One of the original Disneyland Resort steam engines, the E.P. Ripley, is returning to service after five years.

The engine is named after Edward Payson Ripley, one of the original founders of the Atchison and Topeka Railroad (later the Santa Fe Railroad, established in 1859). The engine was taken off track about five years ago for repairs, followed by a full restoration project that began in the summer of 2021. On March 6, 2023, it will return to service at Disneyland Park.

The restoration process required the team to replicate the engine’s original boiler, headlamp, and bell.

“We replicated some of the original parts, since they aren’t manufactured anymore,” said Tarun Khanna, lead mechanical engineer. “Everything is mechanical and runs like a steam engine from the past, from the boiler all the way down to the whistle.”

Walt Disney can be seen riding the E.P. Ripley in photos from around the 1955 opening of Disneyland.

“Many of us here at the Disneyland Railroad deeply appreciate that we get to operate an attraction that has so much historic significance to the park and personal significance to so many of our guests,” said Katie Wildrick (above), a core lead and trainer.

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