April 27, 2004 Article Atlantic City Press Online
Circus train arrives in Tuckahoe
By RICHARD DEGENER Staff Writer,
UPPER TOWNSHIP - Railroad buff Scott Hertel follows the whereabouts of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circus train via the Internet. He probably has a better idea of where the train is headed than some of the circus performers riding in it.
Hertel knows when it is heading to Providence, R.I., or Hershey, Pa. He once drove all the way to New England to catch a glimpse of one of the last circus shows to still follow the 19th century tradition of traveling by rail.
"I've even followed it down the highway just to get a good photo," Hertel admitted.
That's why Hertel, a Beesleys Point resident, had no problem waiting for six hours on a cold, rainy day for it to pull in here at the Tuckahoe train station. It may sound a bit nutty, but think of a baseball fan having the World Series come right to his back yard.
Hertel and about 50 other train enthusiasts were rewarded at 7:29 Monday night when the 36-car train came rolling into town. It was about six hours late, but nobody seemed to mind.
"I've seen it, but I've never seen it here," said Hertel.
The arrival was not promoted, but that didn't keep railroad buffs from getting the word out. They came from all over.
"Its just word of mouth. They feel the vibes that they have to get over to the Tuckahoe junction," said Tom Moran, who works for Cape May Seashore Lines.
Dave Diano said it is a highlight in his life. The Pine Hill resident said he once drove to Clementon just to get a glimpse of the circus train going by. This time, the train stopped at the station.
"It's the first time a 36-car train has ever been down this way since the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore days," Diano said.
Actually, according to Tony Macrie of Cape May Seashore Lines, the most passenger cars ever to enter Cape May County was a 17-car steam train heading from Camden to Cape May in 1968. So this was the largest train ever to come here and the first passenger train based outside Cape May County to grace the tracks since 1981. Cape May Seashore Lines still runs passenger trains, but it is based here in the county.
The train was supposed to arrive at 1:30 in the afternoon. Lou Albrecht, who knows trains - he traveled by rail from Wildwood to California as a 2-year-old in 1927 - didn't arrive until 2:30
"I figured trains are always late," Albrecht said after 7 p.m. but still hanging in there. There were about 200 people here earlier in the day. A lot of people left, but some just wouldn't leave the station.
"I think it's the mystique of The Greatest Show on Earth and having it right here in Tuckahoe. It's a major local event," Macrie said.
Circuses once used horses and wagons to get around but began using trains in the 1840s. The tradition grew as the nation's railroads grew. The first transcontinental railroad created the first transcontinental circus in the 1860s. P.T. Barnum, James A. Bailey, and the 5 Ringling brothers all used trains to bring their shows to different venues. In 1911, there were 32 "railroad circuses" in the country. Now there are only two.
It wouldn't matter who was on the train for some Tuckahoe residents. They came out just to see a train back on the tracks. They've been ecstatic in recent years as the old train station was restored. Cape May Seashore Lines ran trains this past weekend from Tuckahoe to Woodbine, the first passenger line run since 1981.
"I miss that whistle blowing," said Joan Wood, who spent all 50 years of her life in a house right by the tracks.
Her grandfather and two uncles worked for the railroad. As a child they let her throw the switch in the switch tower next to her house.
"This is a railroad community," Wood said.
Bertha Migliaccio, 89, whose husband, John, was a conductor, huddled under an umbrella as she watched the circus train.
"It brings back memories," Migliaccio said.
Tommy Rinck, 13, helps Cape May Seashore Lines on weekends and after school. He fell in love with trains at the age of 2 when his father brought him here to see the freight trains that still rumble by with coal for the local power plant. He even gets paid sometimes, but doesn't really care about the money.
"It just gets me around trains," said the blonde-haired seventh-grader.
At 7:29 p.m, April 26, little Tommy Rinck saw the circus train come to town, all 36 cars. It was worth the wait. It is a day he will never forget.
To e-mail Richard Degener at The Press:
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