A circus train is a method of conveyance for circus troupes. One of the larger users of circus trains was the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (RBBX), a famous American circus formed when the Ringling Brothers Circus purchased the Barnum and Bailey Circus in 1907. [1] [2] [3]
Circuses in the United States began traveling by rail in the 1830s, but railroad circuses were smaller in scale than their wagon-drawn counterparts. The logistics of operating a railroad circus in the mid-19th century were complex and difficult: track gauges differed across the country, financing had to be secured to pay train crews up front, and loading and unloading railcars was a time-consuming, laborious process. In comparison, circuses that traveled by horse-drawn wagon could transport their wagons directly to showgrounds. [4] : 36–37
The completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869 marked a major milestone in the development of the American railroad, and with it the American circus. Dan Castello, proprietor of Wisconsin-based Dan Castello's Circus and Menagerie, toured by train from Omaha to California that year, enabled by the newly standardized railroads. Castello's act featured two elephants and two camels, and was financially successful. [4] : 37 [5]
Castello partnered with P. T. Barnum and fellow Wisconsin showman William C. Coup, and the trio launched a wagon show in 1871. The show moved to touring by train in 1872, as Coup calculated that the show could be more profitable if it traveled by train to larger towns. To support touring by train, Coup and Castello developed a new method of transporting the circus. Railroad flatcars were equipped with removable ramps, which were installed between the cars when the train was stationary. Pulleys were installed on the final car, allowing loaded wagons to be rolled down the entire length of the train, speeding up the process of loading and unloading. [5] [6] This system was a key predecessor of modern intermodal freight transport, which began in the early 20th century. [7] [8]
The size and logistical benefits of the circus train enabled rapid expansion of circus acts. As acts grew, trains became longer, and the rolling stock became more specialized. Barnum, Coup, and Castello's first train in 1872 was 1,200 feet (370 m) long, and used leased cars that were no more than 30 feet (9.1 m) long. It bought its own cars halfway through its first season, and the show's successor, the Barnum & Bailey Circus, grew to 3,600 feet (1,100 m) in 1897, using 60-foot (18 m) cars. [4] : 38 [9] : 21
By the end of the 19th century, trains were firmly established as part of the American circus. In addition to transporting the circus acts themselves, smaller trains were operated by the largest circuses ahead of the main train. These advance trains were used by agents of the circus to promote shows, arrange contracts for services, and check that routes were appropriate for the main circus train. [9] : 42–43 In addition to advance trains used by their own staff, circuses arranged for excursion trains for attendees, allowing rural residents to travel to cities to see the circus perform. [9] : 23–24
Circus trains have also been used by shows other than circuses, and the rapid development of American railroads had a broader impact on the performing arts than just circuses. Strates Shows, a traveling carnival, has operated a carnival train since at least the 1930s and bills itself as "America's only railroad carnival." [10] Buffalo Bill's Wild West toured by train, [9] : 21 and the rapid development of American railroads in the late 19th century shaped the geography and business practices of vaudeville performers and their circuits. [11]
The number of circus trains in operation peaked in 1903. At least 38 of the 98 circuses in operation that year traveled by train, some touring the entire country via the transcontinental railroad. [9] : 7 Railroad travel was restricted during both World War I and World War II, although circus trains were granted limited exceptions. World War I restrictions prompted the 1919 merger of the Ringling Bros. Circus and the Barnum & Bailey Circus into one massive production, and RBB&B was further set back by the Hartford circus fire of 1944. [12]
In 1945, only 6 circuses used trains. [13] Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey continued to use a train, but it became smaller after the circus played its final show under a tent in Pittsburgh in 1956, and the show briefly switched to trucks before returning to a train. [8] Other surviving circuses, such as the Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus, switched to trucks permanently, using the newly constructed Interstate Highway System to their advantage. [14] : 274
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey expanded their show in 1969, introducing two trains deemed the Blue Unit and the Red Unit, and following an alternating two-year schedule to bring a new show to each location once a year. [14] : 346 During the 2010 season, the RBB&B Blue Unit train was made up of 59 cars, with a total length of 5,235 feet (1,596 m). [8] The contemporary RBB&B trains carried approximately 250 performers and staff, and were nicknamed the "city without a ZIP code." [15]
The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus closed its doors in May 2017, and its train cars were either auctioned off or scrapped. Twenty cars are preserved at the educational nonprofit Kirby Family Farm in Williston, Florida, [16] and the North Carolina Department of Transportation purchased 9 cars. The North Carolina cars were moved to a siding in Nash County, with the intention of refurbishing them for the Piedmont train service. Four cars were destroyed in a fire in 2022, and the remaining cars were scrapped or sold that year. [17] The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus resumed performances in 2023, traveling by truck. [18]
Strates Shows, the final example of a carnival traveling by train, operated its final carnival train for the 2019 season. Fairs were cancelled during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Strates resumed operations in 2021 with trucks. Following a dispute with CSX, Strates was unable to resume operating its train in its usual format, as a unit train traveling in one piece. A farewell train was arranged for the 2024 Erie County Fair, a longtime Strates customer, with the carnival train cars transported alongside other freight by CSX. [19]
In Germany, several circuses began using trains to move between locations in the 19th century. Smaller circus operations gradually switched to road transport in the second half of the 20th century, but Circus Krone moved by rail until 1999 and Circus Roncalli continues to do so in 2021. While the movements were and are made in dedicated trains, the necessary flatcars and boxcars were and are supplied by DB Cargo and its predecessor companies, or private car lessors - with the exception of a special rail car to transport big elephants, which was a private car of Circus Krone. [20] [21]
Famous cinematic portrayals of circus trains include 1941's Dumbo by Ben Sharpsteen, 1947's Fun and Fancy Free by Jack Kinney, Bill Roberts and Hamilton Luske, 1952's The Greatest Show on Earth by Cecil B. DeMille, the 1983 James Bond movie Octopussy , 1989's Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas and 2011's Water for Elephants based on Sara Gruen's 2006 novel of the same name, by Francis Lawrence. A circus train is also a major location in Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted.
The Greatest Show on Earth is a 1952 American drama film produced and directed by Cecil B. DeMille, shot in Technicolor and released by Paramount Pictures. Set in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, the film stars Betty Hutton and Cornel Wilde as trapeze artists competing for the center ring and Charlton Heston as the circus manager. James Stewart also stars as a mysterious clown who never removes his makeup, and Dorothy Lamour and Gloria Grahame also play supporting roles.
The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, also known as the Ringling Bros. Circus, Ringling Bros., the Barnum & Bailey Circus, Barnum & Bailey, or simply Ringling, is an American traveling circus company billed as The Greatest Show on Earth. It and its predecessor have run shows from 1871, with a hiatus from 2017 to 2023. They operate as Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey. The circus started in 1919 when the Barnum & Bailey's Greatest Show on Earth, a circus created by P. T. Barnum and James Anthony Bailey, was merged with the Ringling Bros. World's Greatest Shows. The Ringling brothers purchased Barnum & Bailey Ltd. in 1907 following Bailey's death in 1906, but ran the circuses separately until they were merged in 1919.
Ringling Bros. World's Greatest Shows is a circus founded in Baraboo, Wisconsin, United States in 1884 by five of the seven Ringling brothers: Albert, August, Otto, Alfred T., Charles, John, and Henry. The Ringling brothers were sons of a German immigrant, August Frederick Rüngeling, who changed his name to Ringling once he settled in America. Four brothers were born in McGregor, Iowa: Alf T., Charles, John and Henry. The Ringling family lived in McGregor, Iowa, for twelve years, from 1860 until 1872. The family then lived in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, and moved to Baraboo, Wisconsin, in 1875.
In railroad terminology, a stock car or cattle car is a type of rolling stock used for carrying livestock to market. A traditional stock car resembles a boxcar with louvered instead of solid car sides for the purpose of providing ventilation; stock cars can be single-level for large animals such as cattle or horses, or they can have two or three levels for smaller animals such as goats, sheep, pigs, and poultry. Specialized types of stock cars have been built to haul live fish and shellfish and circus animals such as camels and elephants. Until the 1880s, when the Mather Stock Car Company and others introduced "more humane" stock cars, death rates could be quite high as the animals were hauled over long distances. Improved technology and faster shipping times have greatly reduced deaths.
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College was an American circus school which trained around 1,400 clowns in the "Ringling style" from its founding in 1968 until its closure in 1997.
A flatcar (US) is a piece of rolling stock that consists of an open, flat deck mounted on trucks (US) or bogies (UK) at each end. Occasionally, flat cars designed to carry extra heavy or extra large loads are mounted on a pair of bogies under each end. The deck of the car can be wood or steel, and the sides of the deck can include pockets for stakes or tie-down points to secure loads. Flatcars designed for carrying machinery have sliding chain assemblies recessed in the deck.
Irvin Feld was a business entrepreneur who built a chain of record stores, promoted rock groups, produced concerts involving some of the biggest names in popular music. He was also the head of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and founder of Feld Entertainment. He was a music promoter who is credited with discovering Paul Anka.
The Circus World Museum is a museum complex in Baraboo, Wisconsin, devoted to circus-related history. The museum features circus artifacts and exhibits and hosts daily live circus performances throughout the summer. It is owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society and operated by the non-profit Circus World Museum Foundation. The museum was the major participant in the Great Circus Parade held from 1963 to 2009.
The Hagenbeck–Wallace Circus was a circus that traveled across America in the early part of the 20th century. At its peak, it was the second-largest circus in America next to Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. It was based in Peru, Indiana.
John Nicholas Ringling was an American entrepreneur who is the best known of the seven Ringling brothers, five of whom merged the Barnum & Bailey Circus with their own Ringling Bros. World's Greatest Shows to create a virtual monopoly of traveling circuses and helped shape the modern circus. In addition to owning and managing many of the largest circuses in the United States, he was also a rancher, a real estate developer and art collector. He was inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame in 1987.
Strates Shows, Inc. is a family operated traveling carnival midway company based in Orlando, Florida. It provides amusement rides, games and concessions for local, county and state fairs throughout the United States. Strates Shows was the only midway company left in the country that transported their personnel and equipment by train during its annual seven-month season. The train consisted of 61 rail cars and 34 truck, until 2019 when the show began to only operate by trucking. Rail transportation returned once again in 2024 to commemorate the 100 year partnership with the Erie County Fair. The train has now been retired as of August 2024.
William Cameron Coup was a Wisconsin businessman who partnered with P. T. Barnum and Dan Castello in 1870 to form the "P. T. Barnum's Museum, Menagerie and Circus". Previously Barnum had a museum at a fixed location in New York City and the traveling circus allowed him to bring his curiosities to more paying customers. Coup's innovations were the circus train to transport the materials from town to town. He also came up with the concept of adding a second ring in 1872 and a third ring to the circus in 1881 to allow more people to view the events.
Feld Entertainment Inc. is an American live show production company which owns a number of traveling shows. The company began with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus before expanding into additional live events, including Disney on Ice, Monster Jam, Monster Energy AMA Supercross and Sesame Street Live. The company is family-owned.
Barnum's Kaleidoscape was an American circus staged by Feld Entertainment, the owners of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, at a start-up cost of $10 million. It ran for one season, 1999–2000. Inspired by both European traditions and the contemporary circus movement, it was the first Ringling show to be held under a tent since 1956 and also its first one-ring presentation in more than a century. The tent was carpeted with wood flooring and amenities to create an intimate setting with seating for 1,800 on cushioned seats and sofas and no one further than 50 feet from the circus ring. Besides traditional circus fare like popcorn upscale items such as cappuccino and veggie wraps were offered. The show consisted of 62 performers, 54 crew members, 8 horses and 27 geese, with 50 trucks involved in moving it from site to site.
Johnny J. Jones was an American carnival showman, the founder and manager of the Johnny J. Jones Exposition. The Exposition was one of the first to use steel railroad cars and one of the largest of its kind, exceeded in size only by the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. In operation for over 50 years through the continental United States and Canada, the show reached a total of 50 steel cars carrying 100 wagons during its heyday in the 1920s.
Mighty Haag Circus was started by American entrepreneur Ernest Haag in Shreveport, Louisiana. His circus toured continuously for over 40 years, from 1891 to 1938. During these years, the circus used a variety of types of transport: boat, carts, trains, horse-pulled wagons, and trucks. It was one of the largest traveling circuses in the United States.
Peru, Indiana native Brian Miser, also known as The Human Fuse, is a self-taught human cannonball. Featured on the 14th season of America's Got Talent. and a Guinness World Record holder, Miser is an American circus performer. Most commonly recognised for his headlining act at Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus, during his touring career. Miser has appeared nationally on Conan O'Brien, David Letterman (twice), Huffington Post and CBS radio over the course of his career thus far. His historic Las Vegas stunt closed down the famous strip and catapulted Miser into the spotlight across the United States.
Hugo Schmitt, born July 19, 1904, in Bann, Landkreis Kaiserslautern, in Southwestern Rheinland-Pfalz in Germany, dead August 9, 1977, in Sarasota, Florida, United States, was a German-American circus artist, animal trainer and one of the world's most famous elephant trainers with a record of 55 elephants performing in the ring. Starting his career at Carl Hagenbeck Circus-Stellingen in Germany, Schmitt was elephant superintendent at the world's largest circus, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in the US from 1947 to 1971.
Dan Castello was an American showman, animal trainer, clown, and circus director who made the first transcontinental railroad tour in American circus history.
James Munro Nixon was an American circus proprietor and impresario.