Sunday, July 15, 2018

CAR #8


Posted by Chic Silber at 7/15/2018 01:22:00 AM

4 comments:

Chic Silber said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
15 July, 2018 01:48
Chic Silber said...


Bilevel car engineering

was sought by the original

AutoTrain folks before Amtrak

Original failed but Amtrak's

is very successful & now they

use mostly trilevel cars like

the frieght rail companies

15 July, 2018 01:49
Roger Smith said...

I've seen the cat cages aboard such a car's lower level, with staffers' personal autos rolled into the upper level. I saw the cage boys standing on what looks to be these plank walkways outside the car, which either folded down for the purpose of allowing cage cleaning, or were lifted up free form and slotted into place. CHIC might have a better description.

15 July, 2018 19:38
Wade G. Burck said...

This was the most obscene and medieval form of animal transport that I have ever had the misfortune to be involved with. As was often the case with a show owned act, animal safety and comfort was secondary to cost. The trainers were blamed and vilified because they were the one's most closely identified with the animal's, when in actuality they had very little impact or involvement with the situation with no option except to do the best they could for the animals in their care. How many times,, in the early years did I have to "work the elephants out of the truck" because they were not allowed in the building, and the tent contracted for was deemed to expensive by the committee or the producer? A situation not humane by any stretch of the imagination. Staunch regulations were sorely needed, and when they finally came it was too late to change the public perception. The trainers who did their best lost their profession, while the show producer continued on until that became a dead end also.

This barbaric form of feline transportation had open end's which was a concern during temperature drops. The cages could be covered with "plastic type" cover's before the cages were loaded, which turned into sauna's if the temperature did not drop as anticipated. Often times the vibrations of the moving train would cause a rope or edge of the covering to go into the cage at which point the animals would tear big pieces of them off and eat it. Water pans were mounted inside the cage's permanently because it was the only way to try to water them when they were loaded. This was done by standing on the side platform while poring as much water in the pan as was possible with a plastic gas can with a spout. As the pans had to be emptied before the train moved this was done by pulling a chain attached to the pan and tipping it up, with most of the water going back onto the cage floor, forcing the animal to walk/lay in a wet cage. You could not keep bedding/shaving in the cages for absorbency/cleanliness because the cages had no slush boards. They had no slush boards because without them, the animals could "walk" the shit out of the cages because you could not clean them out on the trips. The pans, which were mounted at chest level often cause abrasions on the animals shoulders as they paced in the cages, and the chains used to tip the pans up to drain them gave the animals something to chew and pull on in an attempt to break their fangs.

In 1991 GSOE build the first "beast wagon" in an effort to rectify some of the problems with the tunnel car. The animal department was allowed little input in it's design or construction as the animal department tends to be demanding as their concern for the health and well being of the animal's far out weights any cost or convenience concerns. As GGW, the last of the Ringling animal department try to do it right stronghold had retired a year before management and ownership wanted to take back control of animal affairs, and had the girl friend of the new Performance Director design the new beast wagons. It took them about 15 year's to re-design proper ones, but a little to late......

This picture has made me ashamed to relive the "good old days," and I am sure the nightmares will resume. If you tried to change thing's you were deemed a trouble maker. IF you just accepted it, you were deemed an animal abuser, and that is truly between a rock and a hard spot. The private owner trainer has options. The show owned trainer did not.

Wade Burck

16 July, 2018 18:51

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