Ward Kimball
Encyclopedia
Ward Walrath Kimball was an animator
for the Walt Disney Studios. He was one of Walt Disney's
team of animators known as Disney's Nine Old Men
.
Kimball created several classic Disney characters including the Crows in Dumbo
; Tweedledum and Tweedledee, the Mad Hatter
and the Cheshire Cat
from Alice in Wonderland
; the Mice, Lucifer the Cat and Bruno the Dog from Cinderella
; and Jiminy Cricket
from Pinocchio. He also animated the famous "Three Caballeros" musical number from the Disney film of the same name.
In 1953, Kimball became a director and was responsible for the Academy Award-winning short Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom
, and three Disney television shows about outer space that put the United States into the space program. He received an Academy Award for the short animated cartoon
It's Tough to Be a Bird
.
Ward Kimball was profiled by the Academy Award-winning producer Jerry Fairbanks
in his Paramount Pictures
film short series Unusual Occupations. This 35mm Magnacolor
film short was released theatrically in 1944 and focused on Kimball's backyard railroad and full-sized locomotive.
Kimball was also a jazz
trombonist. He founded and led the seven-piece Dixieland
band Firehouse Five Plus Two
, in which he played trombone
. The band made at least 13 LP records
and toured clubs, college campuses and jazz festivals from the 1940s to early 1970s. Kimball once said that Walt Disney permitted the second career as long as it did not interfere with his animation work.
Kimball continued to work at Disney up until the early 1970s, working on the Disney anthology television series
, being one of the writers for Babes in Toyland
, creating animation for Mary Poppins
, directing the animation for Bedknobs and Broomsticks
, and working on titles for feature films such as The Adventures Of Bullwhip Griffin and Million Dollar Duck. His last staff work for Disney was producing and directing the Disney TV show The Mouse Factory
. He continued to do various projects on his own, even returning to Disney to do some publicity tours. Additionally, Kimball worked on an attraction for Disney's EPCOT Center called World of Motion
.
Kimball also produced two editions of a volume titled Art Afterpieces, in which he revised various well-known works of art, such as putting Mona Lisa
s hair up in curlers, showing Whistler's Mother
watching TV, and adding a Communist flag and Russian
boots to Pinkie
.
While his only two acting appearances on film were an uncredited role as a jazz
musician (with his fellow members of the Firehouse Five Plus Two) in Hit Parade of 1951 and as an IRS
Chief in Mike Jittlov's
The Wizard of Speed and Time
, Kimball also served as host of Disney's Man and the Moon episode of the Disney Space television series of 1956. He also appeared as himself in an episode of the popular TV show You Bet Your Life
hosted by Groucho Marx
on March 18, 1954. As of 2010 the episode is available in a DVD box-set from Amazon.
According to Neal Gabler
's biography of Disney, Ward was a key figure in the dissemination of the urban legend
that Walt Disney had instructed that his body be preserved by cryonics
after his death.
Note: At the time these films were produced it was common for one animator to animate every single character in the shot.
in Perris, California
. A full-sized steam locomotive
, - which Kimball ran on his private 3 acres (12,140.6 m²) backyard railroad known as "Grizzly Flats Railroad
" in San Gabriel, California
- bears some of his original artwork on the headlamp and cab, and is on permanent display at the museum.
In addition to the full-size equipment, Kimball was also an avid collector
of model trains.
Kimball is also credited with helping Walt Disney
for the inspiration to install the Disneyland Railroad
at Disneyland. Inspiration for the Disneyland Railroad also partly came from Walt's own personal gauge, live steam
backyard Carolwood Pacific Railroad
-- also partly built by Ward. Kimball's Grizzly Flats train station was the model for the Disneyland Frontierland Train Station. Engine #5 of the Disneyland Railroad is called Ward Kimball.
Kimball's talents are also evident in the reproduction steam locomotives built for the National Park Service at the Golden Spike site at Promontory, Utah. Kimball helped match colors with an engine at the Smithsonian Institution
and painted the artwork for the replicas of the Union Pacific No. 119
and Central Pacific Jupiter
built by O'Connor Engineering Laboratories for the Park Service.
In recognition to his love of railroading and support of the Orange Empire Railway Museum, the Perris Transit Center, where OERM historic trains travel to, is dedicated to Mr. Kimball. In a rare deviation from their usually tight copyright policy, Disney permitted the city to decorate the transit center with Kimball's artwork. The center is currently served by Riverside Transit Agency
buses, with train service projected to begin in 2011 as part of the Metrolink
Perris Valley Line.
of complications from pneumonia
at age 88. In 2005, the Disneyland Railroad
named their newly acquired Engine №5 the "Ward Kimball" in his memory.
Animator
An animator is an artist who creates multiple images that give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence; the images are called frames and key frames. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, video games, and the internet. Usually, an...
for the Walt Disney Studios. He was one of Walt Disney's
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
team of animators known as Disney's Nine Old Men
Disney's Nine Old Men
Disney's Nine Old Men were the core animators at The Walt Disney Company who created some of Disney's most famous works, from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs onward to The Rescuers. Walt Disney jokingly called this group of animators his "Nine Old Men," referring to Robert S...
.
Career
While Kimball was a brilliant draftsman, he preferred to work on comical characters rather than realistic human designs. Animating came easily to him and he was constantly looking to do things differently. Because of this, Walt Disney called Ward a genius in the book The Story Of Walt Disney. While there were many talented animators at Disney, Ward's efforts stand out as unique.Kimball created several classic Disney characters including the Crows in Dumbo
Dumbo
Dumbo is a 1941 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and released on October 23, 1941, by RKO Radio Pictures.The fourth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, Dumbo is based upon the storyline written by Helen Aberson and illustrated by Harold Pearl for the prototype of a...
; Tweedledum and Tweedledee, the Mad Hatter
Mad Hatter
Hatta, the Hatter is a fictional character in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and the story's sequel, Through the Looking-Glass. He is often referred to as the Mad Hatter, though this term was never used by Carroll...
and the Cheshire Cat
Cheshire Cat
The Cheshire Cat is a fictional cat popularised by Lewis Carroll's depiction of it in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Known for his distinctive mischievous grin, the Cheshire Cat has had a notable impact on popular culture.-Origins:...
from Alice in Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland (1951 film)
Alice in Wonderland is a 1951 American animated feature produced by Walt Disney and based primarily on Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland with a few additional elements from Through the Looking-Glass. Thirteenth in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film was released in New...
; the Mice, Lucifer the Cat and Bruno the Dog from Cinderella
Cinderella (1950 film)
Cinderella is a 1950 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and based on the fairy tale "Cendrillon" by Charles Perrault. Twelfth in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film had a limited release on February 15, 1950 by RKO Radio Pictures. Directing credits go to Clyde Geronimi,...
; and Jiminy Cricket
Jiminy Cricket
Jiminy Cricket is the Walt Disney version of "The Talking Cricket" , a fictional character created by Carlo Collodi for his children's book Pinocchio, which was adapted into an animated film by Disney in 1940...
from Pinocchio. He also animated the famous "Three Caballeros" musical number from the Disney film of the same name.
In 1953, Kimball became a director and was responsible for the Academy Award-winning short Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom
Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom
Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom is an educational Adventures in Music animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions, and originally released to theaters by Buena Vista Distribution on November 10, 1953...
, and three Disney television shows about outer space that put the United States into the space program. He received an Academy Award for the short animated cartoon
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
It's Tough to Be a Bird
It's Tough to Be a Bird
It's Tough to Be a Bird is a 1969 educational animated short made by Walt Disney Productions. It won the Academy Award for Best Short Subject, Cartoons in 1970 and was nominated for a BAFTA Film Award for Best Animated Film in 1971....
.
Ward Kimball was profiled by the Academy Award-winning producer Jerry Fairbanks
Jerry Fairbanks
Gerald Bertram "Jerry" Fairbanks was a producer and director in the Hollywood motion picture and television industry....
in his Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
film short series Unusual Occupations. This 35mm Magnacolor
Magnacolor
Magnacolor was a color film process owned by Consolidated Film Industries. It was an off-shoot of William Van Doren Kelley's Prizma and utilized the same bi-pack color process. Magnacolor was succeeded at the company by Trucolor.-See also:*Bi-pack color...
film short was released theatrically in 1944 and focused on Kimball's backyard railroad and full-sized locomotive.
Kimball was also a jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
trombonist. He founded and led the seven-piece Dixieland
Dixieland
Dixieland music, sometimes referred to as Hot jazz, Early Jazz or New Orleans jazz, is a style of jazz music which developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century, and was spread to Chicago and New York City by New Orleans bands in the 1910s.Well-known jazz standard songs from the...
band Firehouse Five Plus Two
Firehouse Five Plus Two
The Firehouse Five Plus Two was a Dixieland jazz band, popular in the 1950s, consisting of members of the Walt Disney Studios animation department;-Members:Danny Alguire — cornetHarper Goff — banjo...
, in which he played trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
. The band made at least 13 LP records
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
and toured clubs, college campuses and jazz festivals from the 1940s to early 1970s. Kimball once said that Walt Disney permitted the second career as long as it did not interfere with his animation work.
Kimball continued to work at Disney up until the early 1970s, working on the Disney anthology television series
Disney anthology television series
The Walt Disney anthology television series refers to a television series which has been produced by the Walt Disney Company under several different titles from 1955 to 2008...
, being one of the writers for Babes in Toyland
Babes in Toyland (1961 film)
Babes in Toyland is a 1961 Christmas musical film in Technicolor, directed by Jack Donohue, produced by Walt Disney, and distributed to theatres by Buena Vista Distribution. It stars Ray Bolger as Barnaby, Annette Funicello as Mary Contrary, Tommy Sands as Tom Piper, and Ed Wynn as the Toymaker.The...
, creating animation for Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins is a series of children's books written by P. L. Travers and originally illustrated by Mary Shepard. The books centre on a magical English nanny, Mary Poppins. She is blown by the East wind to Number Seventeen Cherry Tree Lane, London and into the Banks' household to care for their...
, directing the animation for Bedknobs and Broomsticks
Bedknobs and Broomsticks
Bedknobs and Broomsticks is a 1971 musical film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution Company which combines live action and animation and was released in North America on December 13, 1971...
, and working on titles for feature films such as The Adventures Of Bullwhip Griffin and Million Dollar Duck. His last staff work for Disney was producing and directing the Disney TV show The Mouse Factory
The Mouse Factory
The Mouse Factory was a syndicated television series produced by Walt Disney Productions, that ran from 1972 to 1974. It showed clips from various Disney cartoons and movies and showed celebrity guests, including Johnny Brown, Charles Nelson Reilly, JoAnne Worley and many more, visiting the Disney...
. He continued to do various projects on his own, even returning to Disney to do some publicity tours. Additionally, Kimball worked on an attraction for Disney's EPCOT Center called World of Motion
World of Motion
World of Motion , sponsored by General Motors, was the former tenant of the Transportation pavilion at Epcot at the Walt Disney World Resort...
.
Kimball also produced two editions of a volume titled Art Afterpieces, in which he revised various well-known works of art, such as putting Mona Lisa
Mona Lisa
Mona Lisa is a portrait by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. It is a painting in oil on a poplar panel, completed circa 1503–1519...
s hair up in curlers, showing Whistler's Mother
Whistler's Mother
Arrangement in Grey and Black: The Artist's Mother, famous under its colloquial name Whistler's Mother, is an 1871 oil-on-canvas painting by American-born painter James McNeill Whistler. The painting is , displayed in a frame of Whistler's own design, and is now owned by the Musée d'Orsay in Paris....
watching TV, and adding a Communist flag and Russian
Russian culture
Russian culture is associated with the country of Russia and, sometimes, specifically with ethnic Russians. It has a rich history and can boast a long tradition of excellence in every aspect of the arts, especially when it comes to literature and philosophy, classical music and ballet, architecture...
boots to Pinkie
Pinkie (Lawrence painting)
Pinkie is the traditional title for a portrait of 1794 by Thomas Lawrence in the permanent collection of The Huntington at San Marino, California where it hangs opposite The Blue Boy by Thomas Gainsborough. These two works are the centerpieces of the institute's art collection, which specializes in...
.
While his only two acting appearances on film were an uncredited role as a jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
musician (with his fellow members of the Firehouse Five Plus Two) in Hit Parade of 1951 and as an IRS
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
Chief in Mike Jittlov's
Mike Jittlov
Mike Jittlov is an American animator and the creator of short films and one feature length movie using forms of special effects animation, including stop-motion animation, rotoscoping, and pixilation...
The Wizard of Speed and Time
The Wizard of Speed and Time
The Wizard of Speed and Time is a 1989 low-budget feature film written, directed, and starring animator Mike Jittlov, as well as a 1979 16 mm short film, also by Jittlov.-1979 Short film:...
, Kimball also served as host of Disney's Man and the Moon episode of the Disney Space television series of 1956. He also appeared as himself in an episode of the popular TV show You Bet Your Life
You Bet Your Life
You Bet Your Life is an American quiz show that aired on both radio and television. The original and best-known version was hosted by Groucho Marx of the Marx Brothers, with announcer and assistant George Fenneman. The show debuted on ABC Radio in October 1947, then moved to CBS Radio in September...
hosted by Groucho Marx
Groucho Marx
Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx was an American comedian and film star famed as a master of wit. His rapid-fire delivery of innuendo-laden patter earned him many admirers. He made 13 feature films with his siblings the Marx Brothers, of whom he was the third-born...
on March 18, 1954. As of 2010 the episode is available in a DVD box-set from Amazon.
According to Neal Gabler
Neal Gabler
Neal Gabler is a professor, journalist, author, film critic and political commentator.He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Michigan and holds advanced degrees in film and American culture.-Journalist:...
's biography of Disney, Ward was a key figure in the dissemination of the urban legend
Urban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
that Walt Disney had instructed that his body be preserved by cryonics
Cryonics
Cryonics is the low-temperature preservation of humans and animals who can no longer be sustained by contemporary medicine, with the hope that healing and resuscitation may be possible in the future. Cryopreservation of people or large animals is not reversible with current technology...
after his death.
Animator
- Snow WhiteSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a 1937 American animated film based on Snow White, a German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. It was the first full-length cel-animated feature in motion picture history, as well as the first animated feature film produced in America, the first produced in full...
(The Dwarfs; the Vultures) - PinocchioPinocchio (1940 film)Pinocchio is a 1940 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and based on the story The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi. It is the second film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics, and it was made after the success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and was released to theaters by...
(Jiminy Cricket) - FantasiaFantasia (film)Fantasia is a 1940 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and released by Walt Disney Productions. The third feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film consists of eight animated segments set to pieces of classical music conducted by Leopold Stokowski, seven of which are...
(Bacchus and his don-corn) - DumboDumboDumbo is a 1941 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and released on October 23, 1941, by RKO Radio Pictures.The fourth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, Dumbo is based upon the storyline written by Helen Aberson and illustrated by Harold Pearl for the prototype of a...
(The Crows; Casey Jr.; a few scenes of Dumbo and Timothy Mouse) - The Three CaballerosThe Three CaballerosThe Three Caballeros is a 1944 American animated feature film, produced by Walt Disney and distributed by RKO Radio Pictures. The film premiered in Mexico City on December 21, 1944. It was released in the United States on February 3, 1945...
(Title musical number) - Make Mine MusicMake Mine MusicMake Mine Music is an animated feature produced by Walt Disney and released to theatres by RKO Radio Pictures on August 15, 1946. It is the eighth animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series....
(the Hunters in "Peter and the Wolf"; Willy the Whale) - Melody TimeMelody TimeMelody Time is a 1948 animated feature produced by Walt Disney and released to theatres by RKO Radio Pictures on May 27, 1948. Made up of several sequences set to popular music and folk music, the film is, like Make Mine Music before it, the popular music version of Fantasia Melody Time is a 1948...
(Pecos Bill) - The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. ToadThe Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. ToadThe Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad is a 1949 animated feature produced by Walt Disney. The film was released to theaters on October 5, 1949 by RKO Radio Pictures and is the eleventh animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series...
(train chase sequence; Ichabod Crane) - CinderellaCinderella (1950 film)Cinderella is a 1950 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and based on the fairy tale "Cendrillon" by Charles Perrault. Twelfth in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film had a limited release on February 15, 1950 by RKO Radio Pictures. Directing credits go to Clyde Geronimi,...
(Lucifer; Jaq; Gus; The Mice) - Alice in WonderlandAlice in Wonderland (1951 film)Alice in Wonderland is a 1951 American animated feature produced by Walt Disney and based primarily on Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland with a few additional elements from Through the Looking-Glass. Thirteenth in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film was released in New...
(Tweedledee and Tweedledum; The Cheshire Cat; The Mad Hatter; The March Hare; The Walrus ; The Dormouse) - Peter PanPeter Pan (1953 film)Peter Pan is a 1953 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and based on the play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up by J. M. Barrie. It is the fourteenth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and was originally released on February 5, 1953 by RKO Pictures...
(Wendy Darling; John Darling; Michael Darling; The Lost Boys; the Indian Chief) - Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color (Ludwig Von Drake)
- Mary PoppinsMary Poppins (film)Mary Poppins is a 1964 musical film starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, produced by Walt Disney, and based on the Mary Poppins books series by P. L. Travers with illustrations by Mary Shepard. The film was directed by Robert Stevenson and written by Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi, with songs by...
(the Pearly Band)
Note: At the time these films were produced it was common for one animator to animate every single character in the shot.
Grizzly Flats Railroad
Along with his employer and friend Walt Disney, and fellow mate Ollie Johnston, Kimball also collected old railroad ephemera. Kimball was an avid railway enthusiast and donated his gauge collection to the Orange Empire Railway MuseumOrange Empire Railway Museum
The Orange Empire Railway Museum , 2201 South "A" Street, Perris, California, is a railroad museum founded in 1956 at the Pinacate Station as the "Orange Empire Trolley Museum." The museum also operates a heritage railroad on the museum grounds.-Background:The collection focuses on Southern...
in Perris, California
Perris, California
Perris is a city in Riverside County, California, USA. At the 2010 census, the city population was 68,386, up from 36,189 at the 2000 census. The city is named in honor of Fred T. Perris, chief engineer of the California Southern Railroad...
. A full-sized steam locomotive
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
, - which Kimball ran on his private 3 acres (12,140.6 m²) backyard railroad known as "Grizzly Flats Railroad
Grizzly Flats Railroad
The Grizzly Flats Railroad was a long narrow gauge railroad in San Gabriel, California, owned by Disney animator Ward Kimball. It was the first full-sized backyard railroad in the United States and was operated from 1942 to 2006.-History:...
" in San Gabriel, California
San Gabriel, California
San Gabriel is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is named after the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, founded by Junipero Serra. The city grew outward from the mission and in 1852 became the original township of Los Angeles County. San Gabriel was incorporated in 1913...
- bears some of his original artwork on the headlamp and cab, and is on permanent display at the museum.
In addition to the full-size equipment, Kimball was also an avid collector
Collecting
The hobby of collecting includes seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever items are of interest to the individual collector. Some collectors are generalists, accumulating merchandise, or stamps from all countries of the world...
of model trains.
Kimball is also credited with helping Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
for the inspiration to install the Disneyland Railroad
Disneyland Railroad
The Disneyland Railroad , originally the Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad, is a narrow gauge railroad at Disneyland, Anaheim, California, United States, that was inaugurated on the park's live television preview on July 17, 1955. This live steam railway was constructed for $240,000; each of the...
at Disneyland. Inspiration for the Disneyland Railroad also partly came from Walt's own personal gauge, live steam
Live steam
Live steam is steam under pressure, obtained by heating water in a boiler. The steam is used to operate stationary or moving equipment.A live steam machine or device is one powered by steam, but the term is usually reserved for those that are replicas, scale models, toys, or otherwise used for...
backyard Carolwood Pacific Railroad
Carolwood Pacific Railroad
The Carolwood Pacific Railroad was a live steam backyard railroad, built by the American animated film producer and animator, Walt Disney in the backyard of his home in California, USA....
-- also partly built by Ward. Kimball's Grizzly Flats train station was the model for the Disneyland Frontierland Train Station. Engine #5 of the Disneyland Railroad is called Ward Kimball.
Kimball's talents are also evident in the reproduction steam locomotives built for the National Park Service at the Golden Spike site at Promontory, Utah. Kimball helped match colors with an engine at the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
and painted the artwork for the replicas of the Union Pacific No. 119
Union Pacific No. 119
The No. 119 was a 4-4-0 steam locomotive which made history as one of the two locomotives to meet at Promontory Summit during the Golden Spike ceremony commemorating the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad.No...
and Central Pacific Jupiter
Jupiter (locomotive)
The Jupiter was a 4-4-0 steam locomotive which made history as one of the two locomotives The Jupiter (officially known as Central Pacific Railroad #60) was a 4-4-0 steam locomotive which made history as one of the two locomotives The Jupiter (officially known as Central Pacific Railroad #60) was...
built by O'Connor Engineering Laboratories for the Park Service.
In recognition to his love of railroading and support of the Orange Empire Railway Museum, the Perris Transit Center, where OERM historic trains travel to, is dedicated to Mr. Kimball. In a rare deviation from their usually tight copyright policy, Disney permitted the city to decorate the transit center with Kimball's artwork. The center is currently served by Riverside Transit Agency
Riverside Transit Agency
Riverside Transit Agency is a joint powers agency that provides public transportation in western Riverside County, California, United States. It operates more than 300 vehicles on 36 local fixed routes, eight long-distance "CommuterLink" express bus routes, and Dial-A-Ride service. RTA was...
buses, with train service projected to begin in 2011 as part of the Metrolink
Metrolink (Southern California)
Metrolink is a commuter rail system serving Los Angeles and the surrounding area of Southern California; it currently consists of six lines and 55 stations using of track....
Perris Valley Line.
Death
Kimball died in 2002 in Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
of complications from pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
at age 88. In 2005, the Disneyland Railroad
Disneyland Railroad
The Disneyland Railroad , originally the Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad, is a narrow gauge railroad at Disneyland, Anaheim, California, United States, that was inaugurated on the park's live television preview on July 17, 1955. This live steam railway was constructed for $240,000; each of the...
named their newly acquired Engine №5 the "Ward Kimball" in his memory.