It is not an overly complicated nor extensive story. Gold-seeking prospectors discovered a potential vein buried beneath Wyoming´s Big Thunder Mountain. Ignoring the legend of an Indian curse associated with the mountain, the greedy gentlemen sent a train down deep into the mine tunnels. Vengeful spirits took control of the train and its mine cars, sending them careening out of control, and throwing the miners to unknown dooms. The train eventually returned, but the miners were never seen or heard from again. The mine would later fall victim to a calamitous earthquake, and the nearby little town of Tumbleweed would find itself submerged due to a flash flood, all likely further retribution on the part of the angered spirits.

Back in 1970s, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad went through a prolonged development phase that had nearly as many twists and turns as the heavily themed roller coaster attraction it would eventually become. And in that time, other "histories" of the mountain were created and considered.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad began as a concept developed by Imagineer Tony Baxter, to be a part of Thunder Mesa, a planned expansion of Disney World´s Frontierland, of which the centerpiece was to have been Marc Davis´ now mythical Western River Expedition. The entire Thunder Mesa project was ultimately shelved when much of its budget went to a fast track construction of the east coast version of Pirates of the Caribbean.

Shortly thereafter, Baxter went on to work on a concept for Disneyland called Discovery Bay. This new "land" was to have been located in the northern area of the park that would eventually become the Big Thunder Ranch. Baxter incorporated much of his Big Thunder Mountain ideas into Discovery Bay. According to an article in the spring 1992 issue of Disney News, the Discovery Bay concept was adapted into a story treatment by an Imagineer show writer. Here are the details as provided by that article:

The highly imaginative tale includes the legend of a young inventor, named Jason Chandler, who lived in a town called International Village during the peak gold rush years in the Big Thunder region-circa 1849. According to the chronicles, "...the young inventor devised a drilling machine with the capability of boring into the very heart of Big Thunder Mountain. There, the veins of gold ran so deep, it was rumored they could produce a mother lode that would bring a man enough wealth to last a hundred lifetimes and more.

But a cave-in occurred on Big Thunder, burying 26 miners alive. They would have drawn their last breath then and there, had it not been for the inven¬tor and his laughable drilling machine. He burrowed down into the Earth's core, rescuing the miners from certain death. It should have been a moment of joy and celebra¬tion, but as the men scrambled to the arms of safety, a massive earthquake shook the ground and a cavernous maw opened up, swallowing the inventor and his machine whole. "The miners, as well as the citizens of the village, struggled day and night against the mountain, trying to dig the young man from his living tomb. But they never saw him, or another nugget of gold, again. Big Thunder had taken its vengeance not only on the miners, but on their wealth as well. The mountain had gone bust, and it became just a matter of time before only ghosts resided there.

The overall concept of Discovery Bay was ultimately abandoned, but as was the case with Thunder Mesa, the Thunder Mountain portion managed to survive. Plans for "mountains" in both Disneyland and Walt Disney World were set in motion. Disneyland´s Big Thunder opened in September 1979, and the Disney World version debuted one year later. Gone however was the Jason Chandler legend, replaced with more traditional western themes of gold fever and Native American spirits.

Another wholly different back story for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad appeared in the 1996 book Walt Disney Imagineering. Entitled "The Miner Details of Big Thunder," it related a tale from 1840 of the tapped out Big Thunder Mine, and of Sam, the last of the mountain´s miners. Here´s an excerpt detailing Sam´s subsequent adventures:

Things got mighty busted up and rusted down inside Big Thunder, so Sam told me while sluggin' from a dusty bottle of Old Imagineer. He was the last prospector inside that mine. Fact is, poor old Sam took a spill and done landed belly up in one of them ore cars. Next thing he knows, the car takes off like a skinny coyote after a plump hen! Off he went, a headin' fer the mine. Seems like that old ghost mine came to life for Sam. He swears the rusted winch engine was a pumpin' and a wheezin' and just when he was thinkin' he must have bats in his belfry, there was bats! Then he sat up to see what he could see in the dark, and there was pools of rainbow water and waterfalls, and plenty of them rocks the schoolmarm calls "stalactites and stalagmites."

The walls of the canyon kept comin' in closer and closer at old Sam and he yelled until he couldn't yell no more. All of a sudden, the car thunders into a pitch dark tunnel, with Sam holdin' on fer dear life. Comin' back out the other side, he spots a couple a danged skunks foolin' with blastin' powder, like to blow the top off a whole derned mountain! Little ways away, danged if'n there ain't a Billy goat chawin' on a stick of the stuff! But Sam didn't have no time to worry about that, 'cuz next thing he knows he's whip-pin' down Spiral Butte and headin' right back down into Big Thunder Mine. Sam figgered he was goin' in and never comin' out this time, with all that rumblin' and shakin' and rocks comin' down all around him. He closed his eyes tight but the next thing ya know he was outside and high-ballin' down on the track again, right over the Bear River Trestle Bridge. That ore car finally squealed to a stop right smack dab in the middle of Big Thunder Town. Sam just sat up, brushed off the dust and said, "I ain't had this much of a whoop and a holler since the Grub Gang hit town. I just barely got out with my hide!"

The Imagineers who authored the book gave no credit for the story, nor did they disclose at what point in the attraction´s development it was being used or considered.

One other item that provides some background is the recording "The Ballad of Thunder Mountain" that appeared as a track for the discontinued Disneyland Forever CDs that were available at that park during the late 1990s. Here are some selected lyrics from that song:

At Big Thunder Mountain station there´s a frighten trembling man,
His body´s weak and feeble and his skin has left his hand,
When I asked him for a ticket, he turned and shook his head,
He grabbed my by the shoulder and this is what he said:

"Before you get on board this train there´s something you should know,
When I finish with this tale you might not want to go."
I listened with amazement at what he said was true,
And now my friend the time has come to tell this tale to you.

Hear the legend, of Thunder Mountain,
Victory come and tries to stay away,
From Big Thunder, Mountain railroad,
Thunder Mountain Railroad ran away!

He said as legend has it on one foggy night in June,
The train and crew pulled out as well beneath the darken moon,
With a boiler full of water and a tender full of coal,
The whistle screamed a warning as the wheels began to roll.

Then like a bucking bronco with a cougar on it´s back,
The train began to run away on miles and miles of track,
What happened to the crew that night no one has ever learned,
The train pulled in all by itself, the men did not return.

The history of Big Thunder, continues to unfold,
The stories of its danger continue to be told,
Of avalanche and rattle snakes and earthquakes in the night,
And voices of that phantom crew that chill your blood with fright.

So please forgive me mister if I´m standing in your way,
But before you buy your ticket, there´s one thing I have to say:

Hear the legend, of Thunder Mountain,
Victory come and tries to stay away,
From Big Thunder, Mountain railroad,
Thunder Mountain Railroad ran away!

One final interesting detail of note is in fact specific to Disney World´s Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Tumbleweed resident Professor Cumulus Isobar provides a bit of ironic humor as a "rainmaker" in the now flooded little mining town. Kind of makes you wonder just what is his story.