Winterquarters/Car Shops for circus and showtrains


Eric, The flats look good with the decals. Just thought I would share some photos of my models of the "The Great Circus Train". I model the years of 98-03 when the WSOR ran the train to Milwaukee. Strong funds was a sponsor at the time hence the Strong Funds banner on the stock car. The flats were ones that I painted so that I wouldn't have duplicates as walthers only produced 16 different paint jobs and during some if not all of the years I model the train had 18. The coaches were repainted by the WSOR in Horicon so I had to model them as well. I have the 2 Fan cars on the workbench right now and will get finished at some point. The caboose was a must have to finish out the train.
 
Wow, Matt, those look great! And welcome to the forums! Good to have another circus modeler on here. Im guessing youre using Walthers Heavyweights... I like the finish on them. what do you use as a clear coat after the decals are set? As for my project, your decals are working great. I was really impressed with how easy they were to handle and how well they hold up when handling them wet. Keep us posted on your progress.
 
Awe as if I wasn't tempted to do a circus train already!
Very nice guys, like Toot sez that would make one hekuva train!
 
These cars are the walthers heavyweights. I did a set with Rivarossi first but after I ran the train a few times on our club layout I decided I needed cars that run better so I went with walthers cars. I've got a good sized train when its all put together so its critical that everything runs well. 2 x E9's, 9 WSOR passenger cars, 5 circus coaches, 18 flats, 1 stock car and 1 caboose.

I just used gloss coat from testors to seal the decals. I'm in the process of finding a way to attach the wagons to the flat cars but still be able to remove them and change the order. I'd like to use something like a magnet to hold the wagons in place but then I could still remove them without damaging the wheels or flat car. I've yet to come up with a solution that I like for this problem.
 
If you have pictures of your train running, post them up. I too went with the Walthers coaches, they do run well. It looks like we're trying to solve the same problem with the same solution. Ive been trying to come up with a way to secure the wagons with magnets. I have a few ideas but Im not quite as far along in my project to try any of them. Let me know if you ever come up with anything that works.
 
I successfully converted a couple of the Walthers stock cars from a press fit coupler box to a screw. I used a 1-72 Kadee tap set with 1/8" 1-72 screws. I might try a slightly longer screw as I drilled and tapped the hole through the entire floor of the car. I still get a good 3-4 turns before the 1/8" screw rests against the plate.

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Been a while....

Hope the circus modelers are ready for the upcoming season. The national Circus Model Builders convention is in Baraboo this year! One of the most exciting things will be the 'arrival' of a 1 inch to the foot model of a railroad circus. The train is fully loaded with wagons that are filled with equipment for an entire circus. The show is set up as it would have been when the circus arrived in town many, many years ago. The train is unloaded, wagons are spotted and the equipment is unloaded from them, the tent is raised, performances given, everthing get reloaded into the wagons and the train is reloaded. It has been a long time since this model has been seen and it promises to be a DO NOT miss event. I will be there getting my first look at this truly amazing work of art.

On the winterquarters front here in Wisconsin, for my 1/87th inch models, a lot of work has been done redesigning the layout and trying to incorporate some thing I had not thought about when the project started. I will try and post pictures soon of some of the progress. Building are being fitted with some interiors and lighting, first time for me doing these things, labor intensive.

I had some custom decals made by Matt Welke(welcome to the thread) of Baraboo, WI. They are very impressive and accurate. See pics above for references to his work, Matt is quickly becoming the 'go to' guy for circus modelers! I cannot wait for them to grace my equipment!

I'll leave you with a quick mockup of the unfinished interior of the car sheds under construction, lighting is temporary to see how it will photograph.

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Ive seen a series of videos on youtube that one of the family members put together of the entire show. Very nice set up, wish I could see it in person. Good to see another fine update from you Johnny, the lighting looks nice.
 
Gary B said:
Johnny, And the convention is what dates? Mock up looks great.
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Hi Gary, thank you.

Here is some info on the convention:

Zellmar Bros Ring

CIRCUS WORLD MUSEUM

Baraboo, WI

May 29 – June 2, 2013


The 1" scale show is scheduled to be set up on Friday(31st) or Saturday(1st) weather depending. It was built by Herbie Head and is a model of the Cole Brothers show.
He named it 'Head Brothers Circus'.

Here's a link to the pdf files giving full details as available;

http://circusmodelbuilders.com/annual-convention/convention-2013/

Johnny
 
eric2448 said:
Ive seen a series of videos on youtube that one of the family members put together of the entire show. Very nice set up, wish I could see it in person. Good to see another fine update from you Johnny, the lighting looks nice.
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I forgot to mention that, thanks Eric. The youtube videos are cool. And yes, to see it in person would be special, I'm hoping it goes on so I can see it, wish you could too.

Johnny
 
If I had a notion to model these two fan cars from the Great Circus Train, what kits should I buy?

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photo by Slider Jake on Flickr
 
Both of those 'open' cars are converted from baggage cars. I would suggest the shorter versions put out by AHM/Rivarossi. I've seen those with good looking results. Matt Welke does the decals for them.

Any other suggestions?
 
enjineerbill said:
Both of those 'open' cars are converted from baggage cars. I would suggest the shorter versions put out by AHM/Rivarossi. I've seen those with good looking results. Matt Welke does the decals for them.

Any other suggestions?
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I've done a little looking, but I'm not seeing that roofline, got a more specific suggestion? Brand, roadname?
 
On a side note, I'm taking a break tomorrow from bench work and track laying ( I'm terrible at it ) and heading down to the Ringling Museum. Is there anything anyone would like to see a picture of, I'll post here, if that's cool with Johnny.
 
joe circus said:
I've done a little looking, but I'm not seeing that roofline, got a more specific suggestion? Brand, roadname?
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Im not sure finding the roof line will be easy if possible at all on a factory model. I would imagine that they would have possibly been modified with the rest of the car. Im a fan of the Walthers Heavyweights, Ive seen the baggage cars going for around $25 on closeout.

joe circus said:
On a side note, I'm taking a break tomorrow from bench work and track laying ( I'm terrible at it ) and heading down to the Ringling Museum. Is there anything anyone would like to see a picture of, I'll post here, if that's cool with Johnny.
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Sounds like a fun adventure. Hope to visit myself one day. Do they have some of the models used in the making of The Greatest Show on Earth on display?
 
joe circus said:
On a side note, I'm taking a break tomorrow from bench work and track laying ( I'm terrible at it ) and heading down to the Ringling Museum. Is there anything anyone would like to see a picture of, I'll post here, if that's cool with Johnny.
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Post Away, Joe! This is everyone's circus thread. I always knew there were a bunch of us who hadn't revealed their passion for modeling circus and showtrains. There were some very ornate equipment among the different types of shows. I only gave us a thread to congregate in....

My request would be to see the Howard Tibbals model. A historic replica of the RBBB show in it's heyday. One of the finest displays ever!
 
eric2448 said:
...........

Sounds like a fun adventure. Hope to visit myself one day. Do they have some of the models used in the making of The Greatest Show on Earth on display?
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Not sure if they are still there or not. But up until a year or two ago there were some. That would be cool to see too!
 
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