Self-Guided Boston's Beacon Hill Underground Railroad Audio Tour Walking Tour

This self guided tour was so well laid out with the pictures and directions. I was thoroughly impressed. I hope to do many more self guided tours because it brings about a great sense of independence and self pacing.

The narrative of the places and the historical events was excellent. Don't know who the actors were who did the narration, but they did a great job. The app is easy enough to follow as the map feature does allow you to track your location. The only downsides: 1 - if there are several of you, you have to use the phone speaker if you don't have a bluetooth speaker, and in crowds it's rude to be playing. 2 - the map feature isn't the easiest to use and doesn't really 'track' you with the narrative. If there is street activity that causes you to move faster than you'd like - we experienced heavy road construction creating excessive noise, dust and traffic - you have to jump ahead using the narration feature of the app and that doesn't track against the gps. Otherwise, a great tool!

On Saturday, June 22, 2024, we took the Disney Railroad and Lilly Belle Guided Tour with “Non-stop Nic” as our guide. It was a gift from one of our Daughters for Father's Day and our 52nd Wedding Anniversary. Touring this 36”, narrow gauge rail system is always fun as each guide has a slightly different presentation of the railroad. Back in 2017 I had taken the tour and throughout the tour all of the guests had the same reception issue with the Disneyland provided sound system. That was kind of interesting. I told our guide I thought the problem was with her transmitter and the response, after she looked at it to see it was “On,” was something like “No, mine indicates it is transmitting.” When a system with one transmitter and 10 receivers has the same issue with every receiver common sense leads to …..? With Nic one guest was having an issue with her receiver and Nic solved it very quickly. The first step up from the previous tour, one working transmitter and ten working receivers. The tour has changed. This tour was two hours with much of it walking around Disneyland to points that are or were rail associated attractions or rides in the past and some very good narratives provided by Nic. One significant addition was a short walk behind the scenes to view the roundhouse, the train maintenance facility, from a distance and through a vision restricting gap in the berm. We were not allowed to cross the tracks so this is a “far off look” at the roundhouse. While we were standing there they did bring another train into service. That was kind of an add-on. You can see the roundhouse from the train so it is no secret. We were not allowed to take photos behind the scenes. Not sure why. I have photos of the roundhouse from the trains. Because of the ventilation issues with the Lilly Belle rides are limited to temperatures below 90 degrees Fahrenheit. The windows on the Lilly Belle are only opened about 6”. When we got there the temperature was 89.7 degrees so we rode the great circle route around Disneyland for one loop embarking and disembarking at the Toon Town Station. That raises a question from me, Why not START the tour on the Lilly Belle on hot days? There are several good books out on the Disneyland railroad. Check on books by Michael Broggie and Steve BeGaetano among others. Michael’s father, Roger, was the shop master that was instrumental in building locomotive #1 - C.K. Holliday and #2 E.P. Ripley. There is a second story window near the magic shop on Main Street honoring Roger. These two engines were built from the ground up in 1954 & 1955 for the Santa Fe & Disneyland Railway now Disneyland Railroad. Roger was also a principal player in the conversion of #3 - Fred Gurley, #4 - Ernest S. Marsh, and #5 - Ward Kimball to the Disneyland Railroad engines we see today. The Fred Gurley was built in 1894, the Ernest S. Marsh was built in 1925, and Ward Kimball was built in 1902. These three are all repurposed Baldwin steamers which have gone through numerous rebuilds and modifications over the years. I love Disneyland. However, I find it growing ever more expensive every year. It is a “for profit company” and it is allowed to make a profit. Some of the things that cost a lot at Disneyland are the numerous cast members keeping the park clean and operating. Many cast members are providing free admission shows and events such as the parades. All of the rides and attractions are free if you take the standby lines. I highly recommend purchasing Genie+ and using the Lightning Lane except on days when I am there. I wish they would add a tour of an engine and explanation of how the steam engine works, maybe in or nearer to the roundhouse then we were. Nic stated that it was a pretty simple process of heating water into steam and then putting it into the drive cylinders to operate a steam engine. Hmmm. Disagree. Yes, fuel – special biodiesel in this case, water, and ignition / heat are the key. From there it gets really complicated. The Disneyland Railroad Guided Tour is a super event, a bit costly and with the risk of having very limited time on the Lilly Belle, recommend a from mid-fall to late spring tour avoiding the summer heat limitation issues. Thanks, Rex