Unusual McCoy Circus Car

I have 6-7 different McCoy music boxes that McCoy used with different tunes.

Have a total of 31 different circus cars that are all McCoy.

Parker Higby posted:

Have a total of 31 different circus cars that are all McCoy.

Parker,

Please post photos and/or a list of the 31 McCoy circus cars you have.

Bob Nelson

Prod. Yrs. Item# TPC Circus Train (Tin Plate Collectors) (white/red roof )
1982-? E-2W *TPC Circus E-2 Sword swallower and fat lady (white w/black/red/ lettering)
1987-1997 72 *"Chief Jeremy" A/F type engine cast w/bell ringer, McCoy tender "TPC Circus" (red w/TPC Circus Hearlds)
1972-1986 255B Baggage Car
1972-1986 255C Combination Car (with full clown body)
255C Combination Car (with clown head only) (late production)
255O Observation
1966 255P Performer Car (early graphics-rare)
1967-1986 255P Performer Car (late graphics)
1966-1968 256 Boxcar "Up Boy" (white w/red roof) (only 250 made)
256 Boxcar "Up Boy" (red w/ white roof) (only two made)
1968-1986 256AA Advance Advertising
1968-1986 256C Camel car "Sultan"
1968-1984 256E Elephant car "Tiny and Boo"
1972-1986 256FBW Flatcar with Band wagon load (with and without music box) (also numbered as 256B and 256BW)
256FC Flat with canvas wagon (proto) (also numbered as 256TW)
1982-1986 256FCR Flatcar with calliope wagon and residence wagon (with and without music box-plays "Hello Dolly")
1971-1985 256FMC Flatcar with wagons w/ "Ivan" the Russian brown bear and "Bess" the Bengal tiger
1981-1986 256FRS Flatcar with snake and reptile cages
1972-1986 256FSL Flatcar w/small & large cage wagons gorilla "Gabby" & polar bears "Azis" & "Angel"
1972-1986 256FTW Flatcar with two ticket wagons "TPC Circus" (also cataloged as 256FT)
1977-1979 256FWW Flatcar with two water wagons (yellow water wagons)
1980 256FWW Flatcar with two water wagons (white water wagons)
1968-1984 256H Hippopotamus car "Maggie"
1973 256P Performer car
1969-1981 256PS Panel stock car
1974 256RW (Don't know what this is but it's on 1974 price list at $23.00 ????)
1967-1986 256S Stock car w/ clown head- heralds bright yellow w/white backdrops red & black overlays (Late edition)
1967 256S Stock car- hearlds (racine red w/gold lettering)
1973-1981 X-256BC Bunk car "Foo"
1973-1981 X-256CC "TPC CIRCUS" "X256CC" "Commissary Car" "Iggy" (worm coming out of an apple)
1973-1981 X-256KC Kitchen car "Piggy"
1980-1986 256-4C Bobber caboose with two lions "McCoy Circus" Tin Plate Collectors of America (white w/red roof) (some w/music boxes)

Great List!

Much more extensive than the one posted by the TCA Western Division.

http://www.tcawestern.org/mccoy.htm

Your dates for "Years", do you know if those are the years McCoy actually produced those circus cars and/or are they the years McCoy listed them in their annual catalogs?

Bob Nelson

Southwest Hiawatha posted:

I just got this McCoy circus car. From the outside, it looks like any other Sultan the Camel car - a fairly common item. But inside, it has an electronic music box that plays circus music, as seen in the second photo. It plays clips from half a dozen typical pieces played on the calliope - Entry of the Gladiators, Man on the Flying Trapeze, Bicycle Built for Two, etc. That's a nice feature, compared to so many musical accessories that just play the same song over and over. Sound is pretty good, with a big speaker. There's also a volume control, and a big capacitor so the music is not interrupted by roller bounce or track issues. I'm not sure if the sound clips are electronic or if they are made from recordings of a real calliope, but they sound good enough that they might be real. 

 

I've never seen a musical McCoy before; have any of you? It's not mentioned in the book The McCoy Story. The seller said he special ordered it new from McCoy. I was surprised to be the only bidder on the eBay auction, since a fair number of people collect McCoy circus cars. Anyway, it should be a fun attraction for the kids at the toy train museum. 

 

Can you tell me who made the electronic sound chip for this McCoy circus car?

Bob Nelson

I believe this is something someone has made up-possibly even Bob Jr-I have 6 different music boxes McCoy used i their cabooses-nothing that looks like that.