Hi Guys,
A friend of mine bought a prewar American Flyer set this weekend,and needs some info.
The loco is a 2-4-0 with a built in whistle.
The tender is black with the number 1121 and American Flyer Lines litho on the sides.
A gondola 311131 with American Flyer Lines litho.
Sinclair tankcar #1228 litho.
#311267 Pennsylvania hopper litho.
1127 American Flyer Lines caboose litho.
All cars have hook couplers,and have 8 wheel trucks.
Any of you fellas know if the set came this way,have a set #,and when it was available?
Also it looks like the loco was exposed to moisture and the motor,and gears are locked up.
Are repro wheels,and gears ,and pickup shoes and springs available?
Many thanks,
Carl T.
Carl,
The engine and cars in this set are all uncataloged. They come from the 1935-1937 era. Apparently they have numbers that do not correspond to the numbers lithographed on their sides, but which do appear in dealer price lists.
The engine is un-numbered as well as being uncataloged. It is recognized as a type XX and is unique in its 2-4-0 wheel arrangement. In order to fit the whistle in the body of the engine the trailing truck had to be eliminated.
I believe this is the engine that is in your friend’s set:
It should have a ring around the headlight, but mine is missing.
I will have to poke around and see if I can find the tender and other cars that you mention.
I believe that the engine and cars were sold as a set, and I have seen several examples of it sold on eBay over the last few years. The trucks used on these cars are a money saving move by Flyer for some of their lower priced sets and were used from 1931 to 1937. They are very plain sheet metal. Some versions are solid and some have a horizontal slot. They can be very flimsy.
Unfortunately I am not all that well informed on what replacement parts are available. Someone else might be able to help you with that.
I hope this helps.
Northwoods Flyer
Thanks NWF for the great info.
The cars,and tender do have the trucks you mention.(a few are bent but can be bent back into shape)
I managed to get the whistle impeller free but it has one broken piece inside.
But the front drivers,and armature bearings are probably hopelessly seized.
I might have to tell my friend to either get a new motor,or keep it as a shelf queen.(he’s an N scaler)
Do you have a picture of the front of the loco?
Again thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Carl T.
Carl,
The engine is not uncommon even though it is uncataloged. I have several in my collection.
Here is a picture of the front of the type XX engine. The whistle blower is on the right
And a top view.
Good luck on the repair work.
I’m always glad to share what I know, or can find through research.
Northwoods Flyer
Northwoods Flyer,
Good news,I was finally able to get the motor and gears freed up as they were rusted solid.
And the best part is that this thing RUNS!!!
Thanks again.
Carl T.
Carl,
Congratulations and great work. Getting the engine to run is a testimonial to your diligence and patience and to the durability of a “toy” made 70+ years ago. They sure don’t make them like they used to.
Northwoods Flyer