Western Railroad Discussion > RBBB Trains west of the Mississippi this week (yesterda

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey

Red Unit is enroute today (and yesterday!) from Wilkes Barre PA to OMAHA NEBRASKA. Route unknown; crossing the Mississippi will happen anywhere the rails go between St. Louis and Chicago. (HEADS UP along any rail bridge from the east over that river.)

The RED UNIT has 56 cars this year, and carries the 135th Edition show (the First Edition was performed in 1871).

Red Unit will depart Omaha NE on June 13 for a LONG jump west to Colorado Springs CO.

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ONE CONCERN: Much reported and current U.P. trackwork on some mid-western [south] routes between the Mississippi region and Arizona - a wide region to consider - might have affected the show's overall routing; that's NOT confirmed however - it's just a guess on my part. But such major trackwork would certainly play a part in the overall trip-times that the two RBBB trains will face in Western RR Discussion territory during 2005. When waiting to pace and/or film these two trains - RED or BLUE - remember that facit of railroading in the early 21st Century; it affects even these two "important," mile-long [passenger] trains. (Reference Fred Frailey's article on pp. 10-12 in the July 2005 issue of TRAINS Magazine for trackwork regions.)
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The BLUE UNIT - with 58 cars this year - is in Lafayette LA, and will depart there on June 12 to back-track east for an engagement in Mobile AL, before heading west again toward New Orleans and Texas.




SPECIAL NOTE to Trainorders.com readers: note that all of the cities that the two RBBB railroad shows are to play have NOT been fully confirmed as of this writing. (--Repeating: some city arenas to be played during 2005 have still NOT been confirmed--). The cities that ARE eventually confirmed to be played WILL BE ADDED TO THE TOUR ROUTE LIST on the show's official website ASAP. Therefore, if your nearest city isn't on the list yet, take heart: it may be added soon enough.

FOR THE OFFICIAL, CURRENT LIST: Click on the Center Ring Icon on the show's website (homepage): http://www.ringling.com and then click on the second entry of the Pop-Up Box: "Show All Cities."

Two, current Eastern RR Discussion board threads of the RED UNIT's jump toward OMAHA - which began yesterday - can be read at these two TRAINORDERS.COM links:

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?2,935657
http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?2,935867

have one West bound out of Boone Iowa at 7am on the UP. Richard

QU25C Wrote:
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> have one West bound out of Boone Iowa at 7am on
> the UP. Richard


If it shows 56 cars behind the locomotives, that's them. With power attached, it's a MILE long. Nice for a passenger train; oh yeah: most of the passenger-type cars are former U.P streamliner-era equipment. They've probably rolled through Omaha MANY times (in the 1960's) before the Circus acquired them beginning in 1972.