The Disney Express

Michael Broggie rode the Disneyland railroad on its first voyage around the park, and he's got the picture to prove it. The enlarged black and white picture hangs today at the Walt Disney's Railroad Story booth at the World’s Greatest Hobby Show.

Broggie’s father served as Disney's first engineer. "I literally grew up in Walt Disney’s backyard," Broggie said. "The idea of Disneyland came out of the backyard train set."

Today, Broggie is the founding chairman of Carolwood Pacific Historical Society, which creates railroad products for the Disney corporation. Expo visitors were snapping up Broggie's $70 hardcover Disney biography and the slim children's version. He signed stacks of books in a practiced imitation of Disney’s scrawl. The Martin family of Warrenton, Va., asked Broggie to sign both books and a CD. Carla Martin, 12, posed for a picture.

"A lot of youngsters today don’t realize that Walt Disney was a real person," said Broggie. He's certainly more eager to talk about Disney than himself -- and he's doing his best to share his memories of the 2,600 feet of train tracks that once covered Walt Disney's backyard.