Cabinet 6: Railroads on Parade
Charles Philip Fox, Circus Trains. Book 19. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing, 1947.
What an event it must have been to see the circus come to town! Car after car rolling by, carrying the famed Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey circuses in one long train. The 100 cars were 70 feet long, nearly twice as long as the ordinary box-car. Some were specifically designed to carry elephants, camels, zebras and horses. Affectionately known as the ‘Big One’, the entire train end to end totalled 1½ miles. It is no wonder that the circus was called ‘The Greatest Show on Earth’. A portion of the train and the 15 acres of canvas are depicted in these panoramic photographs taken in 1947.