Rare ACME TOYS marked Plastic Carousel Truck (Red) for American Flyer Circus train flat car #643.... Extremely rare load with all 3 panthers of red , yellow and blue (this grouping is extremely rare).  It operates as it should but the canopy shaft has been replaced.  Most have broken/misaligned gear or broken/cracked carousel body but those are in great shape.  When moved forward the carousel turns. It is marked with Acme logo on the bottom ..... manufactured by Acme originally (likely in early 1950's) before bought out by Thomas Toys.

So rare you won't want to let this one get away, I have only seen/had one other working like-animal carousel marked in this manner.... and I also have one marked only with Acme/Thomas (when Thomas purchased them) and listed in another auction.  Obviously, this is for a very serious American Flyer Circus train collector! Last photo shows my other toy as the load on a 643 car (car not included but shown so you can see that it is an excellent load for the circus train)!

I am continuing to learn and compare these to the Allied Circus loads of the 1950s.  Of course, you can see the Allied animals are used in the carousel.... and the truck is exactly the same as an Allied truck down to the size and the shape of it, including the grill.  The only difference is the elongated backend to accommodate the carousel.  With the animals and truck so similar to Allied versions, what is the possible historical link to Allied?  I have been told Thomas bought molds from Acme, but did Acme purchase the molds from Allied or am I confused on the order.  Maybe some of our readers can shed some light on the history of these toys?

If you want a more expensive, and un-repaired version of this load check my other auctions.  It has the more common multi-animal combo but is near mint with no repairs....and it also does works as it should.