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Trains News Wire

 

Coming attraction: James E. Strates Shows carnival train set to roll again

 

By Bill Stephens | June 20, 2024 | Last updated on June 21, 2024

 

Thanks to a deal with CSX, the train will deliver midway equipment to the Erie County Fair in western New York with a special move over short line Buffalo Southern

 

ORLANDO, Fla. — The James E. Strates Shows carnival train will return to the rails this summer for the first time since 2019.

 

The train — the last of its kind — was sidelined by the pandemic. Strates shifted its traveling midway show entirely to trucks as fairs gradually reopened. This year Strates officials had been unable to reach a deal with CSX to resume operation of a dedicated train on its traditional route up and down the East Coast, which dates to 1934.

 

But now CSX will haul the Strates equipment from its winter base in Taft, Fla., to Buffalo, N.Y., in regular merchandise service. And then it will make a special move over short line Buffalo Southern to the Erie County Fair in Hamburg, N.Y.

 

 

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[CNJRoss]

Amusement Today

 

Strates Shows prepares “Fair Train” for a return to rails in 2024

 

BY NEWS RELEASE | JUNE 20, 2024

 

ORLANDO — The railroad yard at Strates Shows Winter Quarters in Taft, Florida is busy with activity as crews prepare the famous James E. Strates “Fair Train” for a journey up the Eastern Seaboard to Hamburg, New York (Buffalo). Rail cars that have been dormant for the past several seasons are being mechanically overhauled and restored, including the application of a retro-inspired paint scheme and lettering.

 

 

This will be the first time since the Fall of 2019, and the subsequent 2020 pandemic related shutdown of the fair industry, that Strates Shows will utilize the train. The James E. Strates Shows is regarded as the operator of the last remaining “show train” in the world.

 

The reactivation of the Strates Shows rail program will coincide with a celebration to commemorate its partnership with the Erie County Fair in Hamburg, New York (Buffalo). 2024 marks the 100th year relationship between the Erie County Agricultural Society and the James E. Strates Shows that began in 1924. The exclusive partnership is a historical milestone in the modern amusement industry and is considered the longest continuous run of any carnival midway in the United States. The 2024 Erie County Fair opens on Wednesday, August 7th through Sunday, August 18th.

 

 

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