Having a hard time dating American Flyer Set

[Anonymous]

My Dad gave me his old Amf train set, at first I thought it was post war but now I'm not so sure, maybe someone here could help me.
The engine is an electric trolley #1096 it has a bell on the roof and the pick-ups. The 2 passenger cars are # 1120. The transformer is 8b, 7to15v, 15v only 100 watts.
It also came with various accessories single and double semaphore, streetlamp(lighted),railroad crossing sign,crossing gate for vehicle and pedestrian(lighted),Building which has (Waiting room) above the doors and the town Glen Ellyn on the ends
The track is 3 rail came with 8 curves and 2 straights. After a light clean-up I put it together and she ran like a champ.

If anyone can help me out It would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Steve Carlson

[lionelsoni]

I'm not an American Flyer expert; but they made 3-rail (O gauge) before the war and 2-rail (S-gauge) after, unless there are exceptions that I don't know about.

[Anonymous]

Is something like this hard to find? And where could I find out a ballpark figure for value? Thanks Steve

[Big_Boy_4005]

Maybe you should try asking her out for coffee first........

Sorry , just kidding, but the way you posed the question, I couldn't help myself.

Seriously, it is a pre war piece, the 3 rail track is a give away there. The exact information can be found in a price guide such as Greenberg's. It will give you an idea of the value based on the condition, and also when it was made. The number should be all you need to look it up. Go to your local hobby store, find the guide and look it up. A single item doesn't really warrant buying the book.

[Anonymous]

Thanks, I will be checking out a Greenberg price guide.

I'm not much of a coffe drinker, how about a beer?

Thanks for going easy on me, Steve

[Anonymous]

The accessories might not all be American Flyer. The Glen Ellyn station is made by Hafner. American Flyer was started early in the 20th century by William Coleman and John Hafner in Chicago. After WWI when American Flyer started making electric trains (they were all windup before that), Hafner left the company to make his own windup trains under the Hafner name. Glen Ellyn was a suburb of Chicago where John Hafner lived. You set is probably from the 20's or 30's. To see some values I would reccomend going on ebay and looking for simmilar trains. There's a specific category on ebay for prewar American Flyer. Look under Toy and Hobbies: Model RR Trains: O Scale: American Flyer and see what they're going for.

[Anonymous]

If its a black painted 1096 its from 1925, If its brown lithograph its from around 26/27. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

The 1096 is not a trolley but is based
on the new york central p-2 boxcab.
1096 boxcabs are recognised easily
because of the headlight in cab and
is the smallest engine American Flyer
made. They are not that hard to find and
are everywhere,they might be most
common at the Great American Train Shows.

[Anonymous]

Try O'Brien's Collecting toy trains book it has
a pictures of some catalogs. It is helpful.