This is a photo of a photo. Great destruction is visible.Monday, April 13, 2009
Walter L. Main Train Wreck - 1893
This is a photo of a photo so there is some lacking of quality. Still it shows great destruction.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Happy Easter
I'm enjoying a few days in Ohio with my folks. Bringing several items from by Uncle's collection back to share on the blog when I get back.
I hope all of you have a safe a joyous Easter celebration.
I hope all of you have a safe a joyous Easter celebration.
Thursday, April 09, 2009
2009 Cole Bros. Circus
Here is the Motorcycle globe leaving the tent with an axle under the back and a tractor pulling the front.
2009 Cole Bros. Circus
The 2009 edition is a great show with a couple real unique acts. Just about everyone has a globe act. This globe is elevated about 5 feet in the air. For their final trick, with one rider circling the bottom and two others in the upper half, the entire bottom lowered down with about 18" of clear space showing between the two halves of the globe.As the act concluded, the globe was on Hydraulic cylinders that allowed an axle with wheels to come under it. A tractor then came in and lifted the front end and rolled the entire unit out of the way in less that 30 seconds. Pretty slick!
2009 Cole Bros. Circus
Personally, I thought this was the lamest start to any show. The lady walks out with the flag and just stood there. The flag wasn't held high or tipped. When the Star Spangled Banner was over, she just walked away. All due credit goes to the young lady singing who has a wonderful voice. Chris Conners is seen in the background.
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
2009 Cole Bros. Circus
The Tractors with the forks can pick these boxes up and load them on the trucks.
Monday, April 06, 2009
2009 Cole Bros. Circus
My good friend, Hal Guyon Jr., and I met in Fort Mill, SC last week to see the 2009 edition of the Cole Bros. Circus. Here are a few photos of the rolling stock. I'll run some more tomorrow. What was a Front end Loader at one time, now has a stake driver on the back and forks on the front.2009 Cole Bros. Circus
The Back end of the Big Top. This truck carried one of the tractors on the back.
2009 Cole Bros. Circus
The Shop truck. The cab in the very back had a generator on it feeding all the trailers over on this side of the tent.2009 Cole Bros. Circus
There is no spool truck. I'm told the tent lays on the flat bed with the towers on top. There is two of these trucks.
Sunday, April 05, 2009
Circus World
The Circus World Amusement Park in central Florida was filled with original circus artifacts. Most of the wagons were from the RBBB show however, where they went after the 1956 closing until they arrived at Circus World is somewhat of a mystery. A couple were found at Goodman's Junkyard in Sarasota. A couple came from private ownership. RBBB rail cars were also there and very well documented in articles by Bob MacDougall.
Two wagons that keep coming up in the conversations are the Hagenbeck-Wallace cookhouse wagon # 54 that was bought in 1981 from Jerry Booker and the RBBB generator wagon # 11 or perhaps # 111. Does anyone have any photos of these two wagons at Circus World? Would you be willing to share them with us? You can email me at tigeract@thecircusworld.com
Circus World Wagons
As many of you know Dom Yodice is a fantastic RBBB historian as was Jim Caldwell. In covering the wagons at Circus World, Dom and I corresponded several times. Below is an excerpt from one of our conversations.Bob,
I went over the Bandwagon article. Very interesting. However the wagons got to Circus World, is still somewhat of a mystery.
Are you familiar with Jim Caldwell's terrific article that was in the Jan- Feb 1981 issue of Little Circus Wagon? He gave a very detailed accounting of all the wagons that were on the 1956 show and their current (1981) whereabouts. He mentions the three ammo cages at CW plus two at CHOF and the balance at the junkyard in Houston. No. 61 is listed at CW along with 111 generator (although I never saw it in the graveyard). No. 145 and No. 10 are listed for CW. He doesn't mention the large office wagon 124 (instead he mentions 124 three sided ticket office that is currently at CHOF). Giraffe wagon #83 at CW.
I still don't know how the giraffe wagon was included in the sale to CHOF. The next time I see John Zweifel I will have to ask him if he bought it at the auction.
In looking at the pictures with his article we can identify another ammo cage. It was #78 the bear cage.
As it stands now we have #73 three section- leopards at CWM in Baraboo, #77 pygmy hippo at CHOF, # 78 bears at CHOF, #74 performing chimps at CHOF and one unknown number at CHOF.
This is a Dom Yodice photo.
Circus World Wagons
This is a Dom Yodice photo. I have been told that this cage was used for the Jewell New Lion act.
Friday, April 03, 2009
Circus World Wagons
This was the old RBBB Office wagon # 124. It was discarded by RBBB and found in Goodman's Junkyard in Sarasota in 1962 when CHS member William Elbirn documented the where abouts of the remaining RBBB wagons in the Bandwagon's May / June 1962 issue as found on pages 18-19. His article states this wagon was 16' long and was striped like the rest of the ticket wagons. It had a 1956 Florida License plate on the back marked RB-98.
Also the Prop wagon #61 that was already posted below was at Goodman's Junkyard in 1962. It was listed as 19' long. It had a 1956 Florida License Plate marked RB-61.
Did Circus World get this out of the Junkyard? It remained at Circus World through 1985 when it was part of the collection that was sold at the Guernsey Auction. I've been told that this wagon now is privately owned but I don't know by whom or where it is located.
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Circus World Wagons
This photo was in the Bandwagon's Jan. / Feb. 1963 issue. Hagenbeck-Wallace Chair wagon was 18 feet long. It was inventoried at the Peru, IN. winter quarters on January of 1937 bearing the Hagenbeck-Wallace and Forepaugh-Sells title. After the Howard Bary tour of the HW show in 1938 closed, the wagon went out again in 1939 as part of the Great American Circus.
Now closed and looking to disband all equipment, much of the show property ended up at Louis Goebels World Jungle Compound where a lot of the stuff was utilized in movies. All this time the wagon was numbered 89. While the date is not a sure thing, we do know that L.C. Smith of San mateo, CA. bought the Chair wagon # 89 and the Cookhouse water wagon # 54 from Louis Goebel around 1962. He frequently was associated with Horse shows and both of these wagons were re-furbished for these shows. The skyboards were added to accomadate a band on top.
Mr. Smith offered these two wagons for sale in 1973 in the Draft Horse Journal. No one took the offer. He tried to sell them again in 1974-1975 asking $20,000 for the Chair wagon which was now numbered 88. Jerry Booker owned the wagons by 1979 as evidenced by a personal Christmas card.
Chappie Fox got in touch with Jerry Booker and made arrangements for the wagons to come to Circus World where they arrived in Feb. 1981. The #54 wagon was apparently dismantled as no further evidence was found other than a running gear.
( These notes are all taken from the CWM file as documented by Mr. Fred Dahlinger Jr. )
Circus World Wagons
Here is the Hagenbeck Wallace Chair wagon now re-furbished with flat sides and a recreation of a RBBB poster with the racing chariots on each side. note the rounded roof. The back doors had been re-built from a double bottom doors and an upper hinged door.
Circus World Wagons
From the Guernsey's catalogue of the CW auction as found on page 40:W13 HAGENBECK-WALLACE # 88, 18' x 8', ornately carved wagon was originally used as Clyde Beatty's dressing room, elaborate painting of horsemen on chariots on side panel, excellent condition.
The CWM information as assembled by Fred Dahlinger notes that the CW auction was held on Feb. 16-17, 1985. Mr. John Ruggieri of Elmer, N.J. bought the wagonsometime in 1985 either from the auction or from someone else. He paid $18,000 for it and later donated this wagon to the Circus World Musuem on Dec. 8, 1986.
Circus World Wagons
This is the # 88 baggage wagon as it was at Circus World Musuem. The photo was in the book Horse Drawn Wagon Collection by Chappie Fox. Fred Dahlinger did a tremendous amount of research on the wagons in the CWM collection and discovered that this wagon was painted orange for two years.
Circus World Wagons
This was the old RBBB # 61 prop wagon. It is seen here at the Circus World park before they built it into a magic show stage. This was sent to me by Dom Yodice.
Circus World Wagons
Old RBBB # 61. Notice how they cut the brace out and moved it over to create a doorway. This is a Dom Yodice photo.Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Circus World Wagons
This was actually RBBB # 145, an all steel construction and showing great signs of rusting out. This is a Dom Yodice photo.
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