CIRCUS TRAIN EXPECTED TO ARRIVE IN CAPE TONIGHT; ANIMAL MARCH FRIDAY MORNING

The circus train is on its way to Cape Girardeau.

The 49-car Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circus train extra is scheduled to arrive in Cape Girardeau tonight from Springfield, Ill.

A spokesman for the Burlington Northern Railroad at Cape Girardeau said the train will pass through St. Louis en route to Cape Girardeau.

The circus train extra is expected to arrive around 6 p.m. It will round Cape Rock and head south through the downtown business area before stopping at the BN's railroad yards in South Cape Girardeau.

After arriving at the yards, the cars will be switched onto different tracks to prepare for the unloading of circus animals on Friday morning.

On Friday, the specially designed cars will be shoved back up the BN mainline track to the foot of Broadway, where the animals will be taken off the train, said Will Lofdahl, events coordinator at the Show Me Center.

Lofdahl said plans are to begin unloading the animals at about 9 a.m. Friday.

"It's going to take a while to get all of the animals off the train," he said. "The march of the circus animals is scheduled to begin around 10 a.m., but it could be as late as 11 a.m. or noon before the march actually starts. But it will not be before 10 a.m."

Lofdahl said that after all of the animals are off the train they will march as a group on Broadway to North Sprigg, then north on Sprigg to the Show Me Center, where the circus will perform.

Because a special ramp is required to unload the circus' big cats, they will be taken off the cars in the railroad yards and transported to the Show Me Center in steel cage wagons.

Show times are 7:30 p.m. Friday, 11:30 a.m., 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, and 1:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Sunday.