tinplatacis It was actually the middle car that looked different in the photographs Northwood. That frame sounds like it has zinc pest, btw
It was actually the middle car that looked different in the photographs Northwood.
That frame sounds like it has zinc pest, btw
If this comment is directed to me, I don't see any indication of that anywhere. The frame is I guess stamped steel & is pretty solid with just some rust & paint flaking. The cow catcher ends seem like cast iron. They are pretty solid & heavy which I like. Those I'll take apart, clean & repaint.
Heymrd1313
Northwoods Flyer, in answer to your trivia question, I would say here.
vintageflyer,
I can't be of much help to you on this one. I don't have one of those set boxes in my collection. And I can't remember examining any of the boxes to know if the interior boxes are glued in or not. My guess is that that they are. I'm sure someone will have the answer for you soon. Your question prompted me to think about trivia. And this is the result
Trivia Question #1
Where will you find this door?
The first person to answer correctly obviously has way too much time on their hands.
Happy first day of spring.
Enjoying the World's Greatest Hobby
Northwoods Flyer
The Northwoods Flyer Collection
of
American Flyer Trains
"The Toy For the Boy"
I've recently acquired a 3/16-0 "Gilbert" set box which is the dark blue and yellow variety. And I am wondering if anyone can tell me if the yellow insert trays are glued to the bottom. This is my first 3/16-0 set box of this type. (Unsuccessful in trying to load picture, sorry)
Mine are glued in and I was curious if this was from the factory or perhaps done by a previous owner. Very happy with it either way.
Thanks in advance to all, still the best place for prewar Flyer folks!
I really like this 1926 AF 1096 Box Cab Loco. For being 90 years old she runs great and is a real puller.
Excellent eye ! That is a Bluebird pulling in to the Marx station. The platform is home made of oak planks as is the one around the station near the power plant and the commuter station in photo's one and two. I was lucky enough to teach wood shop for 37 years and still have acess to my old shop to do all the little wood things for the layout.
Beautiful layout! In the 2nd photo, is that a Marx Girard station surrounded by a raised wooden deck that your Bluebird is coming up on?
[/quote]
tinplatacis,
We are talking about the same car. It is the middle car of the three I have behind the 3113 in the photos posted above. I checked again tonight, just to make sure, and the roofs of the three cars are the same color. I have two 3113s in my collection and both of them have pressed metal frames, not die cast. The pilots on both ends are die cast, but I've never seen a problem with those. I think what we are seeing on balidas' frame and the lithographed body is rust. The crumbling wheels are most likely the result of zinc pest. I'm sure many of these almost 90 year old toys were not always stored with care.
balidas What is that bar on the botton at the other end? Is that a manual dierctional control?
What is that bar on the botton at the other end? Is that a manual dierctional control?
balidas,
Your assumption is correct. The square bar protruding from the motor is a manual reverse.
You can reverse by hand or use the special accessory that American Flyer designed for the purpose. Below is a series of photos showing its use with a 3115, which also has the manual reverse mechanism.
Good luck with your 3113. I assume you hope to restore it to running condition. There are replacement wheels available. Hennings is starting to offer the line of wheels and parts that Model Engineering Works originally made and marketed.
Northwoods Flyer balidas, You have a nice example of the 3113. Now all you need is the three matching lithographed cars and you will have an example of The Bluebird. Enjoying the World's Greatest Hobby Northwoods Flyer
You have a nice example of the 3113. Now all you need is the three matching lithographed cars and you will have an example of The Bluebird.
Thank you but I only showed the good side.
Here is the other side:
Whatever that black is it doesn't come off with finger swiping. The geared drive wheels are crumbling & need replacing. One of them spins freely. On the front end there is a wire holding that end of the cab in place.
Despite all that I picked it up because I liked the style & colours & had been wondering what to run behind it. It was listed as the Bluebird but I didn't know it was a set. Thanks for the info.
I purchased those cars together as a set. In person the roofs are all the same color. I think that what looks like a variation in color is caused by the lighting in the area where I take photos.
Here is another view of the same set. I think that first passenger car is tipped and catches the overhead light differently.
Northwood,
I noticed a variation in the roof colors on those cars. Is that a legitimate variation or is it because of your tendancy to piece your sets together?
Nationwidelines The issue I had with the switch frogs, is related to the engines only, as the earlier steam engines and electric boxcab engines have wide flanges on the wheels, which modern trains do not have. The switch frogs on gargraves and ross custom switches (and I cannot honestly say I know about fast-track switches) were not made to accomodate such wide flanges on the wheels and the engines would de-rail when going through the switches. I ended up getting rid of my switches and then had no problems with the track with the prewar trains. NWL
The issue I had with the switch frogs, is related to the engines only, as the earlier steam engines and electric boxcab engines have wide flanges on the wheels, which modern trains do not have. The switch frogs on gargraves and ross custom switches (and I cannot honestly say I know about fast-track switches) were not made to accomodate such wide flanges on the wheels and the engines would de-rail when going through the switches. I ended up getting rid of my switches and then had no problems with the track with the prewar trains.
NWL
Ok I understand. I'll keep that in mind. I'm planning a layout using 027 tubular. It'll have a number of switches that I'll build myself that will be similar to the early Marx switches.
I picked this up a while back:
Heymrd1313,
You have a terrific looking layout. Thanks for posting the photos. Of course in my opinion the best part of the layout is the prewar American Flyer equipment that you have running on it.
I've been trying to master the camera in my phone; taking the photos, editing them and using the Shutterfly app. The next photos are my first attempt.
Thanks to NationWideLines I now own a New York Central Streamlined set from 1935-1936.
I guess it works.
Enjoying it the World's Greatest Hobby
Thanks for the kind words about the layout. Like many "older" model train folks my layout is the ONE I could never have had as a kid. With time you sometimes reach that point where that one great layout can be created and I was lucky enough to be able to do mine. Before a description of the layout, I would like to add my thanks to some of the other posters, for sharing your AF collection and knowledge of American Flyer trains. There is a welth is information here. Thanks !
The layout is made of three sheets of 5' X 5" plywood formed into an "L" shape with a triangle filling the inside corner of the "L". It is based on the high desert of New Mexico around Santa Fe. The left side starts with the pine forests that are around Los Alamos and gradually the altitude drops as the layout goes to the right and eventually we end up in the dry desert. Much of the material that covers the layout is natural and was collected and shipped from Santa Fe and Lake Tahoe. ( I shipped almost 40 lbs. of rock and soil from each location.) There are three separate loops each with it's own power supply and also a train yard. The outer loop is the main track, then the mountain loop and the inside is the commuter loop. I like to run a trolley or the Hiawatha Duck tail on it. Some of the buildings are Lionel some Marx and a few AF. There are also some that I made from scratch. The backdrop is made from enlarged" alt="Layout Left" width="750" height="500" />" alt="Layout left" width="750" height="500" /> photos taken from a bluff looking across a valley towards Los Alamos. It took around nine months to complete. The posted pictures show the layout left to right.
Bob D I was very pleased to come across your thread and am happy to share my findings to those who may be interested. I am going to try and attach a photo showing my 3300 and 3326 locomotive and tender combinations. Hope it works. "No Luck" Bob D
I was very pleased to come across your thread and am happy to share my findings to those who may be interested.
I am going to try and attach a photo showing my 3300 and 3326 locomotive and tender combinations. Hope it works. "No Luck"
Bob D
Here is the photo that Bob was trying to post.
Great examples of the 3300s
Bob,
Don't give up on posting photos. Here is what I do with Shutterfly. First of course you have to open a Shutterfly account and upload your photos.
When I use Shutterfly I open the album I want and find the photo that I want to post,
double click on it - which gives you the larger view,
place the cursor on the larger photo,
right click the mouse and find the copy image in the window that opens and click on it,
then come here (or wherever you want to post it) and
put the cursor where you want to paste it,
right click again
and hit paste and like magic..............
The photo appears.
It has always seemed like a simple process.
Hope it works.
Thankyou for the hardy welcome. I am the Bob who wrote the article for TCA. As you may remember from the article it all started by me trying to find a missing car and engine for a set given to me by a neighbor. It turned out the set was the Cumberland. In my quest I found out much about the Cumberland and decided I better pass what I found out to other collectors. Primarily I wanted to put to sleep that The big red cars being found together with the plates Jeffersonian, American Flyer Lines, and Golden State were not just careless work from American Flyer. It was the way the Cumberland set was intended to be. The firsl plan for the Cumberland appears to have intended all the cars to be plated with American Flyer Lines. This was carried out on the 1931 Cumberland but the ther must have been a concern over how long that plate would hold out since several of the 1931 sets have been found with the pullman having the Jeffersonian plate. I have not yet seen a 1931 properly documented that that had all the same cars as the 1932 and 1933 Cumberland.
When I first started collecting my interest covered all makes. After a few years I narrowed it primarily to Chicago Flyer and Ives. My desire was to acquire my favorite sets in Standard and O gauge from those two. I have been fortunate in my hunt and at this point I have retained fairly good example of those favorites. While I have at times had som really top notch examples, I have contented myself with played with specimens in very good to excellent condition. Even my boxxed ones wouldn't grade out to mint. I have tried to avoid repaints. I was very pleased to come across your thread and am happy to share my findings to those who may be interested.
I amgoin to try and attach a photo showing my 3300 and 3326 locomotive and tender combinations. Hope it works. "No Luck"
If you go to the first page of the forum section the third entry in the forum list has a sticky label on it and is entitled How to post a photo on the forum. It gives some pretty good directions.
Or go here:
http://cs.trains.com/ctt/f/95/t/250136.aspx
Which should take you to the page of directions.
I use a different method, but this one should work for you. One other free online hosting site not mentioned in the directions is Shutterfly.
I hope we see some photos from you soon.
Thanks for the response. Your Man O War set is one of the nicest I have ever seen. Of course it does not detract from my statement in that the statement did not include the 3300 cars without cast tanks and window shades. The Man O War is the only steam set that had the 3300 cars prior to the release of the newer 3300 cars in 1931. The rest of my conclusions are backed by boxed sets and original owners statements.
I see your point on the fact that 1932 3117/3187 could possibly be found as a set with the "Cumberland" cars as that was the last year for the Ambassador headed by the 3117/3187 and they might have run out of the cars originally slated for it pror to year end. I concur on your last statement. The only 3300 cars I have seen with decals were with the 1934 and 35 steam headed Ambassador sets.
On another subject is there information anywhere that will tell me how to post pictures?
Bob D,
Its good to have you join us here on the thread. Am I correct in assuming that you are the Bob who wrote the article on the 3300 Series Passenger Cars in the July 2011 Issue of the TCA Quarterly? I have read that article numerous times in order to try to identify the cars that I have been collecting. It has been very helpful.
It sounds as if we have similar experiences in collecting Flyer. Originally I set a goal of collecting representative examples of Flyer equipment. The more I collected the more I became interested in the history of the pieces I had and the history of the American Flyer company. I decided to collect pieces to build the sets pictured in the catalog. It was rare that I could find a complete set or for that matter afford a complete set. This thread is an outgrowth of my desire to find more information and more photos of equipment. It has helped me on several occasions to decide on items to purchase. I have come to believe that my secret goal is to collect one of everything that American Flyer made - variations included! I have also developed an admiration for Ives and have acquired a number of pieces.
I have not limited my collecting of the 3300 Ambassador series cars to those headed up by the electric outline engines, although I am still looking for a 3187. Its just that I haven't found examples of steamers to head up my sets. I'm always on the hunt. As I said in a post earlier on the thread, my next goal is a set of cars with the red air tanks and decals.
Thanks for joining us here. I look forward to seeing your photos.
Again, welcome to the thread. I'm glad you found us.
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