American Flyer 5 1/2 inch lithoed gondolas
See updated re-posting of this post - page 82 of this thread
Great Pictures as usual mersenne6. I appreciate all of the pictures that you have posted. Your focus of collecting so far appears to be in other eras of Flyer than mine. Its good to see what the early Flyer items that you have posted so far look like. The other good thing is that it looks like you and I won't be bidding against each other on eBay.
I thought I would take a foray into PreWar Flyer motive power for a while.
The pictures are of the Type XX sheetmetal locomotive and some of its variations and the tenders associated with it. The Type XX was introduced in 1934 and appeared again in 1935, It was not in the 1936 or 1937 catalog, but reappeared in the 1938-1940 catalogs. It was in a number of uncataloged sets in 1936 and 1937, and during several other years. It spanned the transition from Coleman ownership to Gilbert ownership.
The first version is an uncataloged locomotive from 1935. It usually appears as a 2-4-2 wheel configuration, but in this version it has a gear driven whistel unit that was attatched to the motor. The whistle takes up the space for the rear truck so it is acurately a 2-4-0. I don't have the appropriate tender for it yet, but it was a low end sheet metal tender similar to the grey one posted below. The siderods are also different on this locomotive, and mine is missing the cowl around the headlight.
This is the 403 Locomotive/Tender combination. It has the Type XX locomotive(401) 2-4-4 and a Type IV tender(421). It has nickel trim and therefore comes from early in 1940. It is Gilbert production.
This is another version of the 401. It was offered in 1939 as the 403 combination. It has the 2-4-4 configuration and copper colored tubing. It came with a Type IV tender. The tender that came with my example has the sheet metal curly Q coupler.
This type of engine also appeared in a very interesting combination in a double hearder set in 1939. I have componets of the set but not the complete set yet. I am working on that one too. Its the only double header set that I am aware of that Flyer marketed in the PreWar era.
Edit: There are plenty photos of the double header set up ahead.
And here is a parting of view of my stable of Type XX iron(sheetmetal) horses
Northwoods
The Northwoods Flyer Collection
of
American Flyer Trains
"The Toy For the Boy"
I don't do much over on the bay so I agree - I don't think there is too much to worry about. . Before moving on to other aspects of prewar Flyer trains there are a few more things I'd like to add concerning lithography and the use of prototype railroad names.
A brief comparison of freight car litho treatment across manufacturers - Illinois Central
Train equipment with the names of real railroads had as much, if not more, appeal to the toy train buyer in the prewar period as they have today. While the variety of prototype names on toy trains in the prewar period was not nearly that of the postwar period the fact remains that among all of the major manufacturers they did manage to offer a reasonable representation of the names of the railroads of the day.
American Flyer freight cars carried heralds of railroads that, for to most part, would have been part of the real Chicago railroad scene. The breakout for the freight cars is as follows:
Gondolas (all sizes): PRR, CB&Q, NYC, IC, EJ&E, CM&St.P, LV, and UP
Boxcars (all sizes): B&O, IC, NKP, ART (reefer), GN, Southern, CP, MDT(NYC), SP, Morris (reefers)
Caboose: IC
Of these real railroads, the one that appeared most often in the Flyer lineup was the IC. With the exception of the 9 1/2" gondola, all of the IC offerings were in the smallest sizes. There was the small 4 wheel caboose which came in tuscan or bright red litho.
Then there was the small IC boxcar which was the first litho boxcar American Flyer offered with an actual railroad name.
... and the small American Flyer IC gondola
... and the large rose colored 9 1/2 inch gondola with its IC herald on the side.
Flyer, of course, was not the only toy manufacturer to offer cars for the Illinois Central. Bing offered an IC boxcar in both 4 and 8 wheel in four different shades of prototypical boxcar colors - caboose red, tuscan, brown and dark brown.
and Fandor offered one in chocolate brown in different sizes in 4 and 8 wheel.
Lionel, of course, wasn't much into litho but they did offer an enameled car (#820) with IC markings rubber stamped on the side.
All of these cars could be coupled together so, if the rug central magnate had the resources he could have assembled an IC freight consist that would have mirrored the real trains he might have seen rolling through his Chicago neighborhood.
here is a link with some stuff
http://www.norcaltca.com/pages/news.htm
"No childhood should be without a train!"
Evening all
I stopped by the local hobby shop as he sometimes has old train items and he had two prewar locos, a freight set and a passenger car set. He also had a tim litho station. He is getting a price from the owner. I have no idea of the value. I did not get the car numbers. They were in good shape and one of the locos only neede new wheels. This may be destiny. He has held on to things I've gotten from him before to allow the train budget well to fill up again.
Jim
Billbarman, Flyer made a number of sheet metal steam engines that bore a strong resemblance to the engines Northwoods Flyer discussed in his post. Given your description of a 2-4-2 wheel arrangement the engine closest to the 2-4-4's in appearance would be the #614 which was part of the #617 locomotive tender combination. This engine came with a number of different sets between 1933 and 1935. An example of this engine is illustrated below as part of the #1301T set....any chance this is the engine?
Northwoods Flyer, in an earlier post you mentioned the Frontenac set. I like that engine and car series but I like the two tone blue version - The Blue Bird set #1328 from 1931.
This set came with the Hoosac tunnel, a manually operated semaphore and warning light, and a #96 Station with a tan base.
Billbarman,
mersenne6's pictures give a great example of the engines and cars available during that era. Here is an illustration from the 1934 catalog. My catalogs only go up to 1934 at this point
Edit: I'm not sure which catalog page I originally posted here.
If you provide a bit more information about the cars and the engine we might be able to identify them further for you. Do any of the cars have numbers on them or stamped on the bottom? Do the cars have 4 or 8 wheeles? Does the tender have 4 or eight wheels, or look like either of the tenders we have here? If there is a way to post pictures, that would be helpful.
You are very fortunate to have you grandfather's trains. It is always nice to have something that has a sentimental value to it, that connects you with the family member. If the wheels on the leading truck and the trailing truck have been changed because the originals deteriorated it is very possible that the original trucks were still used with only the wheels being replaced. The wheel arrangement is most likey as it was originally.
mersenne6,
As usual I must tip my hat to you in appreciation for your willingness to post pictures. I would love to see your collection some day. I am certainly enjoying seeing it here. I also have the two tone cars, all three of them, but I don't have the matching engine. Its on my "to get" list. My Frontenac set (all green) is missing a baggage car.
Northwoods Flyer
Sturgeon-Phish wrote: Evening allI stopped by the local hobby shop as he sometimes has old train items and he had two prewar locos, a freight set and a passenger car set. He also had a tim litho station. He is getting a price from the owner. I have no idea of the value. I did not get the car numbers. They were in good shape and one of the locos only neede new wheels. This may be destiny. He has held on to things I've gotten from him before to allow the train budget well to fill up again.Jim Jim
Jim,
Welcome to the thrill of the hunt. It sounds as if you have stumbled across the beginnings of a nice O gauge contingent to your collection. If you have numbers and descriptions it might be possible to identify the equiptment and give you some idea of value. My only word of advice is to use the same skills and standards at aquiring O gauge that you use for you S gauge collecting. Its easy to be lured into buying something just because its available, and you think there will never be another one like it. Keep us posted and let us know if you need any advice.
Thats defenetly the locomotive exept it came with the tender shown here: http://cgi.ebay.com/RARE-AMERICAN-FLYER-O-GAUGE-STEAM-LOCOMOTIVE-TENDER_W0QQitemZ330210661539QQihZ014QQcategoryZ19146QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
They cars had 4 wheeled trucks and 8 wheels in all. that orange boxcar as well as the caboose came with it too. also that yellow tanker shown above that mersenne6 posted. The set it still at my Grandparent's house so Il have to wait to get the numbers.
Billbarman, the #614 came with a number of different tenders and, in addition to the cataloged sets, it was included in a variety of uncataloged sets as well so the fact that the tender differs from the one in my picture and the one in Northwoods catalog shot isn't too surprising.
Northwoods, thanks for the compliment concerning my collection but before you start imagining that my collection occupies a small warehouse I should tell you that, based on your pictures, your collection is much larger than mine. Most of what I've posted is stored in a small filing box in the library and, prior to my decision to start scanning them into the computer, they existed only as strips of negative film. Early on, I was fascinated by the similarities and differences of the prewar toy train offerings from the various manufacturers and I take delight in seeing how different manufacturers treat the same subject (hence the post on the IC cars).
Since collecting to the degree of my interest was simply out of the question (and since at that time no references worthy of the name existed) what I did was figure out a simple photographic setup I could take anywhere and whenever the occasion arose I would get permission to take pictures of trains in various collections. I've changed the setup over the years which is why the backgrounds of the various pictures differ. Of the group of pictures so far only the Flyer station, the Blue Bird, and the #16 set are mine. The single biggest area of actual collection of real objects would be the Flyer train stations.
QueensNY,
The way that Flyer numbered their equipment is at times confusing. They frequently gave a locomotive one number, a tender another number, and when the two were combined there was another number for both of them together. The number 4692 actually refers only to the locomotive that you have pictured earlier on the thread. The combination of your engine and tender is known as the 4694. The casting for the locomotive is one that Flyer developed. There is a second earlier locomotive with the same number(4692). It was originally a casting developed and marketed by Ives, but when Lionel and American Flyer divided Ives up in the bankruptcy Flyer got ownership of the Ives boiler casting.
In the 1931 catalog your (grandfather's) engine was only used in one set, The Flying Colonel. Do you still have any of the cars that came with the set? You have not mentioned what kind of cars you do have.
Here is a picture of the page that shows your engine from the 1931 catalog.
Thank you for all of the exceptional pictures, information, and especially the history of AF.
Many of us older guys were introduced to toy trains 45-60 years ago by fathers whose roots in toy trains and AF went back to their childhoods. Unfortunately, none of my father's American Flyers made it through the Depression years, starting in 1929, because they were sold or traded off for things we may take for granted, food or an unpaid bill. I suspect many of this forum's viewers wish they had their fathers' AFs too. All my father could pass on to me from his childhood was a maroon AF water tower.
Based on the high number of views this thread has received, one can only assume that most train hobbyists truly enjoy and appreciate AF, even if they don't own any or are not into prewar for their own collections.
Keep it going!
Jack
IF IT WON'T COME LOOSE BY TAPPING ON IT, DON'T TRY TO FORCE IT. USE A BIGGER HAMMER.
mersenne6 wrote: Northwoods, thanks for the compliment concerning my collection but before you start imagining that my collection occupies a small warehouse I should tell you that, based on your pictures, your collection is much larger than mine. Most of what I've posted is stored in a small filing box in the library and, prior to my decision to start scanning them into the computer, they existed only as strips of negative film. Early on, I was fascinated by the similarities and differences of the prewar toy train offerings from the various manufacturers and I take delight in seeing how different manufacturers treat the same subject (hence the post on the IC cars).
I had to chuckle at your comment about needing a small warehouse to store your collection. My wife has made that comment to me on more than one occasion. As I have posted on another thread, I would like to have a train building or specific larger room to use as a layout room and a museum of sorts. My ideal room would be a bonus room above the garage, or a garage built with something on the scale of a small apartment on the second floor.
I like the idea of having a collection in a small space the way that you do. At least you know where each example is, and you can do the comparisons much more easily. As I look at the ever increasing number of boxes in which I have my collection stored I have often thought that it would have been much easier and a saving of space to collect stamps. But then I look at the items I have and I think again how much I have enjoyed running and "playing" with my trains. I hope you will continue to share your collection with us and do more comparisons.
Thanks,
RockIsland52 Thank you for all of the exceptional pictures, information, and especially the history of AF. Many of us older guys were introduced to toy trains 45-60 years ago by fathers whose roots in toy trains and AF went back to their childhoods. Unfortunately, none of my father's American Flyers made it through the Depression years, starting in 1929, because they were sold or traded off for things we may take for granted, food or an unpaid bill. I suspect many of this forum's viewers wish they had their fathers' AFs too. All my father could pass on to me from his childhood was a maroon AF water tower. Based on the high number of views this thread has received, one can only assume that most train hobbyists truly enjoy and appreciate AF, even if they don't own any or are not into prewar for their own collections. Keep it going! Jack
Jack,
Thank you for the kind words. I am glad that you are enjoying this thread. I originally started it because I enjoy seeing Flyer items, and hearing the stories that accompany them for many people. I have been having a great time posting and seeing what other folks have to post.
I have some wonderful memories of being with my father and brother on the living room floor playing with trains, particularly at Christmas time. One of the items that has come down to me from my father is also a Flyer water tank. Is this similar to your water tank?
Enjoy,
Thanks, Northwoods.....your water tower sure looks like it, except if I recall, mine is missing the spigot. It's packed away. Now you've got me going. Got any info on it?
Some people unfamiliar with Wisconsin don't realize just how beautiful and unspoiled it is. I spent many childhood summers in a town called Rib Lake (sign at the time said population 356), about 60 miles North and a little West of you off Route 13 North, the place my Grandparents called home. They had a cottage on Spirit Lake, but we'd go swimming in Harper Lake because it had a "beach" and a small grill, convenience store. For back roads, gravel was the paving material of choice, and the road crews had to keep grading it and dumping oil on it to keep the dust down. Had relatives in Minoqua and Lake Crawlingstone (sp?) too which if I recall is straight North of you off Route 51.
Talking about trains, my sisters and I would take the train home to Chicago out of Wausau.
RockIsland52,
If you came back to Wisconsin for another visit I think you would find that it is still pretty much the same. The places you mention are still very much summer destinations, especially for folks from Illinois. I think you would also find that there are still roads in some areas that are the same as you remember them. The depots that you took the trains from are still here, one of course is the emblem for Wausau Insurance, and Walthers just reproduced it in HO as a kit. Sadly, the passenger trains that you remember riding to Chicago no longer exist. You might even have ridden the Northwoods Hiawatha.
I do have some information on your water tank. Let me quote from the Greenberg guide to Wide Gauge:
"About 1922 American Flyer offered their first water tank, the 2020, for O Gauge trains. This same style water tank with the addition of a light in 1934, was sold until 1940 (as the #215). The plain water tower is quite common, however it is often missing the water spout, which simply hooked onto the tank itself.... Ives catalogued an identical water tank from 1923 through 1929 with the Ives name as thier number 89.... It could have been built by American Flyer or a common vendor for both companies." I have also seen pictures of at two examples of the tank with "Mack Junction" printed on it. I don't have any other information about that variation.
My example is missing a ladder, but it is obviously an earlier version because it has no light. Variations do exist with ladders coming in green, yellow, red and black.
Its time to go rummaging around for the tower and display it somewhere as a memory of your childhood.
Northwoods Flyer wrote: RockIsland52,If you came back to Wisconsin for another visit I think you would find that it is still pretty much the same. The places you mention are still very much summer destinations, especially for folks from Illinois. I think you would also find that there are still roads in some areas that are the same as you remember them. The depots that you took the trains from are still here, one of course is the emblem for Wausau Insurance, and Walthers just reproduced it in HO as a kit. Sadly, the passenger trains that you remember riding to Chicago no longer exist. You might even have ridden the Northwoods Hiawatha.I do have some information on your water tank. Let me quote from the Greenberg guide to Wide Gauge:"About 1922 American Flyer offered their first water tank, the 2020, for O Gauge trains. This same style water tank with the addition of a light in 1934, was sold until 1940 (as the #215). The plain water tower is quite common, however it is often missing the water spout, which simply hooked onto the tank itself.... Ives catalogued an identical water tank from 1923 through 1929 with the Ives name as thier number 89.... It could have been built by American Flyer or a common vendor for both companies." I have also seen pictures of at two examples of the tank with "Mack Junction" printed on it. I don't have any other information about that variation. My example is missing a ladder, but it is obviously an earlier version because it has no light. Variations do exist with ladders coming in green, yellow, red and black.Its time to go rummaging around for the tower and display it somewhere as a memory of your childhood.Northwoods Flyer
Thanks for the info, Northwoods. I figured if you could do the identification legwork, the least I could do was locate the water tower. I suspect this is a diabolical plot on your part to get me started on pre-war. Your pictures and those of Ivesboy and the rest already had my mind churning.
My rummaging took some......well, serious rummaging. Success. The water tower you have is the one I have, though mine is in a little rougher shape paintwise. Integrity wise, it sits pretty square. No light on top, so that would put the production date between 1922-1933. While mine still has the ladder, I am missing the spigot. just like the write-up says is a common missing piece. You don't have any spares laying around, do you?
As you can see with your's, there's a water level indicator on the left side as you face the tower.
The ladder affixes on the rear, centered between the tower's main rear 2 supports. Two tabs on top of the ladder fit through open slots on the tower's roof. There is one one u-shaped bracket affixed (pressed in place) on the ladder, between the second and third rungs up from the ladder bottom, and riveted through the rear tower base crossmember support. The ladder is about 1 inch wide, black matching the base color, 18 rungs total, with the uppermost rung tucked under the roof overhang. Bottom of ladder sits flish to the ground.
Re the trains my sisters and I took from Wausau WI to Chicago in the mid to late 1950s, I did a "Wick" search on "Hiawatha passenger" and found that the North Woods Hiawatha main line ran between Chicago to the Twin Cities, but it also had a spur from New Lisbon WI to Minocqua WI, obviously stopping in Wausau. The RR name was the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, & Pacific. So I must have ridden the Hiawatha, albeit deisel versus the steamers which were in first in service in 1935. Deisels were first introduced in 1942. I believe the last Hiawathas ran in April of 1971, replaced by Amtrak, though the writeup didn't say when service to Waussau was discontinued.
I still haven't figured out how to cut and paste web addresses: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiawatha_(passenger_train)
Is this where you got you Northwoods Flyer name? Again, thanks to you and all for your American Flyer blast-through-the-past pictures and posts. Keep them coming.
Bob Nelson
Is this where you got your Northwoods Flyer name? Again, thanks to you and all for your American Flyer blast-through-the-past pictures and posts. Keep them coming.
The Northwoods Flyer name comes partly from the legacy of the Northwoods Hiawatha, which ran on the Milwaukee Road on the routes that you describe in your post, and partly from the fact that everything from about Stevens Point north in Wisconsin is referred to as the Northwoods. With my love of Flyer I thought it was a natural choice.
Diabolical plot..........Hmmm, I have never considered that as an attribute, but if it brings more folks into the fold, then I'm all for it. Of course you know that you won't be able to stop with just the water tower now. If you have read ivesboy's post on his family trains you will definitely be inspired. Yes, I guess it is a diabloical plot. .
To follow up a bit on the water tank. I actually have two free standing tanks, one of them is also missing the spout. I am not sure if anyone has reproduced them yet, but I bet there would be a market for them considering the number of them that are missing.
And mine has the yellow ladder.
The 215 water tank was also used on a larger accessory - The 235 Water Tank Set. It was sold from 1933 through 1935. Mounted on a 15 1/2" sheet metal base are a lighted lithographed shanty, a manually operated semaphore, and a red water tank with the typical black support structure and black spout with a counterweight. It has a red ladder and a brass cap that hides a light bulb from view. I suspect it is the same brass ring used on locomotives. Flyer came up with some great accessories with visual appeal and play value.
American Flyer Streamlined Steam
Flyers first offering in the world of streamlined steam was the ill fated No. 9915 in 1935. The catalog described the engine as being a "New York Central type". Many collectors refer to the cast aluminum engine-tender combination as the Aeolus because of a resemblance to the CB&Q's engine of that name and some claim the Q's engine was the inspiration for 9915. The only problem with this is that the Q didn't build Aeolus until 1937. The reality is that Flyer tried to make an engine with characteristics of the two best know streamlined engines of the day - the Hiawatha and the Commodore Vanderbilt. The set 1325-RCT was a sales failure and was catalogued for one year only. Like the Lionel Girl's Train of 1957 what was 1935's trash is now 2008's treasure and this engine and passenger set is one of the most sought after of the Flyer prewar offerings.
The second streamlined steam engine made its appearance in the back pages of the same 1935 catalog. It too was describes as an NYC engine. It is also referred to as the "Minnehaha" because it was part of that particular set. The electrically powered version is usually lithoed in orange and silver and the clock work version sports a reddish/rose and silver livery. This train was made from 1935-1937 and came in either a two or a three car articulated passenger set or a freight set.
In 1936 Flyer went after the prototype look with its top of the line Hiawatha passenger set. The engine also came in a freight set.
At the same time they also offered an uncataloged, lithoed tin 0-4-0 version of the Hiawatha which came with either passenger or freight cars. The 0-4-0 version was made with or without a mechanical whistle that was powered through a gear train connected to the main gearing of the motor. The engine had either a rounded or a squared rear. The tender for the engine with the rounded end has a much longer drawbar than the one with the square end. The lithoed engine was made 1936-1937.
Freight Set
Passenger Set
In 1938 Flyer introduced a PRR streamlined style engine (#4603) with 2-4-4 wheel arrangement. The engine was sheet metal with a diecast front end and came with either freight or passenger cars.
The same engine, with a different front end treatment, more cut away driver skirting, and a different decal on the tender (the engine tender combination now identified as #419) was offered in 1939 in a freight and a passenger set. The freight set was No. 403.
In 1940 A.C. Gilbert returned streamlined steam to the lineup with #553 in gunmetal gray (4-4-2)and in blue as #556 The Royal Blue (4-6-2).
The Royal Blue engine was an accurate model of the B&O streamlined engine. The Royal Blue set also included a whistling baggage car.
meresenne6,
Excellent pictures as usual. You have managed to post all of the streamlined sets that I don't own yet. Well at least I have some things to look for. Flyer certainly did offer something for everyone. Thanks too for the earlier post on Hummer. I have resisted that part of Flyer production for now. But some day I will open the collection to those items too I suppose.
My offering this time is for Flyer's O gauge tank cars. Tank cars were first introduced in American Flyer's catalogs around 1910. Several different styles, in varying lengths were made through the years. 5 1/2" cars were made from 1910 to about 1914, 6 1/2" cars were made in Lithographed and Enameled versions, 9 1/2" cars were also made in Lithographed and Enameled versions.
The Northwoods Flyer collection contains the following 6 1/2" versions
This is the 3018 from 1932
When I was ready to post these pictures I noticed that I had another version as well
The tank car on the right is also a 3018 but from 1930-1931. Notice the difference in the trucks and that the tank supports are different colors. Truck stlyes help to date the years of production as Flyer used a variety of them.
left - 1932 version has AFL painted in gold transfers on both sides in the depressions on the tank
right 1930-31 version has 3018 to the left and AFL to the right
Yes Northwoods, I do. I was going to post something else this weekend but let me see if I can scan those cars instead.
I can find little information on "The Comet"-can you tell me what scale it is?
learner,
to the forum and to this thread. I posted some pictures of the Comet earlier in the thread but I will post them again here. I assume that you are are refering to the Comet made by Flyer in the Pre War era. That version runs on three rail track and is O gauge. There is an American Flyer train by Gilbert produced in the '50's named and labled the Comet too, but that version is made of plastic and is S-gauge.
This is the O gauge version.
Edit: This is the S Gauge Comet by Gilbert American Flyer
The other pictures are posted in this thread for the date 1/30/08.
The following is a quote from Greenberg's Guide to American Flyer O Gauge Trains by Alan R. Schuweiler and published by Kalmbach:
"Produced in 1936, the Comet set was offered in a seperate low-end train brochure, which was not dated,.... The electric sets in this brochure were called Champion sets. The inventory of sets may have been sold for several years after that year by retailers and wholesalers. Like many other lower-priced sets of this era, it never appeared in an Amercian Flyer consumer catalog and no catalog numbers for the individual items have been discovered.
The Comet has a strong resemblance to the lithographed Burlington Zephyr, and both trains are sheet metal throughout. However, most but not all Burlington coaches have six windows while Comet coaches always have four. The set was brightly lithographed in blue and silver, with gray and black details.
Unlike most but not all Burlington power cars, the Comet power car rests on two trucks and can run by itself. The cars...have only one truck; the front ends of these cars rest on the preceding car. The train units are linked by a pin on the trailing car that fits into a hole on the preceding roof and by a drawbar on the car in front that engages a pin at floor level on the following car. The trailing car is a curiosity. It is not an observation car but rather an unpowered version of the power car with only one...truck supporting it. This simulates the prototype train, which had a power unit and control cab on each end.
The set was brightly lithographed in blue and silver, with grey and black details. "THE COMET" appears on both sides of the power car and the trailing car, while "AMERICAN FLYER LINES" appears in a stripe above the windows on the coaches"
I hope this is what you are looking for.
I just checked on ebay and there is a set up for auction. Much to my chagrin the seller lists my earlier entry about the Comet in his description, but at least he posted a link to the thread too.
American Flyer 6 1/2 inch litho freight cars.
These cars were first shown in the 1919 catalog. They consisted of a tank car, a sand car (gondola), a boxcar (automobile car), and a caboose and in various forms they ran through 1935. The sand car is shown in the earlier post on Flyer's lithoed gondolas.
The tank car came in gray with a single style of lettering. The the shade does vary but that is nothing more than simple lot-to-lot paint variation.
The automobile car also came in red and white and then, in the late 1920's in yellow with black lettering.
It's interesting to note that the re-introduction of the yellow also saw a change in the font style and the lines of reporting marks which went from 3 to 4. It is also apparent from the 1930 catalog that Flyer no longer intended the lettering "American Flyer Lines" to appear across the top of the car. Rather than change the litho stones they just adjusted the cutting of the sides so that when the roof was attached the lettering was obscured.
While not nearly as prolific as Ives when it came to prototype names on the 6 1/2 inch cars Flyer did make some very interesting choices and for the Southern and Southern Pacific they were the only toy train company to offer cars with these names.
Sturgeon-Phish wrote: Northwoods Flyer wrote: Staying with a theme, here are some pictures of the Lithographed version of Flyer's Burlington Zephyr. It was only listed in the Flyer catalog in 1935, although it was listed in other specialty catalogs for several years after. It was intended to be a lower cost alternative to the cast aluminum set. It came in several sets with different numbers of cars. It came in either 3 or 5unit sets. I have a 4 unit set. So that means that either I have an extra car that got added along the way, or one of the original cars got lost somewhere. Ahhhh, another reason to cruise Ebay!.Sturgeon-Phish, Jim,The background is actually a few pieces from the 790 Trainorama. I thought you would like to see it.GregGregYou are right! When I saw the Trainarama, I did get excited. The trainarama is a beautiful accesory. Maybe one day . . . Jim
Northwoods Flyer wrote: Staying with a theme, here are some pictures of the Lithographed version of Flyer's Burlington Zephyr. It was only listed in the Flyer catalog in 1935, although it was listed in other specialty catalogs for several years after. It was intended to be a lower cost alternative to the cast aluminum set. It came in several sets with different numbers of cars. It came in either 3 or 5unit sets. I have a 4 unit set. So that means that either I have an extra car that got added along the way, or one of the original cars got lost somewhere. Ahhhh, another reason to cruise Ebay!.Sturgeon-Phish, Jim,The background is actually a few pieces from the 790 Trainorama. I thought you would like to see it.Greg
Staying with a theme, here are some pictures of the Lithographed version of Flyer's Burlington Zephyr. It was only listed in the Flyer catalog in 1935, although it was listed in other specialty catalogs for several years after. It was intended to be a lower cost alternative to the cast aluminum set. It came in several sets with different numbers of cars. It came in either 3 or 5unit sets. I have a 4 unit set. So that means that either I have an extra car that got added along the way, or one of the original cars got lost somewhere. Ahhhh, another reason to cruise Ebay!.
Sturgeon-Phish,
The background is actually a few pieces from the 790 Trainorama. I thought you would like to see it.
Greg
You are right! When I saw the Trainarama, I did get excited. The trainarama is a beautiful accesory. Maybe one day . . .
I got a 790 Trainarama last Friday and it is really beautiful. Do you have the assembly instructions? Many of the pieces have not even been creased yet and no instructions were with it and I don't wanr to bend something in the wrong direction.
Thanks
Congratulations on the new aquisition. Unfortunately my Trainorama did not come with the instruction sheets. I have had mine together, and managed to do it just by matching the numbered and lettered tabs and slots to each other. I did see a Trainorama on ebay a short time ago that did include the instruction sheets and the seller claimed that it have never been assembled. Amazingly that one sold for close to $325.00.
Take some pictures when you do get yours assembled, and you will be amazed how nicely it compliments PreWar Flyer items
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