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Did you know that: In 1952 at age 5 Steven Spielberg saw his first motion picture, Cecil B. DeMille's "The Greatest Show on Earth". The train wreck scene from that movie inspired Spielberg to later become a filmmaker. |
The first circus to travel by rail was the Den Stone Circus in 1854. Through out the history of the American circus, train wrecks have taken many lives. The last fatal circus train wreck occurred in 1994 near Lakeland, Florida. Currently only one circus and one carnival move their shows by railroad, the units of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and the James E. Startes Carnival.
List of Known Circus Train Wrecks:P. T. Barnum Great Traveling Exposition, Altoona, IW August 29, 1877 - 6 Killed Sells Bros. Circus, Birmingham, Pa., May 1, 1878 Sells Bros. Circus, Caldwell, Ohio, September 15, 1878 - 1 Injured Sells Bros. Circus, Paint Lick, KY, August 1882 - 3 Killed 15 Injured W. C. Coup Circus, Cairo, IL. August 19, 1882 Nathan & Company Circus, Wolcott, NY. September 23, 1882 S. H. Barrett Circus, Harrodsburg, KY. April 10, 1884 S. H. Barrett Circus, Abingdon, VA. April 19, 1884 John Robinson Circus, Fergus Falls MN. October 4, 1885- 8 Killed, 10 Injured Frank A. Robbins, Putman, CT. July 7, 1886 - 1 Killed Adam Forepaugh, Augusta, Maine, June 16, 1886 John Robinson Circus, St. Louis, MO. November 4, 1887 - 2 Killed John Robinson Circus, Brazil, IN. November 5, 1887 1888 Barnum & London, Vassalboro, Maine John Robinson Circus, Corwin, Ohio, September 10, 1888 Barnum & Bailey's Circus, Potsdam, NY. August 22, 1889 - 2 Injured Cook & Whitby Circus, Richland Center, WI. July 7, 1892 - 1 Killed Cook & Whitby Circus, McGregor, IA, July 8, 1892 - 2 Injured Ringling Bros Circus, Concordia, Kans., May 17, 1892 - 2 Killed, 5 Injured Ringling Bros Circus, Centralia, Mo., October 18, 1892 Walter L. Main Circus, Tyrone. PA. May 30, 1893 - 6 Killed, 11 Injured Buffalo Bill Wild West, Centralia, WI., September 5, 1896 - 1 Injured. Buffalo Bill Wild West, Altoona, Pa., June 1, 1901 - 1 Injured Buffalo Bill Wild West, Lexington, NC. October. 20, 1901 Indian Bill Wild West, Mt. Jewet, Pa., 1901 John H. Sparks Circus, Veedersburg, IN. September 1, 1902 Sells & Downs, Choctaw, OK. Sept. 20 1902 - 2 Killed Harris-Nickle-Plate Circus, Tifton, GA. November 22, 1902 Great Wallace, Shelbyville, IL. July 16, 1903 - 2 Killed, 4 Injured Wallace Bros. Shows, Durand, MI. August 6, 1903 - 23 Killed, 121 Injured Norris & Rowe, Saskatoon, Sask, Can., July 1 1906 Carl Hagenbeck Circus, Tiger Creek, Ark., October 25, 1906 Cole Bros., Ashburn, Ga., November 10, 1906 Hagenbeck-Wallace, Big Rapids, Mich., July 24, 1907 Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus, Saint Paul, Minn. June 25, 1908 Buffalo Ranch Wild West, Bessemer, AL. Campbell Bros. Circus, Oregon River, OR, June 16, 1910 Campbell Bros. Circus,Sparta, WI., August 16, 1910 Campbell Bros. Circus,Goliad, TX, December 9, 1910 Yankee Robinson, Merriland Junction, WI., June 9, 1911 Con. T. Kennedy Shows (carnival), Columbus, GA. November 22, 1915 - 24 Killed Barnum & Bailey, Richfield, Neb., August 12, 1913 - 27 Injured Miller Bros. 101 Ranch Wild West, East Somerhill, MA. June 24, 1913 , 3 Injured Sells-Floto, Havensville, Kansas, September. 16, 1915 101 Ranch Wild West, Virginia October. 2, 1916 Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus, Hammond, IN. June 22, 1918 - 86 Killed, 179 Injured Christy Bros. Circus, Cardston AB. Canada May 25, 1920 Patterson Circus, Girard, KS. July 11, 1922 Al G. Barnes,, Willows, CA., October. 1, 1924 Hagenbeck-Wallace, Longview, TX., November 11, 1924 Heritage Bros., Toronto, OH, May 11, 1926 Al G. Barnes Circus, Canaan, N. B., Canada July 20, 1930 - 5 Killed, 18 Injured Cole Bros Circus, Brainerd, MN., July 27, 1945 - 2 Injured Cole Bros Circus, Redding, CA., September 9, 1946 Clyde Beatty Circus, Hubbard, NE July 10, 1947 - 1 Killed Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Kingstree, SC (fire on board train) December 3, 1974 - 4 Killed Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Lakeland, FL. January . 13, 1994 - 2 Killed
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| Page Updated February 01, 2024 |
