To S guage or not to S guage that is the question....
I made a recent trip to the Lionel gift shop in Chesterfield Michigan and purchased an American flyer set that was on the clearence rack. Sorting throught the countless Lionel cars /items to find gold! A 1995 Silver Flash set A-B-A with all the cars except one... you guessed it the 963 end car. So I have been looking now for 2 months for this car and nobody has one (hobby shops and ebay included). I even asked the Lionel Parts outlet to see if they have a shell...no go... So I bought a 1953 chestnut brown end car that somewhat matches but does not... the frustration is a long list of items I have had with Lionel /American Flyer and its availability. What to do? I guess just run it as it is for now and search continues....oh and has anyone seen a Western Pacific A powered unit... lionel had another incomplete set last week that I bought... should have known better..... makes you wonder if the trashman found one that night...
If you are seriuos about getting into S gauge try S Helper Service or another company listed in the CTT mag. Lionel don't make S gauge to scale that well. K-Line was even further off on their S gauge cars at times, I have an S gauge caboose by K-Line that hits everything due to its overhang, no other car gives me trouble in S gauge.
I have four S gauge steam locomotives and about 20 frieght cars and five cabooses, only able to run two S gauge trains on my layout, the rest is O gauge.
Lee F.
I think I bought every K line S gauge car possible...(Hobby shop went out of business here and they were 10 bucks a piece) love the graphics on them... shame that they will stop making them. Your right about the cabboose... they seem not to roll very well either. I talked to a dealer at the Detroit NMRA show and he seemed to thing that K line actually made some locomotives. He was not sure but was going back to check his stock. Have you seen any?
Only reason I am sticking with S guage american flyer is I have over 800 sets that my dad collectected back in the 70's (when S gauge was a dime a dozen). Seems a shame not to run them and enjoy them.
Love the American models and S helper track and engines, just cannot afford them. I bought gargraves track (half the price) and set up a 30 by 30 plywood central layout around the room. I Figured I would restore the sets that have been sitting in boxes for 40 years and get them running in tip top shape. So far so good...That's when the bug hit, to maybe make a S scale layout? Or should I go back to HO scale...
J. Daddy wrote:To S guage or not to S guage that is the question....I made a recent trip to the Lionel gift shop in Chesterfield Michigan and purchased an American flyer set that was on the clearence rack. Sorting throught the countless Lionel cars /items to find gold! A 1995 Silver Flash set A-B-A with all the cars except one... you guessed it the 963 end car. So I have been looking now for 2 months for this car and nobody has one (hobby shops and ebay included). I even asked the Lionel Parts outlet to see if they have a shell...no go... So I bought a 1953 chestnut brown end car that somewhat matches but does not... the frustration is a long list of items I have had with Lionel /American Flyer and its availability. What to do? I guess just run it as it is for now and search continues....oh and has anyone seen a Western Pacific A powered unit... lionel had another incomplete set last week that I bought... should have known better..... makes you wonder if the trashman found one that night...
Jeff Sohn does excellent re-paints. Contact him and ask him to repaint your 1953 car to match the rest of your train. See link below:
http://www.jeffscustomtrainpainting.com/
And still keep your eyes peeled for an original end car.
Jim
Modeling the Baltimore waterfront in HO scale
Hmm.. but How do I find a late 90's Lionel /American flyer doner car, none seem to be available on ebay or at the hobby shop (you have to buy the whole set)... I have the color matched pretty good with the '53 cheasnut striped car but the couplers, trucks and windows do not match...
God forbid if somebody dropped a car or engine on the floor and had to replace one... you would have to buy a complete set, that is the frustration I have been plagued with...availability is just not there!
I'm no expert on American Flyer, but I typed American Flyer 963 in the search box at eBay and got a good size list of Washington observation cars currently available. If the car style matches, but not the paint scheme, buy it and have it painted. All of them seem cheap enough that painting one isn't going to be a crime. There's even one available for a buy-it now price of $25.00.
eBay 963 Auctions
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