By the beginning of the 1880s, Walter L. Main had created a circus using profits from selling off farm animals.

[2][3] On the morning of Memorial Day, 1893, the train was traveling down an embankment near the town of Tyrone.

One woman, Hannah Friday, reported that when she was milking a cow, a Bengal tiger approached her.

In the months following the wreck, local residents reported seeing other unusual animals in the nearby wilderness, including exotic birds and kangaroos.

The wreck has been commemorated every year since 2009, with local residents placing wreaths and flowers at the site.