A co-worker tried to give this American Flyer 342 trainset to goodwill but they refused to accept it saying that nobody wants old train stuff, so knowing that I am an avid HO model railroader she gave this large box full of American Flyer train stuff to me. Problem is I don’t know anything about American Flyer stuff. I’ve got some 1950 vintage Lionel trains but no American Flyer. Is this AC or DC? I think I’ll try to fix it up and see if it runs. Any suggestions on how to lube the engine would be appreciated. thanks…
Theres more train track and stuff in the box not shown in the pictures.
Looks like a nice set. I know when I came across an American flyer set, I just took it to my hobby shop and had them fix it and get it working again. Those trains look in nice shape, maybe just a few odds and ends. Track looks nice too. Just gotta get that engine wired to tender. Thats a nice transformer as well. I collect Lionel postwar, but did sell all my AM flyer stuff for a pretty penny. Thanks.
You ask, “Is this AC or DC?” Yes, it is AC or DC. This model was made both ways. If you can see the field assembly of the motor, you can tell which it is. The AC model has a field coil on the top of the motor. The DC model has a permanent magnet. The fact that I don’t see a rectifier assembly in your pictures suggests AC; but that item could just be missing from the collection.
Yup I see that. Engine still no worky though. Trying to figure out how the tender is wired to the backplane of the loco. Looks like the original owner did a lot of splicing. I’m going to have to tear into and see whats up.
Let’s start with the locomotive. The headlight, the smoke generator, and the motor brushes are all wired in parallel and to the two top terminals of the female connector. The field coil is wired to the bottom two terminals of the connector. The polarity of any of these devices doesn’t matter.
I think I can wire it from there. The only thing I’m not sure about is the brushes. I opened them up and only see springs. I thought there should be a “brush pellet” the springs actually press down on like other motors I’ve seen. Do they only use springs for contact?
In my experience old American Flyer trains that haven’t been run in a while will require very carefull cleaning of both the track, and the pickup wheels. Since your locomotive has four wires going from the tender to the engine, the reversing unit must be inside the tender. That means the tender wheels should be set up just like your HO, with each truck having the wheels on one side insulated, and the other side collecting power from the track. The uninsulated wheels should match on a given truck, but on opposite sides on the two trucks.
Given your closeup photo of the wiring, I’d either redo or replace all the connections.
The reversing unit is also likely to need a good cleaning.
Occasionally, the brushes will stick in the tubes or to the commutator on the armature. I’d definitely replace the wiring between the engine and tender.
Lucky you! The 342 is a very nice engine. Like Jim T says, if the wiring is suspect replace it. Be sure and use a very flexible wire for the connection between the tender and the loco. When troubleshooting the loco put a jumper between the center two jacks and apply voltage to the outer two jacks. If the loco is good it should run as this simulates the tender connection. With AF locos with the eccentric side linkage, I’ve had engines that I thought would not run because the linkage was bound up.
I just finished reading everyones responces, and the advice is all good. Here’s a couple of tips for process of elimination. To check to see if the the motor or linkage is binding, rrach your finger in and rotate the armature. It should turn by hand. Observe the whells and linkage as you turn it… if nothing is binding the whells and linkage should turn properly. I always do this before suppling power as not to bend or damage the linkage if it is binding. Remove your brush springs and brushes… asuming they are there from the brush tubes and clean the tubes with either tuner cleaner { radio shack} or elec. contact cleaner, use a pipe cleaner to make sure they are clean inside. At this point I like to replace the springs and the brushes if they are worn or stretched out of shape. Clean the face of the commutator with a pencil eraser. This will clean the surface without scratching it. Make sure you clean out the slots with a tooth pick. Open the gear box cover on the bottom of the engine and clean out any caked on grease… people tended to use vasiline for grease years ago and it would harden over time. Once clean apply apply knew lubricate to the gears. You said you are going to rewire it yourself , so your going to have to disasemble the tender and your going to have to tackle the reverse unit… 70% of the time the reverse unit is the reason a flyer engine will not run. You said that you obtained the wiring diagram so I won’t send you one. The reverse unit is a drum and contact fingers, simalair to what lionel used. Start by spraying everthing with elec, cleaner. Snce your going to have to disasemble the unit to solder on the new wires I would sugest obtaining the new fingers. That’s up to you but it’s usally a smart thing to do at this point. Replace only one wire at a time so you don’t get confused. Take your time and don’t bend the fingers out of shape. If you run into any problems , E-mail me and I’ll be happy to help you along.
Ok, did that and heard the motor hum, I gave it a little nudge and could see it try to move, but no joy. I’ve taken in a part and now it looks like frankenstein. The brushes are intact and are a little over a 1/4" long, so they should be OK for now. Springs look good too. Commutator is very very dirty however.
I’m planning on using some contact cleaner and hopefully it will run after I put it all back together. If I can remember what went where [;)]
