...turned out to be a great day for being trackside in Harrisburg, PA. The sun was warm and there were no clouds to contend with when it came to doing some railroad photography from the Linglestown Road Bridge. One of the first trains I saw was a NS local with a string of mostly gondolas. Motive power was NS 5219 (GP38-2) and NS 2223 (SW1500, ex-CR 9567).
Around 12:30 came the news over the scanner I was waiting to hear. NS 047 was ready to roll west behind NS 2753 and NS 2607. That symbol was assigned to Ringling Brothers Red Unit circus train! There was a thirty-minute stop planned for Harrisburg to have a crew change and watering the animals. Once that was done, the circus train would continue its 1,213 mile trip to Omaha, Nebraska after closing out its engagement in Trenton, NJ on 5/31. The specifics of the Red Unit's train are as follows: there are 59 cars that weigh in at 4,290 tons for a length of 5,235 feet. That is a almost one mile long. Amtrak, CR, NS handled the moves until this train reached Chicago where it was handed over to UP for the remainder of its trip.
Harrisburg - NS HBG local
Harrisburg - RBBB Red circus train
Harrisburg - Rear of circus train