Early Circus Trains in Marin and California
By Robert L. Harrison
In the Roman world the term “circus” referred to a building similar to an ancient Greek hippodrome where chariot races, equestrian shows, gladiator bouts and other events were staged. In contrast, the modern idea of a circus is a multi-act show held in a large tent or arena. Since the 1760s Englishman Philip Astley is credited with originating the first multiple entertainment show to be held at a single venue with a circular stage. Astley’s mostly horse shows were augmented by acrobats, jugglers and clowns to fill in the pauses between performances by the horses.
Another Englishman, John Bill Ricketts, brought the first modern circus to America in 1793. His show was performed in a permanent building in Philadelphia where George Washington, it was said, attended. By the 1820s a canvas tent for the circus was developed that enabled shows to travel from city to city equipped with their own weathertight structures. By the mid-19th century circus mobility was further enhanced by employment of railroads.
Not only did rail transport advance mobile circus shows, it also provided a whole new entertainment option. The Circus Parade of animals and players traveling from the rail yard to the circus grounds became a popular feature of the show. The parade itself included colorful wagons pulled by circus animals, performers and music free of charge. Both the parade and the main circus event were promoted by the show’s advance men.
A story in the Daily Alta California, May 17, 1857, illustrated the popularity of the circus in early California. “….[T]he North American Circus Company assures us that there were present….no fewer than four thousand seven hundred persons including men, women, children and Chinamen” at their first show on the evening of May 14th. “This is by far the greatest crowd ever convened at any single entertainment given in this city.” This gathering represented nearly 10% of the city’s mid-1850s population of about 50,000.
Circus trains arrivals in San Francisco were commonly chronicled in the Alta California throughout the latter half of the 19th century. In 1874 the newspaper, for example, reported the Monterey Queen’s circus would be arriving after crossing the continent by a special train of 40 cars.
On the typical circus train stock cars were positioned first in line immediately behind the locomotive to minimize jolting the animals. Flatcars carrying the heavy circus wagons were next in line. The wagons were moved on and off the cars using ropes and circus animals. Coaches for the performers followed at the rear of the train. A restaurant or “pie car” was essential to feed the players. The popular circus parade used horses and/or elephants to pull the wagons from the rail yard to the circus grounds.
In the late 19th century San Rafael’s circus grounds were located on open land east of the San Francisco and North Pacific (SF&NP) Railroad Depot. Today the SMART station stands at the site of the old depot. In later years a large area south of the B Street Station near today’s Albert Field accommodated circuses.
Beset by reports of train wrecks involving loss of life and escaping animals the history of circus trains was occasionally controversial. Local Bay Area derailments occurred in Niles Canyon, Suisun Yard and Santa Cruz. None of these resulted in the loss of life. A 1910 crash in Pennsylvania caused the release of two lions, an elephant, one leopard, one hyena, one jaguar and an ibex.
In 1918 the worst circus train wreck reported nationally through the early 20th century happened in Indiana where sixty-one people and several animals were killed. Despite the record of accidents, the public view of the circus train remained quite positive.
Here’s a description of a circus in San Rafael from the June 22, 1876 Marin Journal: “The Italian Circus troupe, whose tent has been pitched in San Rafael for several days, will treat our citizens to one performance of their wonderful and varied powers on this (Thursday) evening.” Not surprisingly, the circuses that visited Marin County were typically smaller than those performing in the big city. The small shows traveled on trains of ten or fewer cars.
By the dawn of the 20th century the largest shows in the big cities such as Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus required nearly 100 rail cars and ran in up to four or five sections. The August 27,1913 Sacramento Union described unloading an 86 car train this way: “[A]s fast as they arrived the various sections were quickly unloaded and their interesting cargo transported to the show grounds….first the commissary and animals…last the train performers and staff.” Some of the trains included eighty-seven foot cars, constructed especially for Ringling Brothers. It was years before most railroads used longer freight cars.
The May 8, 1912 Petaluma Argus Courier gave this account of unloading a shorter circus train after arriving from San Rafael.
“The Sells-Floto show arrived here at 3 a.m.….from San Rafael and the circus train of 34 cars was drawn by Engine №133, the largest on the road, assisted by a helper. It was the largest circus train that ever pulled into this city and had the finest cars and outfit while the population went wild over the superb horses of the circus.”
Over the years the circus has been a great entertainment for children of all ages. Fred Codoni, Editor of The Northwestern Pacific Railroad Historical Society’s magazine, The Northwesterner, remembers his childhood excitement when the circus train came to town. In its Fall-Winter 2022 edition he shares one of his memories:
“Growing up in San Rafael, one of my brightest memories is when the Foley & Burk carnival came to town. I know it was the ‘Foley & Burk Circus’, but we pre-teens didn’t care much about the side shows and other circus features, we just wanted to experience the rides provided by the F & B.”
Fred continues:
Knowing the carnival train was coming and living by the tracks near Tunnel 4 [just north of central San Rafael], my brother Dave and I eagerly awaited the arrival of the train, with its flatcars carrying colorful wagons and its passenger cars. One day which I remember vividly, I knew the train was coming because I heard the engineer whistling for the one-mile post just south of Tunnel 4. Soon the train was passing but we were disappointed to see only a dozen or so F&B cars. Where was the rest of the carnival? A few hours later, a light engine and caboose passed, headed north for Tunnel 4; soon another multi-trainload of F&B cars passed. A few hours after that, the scene was repeated. Mystery solved! The steam engine, probably one of NWP’s light 4–6–0s, had to triple the northbound grade leading to Tunnel 4.
Some material in this article is from Fred Codoni’s piece “The Circus Comes to Town” in the Fall-Winter 2022 issue of The Northwesterner. Thank you to Fred for permission to quote from the his article.
