Courtesy of Marco Kirsten
This is sure an interesting set of photographs. I wonder why the wheels were removed on this wagon before being placed on the rail car? Was it a necessity for transport or was the wagon disabled and in need of repair. In the photo's above it appears the other wagons are loaded with wheels intact. If the wheels of some of the wagon's had to be removed for transport, what a major pain that must have been in 1933.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Circus Carl Hagenbeck 1933-34 Southeast Asia Tour
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Wade G. Burck
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11 comments:
I wonder if that raised part on the roof made it just a hair too high for low bridges
From what I understand, reading the original source, some of the train wagons had a weight limit which was exceeded by some of the wagons loaded. In order to stay within the weight limit, they decided to remove the heavy wheels during transit.
Marco,
Thank you for the information, and thank you also for the great pictures.
Wade
Wheels are usually removed when there's an overhead clearance problem. The use of a center well car for the one van would seem to affirm this problem.
There's also some concerns about wheels handling the oscillations in loading that railroad loads endure when traveling. They can go beyond the actual weight imposed by the vehicle because of vertical acceleration. You get the same effect, for different reasons, when you weigh more riding a roller coaster.
A weight limit is also a possibility, but spreading the loads over more vehicles would perhaps have been an easier task than removing wheels and lowering the axles to the decks. The loading was also done from the side, which is one heck of a lot worse than end loading and unloading. It also looks like some of the cars lacked decking, another challenge. I suspect the Japanese railroads weren't accustomed to traveling circuses or any early form of what's now termed piggyback. One wonders how they managed the movement of military vehicles from factory to port in the same time frame.
Can you post a link to the original site?
Casey Jones,
Wow, thank you for the great insight on rail movement. Lest we forget, the Hard hea, sorry, the Hagenbeck's were German. They probably were going to do what they wanted, regardless. :) That said, Herr Kristen, can you help the Chattanooga Choo Choo out with the link you found.
Wade
In a first ever, for 1900-1901 B&B printed a book in German that instructed the German railways how to operate their specialized trains.
RBBB published smaller, more modest booklets for the benefit of American trainmen in recent years.
In a recent [true] story, the South African government was suing China over a shipment of 11 million condoms. They were found to be too small for the majority of the South African population. I don't know what that has to do with this story except maybe that Asians in general aren't accustomed to the size of non-Asian vehicles passing through their tunnels.
Dang, I just rechecked the story. It's not what I thought.....nevermind
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/weird-wide-web/south-africa-china-condom-tender-phoenurse-small-condoms
Oh, my God!!! LOL,LOL,LOL I have tears in my eyes as I write this. PK, is that you clowning around again? Jesus, LOL. If not, you at least need to take credit for that last comment. It is a classic. Boy of boy, is life a hootenanny or what? Say thank you Vincent. Who ever that was, they sure hung some powerful paper for you. :)
Wade
During Reagan's time the Russians were short on condoms. They ordered millions from US suppliers, specifying an unusually large set of dimensions. When Reagan heard the details, he ordered "stamp them "small."
Mr. Burk
I have to say I enjoy your blog every day. It seems you have every whack job, or nitwit to paraphrase you, in America either reading or commenting. How they managed to take a discussion from circus train travel in 1933 to condoms in the cold war is beyond me, but they succeeded brilliantly.
Thank you for the chuckles to start a day.
Peter, a fan from across the big pond.
Peter,
Thank you for the kind words about the blog. I can honestly say I have never been prouder of it, then I am at this very moment, although the kudos, awards, and acclimation's must surely go to my readers. I only provide the forum. It is they who provide us with the mature, thought provoking, educational dialog. Geez.......
Wade
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