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Pre War American Flyer Pictures - An Invitation

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Posted by Nationwidelines on Wednesday, January 31, 2018 9:06 PM

New Computer test post

OK now a photo test

Now for the rest of the post

The above engine/tender is a 3310 combination from 1934.  This particular engine features an unusual motor, which is somewhat difficult to find.  Note the reverse lockout lever sticking out of the front of the boiler and the large brass ball on top of the reverse rod sticking out of the top of the boiler.  My guess is that this is a leftover motor from an electric boxcab engine.

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Posted by LL675 on Wednesday, January 31, 2018 11:37 PM

beautiful locomotive

Dave

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Posted by Northwoods Flyer on Friday, February 2, 2018 2:27 PM

Nationwidelines

 

 

 

The above engine/tender is a 3310 combination from 1934.  This particular engine features an unusual motor, which is somewhat difficult to find.  Note the reverse lockout lever sticking out of the front of the boiler and the large brass ball on top of the reverse rod sticking out of the top of the boiler.  My guess is that this is a leftover motor from an electric boxcab engine.

NWL

 

 

NationWideLines;

You find some of the most interesting variations.  This engine and tender are in beautiful shape as well.

I assume the reverse rod sticking out of the top of the engine fits through the hole in the casting that the reversing rod normally sticks through.  The reverse lockout lever sticking out of the front makes me wonder how much extra hand labor went into drilling the hole and making other alterations to get the motor to fit.  Any idea which electric boxcab motor this is?  Were they able to keep the ringing bell feature?  Was the engine accompanied by any rolling stock?

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Posted by Nationwidelines on Friday, February 2, 2018 7:41 PM

Northwoods,

The reverse rod sticking through the top of the boiler does stick through the normal hole.  The motor does not have a ringing bell.  I am not sure which boxcab this would be from, but I would suspect either a late 3187 or a late 3115.

The engine/tender did not come to me with any rolling stock, but the 1934 catalog shows this engine/tender with both a passenger set and a freight set.  

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Posted by Nationwidelines on Friday, February 2, 2018 7:49 PM

Here is a nice early #96 station

One reason why this station has stayed so nice, is that it comes with this..

Have never seen one of these early boxes for sale until this one came up.

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Posted by Nationwidelines on Saturday, February 3, 2018 4:28 PM

The above 96 station came with an equally nice, but common engine and set of cars.

Here is the 1218 that came with the set.  It just shines like new.

I believe that the set I received may be a hybrid 1228 set from 1924.  I say this because the set box did not have a legible number on it and is a box that would contain either a 1221 set or 1228 set, with the 1221 set having a smaller station and the 1228 set, per a 1924 foldout, came with a 96 station.  As for a hybrid set, I say this because the 1228 set is always shown with 8 wheel cars, yet this set has 4 wheel cars.  The setbox appeared to have an F on it, which could denote a Butler Brothers set number, with Butler Brothers being a wholesaler that sold Flyer trains from the teens through the late 1920s/early 1930s.

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Posted by strainst on Monday, February 5, 2018 6:06 AM

Great find; I noticed the listing for this train set with passenger station and also noted the different label on the station box.  When I saw the label, I wondered if the label was used on station boxes sold through a store other than American Flyer, but I missed that this is the early version of this station.  With American Flyer trains and this forum, I seem to learn something new every week.  Gald to see you added it to your collection.

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Posted by Nationwidelines on Monday, February 5, 2018 6:41 AM

Strainst,

It is not only a different label on the box, but if you compare boxes, it is a different style box construction, which denotes earlier production.  These early accessory (and similar style individual car) boxes probably disappeared from Flyer items around 1924-1925, possibly 1926 at the latest

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Posted by Northwoods Flyer on Friday, February 9, 2018 8:23 PM

Its time to add the 2017 American Flyer Tale for Christmas to the thread.  It exists as a separate thread elswhere on the forum, but I like to keep the stories all in one place.

An American Flyer Tale for Christmas
2017 Edition
 
Adam had been looking forward to this train show for months.  It was only held twice per year so he had plenty of time to anticipate it.  He had been making lists of things that he was looking for so that he could do some repair work on the projects he had been collecting at home.  Occasionally one of his co-workers or a neighbor would bring over a box of old trains that “had been in the family for years”, wondering if he could fix it and get it running again.  The pace always picked up around the holidays; everyone wanted their trains to be running under the tree for Christmas.  Most of the projects were simple and very quickly he would have things working just like they used to.  So today he knew what he was looking for and he pretty much knew which vendors would have what he needed.
 
Both of the boys had come with him again; as they did to most of the train shows over the years.  He felt very lucky that at their ages they still enjoyed the hobby with him.  Of course they had other things that took up their time and drew their interest like sports, and music, and electronics and video games; but it pleased him that when he was tinkering in the train room or running their collection of trains at least one of them would come in and spend time with him.  Years ago he and his wife had decided to buy them a Polar Express set for Christmas.  They watched the movie together as a family at least once during the Christmas season every year since the boys were very young.  It had become a family tradition.  Adam smiled to himself as he remembered that first Christmas with the 1225 running under the tree.  Each year since that time they had added a car, track, switches or some accessory to their Polar Express collection.  Each time they came to the train show Adam looked for parts to do repairs, or scenic material for the layout, or some piece of American Flyer equipment to add to his personal collection while the boys went off to find the best deal on a new addition to the Polar Express.  This year they were looking for the Elf handcar.
 
After several hours Adam had covered all of the show once and was working his way around for the second time.  He had found all the things on his list, including several boxed S-gauge cars to add to his collection. The boys had checked in with him and reported what they had seen and were frustrated that they hadn’t found a handcar yet.  However, he knew where he had seen one and sent them off to check on it.
Adam walked to the concession stand and bought himself a very expensive cup of coffee.  He reminded himself once again to make a mental note that he should bring a thermos filled with coffee with him the next time. He walked back to an area near the center of the show where there were a number of benches clustered together.  He chose one of the empty benches, sat down with his bags at his feet, and began his second favorite thing about going to the train show – people watching.
 
The show wasn’t overly crowded, but there was a steady flow of people moving up and down the rows from vendor to vendor.  Many of the folks carried bags through which he could see the orange and blue of Lionel boxes.  He felt pretty satisfied that if anyone was looking they would be able to see the blue and yellow of vintage American Flyer boxes from the A.C. Gilbert Company through the thin plastic of one of his bags.  It was fascinating to watch how each of the shoppers approached their hunt differently.  Some were fast, barely stopping at a table to glance over its contents before moving on.  Others seemed to examine every item, and every price tag on the table.  A few walked several tables away and would pull out what Adam assumed was their “wanted list” or a price guide and check it over.
 
He hadn’t been watching very long when one particular shopper caught his attention.  He was a nicely dressed older gentleman.  He had snow white hair and a well trimmed beard. “Oh no.” thought Adam, “I bet he gets teased a lot about being Santa Claus.”  The man moved slowly from table to table, looking carefully at what each table held, almost as if he was looking for something specific. Then he would take a step back to see what was in the boxes on the floor under each table.  The other thing that drew Adam’s attention was the walking stick that the man was using that added to the Santa look.  It was at least 5 feet tall and as the man drew closer he could see a pattern carved into the stick that looked like railroad tracks winding their way up the length of the stick.  Near the head of the stick were two letters made out of what looked like brass inlaid into the wood of the stick and surrounded by a carved shield.  Adam could not quite make out what letters they were.
 
 
The white haired man reached the vendor’s table directly across from the bench where Adam was sitting.  He looked at all of the items on the table and then spotted something in a box underneath the table.  He squatted down and pulled the box out.  From what Adam could see it looked like a collection of 3 rail tinplate track.  The man examined each piece and carefully put it back in the box before sliding it back under the table.  With the help of his walking stick he stood up to his full height again and stared down at the box for what seemed like several minutes.  The man turned around and looked at the cluster of benches where Adam was sitting.  He walked over to Adam’s bench and sat down.  His eyes were focused on the box under the table and he seemed to be deep in thought.  Adam noticed the brass letters inlaid in the head of the walking stick were A.F.
 
Eventually the man nodded his head with determination as if he had made an important decision.  At about the same time he noticed that Adam was sitting on the same bench. “Good Grief, where are my manners?  I didn’t realize that this bench was taken.” said the gentleman. “Oh it isn’t.” replied Adam. “There is plenty of room.”  The gentleman reached out his hand and said “My name is Bill.” Adam shook his hand and said “Nice to meet you. I’m Adam.”  They exchanged a few more pleasantries about the weather, and the size of the crowd when Bill said; “I haven’t been here for several years.  There was a time when I never missed a show.”
 
Adam replied; “My boys and I try to come to every one. I’m always looking for American Flyer trains.”
 
Bill’s eyes seemed to twinkle a bit. “Two rail Flyer or three?”
 
“Oh, I’m an S-gauge guy; two rails for me.  It’s what I grew up with.  My Dad had S-gauge trains that we set up every year at Christmas when I was a kid and I’ve kept up the tradition. He gave me his trains when our first child was born and I’ve tried to grow the empire over the years.”
 
Bill smiled. “Up until a year ago I had a very large collection of American Flyer Pre War trains.  It’s the stuff they call Chicago Flyer because it was made in Chicago before Gilbert took over the company and moved it out east.  Somewhere in the move he lost a rail though.”
 
They both chuckled. “I noticed that you were looking at a box of track over at that table.  Is that 3 rail American Flyer track?” asked Adam.
 
Bill replied “Yup, it’s some pretty old stuff too, but in decent shape”
 
“You said that you had a large collection of Pre War Flyer, Bill.  What happened to it?”
 
“Well several years ago my wife and I decided it was time to downsize and move into a smaller place that was easier to take care of.  We made the decision that it was time to pass on the trains that I had collected over more years than I care to tell you to other collectors.  I figured that there were others that would enjoy them and take care of them.  I never thought of myself as really being their owner.  I saw myself as being their caretaker for as long as they were in my possession.  Other people owned them before I did so I was just one of their caretakers until someone else took up the job.  Boy did I have fun with those trains too!  It took a long time to get everything organized and ready for the auction, but once we made the decision to sell I put all of my energy into getting them ready to go to their new custodians.”
 
Adam thought for a moment and then asked; “Don’t you miss your trains?”
 
“Well, maybe just a little bit.” replied Bill, “But I kept one.  Back when I was a little tyke my Dad bought me my first train.  It was a streamlined grey steam engine and tender, and it had 3 cars; a sand car, a Bordens Milk car and a caboose. Later I learned that it was set #1716 from 1937.  We set it up every Christmas as soon as the tree was up and decorated. And it stayed up on the living room floor until Valentine’s Day.  It was a tradition in our family.  Every year Santa or some relative would give me a new car or track or switches, or an accessory.  It was all American Flyer O gauge.  Once they stopped making O gauge and switched to your S gauge we had to start buying trains that were used.  It never bothered me though.  I just kept on collecting American Flyer O gauge equipment.  I think I had the most American Flyer O gauge trains in a 3 state area.  In fact among the friends that I made over the years that are train collectors I got to be known as Mr. American Flyer.  In fact one of my buddies carved this walking stick for me and put the A.F. in the American Flyer shield.”
 
Adam asked, “So what brought you to the show today?”
 
Bill chuckled, “Well, when we sold off the collection I inadvertently sold all of my track too.  So I came today looking for some track so I can set it up around our Christmas tree in our apartment and run my old train.  We have to keep traditions going you know.  That box over there has 10 curves, 4 straights, and 2 turnouts.  With that amount of track I should be able to build quite a railroad empire.  Its labeled as a junk box and the vendor wants $5 for it.  He has no idea what Mr. American Flyer can accomplish with that much track.”
 
Adam wished Bill good luck and Merry Christmas as he stood up and headed back to the vendor’s table.  He watched as Bill took the box out from under the table and pulled a $5 bill from his wallet.   Bill tucked his prize under his arm and with a broad grin he walked back to the bench where Adam sat.  “See you at the next show.”  Adam smiled and saluted Bill as he headed for the exit.  He noticed that there was a little bit of a spring in Bill’s gait.
  
As Adam sat watching Bill walk away his two boys came charging up breathlessly. “Dad we got it.” they said almost in unison.  With obvious pride and excitement they held out their newly purchased Polar Express Elf handcar. “Come on Dad, let’s take it home and run it on the layout.”  “It’s the tradition.”  As they were walking to their car one of the boys asked, “Hey Dad, who was that guy we saw you talking to?”  Adam smiled, “His name is Bill.  He’s known as Mr. American Flyer.  I’ll introduce you to him at the next show.  He is a true Titan of Tinplate”
 
 
The Track
 
 
Bill's Train
American Flyer Set #1716 from 1937                 
  
 Pennsylvania Freight 
 
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Northwoods Flyer
                                                                    Merry Christmas
 

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Posted by Northwoods Flyer on Friday, February 9, 2018 9:27 PM

American Flyer  Set #1326  1930 -1931

I recently purchased this set on ebay.

In the 1930 catalog it is called the "New Potomac"

And in 1931 it becomes the "Potomac"

The descriptions of the sets are similar

I was interested in the set because it had a vey nicely restored #3109.  These engines are hard to find intact because the two hoods are diecast and the originals are frequently damaged because the zinc has crumbled.  I don't usually buy restorations, but in the case of this engine it is highly unlikely that I would ever find a complete one, and if I did I am sure I would not be able to afford it.

The seller acknowledged that the two hoods were reproductions and had been repainted. The bell isn't original either and I will need to tweek it a bit. The majority of the rest of the engine is original as are the cars.

As you can read in the catalog copy the set comes with 2 #3171 Pullmans.

The catalog copy also says that the set includes a #3172 Observation.  And this is where the set gets interesting. The seller said that the set came from the orginal owner with a #3182 Observation with "The Potomac" plates and the #3182 individual plates. I checked the Greenberg guide before I bid and found that variation listed.  When I unwrapped the Observation it wasn't a #3182, it was a #3282.  I went back to the Guide and could not find a variation of the #3282 in the green and tan color combination with "The Potomac" plate.  The #3282 is usually found on the Blue-Green "Golden State" observation, or a Blue - Green "Jeffersonian" observation

I would guess that this is a situation where Flyer had run out of "3172 Observation" plates and substituted the "3182 Observation" plate and the "3282 Observation" plate.  The Greenberg guide does not document this "3282 Observtion" in the green and tan "The Potomac"  colors.  Does anyone have a car like this?  Perhaps this is another example of variations still out there to find and document.

It is a very pretty set, and it runs fast.

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Posted by mersenne6 on Saturday, February 10, 2018 1:27 PM

American Flyer's Electric Steel Bridges and Wooden Electric Trestle Bridges 1925-1937

1925/26/27

These bridges first appeared in the 1925 Catalog. The electric steel bridge was available in either electric (3 rail) or clockwork. The catalog numbers for the steel bridges were #112 and #123 resepectively.

 

 

  The steel bridges consisted of two approach ramps and a central span. For the 1925/26 years the central span was illustrated as orange lithography.

Steel Bridge with orange center span

 

  The wooden trestle bridge was cataloged as either #212 (O gauge) or #4218 (Wide Gauge)

Wood Trestle Bridge - #212 – O gauge LxWxH  51” x 5.25” x 8.75
Wood Trestle Bridge - #4218 – Wide Gauge – LxWxH  56” x 6.5” x 9.75”
The same catalog illustration was used for both wooden bridges.
 
 
1927
 
   The catalog illustrations changed for 1927. #112 was now illustrated with a yellow center span
 
Steel Bridge with yellow center span
 
 
The wooden trestle bridges #212 and #4218 were described as being the same length - 56".
 
 
1928/29/30
 
  The Steel Bridge was still illustrated as having a yellow center span.  The catalog illustrated three new wood trestle bridges:
 
O gauge #212 Length - 50.5”
Wide Gauge #4219 – Length 56”
Wide Gauge Only #4220 – Length - 70.5”
 
The trestle bridges were described as having brass name plates attached at either end.
 
 
  The huge wide gauge bridge included telephone poles and indicator lights at either end of the bridge.  All of the wooden bridges , like the earlier versions from 1925-27 included approach ramps.
 
1931/32/33
 
  The catalog illustrated the #112 Steel Bridge with a sort of compromise yellow/orange color.  It dropped the separate illustrations for wooden trestle bridges #212, #4219, and #4220 and verbally introduced a new bridge Universal Bridge #211 with a length of 28".  All three bridges were represented with a single illustration of a wooden trestle bridge.  The "Universal" bridges did not come with approach ramps and were built so that track (either O gauge or Wide Gauge) could be laid directly on the bridge base.
 
 
1934/37
 
#112 was dropped as were all of the wooden trestle bridges.  The wooden trestles were replaced with the Lighted Universal Bridge #213. It was 27.5" long and came with a lighted bridge tender shack which was mounted on a wooden block attached to one of the bridge top cross braces.
 
 
The first version had the earlier clapboard litho treatment for the bridge tender shack which was the same structure used on the elevated watchman's shed and the small suburban station.  Later versions have an "updated" shed in the simplified white and green litho.
 
Lighted Universal Bridge #213 - later litho treatment for bridge tender shack.
 
 
  While the catalog text states the wooden bridges are "strongly constructed of clear white pine and heavy gauge steel braced with wire struts" the fact is that these bridges are very fragile. Over the years I've seen more shattered remains of these bridges than I have intact samples.
 
  The bridges were shipped in huge cardboard boxes. In the case of the lighted universal bridge the bridge tender's shack was packed separately.  The assembly instructions indicated that the shack was to be nailed to a wooden block nailed to one of the top braces.  If the new owner did this they were going to have a problem when the light bulb inside the shack burned out because there is no way to reach the bulb without removing either the shack roof or removing the shack from its wooden block support. 
 
  The good news is that, at least for the bridge illustrated above, the width of the wooden block allows for a simple friction fit of the shack to the bridge structure.
 
 

 

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Posted by Nationwidelines on Sunday, February 11, 2018 10:35 AM

I have wanted to display sets, in their original form, in a dust free environment, for a while.  Last fall I purchased this display cabinet and finally installed new LED light fixtures yesterday.  I put the shelves in and the doors on and began loading it with trains this morning.  

 

The cabinet is great for displaying these sets.  It is 80 inches long and 24 inches deep.  On the bottom are the 4 airplanes that American Flyer marketed c. 1928-1930, the shelf above contains a pristine Major Leaguer set from 1931 and the Zephyr that was presented to the head of the Chicago, Burlington, & Quincy RR in 1934 from American Flyer MFG.  The second shelf up contains a Railroader set from 1931 and a Clipper set c. 1930/31.  I have one more shelf to load and am not sure what will go there, but I am thinking the 1927 and 1928 Blue Bird sets, side by side with all accessories.  

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Posted by Nationwidelines on Monday, February 12, 2018 5:20 AM

Here is the cabinet fully loaded.  

click on the image to see a larger photo.

 

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Posted by Northwoods Flyer on Saturday, February 17, 2018 1:49 PM

Type VI Tender 1931-1935,  1938-1940

Over on another tinplate forum Steve Eastman, I, and a number of other folks have been discussing this tender and its variations.  I thought it would be of interest to a number of folks here as well.  I have Steve's permission to quote his entries from the other thread and to share the photos that he posted.

Steve:

"In American Flyer's unusual numbering format, 427 is a combination of a 425 loco and 426 tender. The 426 tender looks so out of place behind this nice locomotive. It looks like a silly afterthought. The one in the Schuweiler book has black trim, mine has copper. Both are correct. I actually like the black trim better.

American Flyer 427

American Flyer 427 .

This common 421 tender would have looked so much better.American Flyer 425

 

Steve"

 

Me:

Robert S. Butler posted:

Ah me...what can I say.  I've always thought that engine/tender combination looked pretty good.

I agree Robert.  Although I have to say that in Steve's photos there is something about the tender that makes it look undersized, even the photo from the Greenberg Guide.  I looked at photos that I took of my engine and tender from different angles and I don't think it looks bad at all.

Northwoods Flyer

Steve:

"Greg, my tender has the small 3/16/type trucks and wheels. In the picture, yours look taller.

Steve"

Steve:

"Just looked in the 39 & 40 catalogs. It appears in 39, the tender had tall trucks and in 40, it had low trucks.

Steve"

Me:

Steve,

I think that is what makes it look different and a bit undersized.  This combination comes from the transition era to Gilbert designed equipment and I am sure Flyer was trying to use up leftover Chicago Flyer equipment.   I went back to the Greenberg Guide and read the information on the Type VI tender. (page 70) "...The Type VI appeared in the catalog for the last time in 1940, again in the No. 27 combination - but now equipped with Type XIII 3/16 scale freight trucks.  These tenders have rubber-stamped sides."  

So there is the new thing I learned about Flyer for today.  And now you can identify your engine and tender as the  1940 model.

Steve:

Greg, in your photo, it's hard to tell, but the trucks look something like the XII style which is consistent with the artwork in the 39 catalog. Page 70 in Schuweiler's book shows a 426 with gray VIII style trucks. I have that tender with another loco and height wise looks much better with the 425 loco.

Steve


Me:

Steve,

I also have the Type VI tender with the type VIII grey painted trucks.

I have it paired with a 332X locomotive

I also have the other Type VI tender that I have matched up with the #425 locomotive. It has type XII trucks. This tender was an early purchase in my O gauge collecting phase, when I was not quite as concerned with condition.  I just wanted an example of a specific piece of equipment. 

So I am a bit suspicious of this tender as being original equipment; especially when you see how the trucks are fastened to the frame, all of the holes drilled in the frame and the odd looking coupler.

I think it might be time for an upgrade on this particular tender.

Northwoods Flyer

So we have identified at least three different variaions of the Type VI Tender

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Posted by Nationwidelines on Saturday, February 17, 2018 2:48 PM

That tender was first introduced in 1931, and came with the 3300 engine.

In 1931 only, this tender came with gloss black paint.  This may also be the only year when it came with brass plates instead of labels, but I am not certain about that.  

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Posted by Nationwidelines on Tuesday, February 27, 2018 5:29 PM

Here is another tank car variation.  I have had this one for a while, but only recently upgraded a very mangled frame with a similar, but non-mangled original frame.  

This dates to approximately 1936-1937.  

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Posted by Nationwidelines on Friday, March 2, 2018 8:42 AM

After posting the last photo, I realized that I don't believe I have posted a comprehensive listing of American Flyer 9.5 inch tank cars and I am not sure that anyone else has either.  

The Flyer tank cars are one of the few freight cars that experienced significant color variations over the years (as opposed to the box car and sand cars, which featured only slight variations in color over the years).

So I thought this might be helpful.  Will start with the lithographed cars.  

This is the first variation c. 1924-1927

This next version is from c. 1927 and is a late variation, as it has the 1928 style trucks and 1928 style frame.  Note the frame is punched for the steps of the later cars and the body of the tank is punched for the ladder and the name plates.

Next up is the 1928 only tank car, which features a dark blue tank, again on the new frame with black trucks and name plates.

This next tank car is c. 1929, as it still features black trucks.

This next tank is c. 1930, as it features the same early truck style as the 1928 and 1929 tanks, only painted gray this time.

The next tank is from 1931 and came with a 1931 Smokey Mountain Set.

These next two tank cars are c. 1932 and 1933, not sure of the exact dates of each, but they still feature the brass name plates, although the company must have ran out of the number plates.  I can only guess at the dates, as Flyer phased out the brass identification plates in favor of decals during this period.  I would suspect the tank car on the black frame is the earlier of the two cars as it closely matches the 1931 car pictured earlier.

The following cars date to the c. 1934 to 1937 era due to the truck and coupler styles.  Unfortunately, I can only pin a couple of these cars to specific dates/sets.  I will detail these as I post the pictures.

The yellow tank car is commonly associated with the 1936 Hiawatha deluxe freight set.

The dark green tank / dark green frame came with my 1937 Hudson Freight set.

The rest of these cars are just within the range of 1934 to 1937, they came to me individually, so I cannot comment on specific sets that they may have came with.

Light Green Tank on Blue Frame

Dark Green Tank on Blue Frame

Light Green Tank on Dark Green Frame

1938 marked the sale of American Flyer to AC Gilbert and the cars recieved new trucks and couplers, with the curly knuckle couplers being only featured in 1938.  The earliest of the cars were left over 1937 cars that had their earlier style couplers and trucks pried off and new trucks and couplers installed.  This is evidenced by the earlier color schemes and damage to the cars, with the new trucks/couplers featuring original attaching rivets.

This item is an interesting item due to its unusual color variation, apparently a paint sample.  Black tank is original with new decals.

The silver and green tank is the most common 1938 tank car found and the 1939 car is of similar colors, with the later style couplers.

Update - After reviewing the many photos, I noted one obvious change in the progression of the production.  The dome at the center top of the tank appears to change from brass to nickel in between the 1936 and 1937 time frame, due to the differences between my 1936 yellow tank car from the Hiawatha set and the 1937 tank car from my Hudson set.  

NWL

 

 

 

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Posted by mersenne6 on Friday, March 2, 2018 1:22 PM

Since you have put all of the large American Flyer tank cars in one spot in the thread I thought I'd go ahead and repost a picture of one not in your photo compilation. I had originally included this image in a discussion on this thread back in 2010. 

   The black is lithography and it is an overprint of the standard car.  If you hold the car so that light reflects from the surface you can see the American Flyer lettering underneath the black.  An inspection of the surface suggests there might have been some "picking" of the original lithography.  If so then this overprint might have been an attempt at salvaging the print run.

 

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Posted by Northwoods Flyer on Friday, March 2, 2018 3:16 PM

Its nice to have all of the family photos together in one spot.  Great work NWL and mersene6. My contribution is photos of the #410 tank/oil car from the Gilbert era.  This was originally posted back in 2013. The cars both have the link and pin couplers.

410 Variations

Sometimes variations turn up in unexpected places. I was going through some of the items that I have stored and I came across something that I had not noticed before.

I have two versions of the # 410 tank car.

 
There is an obvious difference between them.  The domes are different.  The car on the left has a brass colored dome.
 
 
 
The car on the right has a nickel colored dome.
 
 
 
 
 
The really interesting thing was what I discovered on the boxes.  I am fortunate enough to have the boxes for both of them.
 
I was surprised to see what are basically identical cars labeled differently.
 
The car on the left  has 410 Oil Car stamped on the box
 
The car on the right has 410 Tank Car stamped on the box.
 
 
I know that the 410 was cataloged in 1939 and 1940 so I checked out both catalogs and found that the car was called by different names each year.
 
In the 1939 catalog the 410 is called a Tank Car.    It is included in the Double Header Set, the No. 19 Train Set - which is an O Gauge Switcher Set, the No. 318 Train Set, and it was available as a seperate sale item.
 
In the 1940 catalog the 410 is called an Oil Car.  It was cataloged in only one set -  The No.4014 Train Set.
 
Without their original boxes I would not have realized that there were two "different" cars in 1939 and 1940.
 
Enjoying the Worlds Greatest Hobby
Northwoods Flyer
 
 

The Northwoods Flyer Collection

of

American Flyer Trains

"The Toy For the Boy"

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Posted by mersenne6 on Saturday, March 3, 2018 12:06 PM

Some Other Accessories

2009/2010 Arc Light

  The 2009 - single light and 2010 - double light lamp posts were first cataloged in 1921 and were listed through 1926

  The lamp has a cast iron base and a brass pole. The earliest version of this lamp has a cast hook at the base of the filigree arc through which the wire for the light was threaded. On later versions of the lamp the hook was eliminated and the wire just went straight to the lamp housing. 

 

AF #2009 Arc Lamp with cast hook at base of arc filigree.

 

Whistling Billboards 2029/577

  American Flyer first cataloged their whistling billboards in 1938.

 

The first billboard had a full color illustration of a high speed steam engine

 

 

In 1939 the catalog number for the billboard changed to 577, the shape of the base changed to a simpler stamping, and the billboard was attached to the base in a different manner.  The ad changed as well and became an ad for the Royal Portable Typewriter

 

...and in 1940 the catalog number remained the same but the ad changed to one for the Barnum and Bailey Circus

 

 

Early Stations - M250

  In the first years of its existence American Flyer relied on a variety of German toy manufacturers for their accessory lineup.  Starting in the late teens Flyer began replacing German products with their own. 

  American Flyer's top of the line station of German manufacture was the M250.  While no manufacturer has been specifically identified for this station and while I have never seen an example of a boxed M250 I think this station has to have been produced by Bing because their stations are the only German stations I've ever seen that come close to matching the catalog illustration.

Flyer Catalog Illustration

 

Bing Station

 

Bing offered this station in their catalogs from approximately 1912-1928.  The station pictured above dates from the mid-1920's.  In the earlier years, the colors of the Bing station were more varied and vibrant and the main building had a two tone split in the painted brick along the lines of the illustration in the American Flyer catalog.

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Posted by mersenne6 on Saturday, March 3, 2018 7:08 PM

The only published information concerning American Flyer pre-war accessories was the latter part of the Greenberg Book on American Flyer Wide Gauge.  The book has been out of print for some time. In addition, the information about the accessories was long on catalog cut illustrations and short on actual photographs as well as documentation of variations.  

  Over the years of this threads existence a number of individuals have provided a great deal of information/photographs of most of the American Flyer accessories covering the period from approximately 1920 to 1938.  Since the information is distributed across the 70 pages of this thread (the page count as of 3 March 2018) hunting for information concerning an accessory can be rather time consuming.

 Below is a list, by current page count/format, of all of the posts concerned with American Flyer accessories.  The codes P and T are short for Pictures and Text.

Page #          Type

1                       S gauge – 718 – Mail Car, 722 Bubble tower, 23791 Cow on track, 760, 759 highway flasher

758A –Sam the Semaphore Man, 774 Rotating Beacon, 766 Animated Station, 779 Drum Loader, 755 Talking Station, 789 Baggage Smasher, 596 Water Tower, 771 Stockyard   (P)

104 station late version – P,

 

2                    #97 long base freight shed – P,T Multiple Posts,

#104, #96 Stations – P,T

 

3                   Text – brief descriptions of roof color combinations for 96,104, 97,98,99,105, and 107

Stations

Tunnels – P,T Multiple posts

Comparison of Lithographed Freight Stations – AF vs Other manufacturers

 

4                    #2020 Water Tower P,T  - multiple posts

#235 Water Tank Set P,T

 

5                    #234 Suburban Station P,T,

#93 Suburban Station P,T

 

6                    #92/214 Watchman’s Tower P,T

#236 Crossing Set P,T 

#235 Water Tank Set P,T  

#2109, #2110 Single and Double Arm Lamp Posts – P,T – color and base variations

 

7                    #96, 104 stations – extensive history P,T

#91 and #586 passenger platforms – P,T

#M93 and #93 Freight stations – P,T

#95 and #97 Freight stations extensive history P,T

#97 and #98 Long Base Freight stations – extensive history P,T

#97,#98,#99 passenger stations extensive history P,T

#107 passenger station P,T

#100, #101 passenger stations P,T

#M90 and #90 extensive history P,T – multiple posts on this page

Hafner station for comparison  with #90 P,T

#102 Central station P,T

#214 – variation P,T

 

8                    #2218/4218 Block signal color variations P,T – multiple posts this page

#234 Suburban station P,T

#2110 Street light P,T

 

13      S gauge 593 Signal Tower
          748 Footbridge
          793 Union Station,
         769A water tower,
         750 Trestle bridge
         768 Oil Supply – P
         #90/92/93 Catalog pictures. P
         #234 Station variations – P,T
          Manual Reverse – Track attachment
 
14      Trailing Point Switches P,T
 
15      #2042/4042 Crossing Gate P,T
          #2222 Crossing Gate P,T
 
16       #2005 Triangle Light color variations P,T
           #4122 Mail Bag Set – P,T
 
17       #2218 Block signal – mention of LH version picture has been deleted – P,T
 
23       #2206/4206 Highway flashing signal P,T
           #91 Passenger Platform – P,T
           Peter Paeth – son of Louis A Paeth – series of posts on his father’s
           illustrations for Flyer and Others – signature was “P” inside an
           arrowhead P,T
 
25       AF Engineers Hat – fake warning P,T
           AF 20th Anniversary Clock P,T
 
26       Battery for #120 Tender P,T
 
27       Edmund Metzel Savings Bank P,T
           Manual Switches with Electric Lights P,T
 
32        4 rail track P,T
 
35       #220 Station clock P,T
           #90 Hyde Park Station P,T
           #240 Equipment Set P,T
 
36       #202 Banjo Signal P,T – multiple posts
           #223 Flashing Signal P,T multiple posts
           #206 Danger Signals P,T
           #236 Crossing Set P,T
           #208 Semaphore P,T  multiple posts
           #2218 Block Signal Right and Left Hand – P,T multiple posts
 
37       #2218 Block Signals – color variations P,T
 
40       #112 Three piece bridge P,T – multiple posts
           #203, #223 Flashing Signals P,T – color variations – multiple posts
           #233 Arc light  multiple versions– P,T
           #2222 Crossing Gate variation P,T
 
41       #2021, 2022 Crossing Gate P,T, catalog cuts
           #236 Crossing Set P,T
           #233 Arc light P,T
            4 rail track piece for whistle activator P,T
           #240A telegraph pole – P,T – multiple posts
           #209, #210 Telegraph poles P,T multiple posts
 
42        #220 Station Clock variations - P,T
            #94 Turntable P,T
            #95 Track Bumper P,T
             Clockwork Turnouts P,T  - multiple posts several variations
             Clockwork crossover switch assembly - P
 
43        Clockwork crossover switch assembly – P
            Clockwork  cross track (X) P,T
            AF Engineers Hat – another fake warning
 
45        #202 Banjo Signal variations  P,T
 
46        #206 Danger Signal variations P,T
            #2004/4004 Crossing Set with Automatic Bell  - variations P,T
 
47        #2218 left hand variation P,T
            #214 Watchman’s Shed – variation P,T – multiple posts
            #1127 Boxed Car Assortment – P,T
 
48        #108 Switch tower P,T
50         Stations 97,98,99,105,107 P,T
            #202 Banjo Signals – P,T
            #207 Semaphore – P,T
            Clockwork switch markings
 
51         Spare Light Bulb Cases – P,T
            #206 Variation – P,T
            Mack’s Junction Passenger platform – P,T
 
53         #2016/2116/4116 Automatic Danger Signal – P,T multiple posts
 
55         Accessory Base Variations – P,T
 
56         #610 Bumper P,T
 
59         #104, #237 Station variations – P,T – multiple posts
             #96 Late version P,T
             #234 Right and left hand mounts P,T -  multiple posts
 
63          #2013 Lamp post P,T
              #4108 Switch tower P,T
              #210 Equipment Set Box
              #2011, 2012, 2016, 2017 Semaphores and danger signals –
 
              variations – P,T –multiple posts
 
65          #223 Danger signals – P,T
              #2012 Semaphore – variations P,T
              #2015/4015 Automatic semaphore – P,T
               Spare Lamp boxes – P,T
 
66           Early clockwork track components
 
67           Mack’s Junction Passenger Shed and Water Tower P,T
 
68           #2012 Semaphore – variations P,T
               #593 Signal Tower P,T
               #595 a-Koostikin Talking Tool Shed P,T
               #597 Talking Passenger Station P,T
 
69            #108 Switch Tower P,T
 
70            #96 Station – First Version P,T
                #112 Steel Span Bridge – 3 piece  P,T
                #212, #4218, #4219, #4220, Wooden Trestle Bridges 
                #211 Universal Bridge (Wooden Trestle)
                #213 Lighted Universal Bridge (Wooden Trestle) P,T
                #2009/2010 Arc light – lamp post P,T
                #2029/577 Whistling Billboard P,T
                 M250 Train Station P,T

 

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Posted by Nationwidelines on Sunday, March 25, 2018 1:21 PM

Here is a vintage stereoview photo (showing 1/2 of the stereoview card).  The boy in the photo is playing with a c. 1922-1924 Illini/Columbia set.  I cannot say for certain which set he is playing with, but since there is no true observation car shown in the photo, it has to be prior to the introduction of observation cars in 1925.  Unfortunately, one only gets the head-on view of the 3020, but the cars are clearly the American Flyer Illini or Columbia cars.  

 

NWL

 

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Posted by Nationwidelines on Sunday, April 8, 2018 6:11 PM

Was at the local train show today and picked up a box of early switches.  This box would date to c. 1915 to c. 1919 at the latest, due to the early label.  

The box was empty when I got it, but I had an early set of switches from the appropriate era to go in the box.

 

NWL

 

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Posted by Bob D on Tuesday, April 17, 2018 7:43 PM

I really love all this Flyer information.  You and Northwoods need to write your own book.  I think we have corresponded before concerining the cars for the Cumberland set.  This time your 3301 has caught my eye.  As is always the case it looks like you could use some more rods.  I am in desperate need of an original crank like the one shown in your photo.  I would gladly trade an entire set (rt and left) of reproduction drive rods, valve gear, and crank for your original crank. You would still have to find brass hexhead rivets and screws.  Let me know if you have any interest in the trade.  The original crank simply pulls out of the wheel.  

On another subject I have no information on the boxes with sample stamped on them.  However the Jeffersonian marked car with the 3280 series numberbelongs with the Cumberand set.  It is highly possible that it was included with some build-out Ambassador sets.

Incidently the 3301 tender had the type 9 coupler only in 1931.

Keep up the great work,  Bob D

 

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Posted by Nationwidelines on Thursday, April 19, 2018 8:25 PM

Bob D

I really love all this Flyer information.  You and Northwoods need to write your own book.  I think we have corresponded before concerining the cars for the Cumberland set.  This time your 3301 has caught my eye.  As is always the case it looks like you could use some more rods.  I am in desperate need of an original crank like the one shown in your photo.  I would gladly trade an entire set (rt and left) of reproduction drive rods, valve gear, and crank for your original crank. You would still have to find brass hexhead rivets and screws.  Let me know if you have any interest in the trade.  The original crank simply pulls out of the wheel.  

On another subject I have no information on the boxes with sample stamped on them.  However the Jeffersonian marked car with the 3280 series numberbelongs with the Cumberand set.  It is highly possible that it was included with some build-out Ambassador sets.

Incidently the 3301 tender had the type 9 coupler only in 1931.

Keep up the great work,  Bob D

 

 

 

Bob D,

Sorry that photo of the 3300 is an older photo and I believe I sold that engine, as I have upgraded my collection to include two 3300 engines with original side rods.  Good luck on finding the piece you need.

I have been meaning to update the posts on the Ambassador type cars, as I finally figured out the correct cars for the 1931 set with the 3300.  It took many years of searching, but I found a set of cars with a 3300 engine and they are a transition car, between early and late cars, with some interesting features.  

NWL

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Posted by Nationwidelines on Saturday, April 21, 2018 10:07 AM

A number of years ago Bob D wrote an excellent article in the TCA quarterly relating to the American Flyer red 3380 series passenger cars.  

Recently I found an inconsistency in the article, as there appears to be a transistion period between 1930 and 1931 that is not covered in the article.  

First I will show the 1930 Man O War set.

This set features the cars with American Flyer plates over the windows, brass air tanks, black trucks, and no window shades on the window inserts.  See below

 Bob D's article shows a 1931 boxed Cumberland set, which features cars with gray trucks, green cast iron air tanks, American Flyer plates over the windows, and window inserts with shades.  The cars are similar to the one below, but with American Flyer plates over the windows and correct number plates.

 Recently, I found two sets that represent the transition between the 1930 Man O War and 1931 Cumberland sets that were described in the TCA Quarterly article.

 

The first set I found, came with a 3300 engine, no tender, and the 3 cars shown below.  Note that the cars feature American Flyer plates and correct number plates, black trucks, window inserts with no shades, and most interesting, a mix of gold painted cast iron air tanks (baggage and observation) and brass air tanks (coach).  I believe this set also to be a correct 1931 Cumberland set, based on how I found it.  Given the features, it appears that it is earlier production than the set shown in Bob D's article.

 

 

 

 The next set I found features gray trucks, American Flyer plates and correct number plates, the gold painted cast iron air tanks, and window inserts with no shades.

 

 

 I noted that Bob D's article did not cover the 3380 cars with the gold painted air tanks and that although these cars are mentioned in the Greenberg's guide, there is little detail relating to this variation.  

Based on the sets I found, it appears that the gold painted cast iron air tanks represent the transition period from brass air tanks to cast iron air tanks, with some of the sets featuring both cast iron and brass air tanks and some sets featuring either black or gray trucks, but the sets with the gold painted cast iron air tanks featuring window inserts without shades.

Here are the 1930 Man O War and 1931 Cumberland sets in my collection

NWL

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Posted by Bob D on Saturday, April 21, 2018 3:52 PM

I believe you are right on target with your conclusions.  The 1931 Cumberland catalog picture conforms almost perfectly to the one you found recently with the black trucks and brass and brass painted air tanks.  It looks like Flyer was doing their best in trying to keep in line with the catalog picture.  Next it appears that they might have anticipated a shortage in the black trucks and transitioned to grey.  I noticed in 1930 catalog description of the Man O War cars brass air tanks are noted.  The description of these same cars no longer contained a reference to brass tanks in the 1931 descripion of the Cumberland.  It may be a clue that changes were anticipated.

As for the gold painted tanks, they were obviously taken from the stock used on the 1931 Paul Revere set which is also offered in the 1931 catalog.  The second Flyer set I recieved as a starting collector was a Paul Revere set given to me by neighbor.  It had been passed to her  family from her brother who had recieved it as child.  It was exactly as described in the 31 catalog, except instead of two 3282 pullmans and a 3281 observation it had a 3280 club car  a pullman and an observation.  All the cars had Golden State plates and gold painted cast air tanks. Thus it adds to your statement that 1931 was the transition year.

Also I would have to agree that the boxed 1931 Cumberand  in my TCA article would have been later in the year.  I do have photos of a couple more 1931 Cumberands with boxes (no set box).  Both of those sets are like the later boxed set except instead of all three cars having the large American Flyer plate, one of the cars had a Jeffersonian plate.

Bob D

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Posted by LL675 on Saturday, April 21, 2018 9:46 PM

got these this week from a friend

Dave

It's a TOY, A child's PLAYTHING!!! (Woody  from Toy Story)

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Posted by Nationwidelines on Saturday, May 5, 2018 9:22 AM

In recent years I have focused more and more on American Flyer items that were made prior to 1914.  One of the most unusual items from this early era is the cast iron trolley.  Shown in the 1910 catalog, it was sold in a variety of ways.

This is the only advertising image that I know of the trolley.  Greenberg's guide lists these trolleys being found in yellow and green, with an unusual reddish brown variation being reported several years ago in the TCA E-train magazine.  The owner of the unusual reddish brown trolley consigned his trains to auction in 2016 and his trolley finally came up for sale.  

To my dismay, it was marked as restored by the auctioneer, and did not look quite like I remembered it from when I had viewed it in person.  However, I registered to bid and waited and watched the trolley.  The big day came up a week ago and I held my breath during the bidding.  It sold for an amount that was less than I expected and I was the proud new owner.

Some observations about the trolley:

It looks like it is somewhat lopsided (tilting toward one end).  It does sit exactly how it looks and the issue is related to the brackets that hold the trolley motor to the body. There is a bracket mounted to each end of the motor, on which the body rests, with the windup key actually holding the motor in place. 

I have not examined if the brackets can be adjusted to make it sit level, but I suspect due to the tight tolerance of lining up the key hole in the motor to the key hole in the body, that there is little that I can do.

I reached out to my friend after the listing came up, to ask him about the item being listed as restored.  My friend indicated that the motor was quite rusty when he acquired it.  After cleaning the rust off the item, my friend indicated that he oversprayed the casting in the same color that it was originally.  He indicated that the overspray color matched the color on the inside of the trolley and that the inside had not been cleaned or repainted.  He also indicated that there were traces of gold paint on the clerestory, so he added some gold trim to the casting.

My friend indicated that he added the trolley pole and modeled it after the 1933 World's Fair Century of Progress trolley from 1933.  At first I thought I might remove the trolley pole, but after receiving the item, I think it looks ok and will leave it for now.

 

The one major thing that I have already done to the trolley is to repair the motor.  My friend indicated that he had made no motor repairs and that when he got the item, the motor was packed full of sand.  He indicated that he thought it had been in a sandbox for some time prior to his purchase. 

In examining the motor, I noted a number of things wrong with it.  The major item, was that the geared axle had loose wheels, which could spin freely on the axle, regardless of if the axle was spinning.  This was a major issue to me, as how could the trolley possibly move reliably with loose drive wheels.  All of the other early motors I have seen are equipped with threaded wheels and the geared axle shafts are threaded for the wheels, so that the wheels only move with the axle movement.  I also noted that the geared axle was quite rusty and the speed governor was missing.  Since there were holes for the speed governor's shaft, I attributed the missing speed governor to being another sign that the motor had been taken apart at one time.   

Knowing I had some parts from an early junker motor, I dug out my box of parts and discovered that I had a good geared axle shaft with threads and a set of threaded drive wheels.  I also found a good speed governor in the box.  

So this morning, I carefully took the motor apart and installed the new geared axle shaft, the speed governor, and the threaded drive wheels.  The motor runs good.

I have discovered over the years that junk parts are invaluable.  I have now repaired 3 early engines using a single junker motor.  A couple of years ago, I replaced a broken brake lever on my c. 1912 0-4-2 locomotive, last year I swapped a bad gear in a c. 1908 engine and made it run, and now the repairs to the trolley.  All from a single junk motor.  

NWL

 

 

 

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Posted by LL675 on Saturday, May 5, 2018 8:49 PM

just won this today

 

Dave

It's a TOY, A child's PLAYTHING!!! (Woody  from Toy Story)

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