The Last Great Circus Train - Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey 2017

Roster of the 1897 - 1902 Barnum & Bailey European Circus Train

*	*	67 BESPOKE WAGONS AND CARRIAGES
		When James A. Bailey (partner P.T. Barnum had died in 1891) decided to take his circus to the Old World for five years (leaving a vacuum that the Ringling circus quickly exploited), he needed a new train for the compact European rail system. Sixty-seven new-build rail cars were ordered from WR Renshaw of Stoke-on-Trent (Phoenix Works), Staffordshire, England. Sixty-six would comprise four trains (sections), each to be powered by a pair of goods locomotives supplied by the hosting railway. One advertising car would run in advance of the circus by a few weeks, tied to the back of scheduled passenger trains. The circus poster boasted 70 long cars, but all such advertising had a history of estimation and hyperbole. Still, the cars were the longest yet constructed to ply the British rail system. Each car was 57 feet in length - so long that the Advertising Car was the sole car allowed to be transported on ordinary trains. Designs for flat cars and stock cars had to be specially modified for European rail clearances while still providing space for very large loads. Despite the specially designed flat cars, several of the circus wagons had to be shortened before they left the States. Oddly, most of the new rail cars had American-style knuckle couplers, though the Advertising Car did not. Special connecting devices or whole buffer/barrier cars with one British and one American-style coupler made the connections to the locomotives. The passenger cars and stock cars borrowed heavily from contemporary American designs, aided by a contract engineer from Barney & Smith in Dayton, Ohio, further distinguishing this show as a uniquely American spectacle. The circus had played a 16-week engagement at Olympia in London all the way back in winter 1889-90. Having tested the waters, Bailey had longed to return. On November 12, 1897 the Barnum & Bailey Circus, minus tents and wagons, left the US for England to play Olympia for the winter. Come spring the tents and wagons had arrived from America and it was time to hit the road - but the new train cars weren't ready. Local rail cars were pressed into service, and on April 11, 1898 the show opened on-the-road in Manchester. Birmingham was next at the end of May and this is where the first of the new sleeping cars arrived. It wasn't until July 16, 1898 that the last of the sleepers and Bailey's private car were delivered - just in time for the journey north to Edinburgh, Scotland. The new circus train was finally complete. The circus and its train toured England for two seasons (playing Olympia again the winter of 1899/1900) before moving to the continent by ship. On March 22, 1900 the train was offloaded from the SS Michigan at Hamburg, Germany. After a 4 week run there, the train toured 55 towns in Germany (where a mishap in Beuthen July 6, 1901 resulted in Renshaw building some replacement cars at the German government's expense), before ending 1900 in Vienna, Austria for a long winter engagement. The year 1901 saw the train leave Vienna and head to Hungary, Croatia, Austria, modern-day Czech Republic, modern-day Poland, Germany, Holland, and Belgium. The year 1902 saw the train criss-crossing France and Switzerland. The circus, minus its new train, returned to New York in the summer of 1902. James A. Bailey died in 1906 and his Greatest Show on Earth merged with Ringling in 1907. Fifty of the Barnum European rail cars next went to Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show which had come under Barnum management, touring England and Europe in 1903-1906. Afterwards, some cars went to Chatterley Whitfield Colliery to transport miners. Some were immediately scrapped. Just one Barnum & Bailey Renshaw-built circus train car remains today, having survived over 120 years and two world wars - a sleeper car at the National Museum in Cardiff. This list is a work-in-progress -- and probably always will be. Any additions or corrections, please email.
*	CAR	BARNUM & BAILEY'S EUROPEAN TRAIN
1		Advertising Car #1 was built by contractor WR Renshaw of Stoke-on-Trent England. At the double window end was an office. In the center were accommodations for 8 advertising men. The remaining third was occupied by a boiler for mixing paste needed for hanging advertising posters. The car was 57 feet long. Painted white with large and colorful text and shields.
50-57		Seven Sleeping Cars were built by contractor WR Renshaw of Stoke-on-Trent England. The cars were 57 feet long. Painted dark lake with gold lettering. Of all these 67+ Barnum cars (a mishap in Germany meant replacing an undetermined type and number of cars), just one sleeping car still exists - at the National Museum in Cardiff awaiting restoration. (Click the link and search for Renshaw - or Barnum). James A. Bailey's private saloon car (see below) was among these 8 numbers (50-57), possibly #52.
52		One Private Saloon Car was built for the use of the show's proprietor, JA Bailey. The car was 57 feet long. Possibly #52 of the sleeping cars listed above. Buffalo Bill Cody subsequently used this as his private car when his show - then under Barnum management - toured England and Europe in 1903-1906.
*		Three Elephant Cars were built with depressed centers and roofs that would partially open when entraining and detraining pachyderms. Wheels were smaller in diameter than typical train cars (2 feet 8 inches vs 3'1) to help lower the floor further. The cars were 57 feet long. Painted bright yellow with red lettering and green underframe.
102		One Camel Car was built just to carry camels. Wheels were smaller in diameter than typical train cars (2 feet 8 inches vs 3'1) to help lower the floor further. The car was 57 feet long. Painted bright yellow.
*	Photo Needed	One Led-Stock Car was constructed. Wheels were smaller in diameter than typical train cars (2 feet 8 inches vs 3'1) to help lower the floor further. The car was 57 feet long. Painted bright yellow with red lettering and green underframe.
*	Photo Needed	One Double Deck Pony Car was constructed. Wheels were smaller than typical train cars (2 feet 8 inches vs 3'1) to help lower the floor further. The car was 57 feet long. Painted bright yellow with red lettering and green underframe.
*		16 Stock Cars were built to carry the menagerie of animals and horses. Wheels were smaller than typical train cars (2 feet 8 inches vs 3'1) to help lower the floor further. The cars were 57 feet long. Painted bright yellow with red lettering and green underframe.
*		35 Flat Cars were built to carry the show wagons. Due to the height of the wagons, the cars were designed with smaller wheels than normal flats would have. Built by contractor WR Renshaw of Stoke-on-Trent, England The cars were 57 feet long.
*		One Baggage Car was constructed. The car was 57 feet long.
*	*	IN PRINT
*		Barnum & Bailey in the Old World 1897-1901 chronicled the journey of the Greatest Show On Earth in England and Europe. The 100-page illustrated journal was written by H. L Watkins, Press Agent with the Show.
*		Collectively the Barnum & Bailey European Train represented over 30,000 pounds of rolling stock. The construction of these huge cars was so locally fascinating that they began a trend in British passenger railcar construction embodied in the GCR's "Barnum type" carriages. To learn much more about the Barnum & Bailey European Train, find a copy of the August 2018 edition of The Railway Magazine. It contains a 9-page article by Nick Pigott , illustrated with over two dozen pictures, on the circus trains that have toured Britain in the last 150 years - including the Barnum & Bailey train.
*	*	BARNUM & BAILEY'S EUROPEAN WINTER QUARTERS
*		European Winter Quarters were at Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, where the cars were originally fabricated. The train was stored while the circus played nearby Olympia during the winter months. The train also spent two winters in Vienna, Austria.
*	*	Acknowledgments
*	*	Research resources include: The Circus - American Experience a production of WGBH, Boston, The Sketch: A Journal of Art and Actuality magazine 1897, Princeton University, University of Connecticut, Bill White/Westender May-June 2014, National Museum Wales, Bob Cline, Nick Pigott. Many thanks to all who have contributed to keeping track of the histories of the equipment of the RBBB circus trains and their ancestors!

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Red Unit & Blue Unit Trains