One of the most iconic pieces of Americana dating from the late 19th and 20th centuries is the traveling Carnival Show.  Arriving in a town with a stream of brightly colored wagons and trucks, the traveling shows featured a menagerie of exotic animals, exciting rides, unique acts and performances and large Midways with games of skill (chance) and concessions that most small towns had never seen. These shows (following an arrival of an advanced advertising and marketing team) set up tents and booths in local fields and would stay on average a week in one location, then move on to another town from Spring to Fall, returning to a “winter quarters” where the circuit for the next year would be planned and new attractions would be created.

In 1932, the newly-renamed James E. Strates Shows (originally founded as Southern Tier Shows in Elmira, NY in 1923) rented two railroad boxcars to help move the rapidly growing carnival show. By 1934, the Strates Show became a 5 rail car show, expanding to 10 before the end of that year. The switch to rail eventually included several passenger cars as well as over 60 flatcars moving wagons and rides. In 1970, the show was so large that two complete units (the Red and Blue trains) were fielded.

Features:

• Based on Budd designs
• Intricately Detailed, Durable ABS Bodies
  
• Stamped Metal Floors
  
• Detailed Car Undercarriage
  
• Colorful, Attractive Paint Schemes
  
• Metal Wheels and Axles
  
• Die-Cast 4-Wheel Trucks
  
• Fast-Angle Wheel Sets
  
• Needle-Point Axles
  
• (2) Operating Die-Cast Metal Couplers
  
• O Scale Kadee-Compatible Coupler Mounting Pads
• Constant Voltage Overhead LED Interior Lighting
  
• End-of-Car Diaphragms
  
• Separate Metal Handrails
  
• Detailed Car Interiors
  
• Sliding Baggage Car Doors
  
• Detailed Brake Wheel
  
• 1:48 Scale Proportions
  
• Unit Measures: 19” x 2 7/16” x 3 1/2”
  
• Operates On O-42 Curves

Prototype Info:

The 1930’s ushered in a “sea change” in the concept of passenger car design. As the United States was striving to come out of the Great Depression, images of renewed power and progress became those of speed, technical innovation, and forward motion exemplified by the Streamline Moderne school of industrial design. Aerodynamic shapes such as horizontal fluting and rounded or curved surfaces made of smooth, bright materials such as welded and polished stainless steel began to replace the staid and solid concepts that had governed passenger car designs since the turn of the century. While safe, smooth riding, and often quite luxurious, the riveted side framing and cover plates and massive steel under frames (supporting a floor of poured concrete in most cases) could cause a typical “Heavyweight” passenger car to weigh as much as 1 ton per linear foot!

The ”Streamliners”, by contrast, eliminated heavy under frames and adopted methods of construction where the entire car body and roof contributed to the structural integrity – much the same as what is now referred to as “unibody” construction. The use of lighter materials both inside and out also contributed to these cars weighing as much as 20-25 tons less than that of a comparable heavyweight. Gleaming aluminum fixtures, cut and frosted glass, and even decorative celluloids replaced the dark woods and veneers and heavy cast iron and brass fittings heretofore common to car interiors – further reducing weight and contributing to a modern, glamorous style which was readily accepted by the traveling public. The lighter designs proved to be much more economical as well and were adopted by Pullman-Standard and a newcomer to passenger car design – the Budd Company of Philadelphia.

Since 1913, Budd was a well-known supplier of auto body stampings but by 1930, rapidly became a major force in railroad passenger car design. Budd was among the first to grasp the potential of stainless steel, however the inability of stainless steel to be fabricated with normal welding techniques was an issue. Budd’s chief engineer, Colonel Earl J.W. Ragsdale, spent five years developing the key process needed to make stainless into a viable structural material: the patented Shotweld electric welding process. From the groundbreaking Pioneer Zephyrs in 1934 through the Amfleets of the1980s, Budd designed cars have carved out a unique and lasting legacy which carries on today in cars produced by Bombardier.

About Atlas O Premier Rolling Stock:

Atlas O Premier Rolling Stock is prototypically accurate and includes a wide array of car types, from box cars, to passenger cars to cabooses. In addition to being intricately detailed, Atlas O Premier Rolling Stock features crisp painting and lettering, perfectly recreating the colorful paint schemes found on their real-world counterparts. Atlas O Premier Rolling Stock is ready to run right out of the box, so you can go straight from the hobby store to using the model in your fleet.