american flyer line diesel and cars

[Anonymous]

hi
I was recently given a collection of old model railway rolling stock and parts mainly 45mm garden rail gauge. amongst these items is an american flyer line diesel number 4687 and three passenger cars named west point,annapolis and a united states mail railway post office. Whilst the diesel loco is in fair condition i am not sure that the third rail pickup is standard as it is a skid plate as used in stud contact system. the passenger cars whilst being complete and in reasonable condition paint wise on the bodys have sufferd surface rust damage to the roofs to the extend that the paint is nearly all gone however they are restoreable.
So the question is what have i got and what is the value of them any help would be appreciated thanks

john from oz

[lionelsoni]

What you've got seems to be prewar American-Flyer "standard" gauge (2 1/8"), not "G" (Maerklin #1, or 1 3/4"). I found a mention on the internet of a sale of a set including that locomotive for $3080. See http://www.maineantiquedigest.com/articles/rals0701.htm . You can search for yourself, using ' 4687 train "american flyer" ' and see more hits.

By the way, American Flyer had to call their gauge "wide", since "standard" was a Lionel trademark.

[Anonymous]

Lionelsoni is correct that you have an American Flyer standard or wide gauge set. The specific set that you have is a no. 1466 President's Special. Your set was actually known as the "Improved President's Special", which was sold in the year 1927 only. The previous President's Special set was sold in 1926 and had a different engine with it. In it's time, it was a very expensive set, costing $44, which was a great deal of money in those days. The engine is actually a model of an electric locomotive, not a diesel. It should have "pantographs" on the roof, which are two diamond-shaped metal pieces. On real trains, these make contact with overhead electric wires (called catenary) to provide the engine with power. This is a highly sought-after set by cllectors and commands a very good price. The one lionelsoni found is not far off. The roofs are certainly restorable. Unlike the sides of the cars, the roofs are painted and not lithographed, so, while it does obviously lower the value, it is not a major issue.