Wow! Can you believe it’s been a month and a half since the last SPF? I’ll take the opportunity to throw in a couple of pictures of some personal aquisitions from the Davenport, IA trainshow and swapmeet from yesterday. (And why BTW do they call it a “swap” meet? The only thing I’ve ever seen swapped for merchandise is $$$.)
But I digress, this first item was simply marked “Metal bridge - $20”. The dealer indicated that he had no idea who made it as there were no markings on it. But the price was right, and I do have plans for a large bridge on my future layout. When I got it home I put out an SOS to some internet friends. At first I thought it might be a Flyer 753, the consensus now is that it’s a Lionel 315.
But my real find was this relatively scarce Flyer Bethlehem Steel gondola with the rail load intact. A simple cleaning and touchup of the paint job was required, and now it has pride of place in my work train.
Thanks for starting the thread stebby. My fear is that folks have lost interest is posting photos here. Its a shame too, this was one of my favorite threads. I have two albums of photos in my online storage site that contain over a thousand photos that were taken to post to this thread over the years.
These are for Greg, one of the operators on friday(father & son crew) brought in his father’s Flyer that was received when he was a child. Most of the train is original with a couple of new cars/additions at the rear of the train.
Thanks Doug. As you know I love anything Flyer, and if its pre war Flyer its even better. The dome car and the observation are nice additions to the Gilbert era 3 rail Flyer. That engine is a real beauty and difficult to find.
Stebby, nice score at a good price… Thanks for starting SPF.
I have the sister to that bridge. It is the Lionel 315 and has the light. From what I have found yours is the 316 without the light. I bet you could add the light easy. I think the cover is the same lenses used on the ZW short indicator.
Before WW II American Flyer trains ran on three rail track just like other O gauge trains. A.C. Gilbert took over American Flyer in 1938 and began the process of producing more “scale” looking trains. After the war Gilbert American Flyer came back as S gauge with the two rail track that most folks are familiar with. The Flyer photos above both show equipment from the pre war 3-rail era.
LOL. You are observant fife. More and more of the blueboard is being covered by buildings and other stuff. Sometimes its even hidden under a layer of dust. I’m following your countdown with envy. I hope you find a perfect trainroom with a nice house attached when you relocate. [;)]
