The Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus Still Running With SGMA

I love the band organ wagon!  Very nice....thanks for sharing.

Bob, those are GORGEOUS!  Did you make them up?

I wonder if a subscription style, car a year, train wouldn't be successful !

Rob,

I don't have the tools or talents to make those custom circus wagons and side rails for use with my Standard Gauge 211 flatcars.  Dave Anderson does.  I approached him about making some custom wagons for placement on my 211 flatcars after purchasing several of his 1/24 G scale circus wagons on ebay.  Unfortunately, these proved too wide and long to mount two on a 211 flatcar.  So I contacted Dave and asked him if he could downsize them until two would fit.  He said he would try.

So I shipped him a 211 flatcar, and after some experimentation, Dave found that two of his circus wagons in 1/32 scale would work.  He even allowed me to pick out which Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus banners I wanted him to use on the sides of the circus wagons, and much to my pleasure, on his own initiative he produced the striking side rails.  

As you can plainly see in the pictures above, the results of Dave's efforts are fantastic.  I liked them so much that I subsequently asked Dave to make me several sets of Buffalo Bill wagons for use in a special Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show train I wanted to create.  You will be able to see this unique train in action at Trainfest 2017.

Bob Nelson

PS. See my Ringling Bros. circus train running on the SGMA layout at Trainfest 2014 here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7DIBFLi1zo

PSS.  Using the below link, see my initial Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show train running on the SGMA layout at Trainfest 2015.  Since this video was taken, Dave has produced several more Buffalo Bill wagons for me which I mounted on additional MTH 211 flatcars.  These will be on display at Trainfest 2017.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3D7JxGQUe4

Would he be interested in making some more?

Rob English posted:

Would he be interested in making some more?

 

Rob,

I honestly don't know.  He was in the model making business but I don't know if he still is or not.

If my email address for him is still good, I will contact him and ask.

Bob Nelson  

Thanks Bob.  I have gat to get to Trainfest one of these days!

ob English posted:

Thanks Bob.  I have gat to get to Trainfest one of these days!

 

Rob,

Yes, you do need to get to Trainfest one of these years and stop by the SGMA layout! 

Unfortunately, my email address for Dave is no longer good, which is not surprising since I haven 't contacted him in several years. 

I tried calling his cell phone number but was only able to leave a message.  Should he reply, I will let you know.

Bob

PS.  I will take photos of the "Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show" wagons and side rails, which Dave made for me and post them on this forum.

Hey Bob,

You gonna bring those to Pittsburgh?

navy.seal posted:

ob English posted:

Thanks Bob.  I have gat to get to Trainfest one of these days!

 

Rob,

Yes, you do need to get to Trainfest one of these years and stop by the SGMA layout! 

Unfortunately, my email address for Dave is no longer good, which is not surprising since I haven 't contacted him in several years. 

I tried calling his cell phone number but was only able to leave a message.  Should he reply, I will let you know.

Bob

PS.  I will take photos of the "Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show" wagons and side rails, which Dave made for me and post them on this forum.

Dave replied to the telephone message I left him as follows:

(QUOTE)

HELLO BOB NELSON,  

HOW FLATTERING THAT OTHERS WOULD LIKE WAGONS LIKE YOURS. 
CURRENTLY I'M WORKING IN G SCALE AND THE DEMAND IS MORE THAN I CAN KEEP UP WITH. 
HOWEVER I DID KEEP ALL THE MOLDS, GRAPHICS, AND JIGS FOR YOUR PROJECT (THE DUST IS PRETTY DEEP ON THAT BOX). 
SO IT WOULDN'T BE OUT OF THE QUESTION LATER ON. 
SO IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO CHECK BACK AROUND AUGUST, I COULD SEE WHERE I STAND AS FAR AS WORK LOAD. 
THANKS FOR THE CALL AND GO NAVY!!!

DAVE ANDERSON

(UNOUOTE)

I will contact him in August and let everyone know what he says.

Bob Nelson

Jim Waterman posted:

Hey Bob,

You gonna bring those to Pittsburgh?

No.  I have a family wedding which I must attend that conflicts with the convention.

Bob

navy.seal posted:

I will contact him in August and let everyone know what he says.

Bob Nelson

Thats great Bob!  Thanks for the effort, hopefully this winter.  

Ill be gathering up some 211's in the mean time!

Here are two additional Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey cars I located. 

First a "human cannonball" truck flatcar (with customized pressed steel Marx cannon truck that can actually shoot a plastic circus figurine):

Second, the circus manager's/advance man's automobile flatcar (with customized diecast Pride Lines REO automobile):

Both of the above will be running at Trainfest 2017 on the SGMA layout.

Bob Nelson

obRob English posted:

navy.seal posted:

I will contact him in August and let everyone know what he says.

Bob Nelson

Thats great Bob!  Thanks for the effort, hopefully this winter.  

 

Ill be gathering up some 211's in the mean time!

Rob,

If you're looking for 211 flatcars, I strongly recommend you purchase MTH Tinplate Traditions 211 flatcars as Dave Anderson's jigs are designed to produce parts for use with those flatcars.  I don't know if the newer Lionel Corporation flatcars are identical or not to the earlier MTH Tinplate Traditions cars, but if they are the same you could buy those cars too. 

Be sure to purchase only the MTH (or Lionel Corporation) flatcars that are sold with their original boxes as with a few modifications of the interior foam, those boxes can be made to hold the modified flatcars, i.e., flatcars with the circus siderails installed.  This is important as the two circus siderails on each flatcar are relatively fragile and it's better to leave them alone once  installed rather than push/pull them in and out.  

Bob Nelson

Just the sort of advice I needed Bob, thanks!  They're probably the same as the TLC cars, but you never know. Besides, I think the TT cars are better built.

To those of you who are interested in purchasing some circus wagon and side rails similar to those below that were designed to fit on a Standard Gauge 211 flatcar, I have just been in contact with Dave Anderson, the builder of my circus wagons, and he informs be that he is ready to start producing some more Standard Gauge circus wagons, which are around 1/32 scale.  He is currently repairing an outdoor layout but indicates he can build some SG circus wagons at the same time. 

If you are interested, please communicate/negotiate directly with Dave in order to let him know precisely what you want.  If you can locate online the graphics you want, he can build circus wagons using those graphics.  For me, I located the graphics and then had him build wagons for both the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus as well as for Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.  Of course there are many other shows whose graphics he could use on the custom-built circus wagons he makes for you.  For some ideas, check out some of his G scale wagons, which are currently for sale on ebay, (Note: These 1/25 sized wagons are too large be easily loaded on a 211 flatcars which need 1/32 sized wagons).  

Contact Dave at:  tinytown@vastbb.net 

Bob Nelson