You’ve just boarded the Yesterland Alweg Monorail for a nonstop, round-trip journey.

Now you’re gliding along the gently curving “Highway in the Sky.” As you look out the windows, you enjoy scenic views of Tomorrowland and Fantasyland. As you travel around the Matterhorn, you’ll have a fine view of the Midget Autopia. You also see the orange groves and vegetable fields that surround the park.

Your brief, 8/10-mile journey is over as your Monorail returns to the station.

The Disneyland Alweg Monorail System was dedicated on June 14, 1959, with a ribbon cutting ceremony that included U.S. Vice President Richard M. Nixon and his family. The Monorail was part of a major expansion of Tomorrowland which also included the Submarine Voyage, the Matterhorn Bobsleds, and the Motorboat Cruise.

But what in the world is an Alweg?

Alweg, or ALWEG, was a company in Cologne (Köln), Germany, founded by wealthy Swedish entrepreneur Dr. Axel Lennart Wenner-Gren. The ALWEG company developed a working monorail prototype, which caught Walt Disney’s eye in 1957. Disney worked out a deal with ALWEG, in which his designers would develop a monorail using ALWEG’s basic design as the starting point.

Disney’s young design genius, Bob Gurr, designed a sleek train with a rocket-ship nose, stainless steel side panels, and the famous bubble top in front. The Disneyland Alweg Monorail’s appearance was a complete departure from the plain, functional design of ALWEG’s prototype (or ALWEG’s later Seattle Monorail, built for the 1962 Seattle “Century 21” World’s Fair).

By early July 1959, there were two Mark I trains—one was red, the other blue—serving Disneyland guests.

When Walt Disney decided to add the Monorail ride to Disneyland, he wasn’t just looking for a new way to entertain Disneyland guests. The Disneyland Alweg Monorail would demonstrate a revolutionary solution to urban mass transportation. Quiet, electric trains would glide above the avenues and rooftops of American cities on slender concrete rails in the sky.

In June 1961, the Monorail became a true transportation link instead of just a sightseeing ride. With an extended 2½ mile track, Disneyland Hotel guests could board the Monorail at the hotel and begin their park visit in Tomorrowland. And Disneyland Park guests could exit at the Disneyland Hotel to drink beverages at the Monorail Lounge that weren’t readily available in the park. Not only was the track extended, but trains grew from three cars to four cars and the fleet grew to three Mark II trains with the addition of a yellow Monorail.

In 1968, the first of four all-new, five-car Mark III trains began service. The Alweg name remained on the Disneyland Monorails until 1976, although the actual ALWEG company had long ago faded away.

The Mark V Monorails, which began operating in 1987, outwardly resemble the Walt Disney World Monorails.

Disneyland replaced the Mark V Monorails with a new fleet of three Mark VII Monorails. Monorail Red and Monorail Blue began service in 2008. They were joined by Monorail Orange in 2009. The Mark VII Disneyland Monorail trains don’t look like scaled-down Walt Disney World Monorail trains any more. The new design is strongly influenced by Bob Gurr’s original, sleek Mark I trains, but without a bubble top—and without upside-down tail fins either.

The Disneyland Monorail continues to entertain and transport Disneyland guests, but the trains and the route are very different than in 1959.

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Updated April 27, 2012.

Photograph of the Tomorrowland Station: circa 1959 by Charles R. Lympany, courtesy of Chris Taylor.
Photograph of Monorail Red and Matterhorn queue: 1959 by Fred M. Nelson, Sr.
Photograph of Monorail and Matterhorn: circa 1959 by Charles R. Lympany, courtesy of Chris Taylor.
Photograph of back of Monorail Blue: circa 1959 by Charles R. Lympany, courtesy of Chris Taylor.
Photograph of ASME plaque: 2005 by Allen Huffman.
Photograph of the Tomorrowland Station in 2006 with Mark V Monorail Red: 2006 by Werner Weiss.
Rendering of Mark VII Monorail, © Disney 2006.
Photograph of the Tomorrowland Station in 2009 with Mark VII Monorail Red: 2009 by Werner Weiss.