Circus trains on the DAR

[Frogmore]

Recent news of the demise of Ringling Bros. circus trains brought back memories of once seeing a circus train on the DAR at Annapolis, enroute to Digby, probably in the mid-1940's. I remember going to Digby the next day only to find that the circus had been cancelled. A Google search brought up an item in Billboard Magazine of August 1947 stating that a circus performance in Digby had been cancelled due to a washout on the DAR, although on that particular occasion we understood the cancellation was due to some misunderstanding with local officials. Makes me wonder, were these circus trains once an annual occurrence on the DAR? (Not to be confused with the Elliott or Lynch midways which often traveled by rail to county fairs)

Doug

[stem]

I'd love to hear the answer to this!

[Dan Conlin]

I think the circus trains were pretty regular visitors. I see traces of them regularly. Here are a few references:

The 1872 photo of locomotives in Kentville has big circus posters for the "Stone and Murray Circus":
http://dardpi.ca/wiki/index.php?title=F ... le1872.jpg

The Nova Scotia Archives has a nice photo of circus tents in Kentville beside a DAR spur near Lloyds Foundry, circa 1910.

I see circus ads in newspaper microfilm regularly when looking for other things. Here are two references from the Kentville Advertiser in the late 1930s:
Robin Brothers Circus to Yarmouth, Digby,& Kentville, first since 1935 - June 2, 1938
Circus train moving last month of June - June 23, 1938

Graham McBride has a few photos of circus train in Digby in the late 1930s. I will see if I can get a scan.

Dan Conlin

[stem]

Sounds like a new section for the wiki maybe under Commerce and Industry:
http://www.dardpi.ca/wiki/index.php?tit ... d_Industry

[downeastrailfan]

Hi Doug,

Wow, you have memories going back to the mid 1940s of the DAR! Would you be interested in writing any short stories of memories of the railway? I can edit if you'd like. We have a lot of photos and facts, but are missing out on stories, and I'd like to see that expand.