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"Backwards" Pullman car with Standard Gauge Amercian Flyer 4683 set

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  • Member since
    December 2019
  • 3 posts
"Backwards" Pullman car with Standard Gauge Amercian Flyer 4683 set
Posted by Lionel Mike on Tuesday, December 17, 2019 11:39 AM

Newbie here looking for advice...

Noticed something odd about one Pullman car I have: It appears that the couplers are installed reversed/backwards?

(I don't have a photo hosted anywhere so sorry I can't include one.)

Issue is that the center rail rollers on all other cars are installed at the rear truck and to "wheel barrel drag.*"  (*By this I mean that the roller is behind the tensioner spring and would more easily roller over a bump.)  However, this car has the roller installed at the front truck and such that it would "wheel barrel pushed."  Front vs Back is determined by the couplers: "I" type on both ends of locomotive; "Y" type on front of cars and "I" type on back of cars (and supported by observation car). They only couple one way.  Interal light in this car also is on the wrong end.  It really looks like the couplers on this car are on the wrong ends.  And everything about all these cars appears (to this novice) to be as-built, that is, old/original looking rivetts, no screws nor other obvious signs things were moved.  (Same rivetts hold stairs, etc. and couplers.)

Might this set have been built to have one Pullman pushed and two pulled?

Thank you in advance for any insight!

  • Member since
    August 2011
  • 635 posts
Posted by Nationwidelines on Tuesday, December 17, 2019 3:03 PM

It's an original American Flyer set? 

Think of quality control issues before you think of anything so complex as one car pushed and two pulled.

NWL

  • Member since
    September 2010
  • From: Parma Heights Ohio
  • 3,442 posts
Posted by Penny Trains on Tuesday, December 17, 2019 7:06 PM

Welcome aboard!

Is it one of these two?

Becky

Trains, trains, wonderful trains.  The more you get, the more you toot!  Big Smile

  • Member since
    December 2019
  • 3 posts
Posted by Lionel Mike on Wednesday, May 26, 2021 11:14 AM

Thank you for the reply—I am SO sorry it's been so long!!!

Yes, it is the bottom one.  The observation car and one regular car are okay.  But one of the regular cars is "backwards."

Someone just told me perhaps the truck was spread open and re-assembled   incorrectly... I'm going to look at it tonight...

  • Member since
    December 2019
  • 3 posts
Posted by Lionel Mike on Thursday, May 27, 2021 6:36 PM
(Reversing just the truck will have no effect! It really looks like the couplers were originally assembled backwards.)
  • Member since
    February 2009
  • 44 posts
Posted by bridgeengineer on Tuesday, June 15, 2021 1:30 PM

Your gardening tool is a "wheelbarrow".

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