| Only picture I have of an elephant stepping up into a railroad car from the ground. Either a very low car or a whopping big elephant. |
Thursday, January 03, 2008
Barnum & Bailey in Europe #3
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15 comments:
The German caption says farewell or good bye. This black-and-white view is from a different set than most of the others, which are part of a set produced in 1902 for the French tour. The color card you show is from what appears to be a couple of color lithograph postcard sets done in 1900-01 when the show was in several Germanic and Slavic speaking countries. Interestingly, B&B never toured Italy which the Bailey-controlled Buffalo Bill show did during its 1903-07 European tour. Neither show went into Spain.
Dick Flint
Baltimore
Richard Reynolds says - -
Those are the low profile elephant cars built in England. They had to be close to the ground in order to have enough overhead clearance for the underpasses and tunnels on British railways. I believe this is tusker Fritz climbing in.
BBWW was back in the US for 1907.
If the car had a center well, as it appears here, then the areas over the trucks were raised above it, meaning that the bulls loaded into the ends had to step up on the inside. That might have been pretty tricky, since the animals were presumably loaded with their tails towards the ends of the cars. Could they have been backed into place while stepping up?
I don't think that he could stand up in this car, given his size.
It is quite common to carry an elephant or two over the fifth wheel of a semi trailer.
They simply back up as far as they can and then lift one hind after the other on to the upper level, then scramble on up backwards.
Thanks for drawing the parallel between well cars and fifth-wheel semi-trailers.
The big Ringling bull named Baldy didn't step from the ground onto the bull car floor per se, but two photos published in the 1895-1896 Ringling route book do show him climbing into the car without a run in place [page 62]. One image bore the caption, "Baldy getting into car---so large he cannot be loaded in the ordinary way with the runs." Perhaps his scrambling into the car in that manner lowered his head and shoulders so that they didn't encounter the door frame, as they would have if he ambled up a run. One image was re-printed with Richard J. Reynolds III's article about the elephants born in Baraboo.
Unusual elephant moves, wherein the loading space or dimensions are less than usual, are interesting. I'm sure that some baggage car moves between quarters and indoor dates must have been something to see.
When I was with Atayda in Mex. they had a well built trailer that hauled six mature elephants. Two big ones over the fifth wheel, [jump up] and four facing each other two abreast in the belly and some two hundred bales of hay in the jump up over the tandem duals in back, and pulled it with single axel tractor over all the mountains, etc. Never broke down while I was there. Yes the two over the fifth wheel backed up on to it. Little hairy chaining them up.
No question that you would load a large elephant without a ramp or bull tub as they would ease in without scraping or having to lower its back. Its even done in semi trailers.
Buckles,
One thing about the Mexican circus is it is a world of "discovery and enlightenment". 4 or five times a day, I find myself saying, "well, Ill be damned".
Wade Burck
On my brief stint in 1990 with the Vargas Show we oiled the elephants while in quarters and then decided to load them since a cold front was passing through that night.
A young fellow (whose name I'll not mention) was showing me the loading order, the first truck carried three elephants, two of which rode over the 5th wheel "Diamond" a half grown African male and "Booper" an Asian female.
As soon as I opened the door they scrambled in thru the side door and backed up into position in a matter of seconds.
I told my helper that I would watch while he squeezed between them to chain them up in back, he replied "Not in your life pal!" I was unaware that "Booper" had wallered him around previously. So I crawled thru almost on my hands and knees while he watched.
The big male "Joe" had the center area to himself and they carried hay and grain in the back.
To Johnny,
I recall that bull truck as I toured a bit with Atayde the year that rig was new. In 1968 we had closed with Circus Maximus and Leo Grund booked my family for the winter run. Yes, a single axle tractor called an Atlas with a 335 Cummins big hp. In those days that trailer was a bit lower than a double drop built for elephants for sure. When new it also had wings that opened and served as a show front. In later years they were removed.The last time I was down there the girls got big and were hauled on two semis. I have a lot of photos of that rig and will get them to Buckles one of these days.Lets see Safari, Rosie, Sammy, Tammy,Clara,I can't remember one and later Tanya.I believe Mr.Jimmy Reynolds did a bit of work on some of those cows? I think some came from Bertrum Mills.
Buckles,
The first time I met "Booper", was in 1981. While waiting for spec, I watched as a "goof" attempted to hitch an elephant to the chariot. When he said, "back up, that cow hit him so hard, she knocked him out of his sneakers, and followed him into the tent ropes, where she gave a "kicking a soccer ball" clinic. I ran over, and with "great authority", laid my spec banner pole between her eyes, breaking it in half. As I am standing there holding "Boop", and looking to see if the "goof" is breathing, Rex runs up with another elephant, cursing new help, who cant tell the elephants apart. And at the end of the week Mr. Vargas docked me 65.00 for breaking the spec banner, and Hogjaw, became the official "chariot hitcherupper" for the rest of the season. Show business, no other business like it.
Wade Burck
I believe that's very true and if you don't agree just ask Ethel Merman.
They were within 7" of the track a fact UK rail companies were not madly happy about. Other photos exist showing large elephants loading/unloading using ramps - did it just depend on elephants intelligence? - some taking the easy way out. Or, just more show publicity? One source gives lifting roofs for these cars - they did not.
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