Good evening all - I was wondering if anyone had a book or other resource where I could learn about the remains of this American Flyer train in this picture. (I'm drinking Anchor Steam Beer). From what I can determine from online sources, this was a New York Central Raiload 4X8X4 set made by American Flyer in the 1920's and it may have been made in Rochester, NY.
The loco is a 534. My grandfather received this as a gift before he went away to High School and seminary back in the late 1920's when, (which I could not fathom for my kids) he was put on a New York Central waterlevel route train from Grand Central station in NYC to North East, PA to attend seminary which he dropped out of 6 years later. He grew up on West Broadway in Manhattan which is where he would have gotten the trains. The tenemant building he grew up in and the building his parents had a German restaurant in still exist.
When he got out of seminary - he refused to fly and seldom drove. He ended up working for the RC church as part of some immigration bureau and they sent him all over the country for meetings. I grew up in the 1970's with stories of riding the NYCRR to Chicago, Cleveland, Toledo, Buffalo, Rochester, Detroit, etc. through the 1920's through the 1970's when he retired. I've retraced a lot of steps.
I would like to restore these trains - and learn more about American Flyer. I wish I could impart some of the stories my grandfather gave me about working and traveling along the rustbelt from NYC to Detroit but its not working. I have a little more time now so I would like to restore this set and share with my kids.
This is an elementary question but any help would be appreciated. Best to all!
You will have to try posting the picture again. When I click on the image all I get is an ad offering to sign me up with a g-mail account. As for manufacturing and your engine number - Flyer in the 1920's was made in Chicago. Gilbert bought Flyer in the late 1930's and moved production to New Haven, CT.
There is a very long thread on this site - Pre War American Flyer Pictures, An Invitation which has a large amount of information about Pre War Flyer. On page 19 of that thread is part of a discussion about the 3/16" Flyer running on O gauge track which was manufactured from 1939-1942 with a little spillover to 1945.
Your engine was offered for sale in 1940. The link to the page below has additional details.
http://cs.trains.com/ctt/f/95/t/116423.aspx?page=19
I don't have somewhere to host to my image to link to - but i found this old sold ebay listing for a 533 engine which looks exactly like mine except mine states New York Central -
Thanks for the info - by that count my grandfather purchased his set in 1940 or so which would mean he was about 23 years old at the time - I did not expect that at all.
Is there any book or catalogue available that goes into the history of these particular engines - where they were made, etc. - Thank you!
PC
http://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-American-Flyer-4-8-4-533-to-rebuild-engine-ONLY-O-Gauge-/291882318715?hash=item43f58abb7b%3Ag%3AcCAAAOSwCGVX4gIO&nma=true&si=1Yq%252BSoim5qsPr3GWA3RjN0wulAo%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
Besides the thread on this site which I mentioned there is another thread with the single focus of 3/16" prewar Flyer trains. The only book that covers pre-war Flyer (it includes a section on the 3/16" trains) would be the Greenberg book on Flyer O gauge trains. The book is out of print but copies do show up on e-bay from time to time so you might want to keep an eye on the offerings there.
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