The Greatest Show on Earth ...

[MikeKardec]

... travels by rail one last time. These were taken in Portland during the final train show for Ringling Bros. Unfortunately, I have no pictures of the train itself!

 

[Stearmen]

Did you mean, the final show for the elephants?

 

[Stearmen]

Something I never knew, seeing the train the way I do every year, it's a mile long when fully loaded!

 

[MikeKardec]

Hmm. This was over 10 years ago and they announced it as their final train show ... was that not true? I just took their word for it. Have I been spreading lies and enemy propaganda?

 

[Stearmen]

Hmm. This was over 10 years ago and they announced it as their final train show ... was that not true? I just took their word for it. Have I been spreading lies and enemy propaganda?

I took those photos this year. They actually have two trains, the Blue and the Red. Which I did not know!

 

[MikeKardec]

You learn something new every day. I guess it was like The Judd's farewell tour; once they started they just couldn't stop. The word was, if my memory can be trusted for anything now, that they had not done a train show in years and they were going to do one last tour. I hit it up in Portland, especially wanting to get shoe shots of loading and unloading the train. While they did let me into the yards to see them loading the elephants they didn't let me take pictures, afraid I'd scare the animals. I tried to tell them real men don't need a flash but no cameras was the rule and actually, once there, it was pretty damn dark. It was a fun show. They had a trampoline basketball act that put the Globetrotters on notice!

I was particularly interested because my Dad traveled with the Hagenbeck and Wallace show for awhile.