I recently had an early American Flyer Hudson given to me. I would like to get it running. the running gear is free and the motors turns freeley. Should I try to clean it up or should I clean the bearings/communtator/axels and leave the rest of the grunge on the motor assembly. Is this a really rare AF engine? The trailing trucks have only one axel and how it was called a Hudson I don't know as a NYC Hudson is a 4-6-4 and this is really a 2-6-2. I am an amature at AF trains and I am not sure what I should do.
Paul D&MR HO railroader
You should certainly clean the grunge off of the engine, it won't affect value and certainly could improve the operation of the motor. The things I would do for operability is change the brushes and replace any wiring / insulation that may need repair.
As for the engine, they are relatively common. Flyer called the motor a Hudson even though the wheel configuration was not correct for a Hudson. It sounds like you have a 1936 Hudson, as the later models were a 2-6-4 configuration.
The 1936 hudsons came with a steel bodied streamline tender with a whistle and the tender drawbar connected to a pin sticking up on the trailing truck, where the 1937 hudsons came with an aluminum bodied, coal pile tender with a shorter drawbar that connected to a pin on the engine body.
NWL
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.
Get the Classic Toy Trains newsletter delivered to your inbox twice a month