american flyer o gauge track

[train18393]

I am usually an HO scaler with a good size layout. I know very little about American Flyer O gauge trains. A good friend recently had a death in his family and he knows I LOVE trains. He gave me the box. From what I have seen it is from the 30s. Some of the track has a fourth rail, a little bit lower than the usual three rails. What is it for?

Thank you very much

Paul

Dayton and Mad River Model Railroad

[Nationwidelines]

American Flyer 4 rail track is from 1936 only and is for their sets that had whistles in either the tender or passenger car.  This track should also be mounted on fiber board.  Apparently American Flyer infringed on a Lionel patent and Lionel sued, which is the reason this is from 1936 only. 

American Flyer introduced the whistiling billboard in 1937, as a replacement for the in-car whistles.

[rrlineman]

the patent infringement was for the 314AW loco that had a whistle in the tender using the DC relay Flyer had before WW2. the 4 track system was a nusence and you were stuck with 1 style of blowing the whistle. When Flyer put out the 314AW, by putting in the DC relay to blow the whistle, the Patent office ruled that did violate Lionel's whistle patent from the late 1938/39 years.

[train18393]

The track is mounted on a fibre board, however the tender is devoid of any electrical equipment, the engine looks if it would work, but I will find out soon enough. The tender looks as if it had stuff in it due to the hole in the center of its frame. It also looks as if it represents some kind of oil tender rather than a coal tender, as it has a round top with a few holes in it.

Thanks

Paul

[Nationwidelines]

Sounds like the 1680 Hudson and tender.