LP: Disneyland Monorail Marks 45th Anniversary with Rededication Ceremony
Disneyland Monorail Marks 45th Anniversary with Rededication Ceremony
Disneyland Ambassador Becky Murphy joins Resort President Matt Ouimet (center) and E. Nick Friesen of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers at the rededication of the Disneyland Monorail system
The Disneyland Monorail System, which has carried more than 150 million Disneyland Resort guests since its June 14, 1959 premiere, was re-dedicated and honored for its achievement in the world of modern transportation on Monday, June 14, on the occasion of its 45th anniversary. Disneyland Resort President Matt Ouimet and E. Nick Friesen of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers joined cast members in a private ceremony before regular operating hours.
Then-Vice President Richard Nixon and family help Walt Disney introduce the Disneyland Monorail on June 14, 1959.
Since its premiere, the Disneyland Monorail System has traveled nearly 3 million miles - roughly the equivalent of 120 trips around the Earth. When it was first dedicated by then-Vice President Richard M. Nixon and Walt Disney in a ribbon-cutting ceremony, it became the first daily operating Monorail System in the Western Hemisphere.
The ASME named the Disneyland Monorail a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark in 1986. A plaque was placed on the Monorail to note this distinction. The text of the plaque reads as follows:
NATIONAL HISTORIC
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING LANDMARK
Disney Monorail System
Anaheim, California
1959
Disney engineers designed this Monorail system based on the system developed by Axel L. Werner-Gren of the Alweg Company, Cologne, Germany. Built at the Walt Disney Studios, the system was intended as a model for urban transit. Opened in 1959, it has been in daily passenger service ever since. The cars are equipped with 600 volt D.C. 100 hp electric motors driving rubber tired wheels on a single beamed trackway.
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers- 1986
This plaque was placed by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers to honor the Disneyland Monorail system in 1986.
--Posted June 16, 2004
Text by Doug Marsh