Model Railroading > QU about upgrading a Bachman RINGLING passenger car

I just acquired, after negotiating down the price at a Holiday train show, a modern Ringling' Blue Unit Circus coach (made now by Bachman).  The car looks nice but is no where near "Ringling" as far as the Out-Of-The-Box model that they offer.  For one thing, the model has stock coach seats inside - not what RBBB had on any of their equipment (they proto-kitbashed all their cars to be sleeper room cars for the employees).  I will take a good amount of time to upgrade the model to show ALL of the interior and exterior modifications made on similar RBBB prototype cars.

My two primary questions: 
(1) NOTE the electrical channel atop the prototype cars in photo #2:  I would appreciate any and all ideas on what to use to MODEL those channels to make them appear real on the model.  I have tons of data and photos of the real cars, but I'm not quite familiar with enough model parts that might be used to duplicate the cars' rooftop appearance with what might be used as those electrical channels.  Thanks for the input.

(2) What kind of L.E.D. LIGHTS can be used for the 2 EXTERIOR SPOTLIGHTS atop the cars directly above the VESTIBULE on each side of the HO Scale model that will give out a comparible amount of light (as seen in photo #3 of the prototype coach lights seen at night)?

To make the Bachman model appear real, many other modifications for this model will have to be made.  Those include:

---CHOOSE CAR # DECALS (only 'RBBX" is on the car; they left that open for the modeler to choose) - can also use photo of real car's #
---REPLACE INTERIOR coach seats with rooms/roometts, or staterooms appropriate for the car
---Modify the underbelly to show data on all possum bellies, water tank(s), etc. (photos of those abound on the internet)
---Install electrical channels (noted above) on the roof, plus BLACK "CABLES" on roof and at each end, extending down to bottom of car-ends
---REPLACE vestibule:  (1) install new vestibule, or (2) cut existing upper door and glue to inside to allow "people" to be placed at doors on both sides
---add appropriate WEIGHT to reach NMRA standards
---Replace stock plastic COUPLERS with metal couplers (to run a longer RBBB train this should have metal couplers)
---PAINT end-doors Blue (if Blue Unit train's coach; or red if Red Unit train's coach)
---REPLACE "globe" logo near vestibule w/ photo of real globe logo; the stock decal is dated to the 1970s
---ADD black coach-end tube-diaphragms (the prototypes were custom-designed by the show and were conveyor-belt rubber material which was formed into a roll, and custom-applied to coach buffer plates)

---Add 2 COACH SPOT LIGHTS atop the car directly above the vestibules on BOTH SIDES; one is visible above the vestibule in Photo #2; Photo #3 shows just how far out these used to light up the right-of-way, which was extremely bright

---Add a CUT OFF SWITCH for the lights under the car, should the car run dark on the rear of a freight train
---CUT/COVER STOCK MODEL'S WINDOWS to show how the prototype car's windows were deleted and/or replaced with new, fewer windows
---Replace window interiors with photos or mockups of the REAL CAR's appearance .... each individual window, per prototype images
---CUT BACK the skirts (RBBB removed all of their passenger car fleet's car-"skirts" by the 2000s); stock model comes with skirts intact near each end, both sides
---ADD small House Number decals, and F.R.A.-mandated safety-white reflector patches

That's a lot of work, and I don't expect to finish it quickly by any definition.... but I got one, so I'm going the distance.  ANY IDEAS on what specific parts to use for these projects are welcome.



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 01/02/19 11:18 by rbx551985.

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CAR-END DETAILS:  this image shows the connections between the Blue show's Pie Car (at right) and a coach similar to the model, at left.... the red water hose was not connected between cars during runs, but only when the train was spotted in a town during an engagement... but might make an interesting addition to hang on the model's two ends along w/ other additions....

BTW, the satellite TV dishes were REMOVED during train-runs.

Yeah, this many modifications will take a lot of time ... but the primary visual appearance of the ROOF and the INTERIOR (closed window shades or other methods to depict RBBB's re-working of the car-sides) is what will set off the model from just another stock car.

RBBX 40010 or RBBX 40011 may be a good car-base to check for updating the model, as those were cars resembling the Bachman model pretty well.  Photos of those (and smiliar) SMOOTH-SIDE Ringling' coaches are on the internet (many are copyrighted and TO.COM policy won't allow direct links; simply GOOGLE those car-ID's to see the photos).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/02/19 11:02 by rbx551985.

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Photo of a RBBB train under Business Rt. 360 at the south end of Amelia, Va. shows coach-roofs and how all electrical channels were on ONE SIDE of the cars in the latter years.  Photo #2 above shows one car's roof had no protective sleeve around the black elec. cables at that end of the car, where the others in this image do have a cover angling out toward the edge of the car-end.

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If you have accurate dimensional info, I would have the parts photo etched, by someone like Plano Models. I would find it hard to believe that they wouldn't sell well, as popular as that train has been, and as missed as it is.

Russ



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/02/19 11:19 by NSTopHat.

Here are 3 of at least 8 different RBBB car interiors, from historical records.......

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Very nice. Do you have more interior car plans? I am interrested in the cars with the center enterance. I assume it is two comparments.

Some of the SPOTLIGHTS were not directly above the vestibule, but were slightly adjacent to it:  witness the first image here (....these three 2003 images were taken in Anaheim, California by CARL MORRISON):

(1) RBBX 40003 shows SECURITY SPOTLIGHT is slightly off-set from directly above the car's vestibule.
(2) Red show's car 45 end details and red "House Number" decal
(3) Angle-shot of 45-car's vestibule end shows numerous additions to the prototype by the show; I plan to also add ALL of those details to the Bachman HO scale model and am seeking ideas on just what to use.

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dcorreia Wrote:
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> Very nice. Do you have more interior car plans? I
> am interrested in the cars with the center
> enterance. I assume it is two comparments.

I don't have those, however this floor plan could be modified / swapped and split into a mirror image in some manner (allowing for a CENTER vestibule space in between) for that.  PHOTOS of those can be found online by typing "ringling center vestibule car" on most search engines (such as GOOGLE).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/02/19 11:50 by rbx551985.

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CLOSE UP / CROPPED image of a RBBB vesbitule SPOT LIGHT - this one is directly above the vestibule.  What L.E.D. lights might be used to duplicate this - and make them as bright as the prototype night-time image shown above?  (I realize a square hole must be created in the HO model's roof to accomodate the light....)

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