Horse-Drawn Street Cars Articles

The third vehicle dating to 1955 is a beautiful streetcar which continues to run to this day. Two streetcars can operate at a time their wheel spinning in the metal tracks that are grooved into Main Street. The street has two sets of these tracks to enable the streetcars to pass each other as big as these vehicles are and they are big each holding up to 30 passengers and weighing up to two tons each one is pulled by just a single horse. Usually a Percheron or Belgian.Observant guests will find the names of the horses on their bridles.

The tracks part halfway down Main Street so that two streetcars can pass each other. The horses only work 3 days a week 3 hours each.The Street Car was an A Ticket ride (or 10 cents)Now of course every attraction is free with the price of admission to the park.This attraction has stayed pretty much the same since Disneyland opened in 1955. The only significant change was the removal of a fare box that was present on opening day. The fare back then was 10 cents.

Here are some shots of the advertisements from inside the street cars. What's interesting is the advertisements are for places along Main Street that you can visit and the ads look like they were made at the turn of the century.

From Main Street Vehicles Story Guide 1966: The horse-drawn streetcars are composite reproductions of 19th Century streetcars and were built at the Studio Coach Shop. "Imagineers" at WED Enterprises, Walt's planning and designing firm, built our four streetcars by working from photographs of earlier authentic vehicles.

From WED Disneyland Dictionary 1968 Horse-Drawn Street Cars carry passengers aboard horse-drawn trolleys over 3.660 feet of tracks on Main Street from Town Square at Disneyland's entrance to the Plaza, heart of the "Magic Kingdom." Each of the four cars carries 23 persons and is drawn by one horse. A double track midway on the avenue.and circle routes at each end, enable cars to pass. Heavy duty draft horses are primarily Belgian and Percheron varieties.

Specs Capacity 365 per hour -- Capacity per Trolley 27 -- Cycle Time 8:56 -- Load Time 1:26 -- Unlod Time 1:26 -- Trip Time 3:01 -- Dispatch Interval 4:27 -- Trips per hour 13 -- Distance Traveled 1940 feet -- Speed 3.7 MPH

Nomenclature May 25 1955:
Disneyland Street Railway
4 Horse drawn street cars
Hitch: 1 horse per street car.
Route: Depot, Main Street, Plaza.

Required an "A" ticket in 1955-1957

Required an "A" ticket in 1959

Required an "A" ticket in 1964-1965

From Main Street Vehicles Story Guide 1966:
The horse-drawn streetcars are composite reproductions of 19th Century streetcars and were built at the Studio Coach Shop. "Imagineers" at WED Enterprises, Walt's planning and designing firm, built our four streetcars by working from photographs of earlier authentic vehicles.

From WED Disneyland Dictionary 1968
Carry passengers aboard horse-drawn trolleys over 3.660 feet of tracks on Main Street from Town Square at Disneyland's entrance to the Plaza, heart of the "Magic Kingdom." Each of the four cars carries 23 persons and is drawn by one horse. A double track midway on the avenue.and circle routes at each end, enable cars to pass. Heavy duty draft horses are primarily Belgian and Percheron varieties.

From 1970's Attractions Showmanship:
The four horse-drawn streetcars are composite reproductions of nineteenth century streetcars used as late as 1800 in such cities as Chicago, Boston and Philadelphia. Working from authentic photographs of earlier such vehicles, WED designers built exact replicas of these useful trolleys. The large horses which pull the streetcars are either Percheron, Belgium, Clydesdale or a cross between Shire and Percheron. Each works a four hour day, five day week and is given "taxi service" to and from the stables.

Required an "A" ticket in 1970's

The tracks part halfway down Main Street so that two streetcars can pass each other.

Each car holds 30 passengers and weighs 2 tons

*You can find the horse's name inside the streetcar above the driver (the horses have their own name-tags).

*The horses only work 3 days a week 3 hours each.

*The breeds that are used are Clydesdales, Percherons, Belgiums, Shires, and Brabants. All of these breeds were bred for pulling. They can pull twice their body weight in dead weight. The street car tracks are greased everyday, making it easier for the horses to pull.

The Street Car was an A Ticket ride (or 10 cents).

*There was not enough money in the budget for the horse drawn street cars, but Walt Disney had a huge passion for animals and he wanted the streetcars so badly that he paid for them out of his own pocket.

*=Secrets courtesy of Anna Bartlet