carl-alabama,
It looks like you got your answer before I had the chance to research it. The Answer that mersenne6 posted is pretty much right on. I have some more informatin if you are interested. Send me an email with your direct email address and I will attach the info to an email or send an email with your mailing address and I will mail it to you.
I did want to add, in 1935 the Minne-HA-HA set sold for $5.50 including the engine with three cars, a figure 8 of track and the transformer. Of course in 1935 at the depths of the depresion very few people had $5.50 to spend on a train set.
Take care,
It's a nice picture but the price is way out of line. I got a list this afternoon and the set in excellent condition is being offered at $400. As for details -
Set New York Central (Minnehaha)
1935 advanced catalog listed it as New York Central design. It was called either New York Central or Minnehaha depending on the number of passenger cars included with the engine. The locomotive came in two versions wind up and electric. The electric was given catalog number 561 and the wind up was 551. The electric version was also offered in an uncatalogued freight set. This version had a hook coupler at the back instead of the pin connector. The electirc engine is usually orange and silver and the windup is usually red and silver.
- Source - Greenberg Guide to American Flyer Prewar O Gauge
thank you very much for finding this information, so the number is 998, my book does not even list a number 998, maybe because that number is a "set number" rather than an "engine number". but anyway, wow $2000, if ever in the future i have the opportunity to purchase one of them i believe it is going to have to be one from the "ebay junkyard collection" ,where it will have seen far better days in the past. again thanks everyone for their input, i honestly had no idea this was going to be such a tough nut to crack. also, i did see that "aeolus"article previous to posting this question, i promise i have been researching this subject deeply, that one just didnt look the same to me, however it is nice as well.
Found it!! AF 998 Mini Ha Ha set:
and the Box:
The site said that it was from 1937. Here's the site: http://www.goldentrains.com/afhaha.htm
Kurt
LittleTommy wrote: I am pretty sure that is an 9915 Aeolus streamliner which is written up on the CTT website in the "OLD TRAINS" section at http://www.trains.com/ctt/default.aspx?c=a&id=803LittleTommy
I am pretty sure that is an 9915 Aeolus streamliner which is written up on the CTT website in the "OLD TRAINS" section at http://www.trains.com/ctt/default.aspx?c=a&id=803
LittleTommy
Close, but no cigar. If you click on the picture in the article to enlarge it the differences become obvious. Cast aluminum versus tinplate, handrails, rear of tender, cab area and of course paint scheme. Both probably use the same mechanism but exterior is quite different.
Pure speculation based on above post:
Yours looks like it could be a junior model of the Hiawatha...
Hence the name Mini Ha Ha.????
AF Hiawatha:
'The Milwaukee Road Depot at Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis, was built in 1875 to replace a smaller station on the first railroad line into the Twin Cities from Chicago, the Minnesota Central Railway (later the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway). In the Depot's early years, Minneapolis residents flocked to Minnehaha Park by train. Throngs of picnickers and sightseers took the 16-minute ride to Minnehaha Park and the old Longfellow Gardens Zoo.'
From Minnesota Historical Society
Your train seems to resemble the A class 4-4-2 Hiawatha, that also ran passenger service between Chicago and Minneapolis. Built in 1935 for the Chicago, Milwaukee, St Paul and Pacific Railroad (The Milwauke Road)
AF seems to have constructed the tender and locomotive in one piece.
Hope this helps,
Re origin of name: The fictional native-American "Minnehaha" was Hiawatha's main squeeze. See Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and/or Wikipedia. The Milwaukee Road had their Hiawatha and a Minnehaha depot, ya' betcha. A hearty "Gitche Gumee" to one and all.
Unfortunately, I have no info on the American Flyer locomotive. Neat, though.
jefelectric wrote:I don't know what it is, but next week when I go to the TCA Museum, I will check it out.BTW were are all the Flyer guys when you need them?
I don't know what it is, but next week when I go to the TCA Museum, I will check it out.
BTW were are all the Flyer guys when you need them?
hey thanks, i appreciate it and i'll keep checking back, but it's ok by me if no one can determine the identification number of this one since i could not put the information to practical use anytime soon, meaning ebay searches, since i'm all dried up when it comes to hobby money and
will be for a good while unfortunately.
it is difficult for me to tell by the pictures on the mth website, but this engine vaguely resembles the cool looking mth c&o m-1 steam turbine electric and i wonder if perhaps this flyer was a loose stylistic interpretation of the real world engine the mth model was conceived from.
I saw this when it was posted, but I do not know about the pre-war stuff. I like it but do not have any. Besides, it had three rails
Jim
Hello, what in the world is the part number for this american flyer engine, i'm simply curious and my toy trains book (doyle) has no photo of it. I've seen a couple on ebay, one time the seller called it a "minnehaha". i'm uncertain of the nature of that term. I have been wanting to know for months now, thanks.
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