded steel frame.
08:00The forms from which the individual beams were cast are steel shells
08:08that can be adjusted to produce curving, twisting, concrete girders.
08:12Most of the beams on the Disneyland monorail range in length from 32 to 42 feet.
08:19Beams of this length measure 20 inches wide by 34 inches deep
08:24and have a design strength of 5,000 pounds per square inch.
08:28However, 50 beams, each 60 feet long,
08:32were used on the straightaway across Harbor Boulevard and across the parking lot.
08:37Each of these 50 beams weighs 46,000 pounds.
08:42To maintain the design strength of these beams,
08:45it was necessary to increase their depth to 40 inches.
08:49The beamways and pylons, as constructed for the Disneyland Allweg monorail system,
08:54are substantially the same size and scale
08:57that would be used for any metropolitan single-track system.
09:04The basic design of the cars,
09:06including their motive power, braking, and safety systems,
09:09could be utilized for any metropolitan transit system.
09:12Some 80 years after the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition,
09:17Allweg, a design company named for the initials of its Swedish founder,
09:21Dr. Axel Wernert Wernert-Grenn,
09:23began testing advanced monorail train and track designs in Germany.
09:28The debut of the magnificent monorail in June of 1959
09:31was an auspicious moment in Disneyland history
09:34of the three new e-ticket vehicles that began running that month.
09:38The monorail was the only one intended to be a serious advance in American transportation.
09:44The other two attractions were no doubt wonderful,
09:46but the monorail was especially significant.
09:48So significant, in fact, that Vice President Nixon
09:50was on hand for the ribbon-cutting honors.
09:53So significant, it was awarded a special plaque
09:55by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1986.
10:00So significant, that the monorail service was actually expanded
10:03to cover more than three times its original length.
10:06While other vehicles made memories, the monorail made history.
10:09When a vacationing Walt Disney saw a boxy monorail train
10:12run on a rural test track near Cologne in 1957,
10:17he quickly partnered with Allweg to construct a new streamlined Disneyland version.
10:22I think the monorail is going to be the rapid transit of the future,
10:25Disney said, and we will be giving a preview of it.
10:28Disney legend Bob Gurr, who designed most of the park's vehicles,
10:31created a tapered, futuristic train
10:34that would be as exhilarating to watch as it would be to ride.
10:37John Hinch enhanced Gurr's pencil drawings with color
10:40and effects to make the monorail look like a horizontal rocket ship.
10:44Roger Brogy and his engineering team built the first monorail at the Disney Studios,
10:49and Bill Martin laid out the track, approximately where the viewliner had been.
10:53The monorail only ran around Tomorrowland from 1959 through 1961,
10:58when it was extended to the Disneyland Hotel.
11:01The initial cost to build the monorail was $1.4 million.
11:04In 2022 dollars, it would be over $14.4 million.
11:09The sleek train with a rocket ship nose,
11:13stainless steel side panels,
11:14and the famous bubble top up front.
11:17For nearly 40 years,
11:18Gurr developed more than 100 designs for attractions.
11:21These ranged from the mine trains to the bobsleds,
11:25from the main street vehicles to the Omnimover ride system
11:28for the Haunted Mansion and Adventure Through Inner Space,
11:31and the amazing PeopleMover.
11:34In this 1958 footage,
11:36the concrete for the monorail beams was being poured into steel frames
11:40at what is now the Circle D Ranch,
11:42the pony farm at the back of the park.
11:44The method for pouring the cement was controversial at the time,
11:48but it considerably shortened the time to build the monorail beamway.
11:53The Alweg engineers wanted to build custom forms for every beam,
11:57as was their prior practice in their factory,
12:00which is where Walt, by chance,
12:02happened upon a working monorail while traveling through Germany,
12:05just outside the Alweg plant.
12:08John Wise, Disneyland's chief engineer for the project,
12:11came up with a series of flexible molds seen here
12:14that were adjustable in 24-inch segments,
12:17so as to provide curvature and twist to each custom-made beam.
12:21The metal mold segments were lined with rubber sheeting
12:24to create a smoother contour.
12:26To this day, one can still see the 24-inch mold marks on the binorail
12:30became the first in the world to be a daily operating transportation system,
12:35and the first to cross over a public street.
12:37The trains grew during the 1961 expansion from three cars to four.
12:42By the mid-1960s, a fleet of Mark II trains came into being,
12:46with the addition of monorail yellow.
12:48The Mark III's were introduced in 1968 for the first new Tomorrowland.
12:53The Mark IV's were built exclusively for Walt Disney World in 1971.
12:57For all these Imagineers, the goal wasn't merely to create an attraction for fun, stylish sightseeing.
13:03It was to create a meaningful alternative to public transportation
13:06and all-electric train that would glide smoothly and silently
13:10along an elevated highway in the sky
13:13and convey guests in and out of Disneyland interior.
13:16But that's not how the monorail first operated.
13:18When it opened, there was only one three-car train, called Monorail Red.
13:23Trains have usually been identified by their colors,
13:26and there was only one stop next to the submarines in Tomorrowland.
13:29This meant that only 82 passengers, not hundreds at a time,
13:33were starting and stopping at the same point from the Tomorrowland station.
13:37Guests looped for eight-tenths of a mile around the lagoon, Autopia, and Matterhorn Mountain.
13:43The view even included some of Anaheim.
13:45It was a scenic journey, but not a vital one.
13:48Ticket book holders, please tear out an e-coupon
13:52and present it to the operator before boarding the speed ramp to the monorail platform.
13:58If you do not have a ticket book,
14:00individual tickets may be purchased at the central ticket booth a few steps away.
14:05There are two lines forming, one on the left and one on the right.
14:09Please watch your step as you board the speed ramp.
14:14Monorail 1, you're now clear for dispatch.
14:16Roger, control.
14:18Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard the Disneyland All-Wag monorail.
14:23This is the pilot speaking to you from the control center.
14:26During our journey, we ask that you keep your head and arms inside the train at all times,
14:32and no smoking, please.
14:34You're riding aboard the Mark III,
14:36an advanced, new, second-generation design
14:40of the first daily operating monorail system in the Western Hemisphere,
14:44introduced right here in Disneyland in 1959.
14:48We're traveling over the highway in the sky
14:51on a 2.5-mile round trip to the Disneyland Hotel and back.
14:56Our route parallels Orange County's Harbor Boulevard,
14:59a major access route which you probably use to enter the Magic Kingdom.
15:04We're cruising at a height of 20 feet above the ground,
15:07and we're maintaining constant radio communication with our dispatching station.
15:12I'll be increasing our ground speed as we cross Disneyland's 115-acre parking area,
15:19our freeway retreat, as many of you have called it.
15:24Across the parking area is Disneyland's main entrance.
15:27In the opposite direction, you can see the city of Anaheim's convention center.
15:31Directly ahead is the spacious Disneyland Hotel,
15:36offering complete year-round resort facilities for your enjoyment.
15:41Monorail 1 on hotel approach.
15:45Roger 1, hotel station, clear for approach.
15:49We'll be making a brief stop at the hotel station.
15:52For those of you who boarded our monorail in Tomorrowland,
15:56this is the halfway point.
15:57You may disembark if you wish,
16:00and by having your hand stamped,
16:02you may re-board the monorail here at the hotel
16:04any time prior to Disneyland's closing time today.
16:08This is the Disneyland Hotel station.
16:10Those of you disembarking,
16:12please exit to the rear of the monorail.
16:16Monorail 1, you are clear for hotel dispatching.
16:2010-4 control.
16:22We are now on a re-entry course back into the Magic Kingdom.
16:26Destination, Tomorrowland, World of the Future.
16:30We'll soon be passing Disneyland's main entrance,
16:33the gateway to Main Street, USA,
16:36where turn-of-the-century America is relived.
16:39Above the entrance is Disneyland Main Street Station.
16:43Our 1890 steam trains depart from here
16:46and stations in Frontierland and Tomorrowland
16:49for a grand circle tour of the Magic Kingdom,
16:51climaxed by a journey through the Grand Canyon
16:55and primeval world realm of the dinosaurs.
16:59Disneyland's new Tomorrowland is a world on the move,
17:03a showcase for the wonderful worlds of science and industry,
17:06where some of America's leading companies
17:09welcome you into adventures in transportation,
17:12communications, and better living.
17:14Below our monorail is the Autopia Freeway,
17:19where youngsters of all ages drive real gasoline-powered cars,
17:23and the colorful Submarine Lagoon,
17:26home of the world's eighth-largest submarine fleet.
17:30Towering high above is Matterhorn Mountain,
17:33with its two thrilling bounce-led runs.
17:36Motor rail 1, 1020 at Checkpoint Fantasyland.
17:42Roger 1, we have your 1020.
17:45We're now entering Fantasyland,
17:48home of Snow White, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland,
17:52and many others of your favorite Walt Disney characters.
17:55Fantasyland is also the enchanting home of It's a Small World,
18:00the happiest cruise that ever sailed around the world.
18:02Now we are leaving the world of fantasy
18:05to begin our approach to the Tomorrowland station.
18:09As we round the Matterhorn,
18:10please keep your head and arms inside the compartment.
18:15Motor rail 1 on Tomorrowland approach.
18:17Roger 1, Tomorrowland station, clear for approach.
18:2110-4, monorail 1 out.
18:25Please remain seated until the monorail comes to a complete stop.
18:29The doors will open automatically.
18:31As you step from the compartment...
18:34This is the Disneyland Hotel station.
18:37Those of you leaving us here,
18:38please exit to the rear of the Monterey.
18:41For those of you continuing on,
18:43our next and final stop is the Tomorrowland station.
18:47We're all...
18:47On rail 1, you're clear for hotel dispatch.
18:5010-4, control.
18:54Ladies and gentlemen,
18:57this is your captain speaking.
18:58To those of you who have just joined us,
19:01welcome aboard the Disneyland Monterey,
19:03America's first daily operating Monterey system.
19:07We ask that you keep your hands and arms
19:09inside the cabin at all times,
19:12and no smoking, please.
19:17You might be struck by about four of those lines.
19:20About that long.
19:21We're now on a re-entry course,
19:30back into the Magic Kingdom from the destination,
19:33to our life,
19:34the world of the future.
19:36We'll soon be passing Disney Island's main entrance,
19:39the gateway to Main Street, USA,
19:41where turn of the century America is present.
19:44On the entrance of Disney Island,
19:46we're about to blow that low.
19:47We'll see you go ahead and,
19:49um,
19:49um,
19:51reset the envelope of that.
20:00May I remind you to please keep your hands and arms
20:03inside the cabin at all times.
20:05Get my car.
20:06My car's right over there.
20:07Tomorrowland is a warm,
20:08you're all in the seats now.
20:12Below our monorail is the Autopia Greenway.
20:15Here comes your town,
20:16which is a real gasoline car car.
20:19Give me the car.
20:21Our Disneyland submarine fleet explores the fascinating world of liquid space.
20:27Towering high above is Matterport House,
20:29where sleek bobsleds race through icy caverns and crystal caves.
20:36Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
20:37This is a reminder that 59 will be open this evening until 12 midnight.
20:42Your convenience for the last monorail of the evening departs a small land station for the hotel,
20:48monthly at 12 midnight.
20:50In the meantime,
20:51we'll have a train leaving the station,
20:54approximately once every three to five minutes.
20:57Further reminder for those of you who leave the park,
21:00wish to return today,
21:02please grab your hands down as you exit the park.
21:05Thank you,
21:06and enjoy the day at Disneyland.
21:10It's lights around quite a bit, don't it?
21:12Yeah.
21:13It's ready to run the park, eh?
21:14Let's see what I'm doing.
21:30Monorail 1, 1020 at Checkpoint Fantasyland.
21:34Roger 1, we have your 1020.
21:35We're now entering Fantasyland, home of Sparkle, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, and many other favorite Disney characters.
21:46Fantasyland is also the enchanting home of It's a Small World, the happiest cruise that ever saved.
21:53We're now leaving the world of fantasy and approaching our final destination to our land station, where all the passengers will be disembarking.
22:07As we round the Matterhorn, please keep your hands and arms inside the cabin.
22:14Monorail 1 on Tomorrowland approach. Roger 1, Tomorrowland station clear for approach.
22:2910-4, Monorail 1 out.
22:33Please remain seated until the monorail comes to a complete stop. The doors will open automatically.
22:40Please make sure you have all your first...
22:56For this official opening of America's first monorail system, Walt Disney introduces the principal speaker for the occasion, the Vice President of the United States.
23:06Here also, for the dedication, are many notable guests.
23:09There's Robert Cummings, June Haver, and Fred McMurray watching as two young ladies, Julie and Trisha Nixon, cut the ribbon with special scissors that...
23:18That, uh...
23:23That, well, just won't cooperate.
23:35Well, when there is a timetable to keep, other methods are necessary.
23:40Gliding smoothly along its concrete beamway, this highway in the sky passes above Autopia's four new super freeways.
23:59The beamway winds through Tomorrowland at various heights above ground level. Its intricate signal system is controlled electronically.
24:08Now we're speeding above another new adventure, the motorboat cruise.
24:27The water boat cruise.
25:22We're approaching the Matterhorn, Disneyland's man-made mountain.
25:31Every confirmation and outline of the famous Matterhorn in Switzerland has been duplicated to scale.
25:42On this day, it'll be dedicated and officially open.
25:46In fact, crowds have already gathered at the mountain's base for the start of the festivities.
25:50As the monorail completes its run, the engineer signals to another hornblower for the ceremonies to begin.
25:58The monorail system was a first in America.
26:01It points the way to rapid transit of the future.
26:04Specs, capacity 2100 per hour, capacity per monorail 110, cycle time 9 minutes 20 seconds, load time 2 minutes 30 seconds, unload time 2 minutes 30 seconds, trip time 7 minutes 30 seconds, dispatch interval 3 minutes 5 seconds, trips per hour 19, distance traveled 12,280 feet, speed 20 miles per hour.
26:30Monorail being switched to the track to the roundhouse.
26:36Monorail's in the roundhouse.
26:39Control panel in the cockpit.
26:42Certificate of recognition.
26:45Earn your wings certificate.
26:47You're all you're free of.
27:09You're free of.
27:10We have free of.
27:11Chronically, let's go.
27:12Three minutes.
27:13Cartificate of recognition.
27:13Three minutes.
27:13You need it.
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