# Inside the Circus Train



## calwatch (Jun 1, 2013)

From Fatwallet there are some rare pictures inside the circus train. One of the members was recently offered a job as staff accountant/bookeeper for the circus and as such will be traveling all over the country on that train. http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/


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## calwatch (Jun 1, 2013)

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/topic_view.php?catid=52&threadid=1270774&start=100

_The Train: (I'll be referring to it as my "car" even though it isn't a full train car)

Here are the bullet points about the train:
-The train is about a mile and a half long, my "car" is actually 1/6th of a car, but in the pictures as you can see there is a twin bed, kitchen, stove, fridge, freezer, microwave, shower, washer and dryer that are absolutely mine. 
-The area of my car is about 12' long by 9' wide.
-The car is part of my employment contract, it's my personal space, provided by the company. They can't remove me from my car and put me somewhere else without me agreeing.
-My car is near the end of the train with the other higher level people. I don't have direct access to the rest of the train, which is good and bad. On the one hand, I can't wander around the train on trips from my car, but the good news is, there won't be a bunch of people banging on my door if I wish to be left alone.
-The pictures of what looks like the inside of a diner is the "pie car" which is basically a 24 hour cafeteria for employees. Prices are dirt cheap, almost any meal would be less than $5.
-My car has a nice vestibule where I can post up during train runs and watch the country go by. I'll have to refine my taste in scenery and perhaps season my humidor.
-My car has satellite TV but it's currently broken, they don't know when it'll be fixed. I'll be honest, that may be one of my first priorities on a day off is figuring that thing out.
-Internet is not provided on the train, lots of people have the clear spots that have been discussed here. I currently can tether through my Sprint phone on the wimax network, will get an aircard from Verizon (I think?) and then I'll probably get a second personal aircard from AT&T just so I'm pretty much connected any time I want/need to be._

Otherwise, interesting discussion about life on the circus.


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## jmx53 (Jun 2, 2013)

Kevin Vernardos is a ringmaster for the RBB&B circus. His father Lane Vernardos (RIP) was a producer for CBS news and traveled on the circus train & took lots of video footage that he edited together and posted as several segments on Youtube as sort of a documentary/home movie about his circus life experiences. They are well edited, there is lots of train footage, & there is also lots of behind the scenes footage from the shows. Just look for the videos with "Circus Train Adventure" in the title on his Youtube channel.


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## RampWidget (Jun 2, 2013)

Great info and nice links; thanks.

I've had the good fortune to meet a couple of RBB folks responsible for the operation of the RBB trains (there are two trains, one for each show - Red & Blue). The people are fun to be around and are extremely knowledgeable about RR operations. Transportation personnel on the freight RRs that carry the RBB trains agree that it's a very precise & professional operation.


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## Devil's Advocate (Jun 2, 2013)

RampWidget said:


> Great info and nice links; thanks.


My thoughts exactly.


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## Shortline (Jun 22, 2013)

Very cool, the operation has always impressed me. I've been fortunate to run and work with the train a few times yarding and unloading it when it came around, even got lunch in the "Pie Car" a few times while it was stopped. (though, it looked different-When I was on board for lunch, the car was plastered with circus pics on nearly every wall surface-That was about 6 years ago, maybe they changed it a bit). Was a neat experience. Not sure I could do it for more than a year, but what an experience it would be!


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## CHamilton (Nov 20, 2015)

Life on the Circus Train, from the NY Times

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2015/11/22/magazine/life-on-the-train/s/22circus-slide-27OO.html


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## NorthShore (Nov 21, 2015)

DJ!!!!!! (I 've known the kid since he was 15.) Nice interior photos, which you don't always get to see.

I also saw a raw cut of Lane's feature, which included additional scenes from the tour which were not released. I'm glad he got permission to put that out, eventually, though. There was some initial resistance from Ringling.


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