A circus train is a specialised train for transporting employees, gear, and cattle. In the 1800s, traveling circuses started using the rail network to move their shows from one community to the next.

Since then, the circus train has changed into a colourful and classic picture of the circus world. In the 21st century, some circuses still use the brilliantly arrayed trains for transport. These trains have caught the well-liked imagination and frequently appear in flicks and other portrayals of circus life. Circuses and carnivals have been performing in Europe and America since the 18th century. Straight after the transcontinental railroad across the U. S. was finished in 1869, circuses started employing rail for their traveling shows.

Early train autos turned out to be ill-suited for the specialised wishes of the circus, so that the bigger corporations started building their own vehicles. These included flatcars that would hold cages and vans along with sleeper vehicles that provided rolling houses for circus staff. Similar designs are utilised for the circus trains of modern times. Rail corporations charged circuses by the car, not by weight or length. For this reason, it was cheaper to have less, bigger autos. The circus train includes some of the longest automobiles on the rails, up to twenty-six meters ( 85 feet ) in length.

As well as the flatcars and sleepers, specialised vehicles carry elephants, lions, and other cattle in relative comfort. These are known in rail and circus parlance as stock vehicles. The circus train has become such a favored feature of circuses that it has its own fan following. Trainspotters in the US maintain a record of the progression of circus trains and alert fellow fans thru web sites. The Ringling Siblings Circus has 2 trains, the red unit and the blue unit, which transport the circus round the country on alternate years. Another popular circus train travels up and back down the eastern coast of the U.S.

This mile-long train visits sixteen locations during its seven-month circuit and is noted by many happy fans on the way. Films and media about the circus frequently include pictures of the circus train. Cecil B. DeMille’s 1952 classic The Greatest Show on Earth incorporates a circus train crash, a tragedy that was all too real during the early days of circus trains. The 3rd Indiana Jones film, 1989′s Last Crusade, opens with a battle on board a running circus train. Like many directors, Steven Spielberg found the specialised train to be a novel sight, an ideal setting for the journeys of his adventurer hero.