I'm writing this after a phone conversation with Disney archivist Dave Smith. I called him to find out whether there were any plans to preserve the body of the last remaining Mark III Monorail. He said that he was not aware of any.

As you know, the undercarriages of the Mark IIIs are being upgraded and fitted with the sleek, new fiberglass bodies of the Mark V series. As beautiful as the new monorail trains are, I -- and millions of others who grew up with Disneyland -- have a special fondness for the Mark IIIs, with their bright colors and shiny, stainless steel sides. Most important, though, is the bubble top.

As a child, visiting Disneyland once every few years with my parents, the ultimate pride for me would have been to ride up there in the bubble, right alongside the monorail engineer. Alas, my parents never understood my desire to ride up there and so never let me wait out the others who had the same goal.

I'm well into my adulthood now, and -- having moved down to Orange County -- I finally fulfilled that boyhood dream by taking my daughter for a ride in the bubble top of the last surviving Mark III -- Monorail Red. I was glad I did, because the engineer told me that as soon as the new Blue was on line, Red would be no more. I asked him if the exterior would be preserved. He didn't think so.

I understand that storage space is at a premium at the Park, and also that there are reasons for destroying an obsolete attraction rather than letting it out of the Park. If you have no plans to ship the remains of the monorail train to the more spacious storage facilities in Orlando, I am here to plead for a commutation of Red III's death sentence.

To me, Tomorrowland has always been my favorite part of the Park. As a child, I grew up with Sputnik, Echo, Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo. Looking ever forward, I saw Tomorrowland as a true depiction of what the future -- my future -- would be. TWA rockets to the Moon. Submarine pleasure cruises. One-piece fiberglass homes by Monsanto. Sleek, gleaming Monorails connecting the nation and the world.

The Monorail, though, was more than a ride. It was a real-world solution to real-world problems and a stunning symbol of excellence in a world continually short on that commodity. The new Mark Vs will continue that spirit of achievement and improvement, but I implore you not to relegate to the scrap heap the last example of The Way The Future Was.

When I asked Mr. Smith if any railroad museum had made an offer to preserve the outer shell of the Mark III, he said that he hadn't heard of any offering to do so. He suggested, however, that the company would listen to anyone that might have a plan. Here's my proposal, and I hope it's not too late.

I will locate a railroad or science/history museum willing to store and/or display the corpus of Red III, whatever is left after its removal from the undercarriage. If the train is dismantled with anything short of sledgehammers, there should be enough of the body and interior that a proper tribute could be designed to the oldest continuously operating monorail system in the Western hemisphere.

All I ask is that you give me a deadline and that the pieces of Red III not be destroyed until then. I know that I can in no way interfere with your timetable for upgrading the monorail into a Mark V, but I hope I have reached you soon enough that my plan might have some chance of succeeding.

When America abandoned the Saturn V moon rocket in favor of the Space Shuttle, they did not destroy the venerable spacecraft. There are one or two around the country as a tribute to the engineering genius and beautiful design that went into the shuttle's ancestors. I ask that the Mark III Monorails be given the chance for a similar memorial.

Respectfully yours,

Victor Koman

cc Frank Wells, Dick Nunis, Ron Dominguez, Ken Kohler, Dave Smith