There’s been a pretty cool series going on at MiceAge this month about the history and the behind-the-scenes workings of the Disneyland Railroad, specifically the railroad’s roundhouses.

The first article focuses on the original roundhouse, which was built with the park in 1954-55 and remained in operation for about ten years.

The second article talks about the modern-day roundhouse, which was built in the mid 60s. This roundhouse is pretty neat because it is probably one of the only double-decker roundhouses in the country. On the ground floor are the shops and storage areas for Disneyland’s steam trains. Right above it, the second floor of the facility is devoted to servicing the Disneyland Monorail. Two types of train, one historic, one (quasi-)futuristic, sharing the same building.

Photo by Preston Nirattisai

Anyway, you should definitely go read the two articles. They’re written by Steve DeGaetano, who has made a career out of being a Disneyland Railroad historian. He has two books on the subject, Welcome Aboard the Disneyland Railroad!, and the new From Plantation To Theme Park, which is all about the locomotive that Disneyland just recently restored and named after Ward Kimball, who I’ve talked about before.

Also worth pointing out are the photos of Preston Nirattisai, specifically this gallery which is a picture tour of the inside of the Disneyland roundhouse.

High-res version. Hat tip to the Bad Astronomer.

I don’t want to crosspost the entire article here, but you’ve got to go over to Around Carson and watch the video of Reno late-night TV host Jack Joseph that I unearthed. It’s late-night low-budget TV commercials at their finest.