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Pre War American Flyer Pictures - An Invitation

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Posted by Heymrd1313 on Wednesday, March 16, 2016 3:15 PM

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Posted by Heymrd1313 on Wednesday, March 16, 2016 3:59 PM

Main Station Platform

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Posted by Heymrd1313 on Wednesday, March 16, 2016 4:01 PM

Power Station Platform

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Posted by Heymrd1313 on Wednesday, March 16, 2016 4:03 PM

Commuter Station Platform

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Posted by Heymrd1313 on Wednesday, March 16, 2016 4:03 PM
Photos of platforms
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Posted by Heymrd1313 on Wednesday, March 16, 2016 6:36 PM
Photos of platforms.
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Posted by Heymrd1313 on Wednesday, March 16, 2016 6:37 PM

I really like this 1926 AF 1096 Box Cab Loco. For being 90 years oldAF 1096 she runs great and is a real puller.

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Posted by vintageflyer on Saturday, March 19, 2016 2:41 PM

 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!

 

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Posted by Northwoods Flyer on Sunday, March 20, 2016 8:33 AM

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. Wink

Happy first day of spring.

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Northwoods Flyer

The Northwoods Flyer Collection

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"The Toy For the Boy"

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Posted by balidas on Sunday, March 20, 2016 9:34 AM

Heymrd1313

Power Station Platform

 

 

Northwoods Flyer, in answer to your trivia question, I would say here.

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Posted by balidas on Sunday, March 20, 2016 9:45 AM

tinplatacis

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.

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Posted by Nationwidelines on Sunday, March 20, 2016 9:52 AM

You are correct and the person making the original post was mistaken.  The only parts on the engine that would be affected by "zinc pest" would be the roof mounted cast headlight (if your engine is the 1928 or later version, I do not recall) and the drive wheels (which I do believe need to be replaced). 

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Posted by balidas on Sunday, March 20, 2016 9:52 AM

Northwoods Flyer
 
balidas

 

 

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.

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Northwoods Flyer

 

 

Ah look at that. Interesting. Yes, absolutely I'm going to restore this to operating condition. It's a beautiful piece. I was also thinking to go ahead & replace all 4 wheels at the same time. Thanks!

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Posted by balidas on Sunday, March 20, 2016 10:02 AM

Nationwidelines

You are correct and the person making the original post was mistaken.  The only parts on the engine that would be affected by "zinc pest" would be the roof mounted cast headlight (if your engine is the 1928 or later version, I do not recall) and the drive wheels (which I do believe need to be replaced). 

 

Mine does have the cast headlamp. The shell seems pretty solid still but the contact inside is missing. The geared drive wheels are crumbling so I figured it's best to replace all 4 at the same time.

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Posted by tinplatacis on Sunday, March 20, 2016 4:49 PM

Yes, I was mistaken. Not owning one myself, I have heard the wording he used used to describe zinc pest, and assumed that that was likely, given that many manufacturers used cast frames.

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Posted by Northwoods Flyer on Sunday, March 20, 2016 9:24 PM

balidas

 

 
Heymrd1313

Power Station Platform

 

 

 

 

Northwoods Flyer, in answer to your trivia question, I would say here.

 

Nice work Balidas, you have a good eye, and it didn't take you long either.

It is the door on a #90 station

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Posted by Northwoods Flyer on Monday, March 21, 2016 7:01 AM

It didn't take long for someone to answer the first trivia question.  Lets try another one.  This time it has 2 parts.

Trivia Question #2

What is the name of this train and what year(s) did it appear in the American Flyer catalog?

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Posted by Jack Derby on Monday, March 21, 2016 7:04 AM

Bluebird, 1931

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Posted by vintageflyer on Monday, March 21, 2016 8:17 AM

The Dixie Queen. 1930, 31?  Oddly enough, the Bluebird was a blue/green color those years. 

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Posted by balidas on Monday, March 21, 2016 12:19 PM
I would also say The Bluebird altho I wouldn't know the year.
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Posted by Nationwidelines on Monday, March 21, 2016 7:21 PM

I agree with vintageflyer in that it is the Dixie Queen set.  I am too lazy to look up the years it was in the catalog. 

I know the Frontenac set was the same but in green. 

I believe the Bluebird set from that era was in blue/green

 

The Dixie Queen is one of those sets I am searching for a nice example of.  I have the set, but it is only so-so and is not as nice as my Bluebird or Frontenac set from that era.

 

NWL

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Posted by Northwoods Flyer on Monday, March 21, 2016 10:14 PM

Thanks for your replies folks.

The photo is of The Dixie Queen

The set is headed by a #3105

The set appears in the catalog in 1930 and 1931.

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Northwoods Flyer

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American Flyer Trains

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Posted by Northwoods Flyer on Tuesday, March 22, 2016 7:11 AM

Let's see how you folks do on this one.

Trivia Question #3

Where will you find this label?

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Posted by Nationwidelines on Tuesday, March 22, 2016 1:52 PM

I would guess that label is on a sheetmetal accessory that has a rounded base to raise the particular accessory mast to a higher level for standard gauge.  The base is punched for brass plates, but has the label, so that would put its production to some time around 1932 or after. 

I suspect it is probably a bell ringing signal, but they used the red round bases to raise various accessories, so one really cannot say for sure. 

 

 

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Posted by Northwoods Flyer on Wednesday, March 23, 2016 6:57 AM

NationWideLines,

Excellent deductions. It is indeed found on a round sheetmetal base.

Specifically it is from an accesory with a green sheet metal pole.

That is part of a 2210 double arm lamp post.

Schuweiler does not list this variation in his Wide Gauge book. 

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Posted by Northwoods Flyer on Saturday, March 26, 2016 3:29 PM

In his last post NationWideLines mentioned that Flyer used the round red bases to raise a number of accessories for the Wide Gauge line.  That got me thinking about the number of accessores where the round bases were used.  I posted about ringing bell danger signals earlier on the thread. There are three that I have in my collecton that have the round raised bases. All three have brass plates on the base.

I checked through my collection and found four different accessories that make use of the tall bases. (Its actually 3 different accessories but two different colors of the double lamp post.)

As you can see there are three different colors.

Three of them have brass tags.  The double street lamp with the green standard and the red base has a decal.

I have two examples of the green lamp post and both of them have decals, but they are punched for the brass tags.

Are there other examples of accessories that have the taller base?

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Northwoods Flyer

 

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Posted by Nationwidelines on Saturday, March 26, 2016 9:38 PM

Northwoods,

I know of at least one more color variation for the semaphore and that has a blue base with tan mast. 

I am not aware of any other accessories that feature the round raised base.  I know some of the later accessories, including the double lamp post and later bellringing warning sign, have a rectangular raised base. 

NWL

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Posted by Northwoods Flyer on Sunday, March 27, 2016 4:38 PM

Trivia Question #4

What is the name of this train?  What years did it appear in the American Flyer catalog(s)?

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Northwoods Flyer

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American Flyer Trains

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Posted by Nationwidelines on Sunday, March 27, 2016 6:51 PM

Northwoods,

That set is the "Iron Horse" which was cataloged in 1930 and 1931.  In 1932, a similar but slightly different set was cataloged as the "Texan", which featured the new die cast steam engine and 4 wheel orange cars.

Your set appears to be either a very late 1930 set or a 1931 set, as evidenced by the green stripe on the tender. 

I have an earlier 1930 Iron Horse set, which features an orange stripe on the tender, which features a tender that is slightly different.  The cast iron coal load in the tender attaches from the bottom only and not the sides. 

The following two pictures show the difference between the tenders.

c. 1930 orange stripe tender

 

c. 1931 green stripe tender

In looking at the catalog artwork for this set, one can see the orange stripe tender in the 1930 catalog and the artwork was likely re-used in the 1931 catalog.  I am not sure the reason for the changes in how the coal load was mounted, but I suspect that is the reason that the color of the stripe was changed.  I know that the orange stripe tenders with the coal load mounting from the bottom only are not as common as the green stripe tenders, with the coal load mounting screws through the side of the body.

NWL

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Posted by vintageflyer on Sunday, March 27, 2016 7:18 PM
Thanks for the info on this one! A set that I've been curious about for some time.
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