Union Pacific 5214 with Ringling Brothers And Barnum & Bailey Circus Train Union City, CA

After performances in San Jose and San Francisco, the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circus train ‘Red unit’ heads East through Union City on the Niles Subdivision towards its next scheduled shows in Sacramento. A trio of UP SD70Ms power the train, back when it was common place to see these units everywhere. 9 years later, most of these locomotives are in dead storage lines all across the Union Pacific system, awaiting disposition. This was taken back when Ringling Brothers still had performances with elephants. After many years of demonstrations and peaceful protests by animal rights activists, the circus would eventually discontinue the use of the giant creatures, which would be the beginning of the end for the Greatest Show on Earth.
Ringling Brothers ceased operations in 2017, and would sell off all of its rolling stock. 09-08-2015