Atlas O 3001967A - Master - 89’4” Intermodal Flat Car "James E. Strates Shows" w/ Trailers (4-Car)

• Road Name: James E. Strates Shows
• Road Number: 22, 36, 38, 43
• Product Line: Master
• Scale: O Scale
• System: 3-Rail

Features:

• Die- cast construction with etched metal and ABS details
  
• Separately applied brake system details
  
• Accurate painting and lettering
  
• Provides excellent tracking, even at the front of a train
  
• Comes with two trailers
  
• Die-cast couplers with added trainline de t ails (3-rail)
• Overall length: 22 1/4”
  
• Minimum diameter curve: O-72 (3-rail) 

Overview:

The James E. Strates Shows entered the new millennium as one of the largest traveling outdoor amusement companies in North America and the only carnival still operating its own dedicated train. From March to November, Strates Shows traveled proudly along the Eastern Seaboard with its distinctive 55-car train, easily identifiable by its vibrant coaches painted in white, orange, and teal. In the mid-2000s, according to Amusement Business, an industry trade magazine, the company ranked third in attendance among carnivals operating at the 50 largest fairs in North America. At its three largest fairs—the North Carolina State Fair in Raleigh, the Erie County Fair in Hamburg, New York, and the New York State Fair in Syracuse—Strates Shows attracted nearly 2.7 million visitors to its midway.

At that time, the Strates Shows train comprised 45 flat cars that transported around 50 amusement rides along with necessary support equipment. Additionally, nine passenger coaches, named after fairs on the route, provided housing for over 100 workers and senior staff. A stainless-steel fluted baggage car functioned as a generator car, supplying independent power to the passenger coaches. When rail lines were not adjacent to fairgrounds, company-operated buses transported employees back and forth.

Celebrating its 102nd anniversary in 2025, Strates Shows remains a family-owned and operated outdoor amusement and carnival enterprise headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company was originally founded in 1923 as Southern Tier Shows in Elmira, New York, by Greek immigrant James E. Strates. It has since grown into one of America’s leading providers of carnival midways, food concessions, and games. In 1934, Strates Shows transitioned into a railroad-based carnival following the acquisition of its first five flat cars. Utilizing rail transportation allowed the company to significantly expand beyond its New York base, bringing entertainment to major fairs across the Eastern Seaboard. By the late 1950s, the carnival’s train had expanded to over 50 cars. After Royal American Shows ceased rail operations in 1982, Strates Shows became the last remaining railroad-based traveling carnival. This unique status was further solidified in 2017 when Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus ended their historic circus train operations, leaving Strates Shows as the final entertainment show traveling by rail in the United States. At the conclusion of the 2019 season, Strates Shows had planned to continue its rail tradition into the summer of 2020. However, the COVID-19 pandemic led to restrictions on large gatherings and the temporary closure of the fair industry, causing the show to remain inactive. As fairs began reopening in 2021 under reduced capacity restrictions, operating a 45-car train became economically impractical. Consequently, the company transitioned to transporting its attractions by truck, serving fairs from Florida to Vermont. In 2025, Strates Shows officially ended its historic railroad operations with a final train arrival at the Erie County Fair in Hamburg, New York (Buffalo), marking its complete transition to an all-truck carnival.