Cannot find any history on this locomotive. It has a 4-8-4 configuration.
Prewar American Flyer 4-8-4. It is 3/16ths scale on three rail O gauge track. Same basic castings as the postwar S gauge 332’s etc with the exception of the wheelbase and steam chest. They made an entire line, in fact this prewar O line is where the postwar S trains came from All the major early postwar engines and cars and accesories had their startbetween 1939-42. This period stemmed from AC Gilbert purchasing the old American Flyer mfg co then based in Chicago and moving it to New Haven and revamping the line. There is a lot of great history there. ALso a great engine. Interestingly there are at least two major versions and several engien numbers for the prewar 4-8-4. It, and the hudson, were made with both spur gear motors and also later with a worm gear motor similar to the postwar flyer steamer motors.
Here’s a few additional things to add to Dennis’s summary:
Engine cataloged 1940-1941. Locomotive alone catalog number 571 black 4-8-4 - remote control reversing unit - worm-gear drive.
Tender: Catalog number 567 or 567C. The 567C was 1941 only had a chugger mechanism - stamped “Union Pacific”
1940: Cab and number boards marked “571”
1941: Cab and number boards marked “572”
Therefore it would appear that your engine was built in 1941.
I have a 568 4-8-4, I would have had 806 on the cab sides and number boards. It is the spur gear version with AF’s directional remote control, same as the 559 K-5.
My AF book is buried right now, but didn’t one of the cab numbers come with a spur gear in 39 and a spur gear motor in 40/41?
Hi windermere
and [#welcome] to the forum.
It looks like you have a good amount of information about your 572 already. It was used in 4 sets in the 1941 catalog, two of them are freight and two of them are passenger sets. Here are two of them from page 21:
Are you fortunate enough to have the cars along with the engine?
Enjoying the World’s Greatest Hobby,
Northwoods Flyer
I checked in the Greenberg book and the 568 was produced in 1939 with a spur-gear drive and it was numbered 806. You have a great memory.
Northwoods Flyer