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At 98, Virginia Callas can finally check off one of the last items on her bucket list. The train she had been waiting for since she was a girl has at last returned to New Bedford.
Her memories of the old railway line remain sharp, but one stands apart: The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus train rolling into town in the mid-1930s.
She can still see it — the billowing steam, the clang of metal, the moment the doors slid open to unleash elephants, acrobats, and lions onto the platform. For a young girl, it was as if the world had cracked open just enough for the extraordinary to slip through.
Callas, the daughter of Greek immigrants, grew up in the thick of the Depression. A circus ticket was a luxury beyond reach, but that hardly mattered. The real magic was in the arrival — the train pulling in, its exotic cargo spilling onto the streets of New Bedford. Elephants lumbered forward, clowns tumbled, men on stilts towered overhead. Down Union Street they paraded, a spectacle plucked from the pages of a storybook.
“I was astounded,” she recalled. “All of a sudden, the world opens up, and all this magic happens.”
When the train chugged away from New Bedford for the last time in 1958, the magic vanished with it. When Callas reached adulthood, she cast her vote — every time — for any candidate who pledged to bring it back to New Bedford. Decades passed. Promises were made, then broken. The station remained quiet.
Until now.
Now, only one item remains on her bucket list: Seeing the Zeiterion reopen.
“I made a simple bucket list,” Callas said. One that will soon be completed.
Thank you for sharing such a treasured memory, Virginia. It reminds me in personal story that the fight to bring rail back was worth it. You humanized the story more than any of us could. Hope to see you on board.
Her Wish Came True 🤞✨✨✨
I ❤️ the story about the return of the train and the circus 🎪 coming to New Bedford. I am interested in reading 📚 your free newsletter and knowing what is happening in my community. Thank you.
Beautifully written, Eleonora!
Wonderful memories of Old Colony Line trains to Boston. Also remember the DC-3 Northeast Air flights with the slanted aisle to LaGuardia, the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard. New Bedford always a big little city grow up in the ‘50s. Thanks to NB Light for stirring the memories.
Virginia is a truly remarkable woman. Thank you for sharing your story. You are a bright shining light.
Well written! Bringing the news to life.
There’s another wish I’m sure on Virginia Callas bucket list and that’s for someone from city hall Council or State House to a company her on a train ride to Boston reliving the dream 🤔
What a wonderful story. Thank you so much Eleonora for your care and dedication!
Beautiful story on history passed and wishing the very best for this new train system !!!! I can’t wait from Maine take a ride!!! 🙂
Thank you Virginia for sharing your most uplifting memories of your time growing up in New Bedford .
Thank you for giving my Ginia the spotlight she deserves.
What a great story and thanks for a glimpse into life in 1930s New Bedford