On April 14, the world lost perhaps one of its greatest animators. Ollie Johnston, age 95, passed away of natural causes at a long-term care facility in Sequim, Washington, the last of Walt Disney's "Nine Old Men".

To the world, Ollie was famous for his exceptional work on such classic Disney films as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Fantasia and Bambi. But to many of us, he will be remembered for his love of trains.

In the 1949 Ollie built a 1 inch scale railroad around his home in La Canada-Flintridge, CA. His motive power consisted of a Pacific-class live steam model built by Lawrence Hiney, a two-truck Shay that Ollie build mostly himself over an eight-year period, and much later, an electric that was a GP-9.

His layout consisted of a large circle of track around his home with a smaller inner circle in the backyard. The railroad had several switches and turnouts and even a low trestle.

To store the rolling stock, Ollie built a miniature car barn next to his workshop. His locomotives were stored inside the shop by rolling them through a door in the shop wall and onto a shelf under his workbench. His shop consisted of a lathe, mill and drill press and shared space with an animation table and many artists' supplies.

Ollie didn't stop with just a small railroad around his house. In 1965, Ollie purchased a three foot gauge Porter 0-4-0 and spent the next two years restoring it in his driveway. After completion, he took it to his vacation home near Julian, CA, where he ran it on ¾ of a mile of track. This engine and a flat car and caboose build by Ollie are now owned by Disney-Pixar Chief Creative Officer, John Lasseter, who is a member of the board of governors of the Carolwood Pacific Historical Society, as was Ollie.

Ollie was one of the nicest guys you could ever know. LALS member Bill Barbe remembered the first time he met Ollie. "I was working in the Flintridge area at the time and heard about the railroad. I didn't even know how famous Ollie was or what he had done. I knew he worked at Disney, but that was about it. I contacted him and he invited me up to see his trains. He pulled everything out so I could photograph them and we walked his layout and talked about railroading. While I am sure most people would have asked him about working at Disney, I was interested in his railroad and he seemed to enjoy showing it off far more than discussing animation. This led to many more visits and talks through the years. These are times I will never forget".

One of the features of Ollie's La Canada Valley Railroad was the little yellow depot built as a play house for his two sons, Ken and Rick. After Ollie moved to Washington, his family donated the building to the Carolwood Foundation who moved it to LALS where it was restored by LALS Member Lloyd Davis. The station was placed next to the 1 inch track, a fitting location since Ollie modeled in 1 inch scale. The depot looks upon Walt Disney's Carolwood Barn and the two structures serve as a tribute to these creative legends who happened to love trains.

The world has lost a great artist and a Disney Legend, but the Railroad Hobby has also lost a great engineer.

Marie and Ollie Johnston share a moment in 1993 aboard their one-twelfth scale model steam engine at their home in La Canada-Flintridge, California. The backyard layout inspired Walt Disney to build an elaborate one-eighth scale railroad at his Carolwood home. Photo by Michael Broggie

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