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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.

Last edited by rrman
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The cars are from a plethora of old railroads. I know several Pennsy cars made it into he train. Ringling supposedly put over $1 million in to each car converting it for their use. All of the cars were sold several months ago. Some intend to restore to original condition, others to keep in circus condition, and others are using them as nice cars to configure however they want. Many cars had sheet metal put over their original fluting.

Will Ebbert posted:

 All of the cars were sold several months ago. Some intend to restore to original condition, others to keep in circus condition, and others are using them as nice cars to configure however they want. Many cars had sheet metal put over their original fluting.

Wow, didn't realize they would be snapped up so quickly!  Be interesting who bought them ie a car broker, auctioned off individual cars, or flat "take it or leave it" price.  Wonder what they went for (but guess if you have to ask, you can't afford it  !)

That picture with the CSX units, what happened there? Looks like track was rerouted around a hole being dug where the old main was. Sad to see a longtime institution go away but in a capitalist world you have to make a profit to stay in business. The iPhone generation just isn’t interested in circuses. There are many other things that millennials are killing off. They are not as interested in motorcycles, golf, sit down restaurants, bar soap, and many other things. But selling the circus train cars means that they will never be able to bring back the circus even if they wanted to. They must have seen the dwindling attendance and that future generations are less likely to be interested in circuses.

Last edited by Robert K

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