Fire breaks out on former Ringling Bros. circus train cars that NCDOT stores in the woods
Fire broke out Thursday on a string of former circus train cars that the N.C. Department of Transportation has been storing in the woods in Nash County.
It’s not clear how the fire started, according to a Facebook post by the Nash County Sheriff’s Office. The cars were parked on a state-owned rail line east of Spring Hope, about a mile from the nearest road.
The fire was reported about 7 a.m., according to Maj. Eddie Moore of the sheriff’s office. They were beyond the reach of firefighting equipment for several hours.
“The train cars are currently inaccessible based on their location in the woods,” the sheriff’s office wrote mid-morning Thursday. “A train locomotive is being sent to move the affected train cars to ensure any remaining fires are properly extinguished.”
The cars were still burning as they were slowly moved to the crossing at South Old Franklin Road, where firefighters could get better access. Several cars were heavily damaged, according to photos posted by the sheriff’s office.
The N.C. State Bureau of Investigation will lead the investigation into what started the fire, according to Moore.
NCDOT bought the nine railroad cars from the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus four years ago, thinking it would one day refurbish them and use them on the Piedmont passenger train between Raleigh and Charlotte.
The state then received federal grants that allowed it to order new rail cars, and in late 2020 it put the old circus train cars up for auction. The online auction failed to generate a buyer, and NCDOT has said it will try again.
The department has stored the cars on the remote unused section of track because the state has limited room to store rail cars elsewhere, said spokesman Jamie Kritzer.
He said NCDOT has not yet determined whether the cars are salvageable or what the state will do with them now.
NCDOT paid $383,000 for the Ringling Bros. cars shortly after the circus gave its final performance in New York in 2017.
The cars were built in the 1960s by the St. Louis Car Company. Eight of them were used by the circus as dormitories for performers and other workers, while the ninth was a baggage car.
NCDOT had painted over the Ringling Bros. name and logos, though faded “The Greatest Show on Earth” insignia still appeared on some of the cars. The baggage car was covered on one side with large, brightly colored paintings of a gorilla, tiger and elephant that were apparently added by a graffiti artist.
This story was originally published March 10, 2022 at 12:25 PM.
