I recently bought a large amount of AF trains from someone in Maine. He converted all the engines ( about 10) to DC. Are they worthless now?
Were the motors and E unit swaped out to convert to D.C.? American Flyer used a universal motor so it could run on D.C.or A.C… The locomotives are definitely worth more non-modified if you are a collector, however if your an operator with D.C on your S gauge pike then no. You can always find E units and motors/parts to replace them back, the shells/drivers and wheels are the hard items to find in good shape.
OK, what do you mean by this? The original trains probably used open frame/universal motors that would work with AC or DC. Did he yank the reverse units? Did he convert the motors to DC can motors?
Re “Are they worthless?” Do you mean from a collectors standpoint or from an operators stand point. Their value from a collectors point may have been compromised but they may not have been that valuable to begin with.
Hi J Daddy…All these engines are in nice condition.I believe he only took the e-units out of the tenders. The engines seem to be all original…I just called the person, and he told me that all he did was to remove the E-units from the tenders. The engines were never touched…The only problem is, he did it many years ago, and the E-unit are gone. I don’t know a hell of a lot about AF. I’m a collector & operator of pre and post-war Lionel…Thanks for any help. I think I will put them all on e-bay this week. I not sure if I should put all of them on in one lot or seperately…
Just removing the e-units (if I may use that term for American Flyer) does not convert universal (AC-DC) motors into DC-only motors. It just removes the ability to reverse them by cycling the track voltage. If they won’t run on AC, then they were DC motors to start with or other modifications have been made.
Of course he did more than take out the e-units…He replaced them with some sort of diode. But he did nothing to the engines…He also screwed up the transformers.He put rectifiers in them and changed them over to DC…I was told by Doug Peck who I have known for many years, that AF motors run on AC or DC.
On your original question, devalued maybe as anything less than original does effect the value. How much is dependent on the buyer.
As stated earlier, the universal motors will work in AC or DC, there are some locos that are DC only and they will generally be identified as such i.e. “342 DC”.
Jim
If you put them on EBAY show a picture of the modification. I purchase allot of AF, but I am an AC operator, and I like my AF trains to be as original as possible, but this does not mean they are worthless. I have met allot of S scalers that run their trains on DC, so they may find this appealing. Also if you have diesels and some rare steam locos (you should list the no’s on the cabs you have) finding an E unit is easier than you think, so the modifcation to bring them back is easy. Old transformers are really a fire hazzard. They have come along way, so antique transformers, unless they have their original box and paper work really are not very sought after. So which locomotive numbers do you have?
They are on ebay at 10PM EDT. I will add a picture of the inside of the tender of one of them.
Well, They are starting out pretty good on ebay. I will be overjoyed if I get $100. for them.
What is your ebay name?
Jim
derekedwin
I can’t believe it, They are up to $152. Something there that I don’t know about?