Strates Circus Train Status in New York

If anyone gets info when CSX pulls the train east toward Rochester/Syracuse can someone give a yell? Pleeeeeeeease??

Got up today at 8, so I just missed it going by. I first went out to hamburg and a bunch of the strates guys were just hanging out. I asked when they expected the train in, and they said not til after noon (they were a lot nicer then I expected, we talked for about half an hour). So, after that we took a ride around to try and find it. I found it at the tift street yard, NS was just uncoupling, and Buffalo Southern was moving in. The bridge was a pretty bad vantage point (for photography, cus of the fence) so we rushed over to lake ave, in blasdell. We waited about an hour, while watching the action on NS and CSX. It showed up, and the rain broke for just a few minuts for me to get some great shots!! We chased it into Hamburg then, caught it across south park, and we were into hamburg in time to catch BS off in the distance. In the mean time strates employees were weed-wacking the area around where the train was to be unloaded, as you couldn't even see where the tracks were, just brush. BS braught the train in, spotted the coaches, and braught in the first set of flats. I left just after the first ride was taken off (the top spin) as the events I just described to you all took just under 8 hours. Oyyyyyyy

Check out some of these sample pics, I'll have them all up on my web site within a day or so!!

It was raining pretty hard when we caught it at tift street here.


Crossing Lake Ave. in Blasdell, NY


South Park in Hamburg, NY


I kid you not, these were the tracks that the coachs were to be parked on, they cleared the brush no problme though!


The Buffalo Southern crew, just after spotting the coaches.


Love this shot! Ever wonder how they get those rides off the train??


The first ride to come off, the top spin. I couldn't beleave it, but about 3 or 4 of the tires on this monster rig were flat!!

Nice. Glad you got to see it, thanks for the pics.

Tom H>

I found the following website with some pictures of the Strates train in Hamburg from 2001.

Since the Erie County fair closes down on August 22nd and the NY State Fair opens on August 26th, it would be a pretty good bet that the train should arrive in Syracuse probably on August 24th. The trick is knowing when it will pull out of Hamburg and head east. The Strates website doesn't give any indication of that.

http://members.aol.com/buffalosouthern/fairtrain.html

HEADS UP CENTRAL NEW YORK!

The erie county fair ended yesterday (sunday) night. Strates was busy packing all night last night, and all day today. For some stupid reason CSX thaught that it would be ready to be moved to syracuse this afternoon at 2pm. Totaly nuts, they were still loading at 7pm. The buffalo southern will be bringing startaes to CP draw, where CSX will take them right on to syracuse. I'm headin out now to the Depew station to try and catch a glymps (always at night ) I'll let you all know if I catch it.

The Strates Shows have completed their Vestal PBA Carnival on Saturday night (29th). During Sunday, they will be transporting any over the road rides and equipment going to the Chemung County Fair. The remainder of the stuff will be reloaded on the flat cars. Sounds like the loading there will begin on Monday.

It is expected that the train will be ready to depart Binghamton sometime late Tuesday. It will be pulled via the NS to Buffalo and should be handed off to the Buffalo Southern Wednesday morning. It is planned to unload at Hamburg during the day Wednesday.

Power for this year's unloading at Hamburg will be RS-18 1847 and RS-11 5010.

As always, if people wish to view the operation, they are reminded to stay on public property. The railroad tracks and most of the area around the unloading site are private property. Please, no tresspassing and give the Strates crews lots of room on Scott Street for the unloading and staging of equipment.

Pat Connors
BSOR

BSOR Patarak wrote:The Strates Shows have completed their Vestal PBA Carnival on Saturday night (29th). During Sunday, they will be transporting any over the road rides and equipment going to the Chemung County Fair. The remainder of the stuff will be reloaded on the flat cars. Sounds like the loading there will begin on Monday.

It is expected that the train will be ready to depart Binghamton sometime late Tuesday. It will be pulled via the NS to Buffalo and should be handed off to the Buffalo Southern Wednesday morning. It is planned to unload at Hamburg during the day Wednesday.

Power for this year's unloading at Hamburg will be RS-18 1847 and RS-11 5010.

As always, if people wish to view the operation, they are reminded to stay on public property. The railroad tracks and most of the area around the unloading site are private property. Please, no tresspassing and give the Strates crews lots of room on Scott Street for the unloading and staging of equipment.

Pat Connors
BSOR

Dose the Strates Show have or still have a Locomotive? I rember about 6 maybe 7 years ago seeing what looked to be a yellow/Orange color Geep tied on to a Strates Show Train. This was back when the cars where Red and Yellow Color.

As far as I know Strates does not have their own locomotive. It would have to meet FRA requirements, even if they only used it to provide power for the cars. And the unions have requirements about armrests, seats, etc. But maybe they did - SRS, where was the train when you saw that?

I have not seen the train for several years - what color is it now?

scharnhorst,
You must be thinking of another show. For as long as I can remember seeing the States Show train (well back into the EL days) it has always been white with aqua and red/red orange markings and has never had it's own engine.

The train summers in Miami, hence the Miami Dolphins colors. None of the travelling shows have their own loco, they use whatever road power is available from the host railroad.

-otto-

Strates has never had its own engine, as far as I know.

BUT, it did spend at least one year, maybe two, with the rolling stock painted in maroon/Tuscan Red. I have photos of it parked in Elmira during the 1990s in that scheme.

Can't remembber when they went back to the "Miami Dolphins" colors, but it was several years ago.

The train was indeed red for a time during the mid 1990's. I can't remember for sure when it was painted to the "Miami" scheme. I have also seen pictures of the flats painted yellow. They do like to freshen up it's look once and awhile.

As was previously stated, they do not have their own locomotives. The rely on the host railroad to power the train and perform any switching of the equipment as needed.

It looks like they began loading today and we expect them sometime late Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.

Pat
BSOR

Hello Pat, Thanks once again for the heads up! Strates.com shows that they are supposed to be at the Chemung County Fair from Aug. 1 - Aug. 6. I'm wondering, is the train skipping past this show with the big rides?? I didn't expect them in for another week.
Traditionally, they wait til morning to move the train, as I've spent many a long night waiting for it to pass by Lancaster on the southern tier line.
Once again, thanks for the heads up!!!

The train was supposed to have been assembled and ready for movement from Binghamton last night at 0100. It is expected to arrive at Buffalo around 11 am this morning. If it is all turned correctly and set up, then it could be unloading at Hamburg late this afternoon.

Pat
BSOR

NS source has it down around Silver Springs at 9:AM headed North for the Buff.

-B in B