Is this framed Lilly Belle blueprint the same as that displayed in a special room at WDW?

Everything looks really great! Thanks for the photos, polosport.

Congrats to all who helped put this together. Nice to see the railroads getting this kind of attention and love every now and then. There are a couple hat badges on display that that I'm particularly fond of!

A thought: while the "new" artwork produced for sale is nice, I'd much rather have the opportunity to purchase copies of some of that awesome concept art!

Jazz, I don't think those pieces are "wrong." They look to be concept drawings--no doubt completed long before any final detail determinations were made.

Jazz, those are concept drawings, not "as built" renderings. Some ideas that were being presented back in 1970.

[Edit: I should have read Steve's post before replying!]

This is an original Lilly Belle blueprint that was owned by Morrie Houser. Bill Barbe was a friend of Morrie's and loaned it to the exhibit.

Actually a few Burnslanders are represented in the exhibit. Those awesome hat badges are Steve D's and a lot of the Carolwood ephemera is from my collection.

So, here's my suggestion: if any of you like what you see in this show, then please let Disney know. Either by purchasing items or by writing in and telling them how much you appreciate it.

There's a direct correlation between positive guest feedback and future offerings. So, if you want to see more RR items in the future, then please let them know now how much you appreciate what they've created so far.

Who would be a good contact at Disney to express my appreciaton? I was thoroughly impressed how smooth the event was organized during the artist signing. We arrived about an hour before the Gallery opened and staff members handed out pricelists of the items that were for sale. Only a few people were allowed to enter at a time which eliminated having to deal with the usual mob. Employees would greet you and escort you to the posters you wanted but there was no sense of urgency to get you to leave. You could take your time and enjoy the exhibit. When you paid for the posters you could place an order for the larger items which were distributed in another room. There were plenty of staff to accomodate everyone and while you waited you could enjoy the artwork hanging on the walls and suspended from the ceiling or watch the G scale Ward Kimball pull the combine car around on the elevated track and admire the craftsmanship of an O scale layout in the middle of the room. Both systems were built by Hunter Railway Systems.

Staff would also escort you to the artists who were most friendly to autograph their art. Overall it was a very pleasant experience but I feel bad for Polosport who arrived to discover that all the Ward Kimball engines had been sold. I saw several folks purchasing more than one and then this one shows up on eBAY http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160681438933+&item=160681438933&lgeo=1&vectorid=229466. Somehow that doesn't seem quite fair. Too bad Disney doesn't take pre-orders like the Carolwood Society does to ensure everyone who wants one can.

I agree! that sort of stuff has really turned me off to the "limited edition" Disney stuff. It was really, REALLY bad with the Tiki Room stuff a few years ago

While I'm so glad to see this exhibit, I was surprised to see how little of the proposed merchandise made it to production. What is the deal with the N Gauge CK Holiday in the display case-no cast members even knew it was in there or why it was there. They could also provide no information on the O scale WDW Railroad locomotive..............are these items om their way?? AND>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> that NONE of the exhibit art was available on the Print On Demand system!! The cast members said it was-------however we went through all files and menu options and NONE OF IT WAS THERE. I hope this does become available. I noticed that in the passed exhibits the description plaques mention if the art is available on Print On Demand........NONE of these Railroad exhibits mention anything about being available. I', wondering if they fear the old WED/WDI art might outshine much of the newer -character laden-- art pieces and Pre-printed pieces. Does anyone know if the art exhibit pieces are coming to POD??

Glad the G scale piece is selling well.......hope we see rolling stock and additional locomotives.

Sorry I didn't take my time taking the pictures. I was too excited to look at all the exhibits! Since the Ward Kimball isn't labeled as a limited run, for some reason I thought they would have plenty on hand. I hope they get more in soon and I have better luck next time. Here are a few more photos.