American Flyer S gauge fans?

John,

There is an S Scale forum here which is all facets of S gauge. Plenty of info and many to help and answer your questions.  As far as a reliable AF knuckle coupler workhorse engine price from low to high would be 303 Atlantic, 293 Pacific, 313/316 PRR Pacific, 326 Hudson and finally 336 Northern.  All are relatively easy to service, smoke, choo-choo, and are lighted. All are diecast except for the 303. Welcome to the club.

Rich

Lionelski posted:

I know that this Forum is a place for O gauge railroaders, I guess that is why I couldn't find a section for American Flyer S gauge,.

Please don't give me 40 lashes with a wet noodle for posting this here, but I'd like some guidance as I'm thinking of going a little to the dark side!

Even though I'm a Lionel guy (mostly postwar, some modern and some prewar), I always liked Flyer S gauge. I'm thinking of putting together a postwar set (knuckle couplers) with a diecast metal steamer and freight cars while at York, but I really don't know where to start,

Can any Flyer fan recommend a good reliable workhorse engine?

 

Well John....you must not have looked too closely as we do have an S gauge category.....so....rather than giving you 40 lashes , I moved this to the proper category where you should get more responses....

There is quite a bit of information available. Rich gave good advice on the steam engines. I like this site catalogs.  It shows the postwar catalogs and what was available. Be careful though it can become a real time consumer or get you hooked.

 Then there is always the NASG website and a Flyer facebook group.

Here are my S Gauge tips and reviews etc. http://www.tuveson.com

Carl

OGR CEO-PUBLISHER posted:

Lionelski posted:

I know that this Forum is a place for O gauge railroaders, I guess that is why I couldn't find a section for American Flyer S gauge,.

Please don't give me 40 lashes with a wet noodle for posting this here, but I'd like some guidance as I'm thinking of going a little to the dark side!

Even though I'm a Lionel guy (mostly postwar, some modern and some prewar), I always liked Flyer S gauge. I'm thinking of putting together a postwar set (knuckle couplers) with a diecast metal steamer and freight cars while at York, but I really don't know where to start,

Can any Flyer fan recommend a good reliable workhorse engine?

 

Well John....you must not have looked too closely as we do have an S gauge category.....so....rather than giving you 40 lashes , I moved this to the proper category where you should get more responses....

Oops, found it!

Thanks for moving my inquiry to the proper place Alan

richabr posted:

John,

There is an S Scale forum here which is all facets of S gauge. Plenty of info and many to help and answer your questions.  As far as a reliable AF knuckle coupler workhorse engine price from low to high would be 303 Atlantic, 293 Pacific, 313/316 PRR Pacific, 326 Hudson and finally 336 Northern.  All are relatively easy to service, smoke, choo-choo, and are lighted. All are diecast except for the 303. Welcome to the club.

Rich

 

Thanks Rich,

That is the info I was looking for

The Gilbert steamers are pretty bullet-proof.   In my experience, they run better than the Gilbert diesels.

Rusty

Caldwell posted:

There is quite a bit of information available. Rich gave good advice on the steam engines. I like this site catalogs.  It shows the postwar catalogs and what was available. Be careful though it can become a real time consumer or get you hooked.

 Then there is always the NASG website and a Flyer facebook group.

Fantastic Cal - catalogs are always fun reading.

Thanks for the link

Carl Tuveson posted:

Here are my S Gauge tips and reviews etc. http://www.tuveson.com

Carl

Thanks Carl, I'll focus on your site when I get home tonight, much better than watching TV, I'm sure

If it helps -- click here for the How-To's and Photo Gallery page of my site, and here for my YouTube channel.  

Dave

Sgaugian posted:

If it helps -- click here for the How-To's and Photo Gallery page of my site, and here for my YouTube channel.  

Dave

Thanks SGAUGIAN,

The more info the better, learning new stuff is fun and interesting. That is one reason why, even though I don't come home with a ton of stuff anymore, I enjoy walking the Fairgrounds and Bandit meets at York.

I'll save your site and peruse the YouTube channel when I get back from today's (rainy) BBQ

While all the York halls have a decent amount of S, I've been lucky finding nice "link" coupler stuff at decent prices in the White Hall. My interest dates back to the AF set my best friend had in 1950. I liked it better than my Lionel set because it had passenger cars instead of my freight cars. 

In addition to the fine information you guys provided here (much thanks!) I found another fun source:

In my stash of toy/model train books I found one titled "How to Build and Operate a Model Railroad" by Marshall McClintock. My copy is the first edition from 1955 and it is a wonderful guide for 1950's boys and their dads building their American Flyer enpires.

I'm enjoying reading and learning from it.

Did Mr. McClintock work for Gilbert American Flyer?

Don't know if he worked for the company, but he co authored "Man Who Lives in Paradise,"

Another question gang:

Do (or did) anyone remake traditional AF style track? ( Much like k-line, Menards and others remade/make traditional Lionel type tubular track).

K-Line remade 10" straights. They made 27"R curves and 36" straights which were never made by Gilbert. After Lionel purchased K-Line the 27" curves were included in several Lionel American Flyer S Gauge sets. There is so much original Gilbert track available there is not really any demand for repro Gilbert style track.

The challenge in S gauge is turnouts. There are none made that are the original Gilbert style wider than 20" radius. Decades ago GarGraves made some #5 turnouts but not many were produced. Prior to that ROW made some #4,6&8 turnouts using GarGraves rail but they are almost impossible to find. Lionel S gauge FasTrack turnouts can be used with Gilbert track because there are adapter track sections available but they do not look the same. S gauge FasTrack turnouts are made in 20" and 27" radius versions.

Thanks for the info Tom.

It will be interesting to focus on postwar American Flyer ay York. I usually just give it a glance as I do my Lionel searches.

I always enjoy the firehouse filled with Flyer, mostly like new and boxed, what a treat. Have you visited this firehouse show pre-York?