PASSENGER CAR PHOTO INDEX - CARNIVAL, CIRCUS AND SHOW TRAINS CAR INDEX
POSTED 25 FEBRUARY 2009.
Like circus trains, carnival and show trains have been a part of the railroad scene for over a century, with many outfits traveling by rail with a great ontourage of animals, entertainers, equipment, scenery and workers. Like the modern James E. Strates Shows, which itself did not start going by rail unti around 1933, and the Circus trains, these smaller Circus and Show trains sometimes would be upwards of 20 to 25 cars, bringing everything with them so that their shows could be performed.
Over the years the number of Carnival, circus and show trains have dwindled, with one of the last leaving the rails being the Royal American Shows. The large number of circus trains that once roamed the landscape have dwindled as well, with many being acquired by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey in the late-30s, but even under Ringling Bros. pwnership a number of them continued on for several more years, ending as much with the retirement of key figures of the shows.
The listings on this page include Show Trains, smaller Circus related operations, Display trains and Carnivals. While there were a large contingent of cars that often accompanied the passenger cars of various shows only passenger cars are listed herein, though, where possible, links to photo albums and websites that feature other car types have been included. As can be seen with a lot of the listings the history of a number of cars for various operations are either unknown or incomplete, but I hope that if you can help to fill in any of the cars' past that you will email me using the link below.
Because of the present size of this page, listings for the Artrain remain in their present location. To visit those listings just click here.
As with all the pages within the Index it is impossible to guarentee that all links will remain workable since I have no control over this. I will say, though, that if a link isn't working I will see about it (and if possible, report it to the owner of the site) and if necessary, remove it from future updates (regretably there have been a few significant sites lost recently so some photo links have been removed). To email me about a "broken" link just CLICK HERE.
Listings include cars used for the original 1947 Freedom Train as well as the 1976 American Freedom Train which was operated in conjunction with America's Bi-Centennial.
America's Freedom Trains - The America's Freedom Trains website is dedicated to remembering both the 1947 Freedom Train as well as the 1976 American Freedom Train. This site features extensive information and coverage about the train, its locomotives and cars, with a large number of photos that can be viewed (passenger car photos listed below).& A must see for any Freedom Train fan!!!
Canada Discovery Train website - This is a well thought out website dealing with all sorts of information on this interesting train. As noted below, some of the cars were recycled from the American Freedom Train with all sorts of Canadian displays replacing those used in the U.S. This is a great site to visit if a person wants to learn more about the train.
CDT 1 - (ex-AFT 100, nee-NYC) LW Enterance car rblt. from baggage - express. (THEME TRAINS)
CDT 14 - (ex-AFT 111, nee-NYC) LW power car rblt. from baggage - express. (THEME TRAINS)
The Circus World Museum website - The Circus World Museum features many artifacts, displays, memorabilia, photograph collections, records and and even train cars, with many of the circus' and Theme Trains from the past being covered. The Museum is a must see for fans and researchers of these great shows (RR - FALLEN FLAGS)
CWMX 43 The Dorchester - HW baggage - mail car rblt. to open-air coach. (RR - FALLEN FLAGS)
In early railroading days special cars were sometimes purchased Minstrell groups and Play groups, as well as being used by cities, companies and political groups, in an effort to get their message out to the populas. The cars below are but a small example of such cars.
Al W. Martin's Uncle Tom's Cabin Co. 3 - wood open-platform baggage - passenger car was just part of the play's train car collection. (HAGLEY DIGITAL ARCHIVES)
Strates Shows group @ Yahoo! Groups - This group is a great place to discuss the James E. Strates Shows history and present operations. A great place for general information about this great carnival. (D. ROSS)
BSA Mike's Album @ Webshots - This album features a variety of photos taken at the Strates Shows winter quarters.
E26LTG's Album @ Webshots - This album features photos of a variety of things related to the Freak Shows, including shots of freight cars and wagons.
RRSHOW1's Albums @ Webshots - There are several JES albums features photos of a variety of things related to the Strates Shows, including shots of freight cars, rides and wagons, as well as other carnival operations.
RRSHOW2's Albums @ Webshots - Additional albums for Strates Shows and other carnival operations can be found here.
Rexall Train pages at Theme Trains - This section of the Theme Trains website features good information and background on the cars, and engine, that made up this train. Roster pages include interior shots of the various cars as well as histories on them.
Terminal RR Association of St. Louis Historical and Technical Society - The Double issue 55-56 Summer/Autumn 2000 bulliten by this group features an extensive article about the Rexall Train, the company's history and its untimate break-up. At $10.00, plus $1 for postage this is the single best resource for learning about this train, with complete histories on the cars as well as a number of photos of the train. Not a Show train, the train was a rolling display for Rexall drug store owners to come and see what the company had, as well as to be wined and dined by company representatives. I have a copy of this issue myself and it is well worth the money to buy it!!!
Carnival History's Album @ Webshots - This album features photos of a variety of things related to the RAS, including shots of freight cars, rides and wagons.
Royal American Shows group @ Yahoo! Groups - This group is a great place to discuss the Royal American Shows history as well as to get to know some of the folks who worked for the carnival. A great place for general information about this great carnival. (D. ROSS)
R. Hamm's RAS Album @ Webshots - This album features photos of a variety of things related to the RAS, including shots of freight cars, rides and wagons, in addition to the passenger cars listed below. This is probably the most extensive album of RAS photos on the web!!!
L. Sedlmayr's RAS Album @ Webshots - This album features a variety of photos related to the RAS, including shots of freight cars, rides, wagons and some of the people that made RAS such a great carnival.
RAS Calypso's RAS Album @ Webshots - This album is another great archive of photos covering everything RAS, including shots of freight cars, rides and wagons, in addition to the passenger cars listed below.
RRSHOW1's RAS Album @ Flickr - This album features photos of a variety of things related to the RAS, including shots of freight cars, rides and wagons.
RRSHOW2's RAS Album @ Webshots - This album features photos of a variety of things related to the RAS, including shots of freight cars, rides and wagons.
Skywheel's RAS Album @ Webshots - This is another great album features photos of a variety of things related to the RAS, including shots of freight cars, rides and wagons, in addition to the passenger cars listed below. This is also excellent coverage about all things RAS.
Stan Jackowski's RAS Album @ Webshots - This album features photos of RAS of freight cars and wagons, in addition to the passenger car shots listed below.
RAS 35 - wood vestibuled coach. (History???) (D. ROSS)
