Novelty Monorails - Nara Dreamland


No friends, this isn't Disneyland! It's the original imitation Disneyland, built by non-Disney folks in Japan. It's called Nara Dreamland and it opened in 1961. What would an imitation Disneyland be without a monorail? Tokyo Shibaura Electric built the figure 8-shaped loop line you see on this page. The following photographs were shot by TMS member Kevin Barbee.


Spaceliner! This is a second generation train making a trip around Dreamland.


Vintage 1961 Alweg-style track.


The Spaceliner station is near the skyride and mountain bobsled ride.


How about four headlights?


It's kind of a boxy looking control panel for such a sleek train, isn't it?


It's not a walk-through train, but in a pinch you can slide those doors open and crawl through. Thanks for the great pictures Kevin!

Update: Nara Dreamland closed permanently in August of 2006.

Kim A Pedersen's YouTube video: If this is Nara, I must be in Dreamland (includes full front view ride on monorail)

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