I visited the Circus Train and interviewed the Trainmasters in Anaheim
in 2002, 2003, and 2004. I visited the Circus Train for the first
time in Los Angeles this year.
My interviews are expanded this year. I interviewed the Food
Service Manager for the first time this year, and the Interview was
conducted in the Pie Car, which I had never been in before. I
again interviewed the Trainmaster. Each Trainmaster interview
through the years has been a different person.
The Blue Unit is the train that is in Los Angeles this year, while the
Red Unit travels to eastern US cities. (Notice the red or blue
logos on the side of the train, on the shields on the elephant's
foreheads, and the color of the shirts worn by the helpers at the
Animal Walk to see which unit you are viewing.
Additional information added after
intial posting of this story:
My readers have asked how to
find out when the circus trains move, so they can see them along the
route, or unload at the new venue. Rhett Coates or Trainorders.com
provides this inportant information:
TRAINORDERS.COM
is the place to find out information about each MOVE of both Circus trains. Even if you aren't a
"member" of TrainOrders.COM, you can still log onto that site to read what's
on the FIRST PAGE - every day -
as each and every MOVE DATE
for both trains are posted.
--Rhett Coates, TrainOrders.com
Here are the steps to find the circus trains as they move around the US:
First, go to ringling.com / Shedule and Tickets / Select your state /
and see what the closing date is in the city previous to yours.
Second, on that closing date, and each day thereafter, go to
trainorders.com and under Discussion, select the section of the country
where you are located, and click either Western Railroads or Eastern
Railroads. Then, search the page of discussions for "circus."
(At this writing, there were six 'sightings' mentioned in the
discussion as the Blue Unit moved the first day in its journey from San
Diego to Oakland,CA!)
