Heyy guys just thought I would share a few pictures of some old American flyer trains. Thought some guys might be intrested in checking out some classic trains.
enjoy guys!
Tim
trainfreek92 wrote:Heyy guys just thought I would share a few pictures of some old American flyer trains. Thought some guys might be intrested in checking out some classic trains. enjoy guys! Tim
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." - Jim Elliot Visit my blog! http://becomingawarriorpoet.blogspot.com
lol yeahh that wires pretty big.... It should be fun trying to get them running, I know I have to get out some good cleaner out haha. My dad said he tried getting them running about 30 years ago and he got them to smoke, but who knows now. Even if I never manage to get them running, to me its still neat to see some model railroading history, just thinking that If I hang on to these things I could have them when there 100 years old! plus theres another box up in the attic I have yet to dig out and see whats in there. I have never been a big Lionel fan but my other grandparents have a set of Lionels from the 40s and I would love to dig those out someday!
ICRR1964 wrote:Yes it does look like you have allot of work ahead of you! I have 2 AC/Gilbert sets I got from my dad years ago, all in the original boxes. I get the one out at Christmas and set it up around the tree. Its fun to watch the blue sparks jumping from the track every now and then.
I would love to have these guys running for next Christmas!
Whew! Blow the dust of those babies. *cough, cough* Looks like the condition my Dad's 322 Hudson and accessories when I pulled them out of a box in their basement about 12 years ago.
The streamlined Pacific is missing the tender shell; do you know if all of the parts are there? The wiring harness on the 290 Pacific has been replaced with a section of thick grey cable. There are reputable dealers on eBay that have replacement harnesses, and any other parts you might be looking for.
The Baldwin switcher looks complete.
I posted these pictures of my AF trains on the Christmas tree thread. They're packed away now.
Nelson
Ex-Southern 385 Being Hoisted
Steamfreak, thats what 40 years in an attic will do to them! lol. I do not have the tender shell but it may be in another box I have yet to get, so are you saying that the 290 will not run because of it being rewired?? thanxs for the advice!
Nice trains you got there, did you restore them or are they survivors???
trainfreek92 wrote:lol yeahh that wires pretty big.... It should be fun trying to get them running, I know I have to get out some good cleaner out haha. My dad said he tried getting them running about 30 years ago and he got them to smoke, but who knows now. Even if I never manage to get them running, to me its still neat to see some model railroading history, just thinking that If I hang on to these things I could have them when there 100 years old! plus theres another box up in the attic I have yet to dig out and see whats in there. I have never been a big Lionel fan but my other grandparents have a set of Lionels from the 40s and I would love to dig those out someday!
I know what you mean about having fun getting old stuff running again. I'm not much into O-gauge, but I've been having fun working on getting my grandpa's old O-gauge AF and Marx stuff working again. If you can't get the old drives going again, I'm sure you can find what you need pretty easily on eBay.
We used to have four engines, but only one is still around. The one I have is a streamlined 4-6-2 (uses the same shell as your silver engine). The three that are gone are two Marx 999 2-4-2s and an American Flyer 0-8-0. The 2-4-2s are easy to find, but those old 0-8-0s are practically non-existent in O-gauge!
Are you planning on posting pictures of your progress? If so, I look forward to seeing them!
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Darth Santa Fe wrote: trainfreek92 wrote:lol yeahh that wires pretty big.... It should be fun trying to get them running, I know I have to get out some good cleaner out haha. My dad said he tried getting them running about 30 years ago and he got them to smoke, but who knows now. Even if I never manage to get them running, to me its still neat to see some model railroading history, just thinking that If I hang on to these things I could have them when there 100 years old! plus theres another box up in the attic I have yet to dig out and see whats in there. I have never been a big Lionel fan but my other grandparents have a set of Lionels from the 40s and I would love to dig those out someday!I know what you mean about having fun getting old stuff running again. I'm not much into O-gauge, but I've been having fun working on getting my grandpa's old O-gauge AF and Marx stuff working again. If you can't get the old drives going again, I'm sure you can find what you need pretty easily on eBay.We used to have four engines, but only one is still around. The one I have is a streamlined 4-6-2 (uses the same shell as your silver engine). The three that are gone are two Marx 999 2-4-2s and an American Flyer 0-8-0. The 2-4-2s are easy to find, but those old 0-8-0s are practically non-existent in O-gauge!Are you planning on posting pictures of your progress? If so, I look forward to seeing them!
Darth, glad to hear you have been enjoying working on some old trains, its really a cool and intresting thing to do, and its pretty easy on the wallet haha.
I do plan to post updates of my work on the trains and of the other box when I get it put I can not promise that a whole lot of work will be done right away, I have never done any real work to trains so I want to take the time and do it right so I do not ruin the trains. I will probablly be asking for some help from the older guys who have a lot of experience with these trains! Plus I have a N scale layout to build, and I have a Ho layout I bought at a yard sale a few years ago that has been seeing gradual restoration, even if I havent been down to the basement in 6 months..... opps. Basically I plan to take my time with this and all my other trains and just enjoy it for what it is, a hobby. As soon as I get some work done I will be sure to post some pics of the trains hopefully returning to there former glory!!!
trainfreek92 wrote:Steamfreak, thats what 40 years in an attic will do to them! lol. I do not have the tender shell but it may be in another box I have yet to get, so are you saying that the 290 will not run because of it being rewired?? thanxs for the advice!Nice trains you got there, did you restore them or are they survivors???
They'll all be in need of having the dried lubricants stripped out of them and then relubed, and the E-units will definitely need at least a cleaning, but most likely will need new contacts and drums. If the 290 was wired correctly it will work, but stiff wire like that may cause the tender to lift on curves. It's best to use a repro harness, as they're smaller and more flexible.
The K5 and Hudson pictured are eBay purchases I restored. The K4 was in the best condition. My dad's Hudson is sitting to the side off-camera, but has been restored. The smokebox front was lost when I was young, and it took me years to locate one at a show. Now with eBay that kind of part is easily found.
Darth,
There was an O scale version of the 0-8-0? I've never seen one.
Steamfreak thanxs for the help and Im sure I will discover that you were right. Im sure ebay will be my freind here when I need parts lol. I have been thinking of buying this set just to get some decent track and power pack to run the stuff on plus it looks to be in decent condition http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=250208414793&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=015
I doubt my trains will come out looking as good as yours but oh well Im still gonna enjoy it and see if I can get those motors humming again.
Steamfreak, can you clarify for me that my trains are indeed S scale and not two rail O scale?? Darth talking about O scale has me confused haha. My best guess was S scale because thats what I associated American Flyer with.
Last summer at a garage sale I picked up a old MARX steam loco for $10.00. This thing was very heavy and it took some time and effort to get the old dog running, but I got it! If that old engine could talk I wonder what kind of stories it would tell me!
Kind of makes you stop and think some times!
ICRR1964 wrote: Last summer at a garage sale I picked up a old MARX steam loco for $10.00. This thing was very heavy and it took some time and effort to get the old dog running, but I got it! If that old engine could talk I wonder what kind of stories it would tell me! Kind of makes you stop and think some times!
Great to here you got it running. You know what Im sure it made it all that much more fun when she chugged down the track knowing that you spent some time and effort getting it back to working condition. Congrats! Its a really cool feeling getting some old trains from a basement or an attic or even a yard sale that have been sitting a long time and getting them running for the first time, I even like the burning smell my old Ho tycos give off!
Tim,
Your AF trains are S scale, but Flyer also produced O gauge versions of many of its S scale locos, making them undersized for O. The O scale stuff is older and not as common.
That set looks like it's in good shape, but the presence of the boxes will probably drive the price up.
Here are the main parts guys I use.
LBR Enterprises llc
AMERICAN S-GAUGE RESTORATIONS
http://www.rfgco.com/
Good luck with your project!
The older larger gage sets are not my cup of tea guys, but I always loved these power hungry work horses. The link below is to a set I had at one time, but! It was a powered set, not wind up! I don't know anything about it, so maybe you guys could help me figure out where it came from and how old it was. The set is identical to the one I had, but mine had a power pack, and track, no box's to speak of at all and it was a AF model.
I was in 6th garde at the time and was mowing lawns and doing odd jobs for local people, well there was this widowed lady down the street who I always was doing something for, and she decided to clean out her attic. We spent the whole day hauling boxed items and so called junk out of the attic. After we finished she handed me $3.00 and asked if I wanted any of the stuff she was getting rid of, I never did open any of the boxed up items. She took me over to a box and opened it up and showed me the train. After telling her thanks and running home with my prize, I spent a few hours trying to get the old train to run. Power supply hummed like it was going to shock you, so I waited for my dad to get home from work and help me. We repaired the power supply and I got it running then. It was very loud and noisy, bet hey! It was cool I thought.
I had this set for many years and drug it out and ran it about once a year. My wife and I had just bought our 100 year old money pit for a home, and had a baby on the way. Well times got tuff and I had to sell it for cash, think I got something like $50.00 for the complete set.
My question is do you guys know about what an AF powered set like simular to the one below would be worth now? Or do I want to know? Like I said the engine and car are the same as the one I had, but mine was a powered unit set, not a wind up?
http://cgi.ebay.com/AMERICAN-FLYER-9900-BURLINGTON-ZEPHER-PRE-WAR-WIND-UP_W0QQitemZ250206925503QQihZ015QQcategoryZ480QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
SteamFreak wrote: Tim,Your AF trains are S scale, but Flyer also produced O gauge versions of many of its S scale locos, making them undersized for O. The O scale stuff is older and not as common.That set looks like it's in good shape, but the presence of the boxes will probably drive the price up.Here are the main parts guys I use.LBR Enterprises llcAMERICAN S-GAUGE RESTORATIONShttp://www.rfgco.com/Good luck with your project!
Thanxs for clearing that up for me Nelson. Also thanxs for the links I will have to keep them favorited. Are you into S scale flyer stuff full time or do you have some other trains??
ICRR1964 wrote:My question is do you guys know about what an AF powered set like simular to the one below would be worth now? Or do I want to know? Like I said the engine and car are the same as the one I had, but mine was a powered unit set, not a wind up?
That set must have been pre-war O scale, or Chicago Flyer, which is what the company is referred to in the years before A.C. Gilbert purchased it. You can read up on the history in the Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Flyer. I think that set was worth more than $50.
trainfreek92 wrote:Thanxs for clearing that up for me Nelson. Also thanxs for the links I will have to keep them favorited. Are you into S scale flyer stuff full time or do you have some other trains??
I guess I'm a bit of a rubber-gauger. My main collection is HO, but since being in an apartment I've concentrated more on restoring the old Flyer stuff because of the ability to break it down and put it away when necessary. I need a basement again.
While we are talking American Flyer..
How many know American Flyer was the first to produce a model of the GP7?
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
BRAKIE wrote:While we are talking American Flyer..How many know American Flyer was the first to produce a model of the GP7?
I didn't know that, Brakie. Interestingly enough, a search turned up this article:
http://trains.com/ctt/default.aspx?c=a&id=568
Heyy guys, I couldnt resist I went down to test out the old power pack plugged it in, took tester thing I use, and light up the bulb really bright, I was suprised it still worked. Took a look at some of my locomotives and discovered some really messed up wiring. I have some pictures of the wires I will post later on to see if anyone can tell me what needs to be fixed. I Knew that these trains would need a decent amount of work, but I was hoping all the trucks would be on =(