Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Cole Bros. Circus 1930 #3


Scan000010855, originally uploaded by bucklesw1.

4 comments:

Bob Cline said...

I've always been aware that some shows used system flats to add more to their show train but these photos appear that the entire show was made up of system flats. Was that rather unusual?
Bob

Anonymous said...

Bob, these flats are just not painted in a circusy style. Note the "C.B.C." on the side of the flats for Cole Bros. Circus. These photos are by Charles Puck, a prolific circus and rail photographer who also photographed a lot of local historical material in the region of his Los Angles home.
Dick Flint
Baltimore

Harry Kingston said...

Bob,
What I have read on Floyd and Howard King being tight with the buck, these flats are from defunt circuses and carnivals and probably a hodge podge of equipment. What can be gotten cheap at rock bottom prices.
These might me 60 foot flats and note alot of truss rods under neath them for support.
The new Warren and Mt. Vernon flats being all steel flats is what most of the shows used.
What I have noted on the wagons, look at the wheels as the only one to me that looks real circusy is number 116 in the above photo and must be the generator wagon. These wagons must have light loads due not havong the heavy St. Mary's wheels.
Dick Flint, you are the answer man for the blog so help us out with all the details.
Harry

Anonymous said...

The CBC flats were leased from the Venice Transportation Company, not a system railroad. They were steel framed, with wooden decking and gunnels. You'll see similar cars leased by Venice to SF in 1929.

Maybe King was tight with a buck--who isn't that owned a show and survived? Warren built at least one entirely new stock car for him and he also bought a bunch of relatively new Mt. Vernon steel flats elsewhere.

One can see how apochrypha is readily invented.