The Runaway Trains of Big Thunder Mountain | HISTORY

big thunder mountain railroad just the name of this thrilling park attraction evokes excitement and nostalgia it would be the attraction that brought thrill seekers to frontierland and would set a new standard for disney roller coasters around the world big thunder has stood for 40 years as one of disneyland's main draws and happens to have a history that dates back to the park's opening in 1955. we have a long story to tell so hang on to them hats and glasses cause this here's the wildest ride in the wilderness our story begins in the first year of disneyland's operation frontierland was a rather quiet outpost in disneyland's wild west and what a large frontier it was in the mid 50s america was obsessed with the romanticized and sometimes overly exaggerated stories of the old west one of the major contributors to the western craze and pop culture at this time was none other than disney's stories of davy crockett and even their version of the legendary zorro therefore it should come as no surprise that when disneyland opened frontierland was the park's largest land it took up nearly one-third of disneyland's 60-acre plot most of that space went to the massive rivers of america where the mark twain riverboat reigned as queen of the delta and frankly disneyland was built on such a small budget that the paddle wheeler was frontierland's only mechanical ride as time ran short walt disney looked around for ideas on how to occupy more of the western land's space walt disney was good friends with walter knott a man who owned a small amusement park in the nearby city of buena park walter knott had relocated a ghost town to his berry farm which was already becoming famous for being the first place where boysenberries were commercially farmed knott's berry farm even had a fun stagecoach and pac-mule ride and walt disney enjoyed the ride so much he replicated them for disneyland for frontierland stagecoach ride imagineers designed the stagecoaches and conestoga wagons in 5 8 scale to match the size of the rest of the park this detail would have been unnecessary if the horses themselves were full size and they couldn't have that so the disney company acquired shetland ponies which were small enough to match the scale of the stagecoaches the pack mules however were regular size as you can see the area where the two attractions operated was rather barren it hadn't been landscaped at all aside from the rolling hills which were carved out of excess mounds of dirt excavated in the process of creating the rivers of america however this lack of foliage wasn't an issue since well you're in the desert the ponies horses and mules of disneyland at this time were kept in a stable behind main street they were well cared for by the professional ranch hands some years later all the park's animals would move to circle d corral just north of frontierland outside the park walt disney wasn't satisfied with the apparent emptiness of frontierland he viewed it as underutilized space so one day walt spoke with imagineer john hench about creating a new ride there after a quick brainstorming session the two decided on a mine train ride walt even sketched out a quick rendering of the path that the track would take through the landscape much like the jungle cruise walt wanted the mine train to be a serious and educational look at nature in the style of his true life adventure documentary series on july 2nd 1956 the rainbow caverns mine train opened to the public at a cost of four hundred thousand dollars guests boarded a seven car mine train at the dusty desert town of rainbow ridge the three mine trains despite how authentic they might look weren't authentic at all the trains weren't built to any particular scale in fact they were a mixture of scales and the wheels on the trains weren't even standard sizes the locomotive was actually a dummy you see when designing the ride they got a little help from bob ger and imagineers decided that making an electric train was the most efficient system they could come up with the battery operating console and electric motors to power the train were all hidden in the tender where the ride operator sat the locomotive had no function whatsoever which is why they allowed seating to a lucky group of guests inside the cab itself as for the battery that ran the train imagineers purchased forklift batteries and there's a funny story to that too the specifications of the battery stated that it had a one year life span before it needed replacing well after 18 months of operation the manufacturer called to see if they needed to order new batteries yet but we're told that the original batteries were still going strong after two and a half years of operation the manufacturer called again to ask what brand disney was using for the batteries now but the answer was still the same batteries purchased in 1956. by 1959 the manufacturer was still perplexed that disney had not needed to replace the batteries so they sent their own representatives out to see what the attraction operators were doing which extended the lifespan of these batteries they found out that the ride operators were instructed to run each train until the battery usage was in the red zone which meant that the battery was nearly depleted then and only then could the battery be recharged this meant that almost no deposits formed at the bottom of the batteries nearly eliminating the degradation process the town of rainbow ridge at the boarding area was actually a miniature town built of wood the buildings at ground level were 5 8 scale but further up the buildings got smaller from 5 8 scale down to half scale then down again to one quarter scale making live actors look like giants next to the buildings further back the train would depart rainbow ridge and pass through a tunnel emerging in beaver country where these small critters could be seen hard at work from there the train turned right passing underneath a rock bridge where the pack mule train was descending the little green mine trains then entered the living desert where cacti appeared like hitchhikers or other hilarious characters then the passengers found themselves weaving between tumbling rock formations and getting close views of other natural rock sculptures all of which by the way were designed by disneyland rock expert fred urger once the train rounded the loop guests could see a mine entrance up ahead which was surrounded by howling coyotes from there the train entered the finale of the ride a trip through the underground rainbow caverns of which the ride itself was named after the show building for the caverns was relatively small but thanks to the darkness and the use of forced perspective the caves looked much grander here imagineer claude coates had quite the task of designing 22 water sculptures and creating interesting scenic wonders claude needed the water formations to glow but regular stage lighting wasn't impressive enough he discovered that if he dyed the water with neon chalk it glowed brightly in the black light the water features had various colors but one posed a perplexing problem he wanted to create a particular waterfall that flowed with six colors of the rainbow the answer was to have a different color of water flow through a different trough but the problem was that when the water reached the bottom of the fall it splashed and mixed together which other imagineers predicted would turn the water gray within a week he asked john hench for some help and together they developed a special mesh made of thin transparent fibers which nearly eliminated the splash of the water when it hit the bottom and extended the life of the rainbow colored fountain and because the mesh was transparent black lights could be hidden below it and shined up at the waterfall the rainbow caverns mine train was a successful e-ticket attraction in frontierland and guests loved it but they also felt it was too short and a tad bit boring so by the year 1960 walt was able to invest 1.8 million dollars towards the expansion and revision of the mine train ride he put mark davis in charge of the redesign he felt that mark's designs had a particular humor that most people would enjoy the original three acre mine train ride was to be expanded which meant having to get rid of the disneyland stagecoach ride in 1959 in order to use parts of its route for the remodeled ride mark created new landscapes and scenery adding his special brand of humor into the attraction sometimes he found clever ways of repurposing old animatronics such as two foxes that used to stand on either side of the tracks their heads were motorized one had a head that moved up and down and the other a head that moved side to side in the remodel he placed them in front of each other so it looked as if they were having a disagreement the locomotives and cars were also repainted into a more vibrant yellow a color that has become iconic for the little trains the rerouted trains still passed through beaver valley but then entered another tunnel emerging along the edges of the rivers of america rounding a massive new water feature called cascade peak cascade peak stood 75 feet high just under the height of sleeping beauty castle much like the matterhorn cascade peak was built on top of a pre-existing hillside and the rock formation had multiple waterfalls spilling from it they even had funny little names such as the twin sisters or even the largest and loudest one being called big thunder after rounding cascade peak the train entered another tunnel emerging from it in an area called bear country the mine train crossed a trestle bridge over a pond where bears could be seen catching trout and along the shoreline other bears were seen napping or scratching themselves against trees in ways most comical once the train reached the other side of the pond it passed the arguing foxes a bobcat perched on the hillside and the scene of a tense battle between two elk passengers would continue on underneath the pack mule rock arch where it entered the living desert mostly this area was untouched but from here the ride was also expanded instead of immediately turning left towards the tumbling rocks the train continued on towards the tracks of the disneyland railroad following the ledges of a rock retaining wall that held back the berm separating the living desert from fantasyland the train looped around a new scene where mud pots of various colors bubbled and then the train rounded some geysers where passengers were close enough to the disneyland railroad that they could wave at passers-by the mine train then continued on its old route through the tumbling rocks then passed the coyotes into the rainbow caverns which was also reimagined with more rock features and plenty of stalactites and stalagmites the new attraction was dubbed mind trained through nature's wonderland and it opened on june 12th 1960. this became one of walt disney's favorite attractions and whenever he toured his guests around the park he always stopped at this ride right after taking in a show at the golden horseshoe after the death of walt disney in 1966 then the subsequent death of his brother roy in 1971 the studios weren't doing so well financially and it was sometimes operating at a loss disneyland and magic kingdom park were carrying the financial burden of the company through these hard times which is why they couldn't afford to let the standards slip when guest research determined that visitors needed more thrill rides the company was dead set on giving it to them after the success of florida's space mountain in 1975 they decided to bring a scaled-down version of it to disneyland as well as start work on a third thrill ride for walt's park this is where we come to the story of imagineer tony baxter tony started out in the 60s as an ice cream scooper on main street and fell in love with the idea of imagineering he used to build little marble runs making the marbles coast along a little track as if they were roller coasters in the year 1970 at the age of 23 he built a really elaborate one which he brought to imagineering and it won him the job he was then mentored by claude coates and when it came time to build a third roller coaster for disneyland tony was selected to come up with ideas now this is where things get a little deep you see back when magic kingdom park opened in 1971 guests were upset that it didn't open with pirates of the caribbean little did they know that imagineer mark davis was already working on an east coast version based off of the wild west he called it the western river expedition it was going to be a boat ride passing through a show building disguised as a blend between the grand canyon and the rocky formations found in utah but the project was taking too long to develop and the company preferred to install a duplicate pirates of the caribbean instead meanwhile tony baxter pitched the idea of a runaway mine train roller coaster to replace the mine train through nature's wonderland at disneyland though disneyland's mine train was originally designed by john hench and claude coates it was mark davis who boosted its popularity when it reopened in the year 1960 so when tony baxter was given the green light to bulldoze the mine train mark wasn't too happy but that wasn't where things ended the company liked the idea of the roller coaster so much that they already had decided to build a version of it for magic kingdom it would be built right in the spot where mark's ride was proposed the western river expedition was forever cancelled this story sparked legend that mark davis and tony baxter were enemies of sorts though i have never found any substantial evidence to suggest this as truth it can be imagined that mark had at least felt defeated by tony baxter's new ride mine train ride closed january 2nd of 1977 and work began on leveling the site but this is where tony's nostalgia and respect for his mentors showed he made sure to save as much of the elements of the mine train as possible tons of artifacts and animatronics went into storage to see if they could be repurposed for the new roller coaster some elements were even shipped to the coaster in florida the backstory that tony developed for the thrill ride was that the mines of rainbow ridge had been completely abandoned after the mountain was plagued with several earthquakes then the playful supernatural forces of the native culture took hold of the mining trains sending them rushing through the mines at breakneck speeds the mountain was infamous for its earthquakes so much so that the inhabitants of the nearby town of rainbow ridge had taken to calling it big thunder mountain guests enter the queue where authentic mining equipment is strewn about everywhere tony baxter and his team of imagineers searched auctions and private collections all over the country to find real mining equipment that they could bring back to disneyland now these artifacts can be seen and enjoyed by thousands of people every day and are cared for and maintained on the hillside to the right is a familiar scene the little mining town of rainbow ridge most of the buildings were saved and placed across from the loading area of the new ride visitors then boarded new mine trains that looked a lot like the old ones with a few exceptions and modifications these were five car trains with forward-facing seats and the locomotive at the front was purely decorative and without a tender the train then took off into the darkness of the tunnels making a right turn underneath the new guest walkway called big thunder trail in the darkness bats can be seen flapping their wings while the beat of a native drum pounded away we find the train climbing its first lift hill through a rainbow-colored cavern it was the first of many nods to the rainbow caverns of the mine train ride after weaving through a few turns guests pass under a tree of spinning possums salvaged from the previous ride then they approach the entrance to a tunnel that is guarded by the same pack of howling coyotes from before on the second lift hill more artifacts can be seen and as you climb upwards you pass by salvaged animatronics of tortoises rattlesnakes and vultures the goat with the dynamite stick however is new the roller coaster then traverses a short yet exciting helix before entering the finale of the ride the last lift hill of the roller coaster takes place inside one of the mines an earthquake erupts causing the mining equipment to sway and the boulders and rocks along the walls to shake even the cars of the mine train can be seen tilting from side to side as the track beneath them warps under the stresses of the seismic event the train escapes the cave and the ride ends with a splashdown and a pond ducking under the excavated bones of a dinosaur the splash down at the end was actually added as a nod to the splashdown on the matterhorn bobsleds since tony baxter has always loved that attraction and as for the dinosaur skeleton it's a nod to the previous skeleton that used to exist on the former ride big thunder mountain railroad opened september 2nd 1979 and became a smashing success amongst park guests tony baxter would be awarded the position of building many many more successful park attractions and he would even move up in the ranks to become senior vice president of creative development at walt disney imagineering retiring in 2013 after 47 years under the walt disney company across from big thunder the rest of the mine train ride was left abandoned since there was no money in the budget to touch the area bordering the rivers of america big thunder trail was carved alongside the new roller coaster allowing guests for the first time ever to go through the area previously occupied by nature's wonderland and head straight into fantasyland along thunder trail guests can see the abandoned tunnels of the mine train and the shores of the pond in what used to be the bear country scene all the bears were removed but the original trout animatronics can still be seen jumping from the water once in a while further up the trail over by big thunder ranch the original rock formations of the mine train could still be seen untouched by bulldozer and in the same exact spot since 1956 the trail was simply carved around them and as for the rock wall that the mine trains used to travel alongside while viewing the mud pots and geysers it was left untouched but a new stage and kitchen structure disguised as a type of barn was erected in front of it blocking any views people had of this rock formation until the area was demolished for construction of star wars galaxy's edge in 2015. the stagecoaches from the former attraction were saved after they were retired in 1959 and to this day are in great condition and are in storage they used to sometimes be on display on big thunder trail but when the trail was redone in 2016 they haven't showed up since don't be fooled by the little red stagecoach near the entrance to galaxy's edge that stagecoach is not the original it is a half scale replica prop that was installed along the disneyland railroad in the 1970s along the rivers of america cascade peak remained until 1998 when it was removed due to the years of water damage but the tracks at its base and a remaining mine train which was aged to look abandoned was left behind in 2010 the mine train was removed from the river's edge and donated to the carrollwood pacific society where it underwent restoration in 2014 imagineering revisited big thunder mountain for a major overhaul to update its safety systems and rebuild the roller coaster track six brand new trains were built to replace the ones from the late 70s the new track was engineered so the rails were pressurized with air in various segments along the route should the track ever get damaged the air will escape triggering a shutdown and alerting maintenance and if this happens while the ride is running all trains will come to a safe stop in the next break section when imagineers inspected the wooden buildings of rainbow ridge they discovered termite damage so advanced that it warranted a complete rebuild using photographs and old blueprints of each building they were carefully rebuilt from scratch the end result is almost as if you're looking at the original buildings a new finale was created for the ride during its refurbishment instead of rocks and boulders shaking from the earthquake they installed a new scene where the earthquake causes a lamp in the blasting zone to tip over and break igniting the fuses to several sticks of dynamite placed around the cave disney utilized new projection mapping technology to show the sparks flying as the fire from the burning fuses zipped around the tunnel in every which way the resulting explosions released water vapor smoke effects where the fire was projected onto them creating a surprisingly realistic effect fans adore this new finale though it's not easily noticeable that an earthquake is what caused the explosions even after replacing the track they still kept the effect of the warped rails which caused the train cars to sway as they climbed up the lift hill big thunder mountain railroad is quite an exciting experience and definitely one that leaves guests satisfied it combines a bunch of aspects that people love such as trains the old west mines dynamite and even scenic wonders even the mountain itself was designed to be beautiful tony baxter drew inspiration from the hoodoos of bryce canyon national park in utah and the mountain presented a challenge it was designed 124 feet tall but tony didn't want its size to compete with walt's matterhorn so we had the whole thing sunk about 20 feet into the ground so it only towered at 104 feet since the introduction of big thunder mountain frontierland once again became a must-see area its popularity helped ensure disneyland could compete for thrills and it was a chance for a budding imagineer to show his talent it set a new standard with disney roller coasters especially in a way that space mountain couldn't space mountain was mostly a dark and empty building but big thunder is very much visible it had to be a heavily themed and immersive environment over four decades after the first trains launched happy park goers into the quaking mines of the railroad big thunder mountain is still considered one of the best attractions at disneyland [Music]

Channel: Alex the Historian

Views: 57,893

Keywords: Big Thunder Mountain, Disneyland, Mine Train Ride, Mine Train Thru Nature's Wonderland, Walt Disney, Marc Davis, Claude Coats, John Hench, Tony Baxter, Alex the Historian

Id: 0NAXSQeNo6I

Length: 23min 11sec (1391 seconds)

Published: Tue Oct 19 2021