How unique are they in comparison to the rest of the ...



Cole Bros. Circus Wagons

Peter Shrake and Ralph Pierce

Robert L. Parkinson Library, Circus World

In the late winter of 2011 David SaLoutos, Ringmaster at Circus World Museum, noted an advertisement in The Carousel News and Trader for the sale of three circus wagons by a private collector in Pennsylvania. The wagons consisted of a ticket wagon and two cage wagons believed to have been built in 1924 and associated with the Cole Bros. Circus. After some consideration the staff of the museum decided to explore options to acquire of the wagons.

In the spring of 2011 Harold “Heavy” Burdick and Executive Director Steve Freese traveled to the East Coast to inspect and evaluate the set of wagons. Upon their return, every effort was made to add these unique vehicles to Circus World’s collection of historic circus wagons, and negotiations began.

After gifting and assisting with the installation of the new Siemor Bros. Miniature Circus earlier this year, the Kohler Foundation of Wisconsin became aware of the museum’s interest in these wagons. Through the Kohler Foundation’s efforts and gift, Circus World received these wagons and they arrived in Baraboo, WI on October 24, 2011. Executive Director Steve Freese said “This is an outstanding addition to the collection thanks to the generosity of the Kohler Foundation and they are the first wagons added since 2002 to Circus Worlds collection.”

The three wagons were built by the Sullivan and Eagle Wagon Works (notable circus wagon and calliope builders since 1878 from Peru, Indiana) originally for the tunnel car circuses of Floyd and Howard King.[1] The King brothers had been involved in the circus business for a number years before they finally became owners of their own show in 1919. Their first circus was a 2 car “gilly” railroad show titled the Great Sanger Shows. A gilly show was a smaller circus operating with limited equipment. Usually the show moved from its few railcars to the lot on locally rented drays and trucks.[2] The brothers remained in the gilly show business for several years operating under a number of different titles including the “Rice Brothers” in 1923 and “Harris Brothers” in 1924. In 1924 Floyd King went to Peru, Indiana to purchase equipment for a new “Flat Car” circus, acquiring perhaps as many as five rail cars including at least one 80 foot tunnel car previously owned by the Sparks Circus.[3] It is believed that King had the ticket wagon and two cage wagons constructed at this time.

In 1924 the brothers purchased the Walter L. Main title which had an established reputation as a quality show since 1886.[4] They also acquired the title for the Gentry Bros. Circus. Between 1925 and 1929 the brothers operated several railroad circuses including the Walter L. Main Circus, the Gentry Bros. and later adding the Cole Bros. in 1929. The operation was extensive and involved the use of at least two separate trains, one using at least 10 rail cars the other 15. In 1930 just one show was fielded, the Cole Bros., using 10 rail cars. Unfortunately for the two brothers the 1930 season was unsuccessful. The business went broke and the brothers were forced to sell off all of their equipment.[5]

Judging by the photographic record the brothers would interchange wagons between circuses from time to time. This is evidenced by the ticket wagon which appears in photographs for the Gentry Bros., Walter L. Main and Cole Bros. shows. The photographic record verifies that the wagons remained with the brothers through the 1930 season. After that year it is unclear where they went. The wagons again emerge in the 1940s in use by an unidentified California school teachers' circus-quite possibly owned Alvin Alread of Red Bluff California.[6] From there the wagons were sold to a private collection in Portland Oregon and were eventually purchased by a collector in Pennsylvania in the late 1990s.

The rarity of the wagons has been known to museum staff as far back as 2001 when then Library Director Fred Dahlinger wrote in an internal CWM report, “A few years ago, a tunnel car show ticket wagon, cage and tableau of circus 1925 vintage were removed from a building basement in Portland, OR and sold to an unidentified buyer in the New England area. They were with circuses operated by Floyd and Howard King in the 1920s. They are the only extant early tunnel car show wagons known to exist, but are not typical of mainstream circus wagons.”[7] The tunnel cars Dahlinger refers to were an early 20th century adaptation of railroad transportation for wagons and other circus equipment and animals. Dating at least as far back as 1902, baggage cars would be fitted with end doors allowing wagons and other equipment to be loaded and unloaded in a manner similar to flatcar shows. Wagons fitted for tunnel cars were often built in a low cut fashion and were shorter in length than normal wagons in order to better fit into the railcar. This allowed for more equipment to be packed into fewer railcars while at the same time creating the appearance of a large circus operation. [8]

Technical details of the wagons also point to their significance. According to Harold “Heavy” Burdick, who has been involved with wagon restoration and maintenance at Circus World Museum for 34 years the wagons are significant. Heavy has been involved with work on every wagon currently on display in the museum’s W.W. Deppe Wagon Pavilion. In Heavy’s own words, “Other than paint, the wagons are pretty much original.” Burdick also states that the wagons are in remarkably sound condition and need little restoration work beyond repainting.

In addition to the original condition there are at least three other aspects of the wagons that warrant attention. One of the cage wagons bears substantial claw marks in the roof. Although the roof was repaired with metal sheeting the markings are still very much visible. There are no other cage wagons in the museum collection which retain such dramatic evidence of their use. The break system is perhaps the most notable aspect of the two cage wagons. Burdick believes the system is unique and not like any other known to exist. The structural details of the ticket wagon also stand out in comparison with others in our collection. The museum has only one other wagon (the Buffalo Bill Ticket Wagon) with a Clerestory roof.

As far as can be determined the wagons do not duplicate any others in our collection. The only other tunnel car wagons in the museum are metal, associated with the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus, and date to the 1970s. Although the museum does have other ticket and cage wagons none were built for transportation in tunnel cars. The construction date for each wagon is also significant. Although determining construction dates of wagons is often difficult (many in our collection are of unknown date and origin) a review of our wagon collection indicates that of the 215 wagons currently at Circus World Museum 14 can be dated to the 1920s suggesting that they are among the very last wooden wheeled wagons built in the United States. The builder of the wagon also bears attention. The museum has perhaps only one other wagon associated with the Sullivan and Eagle Wagon Works, the John Robinson Bandwagon No 1 dating to 1911-1913.

Taken as a whole, the features of the three wagons presented a a unique opportunity for Circus World Museum. It was a team effort on the part of the entire museum staff and the Kohler Foundation to make this donation happen. It is not common for circus wagons to become available and if acquired these would be the first wagons to come to the museum in over 20 years. The unique aspects of the wagons, most notably their association with tunnel car transportation, the Sullivan and Eagle Wagon Works, the unique breaking system on the cage wagons and the overall original condition of the wagons make them stand out as unique relics of American circus history.

IMAGES

All of the following images are from the collections of Circus World Museum.

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The ticket wagon can be seen just to the left in this image of the

Walter L. Main Circus in 1925.

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The ticket wagon with the Gentry Bros. Circus in 1926. This is the only known image

With the wagon number visible.

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With the Gentry Bros. Circus, 1926.

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Painted for the Cole Bros. Circus 1930.

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Another view of the ticket wagon when it was with the

Cole Bros. Circus, 1930.

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With the Cole Bros. Circus, 1930.

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Cole Bros. Circus 1936.

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On parade with the Cole Bros. Circus, 1936.

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Cole Bros. Circus, 1936.

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[1] Joseph T. Bradbury, The Famous Sullivan & Eagle Calliopes. Bandwagon, Vol. 4, No. 6 (Nov-Dec), 1960, pp. 3-5, Sullivan and Eagle file, Small Collections, Robert L. Parkinson Library Circus World Museum, Charles A. Sprague, Gentry Bros. Famous Shows, Bandwagon, Vol. 15, No 1 (Jan-Feb) 1971, pp. 4-9

[2] Joe McKennon. Circus Lingo. Sarasota: Carnival Publishers, 1983. pp. 39

[3] Tom Parkinson. Bandwagon, Vol. 10, No. 3 (May-Jun), 1966, pp. 4-12

[4] Le Roy A. Dalhaus. Bandwagon, Vol. 3, No. 1 (Jan-Feb), 1959, p. 5. Robert Parkinson, Directory of Circuses: 1793-2000. Baraboo: Circus World Museum, 2002.

[5] Joseph T. Bradbury. Bandwagon, Vol. 6, No. 2 (Mar-Apr), 1962, pp. 20-21.

[6] Tom Parkinson. Bandwagon, Vol. 10, No. 3 (May-Jun), 1966, pp. 4-12, Joseph T. Bradbury. Cole Bros. Circus, 1930, the last of the King Owned Railroad Shows. Bandwagon, Jul-Aug-Sep, 1954, pp. 9-15

[7] Dahlinger, Fred. CWM Transportation Collection-Vehicles, Feb 21, 2001. p 3-4 Paper on file at Robert L. Parkinson Library, Circus World Museum.

[8] Tom Parkinson and Chappie Fox in their book The Circus Moves by Rail. Boulder: Pruett Publishing Co. 1978, pp. 279 state that circus shows operated by the King brothers were notable examples of railroad circuses using tunnel cars at this time.

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