The UP Challenger 3985 lead the Ringling Bros. Circus Train from Cheyenne to Denver in Sept. 2010. I"m modeling this train. I just got me the new Athearn Challenger 3985, 4 flat cars, and 7 coaches.
I finally aquired everything I need, all the cars, decals, animals, etc.
I finished one of the flat cars, with RBBX road numbers. There will be 11 cars total, 4 flat and 7 coaches.
Here is the video of the historic train. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGJFlmQa37Q
Here is one of the coaches. Still needs road and decals added.
I will add some elephants inside this one.
Michael,
This is a pretty cool project. Circus modeling isn’t for me, but I sure enjoy seeing it. The Walthers catalog used to be thick with circus stuff, but it’s mostly gone now, although they carry what’s out there.
In case you haven’t found them, railcarPhotos.com has a pretty good collection of RBBX pics. Just enter the RBBX reporting mark and hit Search. There’s 135 of them, with relatively few duplicates.
What Mike said,
Wow what a cool project to work on. I’m happy to learn its the real deal and not some phony balony Bradford Exchange thing.
Keep posting the project, I can’t wait to see the whole train.
Derek
Nice video, nice train, but it lacks the feeling of the old circus trains, but then the circus isn’t the same either. The colorful specialized cars, flats with the various wagons riding on them, all a thing of the past.
There used to be a fellow near here that had done a model of the last RBBC train that came to VT in the mid 50’s. I saw it at a museum, but they lost it, as they took it off display. Don’t know what happened to it after that. I knew him, but didn’t know he was a model railroader until he had passed away. Sigh!
Sounds like a great project, keep us posted.
Have fun,
Richard
Here is a photo of the 1946 Ringling Bros - Barnum and Bailey train getting ready to unload. It isn’t my work but it is on display and the Madison County Historical society, Inc. in Anderson Indiana.
They are a Circus modeler in my area that models everything RBBX in O scale he has the modern one and like the one in the above photo and this train is to the scale.
Roger,
Was this O or HO? In any case, looks like Walthers is well represented.
That was HO and it was started in 1946. Most of the work is done in wood kits. That’s why it was the 1946 Ringling Bros - Barnum and Bailey Circus train.
Here is the UP 3985. Athearn did an outstanding job with the details and paint. And it runs like silk, smooth slow speed it crawls on speedstep 1.
I finished one of the coaches. This one I added some elephants into. I barely was able to fit 3 of them in there. But I had to remove the seating and replaced it with a piece of styrene for the flooring.
Michael,
That’s OK, I think those elephants are a bit too heavy for those seats anyway[swg]
I completed 2 flatcars today, so now all 4 flatcars have been completed. Now onto the 6 coaches left.
Ha, elephants traveling in style in a Santa Fe Valley series sleeper. Nice [8D]
Hence the origin of the phrase “the elephant in the roomette”. [(-D]
Andre
Ya the elephants have some pretty nice digs. If I didn’t see the video of them loading elephants in these type of coaches, I would never have believed it.
Dem elephants insist on getting the window seat – on both sides of the aisle![:o)]
Put one pink elephant in there and see if anyone notices.
Finished another coach. This one has horses in it.
That’s a great project Micheal. However those floors are much too clean. A little elephant and horse poop is in order. Also how did they get in and out of those tiny doors?[swg]