In the early 1950s, the historic James E. Strates Shows were spending winters at a fairground in Deland, FL. In 1955, Strates purchase a 40-acre lot in Taft, Florda, just south of Orlando. Over a mile of railroad siding was built in the lot to accommodate the massive railroad carnival. Today, the historic Strates Shows still winters on the same spot in Taft, FL, and they are America’s only remaining railroad carnival. It was only the best for the huge James E. Strates Shows railroad carnival, traveling up and down the East coast throughout the 20th century.
The Strates Shows owned at least two wagon-mount PTC carousels, #28 and another thought to be PTC #40, donated to the Circus World Museum. The World Famous Royal American Shows, 1886-1977, who claimed “The World’s Largest Midway”, owned and operated at least three PTC wagon-mount portables at one time or another, PTC #26, PTC #27 and PTC #34, the latter famously sold at a Red Baron auction in 1986.
Philadelphia Toboggan Co. archives show 87 numbered carousels on record. Approximately 12 of those machines were known to be returned to the shop, re-configured, and sent back out with new numbers, so in actuality, PTC carved about 75 machines. Approximately 33 of these machines remain operating today or in known storage hoping to operate again. According to their archive records, PTC carved eight wagon-mount portable machines. Only three of these are still known to remain today.
The only PTC portable that you can currently ride is the 1917 PTC #43 at the Western Washington Fairgrounds in Puyallup, WA. The second portable known to exist in modern times is #34 which was broken up and sold at auction in 1986. The last remaining portable is PTC #28, built in 1914, which was sold intact at auction in 2010 in Orlando, FL. PTC records show that the Strates Shows acquired the machine for their traveling carnival in 1946. James Strates, now 78, recalls the machine as a kid, so it is possible that Strates may have owned the ride longer.
The Strates Shows has a great website.
The portable merry-go-round, with its factory wagon mounted center pole, traveled the Eastern Seaboard with the Strates Shows for over four decades, finally being replaced by a modern double-decker machine in 1988.
PTC #28 remained in storage at The Strates Shows Taft, Florida home base until being sold at auction. It is now in storage in Sun Valley, CA, soon to begin a full restoration before it returns home to Florida.
You can read all about the fascinating James E. Strates and Strates Shows history in their website.
Click here for history on the Royal American Shows.
