Monday, January 26, 2009

See Ringlings' sweet rail car ride!


bilde, originally uploaded by bucklesw1.


More than a century after John Ringling ordered his private train car, the Wisconsin, from the Pullman Company, it is back in Sarasota for good.

INTERESTED?
The Wisconsin is on display at the Circus Museum on the grounds of the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, 5401 Bay Shore Road. For more information, visit www.ringling.org, or call 359-5700.



THE WISCONSIN


• Built by the Pullman Co., it is 65 tons, 79 feet long, 14 feet high and 10 feet wide and cost $11,325.23.

• It was the personal car of John and Mable Ringling from 1905 to 1916.

• The car contains an observation room, three bedrooms, a dining room, a kitchen, a bathroom and servants’ quarters.

• John Ringling sold the Wisconsin to the Norfolk Southern Railway, and it wound up in Morehead City, N.C., where it was used as a fishing lodge by officials with the Atlantic & East Carolina Railway.

• Circus buff Howard C. Tibbals found the car and confirmed it was Ringling’s.

• It was restored by the North Carolina Transportation Museum in 1990 and donated it to the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in 2003.

Posted by Buckles at 1/26/2009 05:46:00 AM

15 comments:

Casey McCoy Cainan said...

Is this not the car that was known as the JOMAR?

26 January, 2009 06:52
Buckles said...

The JOMAR (John and Mary Ruth)stands on a siding in downtown Sarasota.

26 January, 2009 07:00
Mike Naughton said...

Paging Dick Flint, paging Dick Flint...

Please share your knowledge regarding this train car and the Jomar.
Good question, Casey.

26 January, 2009 07:08
Anonymous said...

The "Wisconsin" was built by Pullman and delivered to John Ringling in 1905. The car served as his and Mable's personal vehicle ahead of the circus and also for his own business and pleasure use. Only infrequently did it meet up with the Ringling-owned and operated show trains. It remained in their possession through 1916. It was "augmented" by a second private car, the "Sarasota," in 1913. Some stories about life on the two cars can be found in the Taylor Gordon book "Born to Be." The "Wisconsin" was sold away to a system railroad in 1916 and essentially lost until re-discovered by Howard Tibbals.

Pullman was commissioned by John Ringling to build an all-steel private car, the JomaR, which was delivered in 1917. It became a RBBB vehicle, used by John personally, but then downgraded and used as a sleeper during the Gumpertz years. Johnny North ressurected it and had it rebuilt for his use. After being redecorated at least twice, and enduring into the 1950s it fell on hard times.

Enjoy a visit to the museum to see the car and learn more about how the Ringlings lived aboard and toured in it.

26 January, 2009 10:48
Anonymous said...

The restoration was accomplished by the Ringling Museum, not the NCTM.

26 January, 2009 10:57
Anonymous said...

Quite simply, John Ringling's private car Wisconsin preceded the Jomar (as everyone probably knows, it is the first two letters of John and Mable then the R for Ringling). Calendonia was the private car of Charles Ringling and dates from the same period as the Wisconsin (it may be a sister car, can't recall or check at this time--maybe others can chime in). Depending which brother was on the show determined which private car was hitched to the show train. Remember that John, however, was more concerned with the advance work and probably was on the show less frequently than Charles.

I suspect more original components of the Wisconsin survive than of Jomar which, while now under reconstruction by a group of dedicated volunteers, has been most sadly neglected over the years. Jomar likely spent more days per year on the circus with John Ringling North in residence than when his uncle John owned the car.

It is ironic that the Wisconsin did not end up at CWM and in the state for which it was named given that museum's aggressive acquisition policy under Chappie Fox. However, since the railroad car addresses the circus king's lifestyle, it is appropriate that it sits near Ca d'Zan.

Dick Flint
Baltimore

26 January, 2009 11:32
Anonymous said...

I saw this car at the N Carolina Railroad Museum under a covered shed. It bore little resemblance to the now beautifully restored car. I think this was to have been restored in Mt. Dora, Florida but it seems it was done over in Alabama or Louisiana. Paul Tharp

26 January, 2009 12:04
Chic Silber said...

The Wisconsin was RErestored

here in Sarasota to achieve

as closely as possible the

look of it during Ringling's

years of its use

The remains (nearly cremated)

of the Jomar sits in such a

decrepit state behind the old

Stottlemayer lumber yard site

and has no chance any longer

of ever being put back together

Terrible shame as there were

several attempts at it before

it was too late

Chic

26 January, 2009 16:12
Anonymous said...

Would Tom Thumb lived on this train or was that much earlier?
I "heard" that TT's room was built to suit his stature.
I also "heard" this to be true of Michu's accommodations.
Experts?

26 January, 2009 16:47
Casey McCoy Cainan said...

I will try to snap a couple pictures of the current JOMAR as it is a 20 some odd foot Winnebago parked on Kirk Rd complete with slide. I believe a world class interior decorator has worked inside it.

26 January, 2009 19:26
Chic Silber said...

Wasn't there for Tom Thumb

but was for the incredibly

unpleasant Michu who had a

two level accomodation on

on the train which gave him

a fairly secure place to run

and hide in after pulling a

shenanigan or worse and was

being persued to no avail

Chic

26 January, 2009 21:44
Anonymous said...

The Ringlings had their first "Caledonia" built to house all of the brothers in 1892. It was sold off the show in 1901-1902.

The second "Caledonia," which was Charles and Edith Ringling's car, wasn't constructed until 1923 and served to 1926, when Charles died. It was used thereafter on RBBB.

Neither was in use during the tenure of the "Wisconsin."

John left Baraboo early, in the 1890s, and other than flashing the car to the locals after delivery in the spring of 1905, it was never noted as returning to the Wisconsin city. He relocated to Chicago, New York and then Sarasota, with a summer place in Alpine, NJ. So, the "Wisconsin" has little connection to Baraboo.

The "Wisconsin" is the car that John and Mable rode to Florida when they made their decision to purchase Charlie Thompson's property, which became their famed estate.

27 January, 2009 08:43
RinglingBook said...

The Jomar is owned by Bob Horne - Bob's Train. It is the only privately owned circus train in America. I have a Jomar ashtray. It was given to my mom by my great grandmother Mrs Charles Ringling - aka Mrs Charley. Every new Pullman car owner received a gross of stamped silver solder ashtrays to give out as souvenirs to guests. I am publishing a book on July 11. It is a novel -"Ringling, The Last Laugh." I do follow history very closely. You can read about at Face Book "Ringling The Last Laugh" or read an excerpt at www.ringlingbook.com.

20 May, 2012 16:52
RinglingBook said...

The Caledonia was not Charley's car, but the family car. It was hitched and used the same year as Black Tuesday. (May 17 1892) On that date Otto, Alf & Della, Deedee (Edith - Charley's wife - my great grandmother) and Al & Lou were on board. John and Charley were in Chicago. It was so named as Caledonia as it was a significant point of change in the brother's lives. It was where George Merton wired them money when the show almost folded in
1888 as they were mired in mud.

20 May, 2012 17:02
RinglingBook said...

"Anonymous" has really good info. Thank you.

21 May, 2012 11:56

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