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Introduction April 2023
Carnivale on the Green: A Railcar Based Traveling Carnival By Jim Ralph
These two photos are of our multi-use artificial turf activity green (for mini golf, croquet, bocce ball, lawn bowling, R/C cars, etc.). The green has been a gathering place for family and friends for many years. On each side of the green is a bench for a place to sit, relax and watch the action. The ‘Snack Shack’ building contains basic kitchen essentials for food prep with a casual seating area.
The raised deck railway is a recent addition and was designed to bring CARNIVALE to the green. A single track circles the green on the deck with a siding located across from each bench. The sidings are a place to park and display additional rail cars for individual viewing while a train slowly passes byThe raised deck railway is a recent addition and was designed to bring CARNIVALE to the green. A single track circles the green on the deck with a siding located across from each bench. The sidings are a place to park and display additional rail cars for individual viewing while a train slowly passes by.
What is CARNIVALE? It brings to mind memories of carnivals and amusement parks you may have visited, or seen in movies and books. Add to this what I call “everything carnival”-- anything that could be supporting, or is even remotely related to a carnival operation and you have an idea of our inspiration.
Carnivals have always been meant to be mobile so they can travel from town to town in a repetitive cycle of setting up and tearing down tents and makeshift structures and then moving on. In the case of our CARNIVALE, it is the train itself. “Everything carnival' is built directly onto the rail cars. The CARNIVALE train would pull into a town’s depot, easily opening for business. Then when the show is over, it would quickly (usually a good idea) close up and depart.
CARNIVALE is a fictitious traveling carnival made up of “all things carnival” railcars whose beginnings were in the 1930's, the heyday of the traveling carnival. But now it is the 1950's and CARNIVALE has not aged well, both in its structures and its outdated attractions. Attempting to stop the continuing loss of customers, many of the operators have taken their attractions to the seedy/dark side of the carny world, hoping to attract a wider variety of customers.
Each CARNIVALE car has a theme. It could be a sideshow, a game of chance, food service, an amusement ride, snake oil sales, gambling, a circus act or animal show. Other cars might include restrooms, maintenance, crew residences, creepy stuff and subjects yet to be explored.
As a scratch builder, this “everything carnival” theme provides me with an almost endless number of possible builds. The ideas for car themes have come from many places: some from historic and current carnival attractions, some from reference books on the subject, still others from movies,
memories and everyday experiences that can be tied to the carnival world. Then the fun begins. Like Ripley’s Believe It or Not, each car has a backstory. The story might be real, fictional or a blending of both. Which is it? You the reader can decide for yourself.
Here are a pair of photos from last month’s skills clinic that featured a couple of cars from CARNIVALE
Suzy has asked me to write a monthly article about CARNIVALE. Each will feature a car or two of interest, the ideas behind them, as well as their backstory. I might include some construction notes, parts sources to help others to tap into their own creative side. Stay tuned!
