Wildlife Express Train

{{Infobox attraction

| name = Wildlife Express Train

| logo =

| logo_width =

| image = Wildlife Express Harambe Station Train.jpg

| imagedimensions = 250px

| caption = Entrance sign at Harambe Station, pictured in 2008.

| location = Disney's Animal Kingdom

| section = Africa

| status = Operating

| cost =

| soft_opened = April 21, 1998

| opened = April 22, 1998
(original)
July 11, 2019 (reopening){{Cite press release|last=Terrell|first=Scott|title=The Animation Experience at Conservation Station begins July 11|url=https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2019/06/the-animation-experience-at-conservation-station-begins-july-11/|website=Disney Parks Blog|date=June 10, 2019|access-date=June 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190619081026/https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2019/06/the-animation-experience-at-conservation-station-begins-july-11/|archive-date=June 19, 2019}}

|closed=October 21, 2018 (original){{cite web|title=BREAKING: Rafiki's Planet Watch to Close Permanently Next Month|url=http://blogmickey.com/2018/09/breaking-rafikis-planet-watch-to-close-permanently-next-month/|website=Blog Mickey|date=September 21, 2018|access-date=January 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190114221312/http://blogmickey.com/2018/09/breaking-rafikis-planet-watch-to-close-permanently-next-month/|archive-date=January 14, 2019}}| previousattraction =

| replacement =

| coordinates = {{coord|28|21|35|N|81|35|28|W|display=title,inline}}

| type = Heritage railway

| manufacturer = Severn Lamb

| designer = Walt Disney Imagineering

| model =

| theme = African railway

| music =

| length_ft = 6336

| speed_mph =

| sitearea_sqft =

| sitearea_sqm =

| vehicle_type = Train

| vehicles = {{Plainlist|

3 steam-outline locomotives
10 passenger cars

}}

| riders_per_vehicle = 250

| rows = 2

| riders_per_row =

| duration = 12 minutes

| virtual_queue_name =

| virtual_queue_image =

| virtual_queue_status=

| custom_label_1 = Track gauge

| custom_value_1 = {{Track gauge|3ft|lk=on}}

| custom_label_2 =

| accessible = yes

| assistive_listening =

| cc =

}}

The Wildlife Express Train is an African themed {{Track gauge|3ft}} narrow gauge heritage railroad at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Walt Disney World, which opened on April 22, 1998. Its route is {{convert|1.2|mi|km}} long and takes guests on a trip between the Africa and Rafiki's Planet Watch sections.

History

Early plans for Disney's Animal Kingdom called for a railway that would have taken guests through the Savannah plains. This idea was modified, however, when concerns about the safety of the animals was raised. Instead, Disney decided to create a railway that would take guests from the Village of Harambe in the Africa section of the park to Conservation Station in the Rafiki's Planet Watch section of the park. Imagineer George McGinnis came out of retirement to design the locomotives for the attraction. They were designed to give guests the impression that the trains had been traveling through Africa for a hundred years, collecting grime and rust along the way. According to imagineer Joe Rohde, the idea was to create a look for vehicles "that would be seen today in Africa and Asia, long after their original use in Europe in the late 1800s."

The locomotives and rail cars themselves were built in 1997 by Severn Lamb, Ltd. in Alcester, England.{{Cite press release|last=Smith|first=Thomas|title=Where at Disney Parks Can You Find…|url=https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2010/11/where-at-disney-parks-can-you-find-13/|website=Disney Parks Blog|date=November 1, 2010|access-date=January 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181025151440/https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2010/11/where-at-disney-parks-can-you-find-13/|archive-date=October 25, 2018}} Production of the locomotives was overseen by Imagineers Bob Harpur and Joel Fritsche. On April 22, 1998, the Wildlife Express Train opened with the rest of Disney's Animal Kingdom. The Wildlife Express Train and Rafiki's Planet Watch were both temporarily closed on October 21, 2018, and reopened on July 11, 2019.{{cite web|last=Tuttle|first=Brittani|title=Rafiki's Planet Watch to reopen in spring 2019 at Disney's Animal Kingdom|url=https://attractionsmagazine.com/rafikis-planet-watch-reopening-2019/|work=Attractions Magazine|date=September 29, 2018|access-date=January 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181112021656/https://attractionsmagazine.com/rafikis-planet-watch-reopening-2019/|archive-date=November 12, 2018}}

Experience

The Wildlife Express Train is themed to the fictitious Eastern Star Railway, running between Lusaka, Nairobi, and Kisangani. Like most other Disney rail attractions, the railway is built to a {{Track gauge|3ft}} narrow gauge, which is smaller than the {{Track gauge|1000mm|allk=on}} currently used on East African railways.

The train takes guests from Harambe Station in the Africa section to Conservation Station in the Rafiki's Planet Watch section. One full journey takes about twelve minutes to complete: seven minutes from Harambe Station to Conservation Station, and five minutes from Conservation Station to Harambe Station. During the ride, portions of the Animal Kingdom backlot can be seen, including animal holding buildings for rhinos and elephants, among other animals. The roundhouse where the trains are stored is also visible.{{Citation |last=Broggie |first=Michael |year=2014 |title=Walt Disney's Railroad Story: The Small-Scale Fascination That Led to a Full-Scale Kingdom |edition=4th |publisher=The Donning Company Publishers |isbn=978-1-57864-914-3 |page=385}}{{Cite web|title=Surviving Steam Locomotives in Florida|url=http://www.steamlocomotive.com/lists/searchdb.php?country=USA&state=FL|website=Steamlocomotive.com|date=February 14, 2017|access-date=February 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214172337/http://www.steamlocomotive.com/lists/searchdb.php?country=USA&state=FL|archive-date=February 14, 2017}}

Rolling stock

The Wildlife Express Train operates three {{whyte|2-4-2T|DH}} steam-outline locomotives built by Severn Lamb in 1997 before the park's opening the following year. The locomotives are based on the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway's Class 5 and Class 6 locomotives in England, designed by John Aspinall and built in 1898 at the railway's Horwich Works. There are also two sets of train cars, each consisting of five coaches with a total seating capacity of 250 people per train.

All rolling stock for the Wildlife Express were built brand-new, but are painted to look dated and weathered, in order to give the impression that the trains have been running for many decades.{{Cite book|last=Amendola|first=Dana|year=2015|title=All Aboard: The Wonderful World of Disney Trains|edition=1st|publisher=Disney Editions|isbn=978-1-4231-1714-8|pages=158–159}} The two train sets are decorated with various bins and items on the roof, simulating the luggage that passengers have brought aboard the train.{{cite press release|title=Historic British Trains Live Again on Wildlife Express|url=https://wdwnews.com/releases/historic-british-trains-live-again-on-wildlife-express/|work=Walt Disney World News|date=December 11, 2006|access-date=February 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190202145044/https://wdwnews.com/releases/historic-british-trains-live-again-on-wildlife-express/|archive-date=February 2, 2019}}

Class="wikitable plainrowheaders" \|+Wildlife Express Train rolling stock details !scope="col"\|Number !scope="col"\|Image !scope="col"\|Wheel arrangement !scope="col"\|Date built !scope="col"\|Builder !scope="col"\|Date entered service !scope="col"\|Status !scope="col" style="width:25%;"\|Notes
scope="row"\|00174 \|File:A WDW Train (7296642526).jpg \|2-4-2T \|1997 \|Severn Lamb \|April 21, 1998 \|Operational \|style="text-align:center;"\|–
scope="row"\|02594 R. Baba Harpoor \|File:Animal Kingdom Wildlife Express Train 01.jpg \|2-4-2T \|1997 \|Severn Lamb \|April 21, 1998 \|Operational \|Carries the name R. Baba Harpoor in honor of Disney Imagineer Bob Harpur.
scope="row"\|04982 \|File:Wildlife Express at Disney's Animal Kingdom on 7-11-10.jpg \|2-4-2T \|1997 \|Severn Lamb \|April 21, 1998 \|Operational \|style="text-align:center;"\|–

Class="wikitable plainrowheaders"

|+Wildlife Express Train rolling stock details

!scope="col"|Number

!scope="col"|Image

!scope="col"|Wheel arrangement

!scope="col"|Date built

!scope="col"|Builder

!scope="col"|Date entered service

!scope="col"|Status

!scope="col" style="width:25%;"|Notes

scope="row"|00174

|File:A WDW Train (7296642526).jpg