The Eastern Star Railway: Animal Kingdom's Wildlife Express

The Eastern Star Railway: 

Animal Kingdom's Wildlife Express

Walt Disney World - Animal Kingdom - Orlando, Florida

Walt Disney once said "In some way or another, I have always loved trains." From his days working on the railroad as a young man, to owning his own backyard, Walt's passion for trains was evident. When planning Disneyland, Walt said, "I just want it to look like nothing else in the world... and it should be surrounded by a train." Trains have always been a major part of Disney Parks, with the most notable being the narrow gauge steam trains that take people on the "grand circle tour" at Disneyland and Walt Disney World. However, Walt's love of trains is featured in all of the Disney Parks around the world in some way or another. 

The Walt Disney World Railroad #4 "Roy O. Disney" is waiting for passengers at the Magic Kingdom's Fantasyland Station. 

Steam trains at the Magic Kingdom, roller coaster trains like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, the garden railway at EPOT's Germany Pavilion, the Monorail transportation system, and even Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway at Hollywood Studios all highlight Walt Disney's passion and love for trains. 

Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway at Hollywood Studies in Walt Disney World is Disney's latest railway-themed attraction. (It is also featured in Disneyland.) 

Animal Kingdom is Walt Disney World Resort's newest park, having been built in 1998. Disney's Animal Kingdom park mixes the magic of majestic animals and nature with amusement, fun, and excitement! The Tree Of Life is the centerpiece of the park with roads expanding to six different lands to explore: Oasis, Discovery Island, Pandora, Africa, Asia, and Dinoland. It was only fitting that Walt Disney World Resort's largest park would also feature a train ride. 

The sign in Africa leading visitors to Harambe Station. 

At the edge of the African Village is the Eastern Star Railway where passengers can board the Wildlife Express trains, the exclusive mode of transportation to get to Rafiki's Planet Watch. Traveling aboard one of two narrow gauge trains, riders will travel through the African Jungle, seeing some unique sites that can only be seen from the Wildlife Express Trains. 

The red locomotive on the Eastern Star Railway is the only locomotive to feature a full smokestack that is not broken.

The three narrow-gauge locomotives that operate on the Eastern Star Railway look like old historic steam trains that have seen better days. 

However, they are actually diesel powered themed replicas of historic British steam locomotives that were manufactured by Severn Lamb, a train manufacturer based in the United Kingdom. Lead by Disney Imagineer Bob Harpur, the detailed design of the African-styled trains makes them truly look like they've been pulling trains through the African Savannah for decades. 

The black locomotive features a unique smokestack where the base is still there but the top is broken off, exposing the inner exhaust pipe.

The three locomotives, painted red, green, and black, are based off of a 2-4-2T tank engine that ran on the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in Great Britain. 

The locomotive that the Eastern Star Railway trains were based off of is on display in the National Railway Museum in York, England. Photo Credit: Billy Wilson on Flickr

The locomotive that the Eastern Star Railway trains are based off of features a shiny and flawless paint scheme. Whereas, the trains at Disney's Animal Kingdom feature beat up smoke stacks, dented domes, and a rusty paint scheme that bring to life the illusion that these trains are barely still chugging on an African Railway. Despite the builders plate on the side of the locomotives that state they were manufactured in 1926 by the Beyer, Peacock, & Company, a British railway manufacturer, they weren't actually built until 1998.

The replica builders plate and number plate can be easily seen on the sides of the locomotives. 

Why are the locomotives based on a British steam locomotive when they're supposed to be pulling trains through Africa? The majority of the real steam locomotives that pulled trains through Africa back in the day were actually manufactured by British railway manufacturers. 

Similarities between the Animal Kingdom Trains and this British Tank Engine hauling freight cars on a South African Railway can be seen. Photo Credit: Allen Jorgensen

The main two locomotives on the railway are the green train, #00174 and the red train, #02594. The locomotives pull one of two sets of coaches with side-ways facing bench seats and feature racks on the roofs full of suitcases and luggage. Each locomotive pulls the cars that match their corresponding colors. The black train, #04982, is the back up locomotive and will give each of the other locomotives a rest when needed. The red locomotive #02594 is the only locomotive to receive a name on the Eastern Star Railway. It is named R. Baba Harpoor, giving homage to Disney Imagineer Bob Harpur who had a major influence on the restoration of the Walt Disney World Railroad steam locomotives as well as the production of the Animal Kingdom locomotives. 

The R. Baba Harpoor name (Bob Harpur in an African style) can be seen on the cab of the red Wildlife Express locomotive.)

Early concept art from Disney Imagineers feature drawings of both 2-4-2T and 0-6-2T steam locomotives. The locomotives also featured lettering for the "Great Indian Peninsula" on the sides of their tanks where they now have the Eastern Star Railway lettering and logo. While researching the Great Indian Peninsula railway, I discovered that this real Indian railway actually featured British steam locomotives, very similar looking to the Animal Kingdom Wildlife Express trains. It is likely that the Disney Imagineers used this railway for some of their inspiration when designing the locomotives for Animal Kingdom. 

An old postcard from the Great Indian Peninsula Railway features an 0-6-2T locomotive with a single dome, round headlight and similar looking appearance to the Animal Kingdom Eastern Star Railway locomotives. Photo Credit: Historical Railway Images on Flickr.com

Once on board the Wildlife Express train, a high-pitched train whistle will signify that it's time to depart from Harambe Station. While traversing through the lush vegetation, the trains pass through several railroad crossings before viewing the behind the scenes areas for some of the wildlife that call Disney's Animal Kingdom home. Once arriving at Rafiki's Planet Watch station, passengers can choose to depart and explore Conservation Station or stay on the train and return to Harambe Station. The complete circle of the narrated tour is a little over 1 mile long.

The African foliage can be seen from the train as the R. Baba Harpoor locomotive chugs out of Harambe Station. 

From the Rafiki's Planet Watch Station, discovery trails lead you through the wilderness to Conservation Station. At Conservation Station, visitors can experience the Animal Hospital. If a veterinary procedure is going on, guests can have the opportunity to watch the examination. There also are amphibian, reptiles, and invertebrates on display along with the park's animal hospital and nutrition center. 

The sign advertising Rafiki's Planet Watch. 

Early designs for Disney's Animal Kingdom hinted that the railroad would either take people through animal exhibits or could be a form of transportation from the Animal Kingdom Lodge to the park. It was also discussed to include realistic animal animatronics, similar to those used on the Jungle Cruise at the Magic Kingdom. These ideas were all scrapped for numerous reasons and the railroad's legacy became the only form of transportation to Rafiki's Planet Watch and Conservation Station. 

The Eastern Star Railway Train Shed at Animal Kingdom can be seen from the backside of the train. The spare locomotive can be seen in the storage bay on the left. 

In September 2018, it was announced that the Wildlife Express train, Rafiki's Planet Watch, and Conservation Station at Animal Kingdom would be closing permanently. No official reason was given for the closure. On October 20, 2018, the Eastern Star Railway made what seemed to be it's final run from Harambe Station to Rafiki's Planet Watch before returning to the roundhouse for good. 

One year later, in July 2019, it was announced that the Eastern Star Railway would be reopening! It turned out that the railroad and Rafiki's Planet Watch area were only closed for refurbishment. On July 11, 2019, the whistles of the Eastern Star Railway locomotives could be heard again! The refurbishment allowed time for track work on the railroad and also brought a new attraction to Conservation Station called the Animation Experience. The Animation Experience allows guests to have an immersive learning opportunity to see how live animals inspired Disney movies such as The Lion King. 

The green locomotive #00174 waits in the station for its passengers. 

The reopening of the Wildlife Express train brought much joy to cast members and Disney guests. The opening of the new Animation Experience also brought an increase in visitors to Conservation Station which meant more riders on the Eastern Star Railway. Two trains often operate daily on the railroad bringing guests to and from Harambe Station and Rafiki's Planet Watch. 

An old styled wooden chair for the engineer to sit on can be seen inside the black locomotive.

The Animal Kingdom trains are not the first African-style park trains to exist. Busch Gardens Tampa has two authentic steam-trains built by Crown Metal Products that were African themed. These two 4-4-0 locomotives are actually powered by steam and are fired by propane. One of the original African-themed locomotives still pulls the Serengeti Express through the animal exhibits of the African Savanna. The other original African-themed locomotive is sits outside the engine house awaiting a much needed renovation.

The only operating African-style locomotive at Busch Gardens Tampa in Tampa, Florida. 

While the Wildlife Express locomotives are not real steam trains, the work, research, and design that the Disney Imagineers put into the railroad creates an authentic experience that any train enthusiast can appreciate! 

The R. Baba Harpoor locomotive awaits more visitors in the Harambe Station.