I have an old Gilbert corp. American Flyer 4-6-4 loco and the motor is burnt out. I would very much like to see it running again, my deceased father gave it to me at a young age. I need information on who or where to send it for repair.
Try the Classic Toy Train Forum. You may get an answer there.
I had American Flyer trains in the latter 1940’s when I was growing up. The motor runs on AC power. The manufacturer, A. C. Gilbert, has been out of business for many years, and an exact replacement motor may be impossible to find today.
Are you absolutely sure the motor is burned out and it’s not just the relay that changes the direction of travel, or a broken wire?
On AF models, you sometimes had to turn power on-off-on-off-on to get the motor to run. If it was running forward and you wanted to back up, you had to turn the power off, then on, off again, and on again to rotate through the settings of the relay that controlled motor direction.
There was also a lever on top of the engine that would lock the relay and prevent the reversing action. Make sure that lever is not in the locked position, which would prevent the engine from running if locked into “neutral.”
You also must use an AF transformer to power the toco. It will not run on a DC power pack.
But as already indicated, you might get better answers over on the Classic Toy Trains forum instead of here.
Does your American Flyer 4-6-4 look something like this? http://www.hoseeker.net/gilbertinformation/americanflyer464engineinstrpg3.jpg
The only way to remotor it the way it was is to get another working AF 4-6-4.
The only other way I can think of is to use a long, but narrow, DC can motor, cut or mill out any extra room needed, and connect the new motor to the old motor shaft (with gear) using a 1:1 perpendicular gearbox from someone like Grandt Line. That will allow you to run it on DC power with other HO trains, instead of AC power.