21004 engine and mis.

Same wheels on link and knuckle coupler trucks. The 734 operating car will have metal wheels on one side of the axles. Knuckle couplers and the applicable rivet can be found at the Port Lines Hobbies website. There may be instructions on wheel insulator repair on the site also. From what I remember there are various methods including pinning with toothpicks or glueing.

Rich 

As Rich mentioned, Port Lines should have everything you need as well as instructions for do-it-yourself repairs.

Gilbert offered a kit to convert link couplers to knuckle. It included a punch to knock out the link pin, replacement "split" knuckle couplers, and split rivets to do the install. The kit is #520 (or 26520 in later years). There are always several kits available on eBay, most still in their original packaging.

I've had decent luck using a drop or 2 of super glue to keep wheel insulators in place, but replacement insulators are available from Port Lines and other suppliers if you want to do full replacement. Doug Peck at Port Lines is always helpful and his prices are usually the most reasonable when it comes to parts.

Good Luck and HAVE FUN!

To repair the white insulators on the locomotive drive wheels you have several options, the two that I have used are to glue them in place. One of the options is to use Super Glue but with this you need to be very quick to get all parts back in the proper location, the second option I use is an epoxy, this gives you considerably more time and does hold well. Just make sure with either of these you have all parts clean, you can get the parts reasonably clean without removing wheels from the engine. I prefer the epoxy approach, much more relaxed.

Ray

Welcome to Flyer world!  I know you'll find people here willing to help in any way.

New to American Flyer, these pieces and some prewar O-gauge came around so I bought them. I posted the prewar stuff on the ( buy anything new lately ) thread, check it out; let me know what you think.  Would like to know how to fix the white wall insulators on the steam engine drive wheels.

There's been some good advise given already, so have at it!  I've found that the super glue works nicely, but you might try to find a brand that doesn't set so fast.  Otherwise, epoxy is also an alternative.

Also what kind of wheels do I need with link type coupler trucks, are they the same wheels used on knuckle type coupler trucks. 

The wheels are the same, but there are two different axle lengths.  They're mostly interchangeable, though.  Just be careful inserting the axles in the scintered iron trucks.  The side frames are attached by peening them to the sheet metal bolster and can be snapped off if too much side pressure is applied.  Spread the frames apart gently by the sheet metal rather than the side frames. 

Can you convert link couplers to knuckle couplers.

As has been noted, it's an easy conversion.

I believe I read some where that this is all possible. Any information is appreciated. This is just a sampling of what I have, But you American Flyer guys and gals will know what I talkin about, I have 2 hopper cars 1 or both have weighted trucks, 1 is green with link couplers the other is brown with knuckle couplers neither has wheels. Drop center flat car has link, want to change all links to knuckle, want to run all cars together with engine,

You've picked up some nice items.  The red gondola is an interesting one, being in the 800 series.  I'll leave its history for a later time.  The 734 boxcar is a nice operating accessory, and probably works.  When activated, a man throws out either boxes or milk cans.  A friend of mine recently acquired a few Flyer cars, and this is one of them.  He is now a recent Flyer convert (in part anyway) too. 

Make sure the surfaces are as clean as possible for the application of glue.

Rich

Poniaj  hello!  Please tell me about the history of the  Red American Flyer 805 Hopper car. I've looked at the site with catalog information but it dose not show anything about  the #805. I believe this engine and cars was once the #20315 set from 1956 or 57. I don't have anything except the engine and cars, I am missing the operating Rocket car. I did receive some other cars though, a Green  #631 Hopper, and a #7210 Depressed Center Flat Car with spool and tie cables, it is missing brake wheels and stands. I know little to nothing about American Flyer and it is very scarce where I live. I'm mostly into Lionel and I have to hunt for it; there is no local hobby shop or train shop to speak of; so its mostly online. I was lucky enough to find the items at a couple of different antique/flea markets. The American Flyer O-gauge I found at least 4 years ago, but didn't  have the money to buy it then, I was visiting the shop the other day and it was still there,  so I made an offer. The offer was to low but the owner did lower his price so I bought it. The S-gauge was at another shop and was such a steal I couldn't pass it up. So again fill me up with your knowledge, Sir; I'm all ears.

The 805 is a PRR gondola. It was included in the 20315 Keystone Rocket set. If you go to the website myflyertrains.org you can look through all the catalogs and see the cataloged sets that included the 805. The 805 was cataloged in 1956 and 1957. Similar cars were made in later years but with a 5 digit number such as the 24110 and 24130.

Frisco Brakeman posted:

Poniaj  hello!  Please tell me about the history of the  Red American Flyer 805 Hopper car. I've looked at the site with catalog information but it dose not show anything about  the #805. I believe this engine and cars was once the #20315 set from 1956 or 57. I don't have anything except the engine and cars, I am missing the operating Rocket car. I did receive some other cars though, a Green  #631 Hopper, and a #7210 Depressed Center Flat Car with spool and tie cables, it is missing brake wheels and stands. I know little to nothing about American Flyer and it is very scarce where I live. I'm mostly into Lionel and I have to hunt for it; there is no local hobby shop or train shop to speak of; so its mostly online. I was lucky enough to find the items at a couple of different antique/flea markets. The American Flyer O-gauge I found at least 4 years ago, but didn't  have the money to buy it then, I was visiting the shop the other day and it was still there,  so I made an offer. The offer was to low but the owner did lower his price so I bought it. The S-gauge was at another shop and was such a steal I couldn't pass it up. So again fill me up with your knowledge, Sir; I'm all ears.

Sorry about the time lag in getting back, but sometimes it's unavoidable. 

Anyway, the numbering system used by post war Gilbert for their rolling stock is interesting.  In general, the 600 series cars have the link couplers, the 700 series cars were operating cars with link couplers and the 900 series had knuckle couplers.  The change to knuckle couplers was made around 1952-1953.  Five digit cars were essentially the 900 series cars re-numbered for the new computer age in 1957 when rolling stock became the 25000 series (if the last digit was "0" it, it usually meant a car with non operating knuckle couplers).  But the 800 series of cars was an attempt to make a less expensive line of knuckle coupler cars with simple one color graphics on a colored plastic molded body (to save paint costs) with stamped steel trucks and non operating knuckle couplers.  The project was dropped when people realized that production and inventory would be more difficult for another line of cars  simply for cars with another style of truck, but not after a number of bodies had already been produced.  So the cars were used up with the working knuckle coupler trucks and included in less expensive sets.  They were not sold separately and were only made for a short time in 1956.  Only seven car types were made, although a complete line was originally planned.  The cars produced were:

• 801 B&O black gondolas with white lettering
• 802 Illinois Central orange reefers with green lettering
• 803 Santa Fe dark red box cars with white lettering and a simple black herald sticker
• 804 N&W black gondolas with white lettering
• 805 PRR brown gondolas with white lettering
• 806 American Flyer Lines red cabooses with white lettering and no illumination
• 807 DRG&W white box cars with black and red lettering

That's the whole series!  For me, it made it a simple (and inexpensive) task to collect a nice sample of the whole series.  All in all, an interesting little story for collectors of Gilbert trains. 

American Flyer trains aren't too well represented at trains shows in general, even though a lot of S was sold.  In the Detroit area, at a usual train show, it's only about 5% of what's on the tables.  Most of it is HO and O Lionel.  Even N outnumbers S.  But we're a loyal, if not crazy bunch!