Watched a Youtube of a Ringling circus train that detoured through Iowa years ago. Now that the circus is defunct, I imagine those passenger cars will be for sale. However the original car has, no doubt, been heavily modified into sleeping, living room, kitchenette etc areas, so the cost of car plus converting them back into sleepers or coach units would be as much as fresh build.
I would assume there would be a car serial number so its pedigree could be traced back to first owner and what car was.
Or did Ringling buy these cars to their specifications so the above statements are not valid? Looking at the video it appears the cars are almost all the same outside finish, but that uniformity could been part of car rebuild.
Did the train have its own engines and engineer or did they depend on local roads to provide engines and engineers?
What did they do for car problems, wheel set change outs, HVAC failures, etc? Obviously a car breakdown couldn't be set out with family stranded in Podunk.
