Historian will tell how his dad’s model train influenced Walt Disney

The son of the man who claims his father was the very first Disney "imagineer" will give a multi-media presentation on the little known private life of one of Hollywood’s greatest filmmakers this weekend at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley.

Beginning at 1 p.m. on Sat., Aug. 18, Michael Broggie, a Newbury Park resident, will show film clips, slides and tells tales concerning Walt Disney.

Broggie’s father, Roger, a precision machinist, answered a challenge given him by Disney, and ––with the help of some of his coworkers––constructed a scale-model train to run around Disney’s five-acre Holmby Hills backyard. That train, according to Michael Broggie, a well-known Disney historian, was the impetus for Walt Disney’s most memorable creation, a theme park in Anaheim. Analysts at that time said it would never make money.

The term "imagineer" is one that Disney coined to describe those who can use their imaginations to create.

THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF DISNEY--Disney historian Michael Broggie shows off a copy of his book, "Walt Disney's Railroad Trains." He'll be at the Reagan Library at 1 p.m. this Sat., Aug. 18.

Broggie said that when Disney was at a point in his career that he was searching for a hobby to offset his hard-paced day, he remembered his childhood love of the railroad and had a 1/8 scale steam railroad constructed in his backyard.

"When I was a child, my family used to spend weekends at Walt Disney’s home," Broggie said. "My father built the railroad to the specifications of a Central Pacific locomotive that was constructed in California in 1872. It was the first engine built in the state."

Broggie said that engine was called the Central Pacific 173.

Disney––his estate was located on Carolwood Drive––called his backyard railroad the Carolwood Pacific Railroad so that his miniature train would have the same initials on it as the full-size editions of the Central Pacific.

"It was quite a neighborhood," Broggie said. "His neighbors were Gregory Peck, Rod Sterling and Frank Sinatra."

According to Broggie, Disney’s love affair with trains began in his hometown of Marceline, Mo.

"His first job off the farm was as a boy––he was only about 14 years old at that time––that walked up and down the aisles of a train selling tobacco, candy and newspapers on the Missouri Pacific Line," Broggie said. "He just loved that job and at the time wanted to become a train engineer."

Broggie said that his father was surprised by Disney one day as the studio mogul walked into the machine shop and asked if it would be possible to build a scale-model steam train in the shop.

"My dad knew that if Walt Disney asked you to do something, you needed to get it done," Broggie said.

The actual train set that Walt Disney used to ride around his yard is also on display at the Reagan Library.

"The reason all this is important," Broggie said, "is because of the fun folks had with his backyard train that Disney decided to build a theme park."

According to Broggie, Disney first took his dream to the city of Burbank.

However, after the then Burbank City Council scoffed at his plans, telling him they didn’t care to have a carnival in their city, Broggie said that Disney moved on and found a partner in the city of Anaheim.

The rest is history.

"But it was the train that started it all," Broggie said. "I like to say that Disneyland is Walt’s gift to the world and that the train that circles the park is the ribbon that ties it all together."

Broggie is the author of "Walt Disney’s Railroad Story." The book was the recipient of the 1998 Benjamin Franklin Award in the category of biographies, autobiographies and memoirs.

Broggie is an expert on the personal history and career of Walt Disney, and founder of the Carolwood Pacific Historical Society designed to preserve the railroad legacy of Walt Disney. Through his multimedia presentation, he hopes to give attendees a deeper understanding of a Midwestern farm boy whose intrinsic talents were destined to indelibly influence family entertainment throughout the world.

The lecture is free with museum admission.

For more information, visit the Website for the historical society at www.carolwood.com.