[imatt88]

OK all,

I guess I've made it to the "big time", huh:laugh:

Anyway, here is some more pics of my latest find

The passenger car, its lighted

Missing wheels on the trucks,

The mail car. Quite the gizmo inside, apparently, it was supposed to grab mail bags as it was going down the track. I'd like to find that setup

Again, missing wheels,

I'm wondering if the caboose was lighted at one time. The hole is there

And lastly, the flatcar. The wheels on this triple axle truck are smaller and narrower than the other cars. Might be harder to find replacements

The couplers are broken on this one. Looks like a small lock washer or something holding the pins in place.

Any suggestions on how to remove those lock washers?

T-Man, I suppose you wouldn't have any extra old wheel sets laying around.......?

Anyway, I've already begun to disassemble the cars and clean them up...

Keep you posted

Cheers, Ian

 

[T-Man]

OK Matt, the flatcar is just great. A superb find.
The hole in the caboose is the light socket like the one in the coach . It twist out.
The coach you need tender wheels. One steel the other plastic mounted on the same axle. They stay on the same side. One truck is isolated and the other is grounded to the frame. The metal wheels are opposite when comparing trucks, that give you your circuit. One wire from the top of the isolated truck to the bulb isolated contact on the bottom.

The baggage car is cool too The trucks are set up like a tender, both isolated.

If you are going to be a bin diver you need to start hoarding trucks. Trucks are always on top of the lists when picking junk boxes.

Reckers decided to take this week off.hwell:
I am sure he can tell you more.

 

[imatt88]

T-Man,

This is wierd, I just checked the trucks on the pass and mail car, they're all plastic with metal axles

What gives? Not original, maybe?

Cheers, Ian

 

[Big Ed]

T-Man,

This is wierd, I just checked the trucks on the pass and mail car, they're all plastic with metal axles

What gives? Not original, maybe?

Cheers, Ian

What are you doing fooling around with S junk?

You should have bought a bunch of O stuff to fix.:laugh:

I do like that passenger mail car. (but don't tell anyone)
In you other post I was trying to figure out if it was cracked or made that way.
Cool the car throws mailbags.:thumbsup:
Does it work? Did you apply any electric to it yet?
I wonder if you can find a mail bag for it?

Are you sure it throws bags? Or is it for a man?

 

[Reckers]

Nice find, Matt! The mail car does exactly what you suspected. As the illustrious Timboy pointed out, there is an arrangement that allows it to either snag small plastic mailbags when a button is pushed. It's actually very similar to a mail car I was in just yesterday at a train museum. The bar extends to a pole and snags the "incoming" mail, slinging it into the floor at one end of the (real) car. The outbound mail is just slung out the door by hand.

 

[Reckers]

Matt, I'm just back in town and catching up on things, but let me know if you need help identifying your stuff. That flat car has a depressed center: it may have originally held a large spool, like a coil of steel or cable.

 

[tjcruiser]

Reck,

Welcome back! Hope the vaca was a blast. Did ya' spend too much dough?!?

Nice mail car pics. Quite the coincidence ... guys here talkin' mail car ... you showing up with pics. Hmmm.

I'm pretty sure Ian showed a pic a day or two ago of his flatcar ... has a generator mid-length, and a functional swivel-light on one end. Quite nice.

Cheers,

TJ

 

[imatt88]

Reckers,

Here is a pic of the flatcar

Still have to locate wheels for it, though.

Cheers, Ian

 

[imatt88]

Hey all,

Did American Flyer do O and S? I see AF stuff all over eBay that is labeled O scale.

The track I have is 2 rail, how do I know what I'm buying?

What type trandformer should I buy? I use my Lionel transformer from my Amtrak set to run my Marx and Lionel O stuff, would this work on American Flyer?

So many questions.......

 

[Reckers]

Matt, I thought you had an additional, unidentified flat car. I have the twin of your 7210 in the basement. If you need help identifying the rest, let me know and I'll be glad to assist. Keep in mind this train is AC---you can use it on a DC setup, but be careful when you get bitten by the bug and start buying engines: some were made DC.

TJ, I spent waaay too much! If the GP 7 works, I got a good deal on it: the shop wanted $85 and I bought it for $50. I'm watching 4 of them now on ebay, and I scored a good one if she runs. Mostly, I bought pictures: I wanted to find some of just interesting old stuff to decorate the man cave. My girlfriend bought me a beautiful one of a steamer and cars in silhouette crossing a creek on a trestle during winter. One discovery, though, was a large, framed photo. It was taken from high in a building and showed a harbor with trains in the foreground. The background had old sailing ships and riverboats! I did some investigating on line and found it to be a photo of Mobile, Alabama's harbor---post civil war, most likely pre-1900. One riverboat was famous, the Nettie Quill. She was known as The Queen of Alabama. The steamboats are an assortment of sternwheelers and sidewheelers, so I thought it was quite a find.

 

[Big Ed]

Matt, I thought you had an additional, unidentified flat car. I have the twin of your 7210 in the basement. If you need help identifying the rest, let me know and I'll be glad to assist. Keep in mind this train is AC---you can use it on a DC setup, but be careful when you get bitten by the bug and start buying engines: some were made DC.

TJ, I spent waaay too much! If the GP 7 works, I got a good deal on it: the shop wanted $85 and I bought it for $50. I'm watching 4 of them now on ebay, and I scored a good one if she runs. Mostly, I bought pictures: I wanted to find some of just interesting old stuff to decorate the man cave. My girlfriend bought me a beautiful one of a steamer and cars in silhouette crossing a creek on a trestle during winter. One discovery, though, was a large, framed photo. It was taken from high in a building and showed a harbor with trains in the foreground. The background had old sailing ships and riverboats! I did some investigating on line and found it to be a photo of Mobile, Alabama's harbor---post civil war, most likely pre-1900. One riverboat was famous, the Nettie Quill. She was known as The Queen of Alabama. The steamboats are an assortment of sternwheelers and sidewheelers, so I thought it was quite a find.

Welcome back but.......,

:ttiwwop:

 

[T-Man]

Yes, AC is AC.
O and S? The only way is to go with the car ID, but then you already know what it is.

 

[tjcruiser]

Reck,

Old photo finds sound fabulous ... steamboats and all. Sounds like great decor for the cave. I'll echo Ed's thoughts here, though ...

Cheers,

TJ

 

[imatt88]

Question....

What is the white on the outside of the drive wheels on the AF locos that I don't see on the Marx and Lionel steam locos?

It looks cool, but what is it for? SHould the Lionel and Marx Steam engines have it as well?

Just curious

 

[Boston&Maine]

Question....

What is the white on the outside of the drive wheels on the AF locos that I don't see on the Marx and Lionel steam locos?

It looks cool, but what is it for? SHould the Lionel and Marx Steam engines have it as well?

Just curious

No Lionel locomotives, and I am pretty sure that no Marx locomotives came with this detail... It is simply the way that some railroads painted their locomotives - with a white "rim"...

 

[Stillakid]

Actually, the white rim is a insulator. It keeps "juice" from reaching the engine. All power for these "Beauties" come thru the tender

 

[Big Ed]

Actually, the white rim is a insulator. It keeps "juice" from reaching the engine. All power for these "Beauties" come thru the tender

I don't see where the white is?

 

[T-Man]

White Walls

All the way through.

 

[Reckers]

Welcome back but.......,

:ttiwwop:

Here's what my lady bought me for the Man-Cave---very pretty!

The old photo is below---black and white and sort of dark:

Closer:

And some additional Man-Cave acquisitions from the trip:

 

[Big Ed]

I see now thanks.
Is that a plastic like material? Do they all have that?
Thats only for the two rail right?