On Sunday, Carey Williams and a group of collectors visited my home and enjoyed seeing my Prewar American Flyer collection. While showing everyone my unusual early electric motor, which has unusual features, Carey indicated that he had seen an early electric motor marked "Sample" at an auction a few years ago. He said he had some pictures of the motor and would send them to me. He finally sent the photos and I want to share them, as they are very similar to my own motor and have features that did not make it into regular production. Here is the photo that Carey sent me. Note the tag states Early Part of 1917
Here is the view of the same side of the motor that is in my collection.
Note that the motors seem very similar, with the notable differences being the wheels and the bracket that holds the armature in place. It is difficult to see the actual wheels on the "Sample" motor, but they are definitely different than the wheels on mine (which were machined and painted on the early production motors).
The Sample motor's bracket that holds the armature in place appears to be made from fiber board, where my motor features steel bar stock. Either way, both of these motors are unusual due to the brackets being held in place by nut and bolts that go from side to side. These are the only two motors that I have seen like this.
Similarly, both of the fields are held in place by nut and bolts too, one at the bottom and one at the top. Regular production motors have pins holding the field in place.
Here is the same side of an early regular production motor
2 things to note about the regular production motor. First, the bracket holding the armature is completely different, with the screws holding it in place just mounting to the frame. Second, the frame is cut out to show the armature.
The other side of the motors also have some differing features.
The Sample motor
My unusual motor
Again, the two motors above look very similar, with the exception of the wheels and the brackets holding the armature in place.
One notable feature of the two motors above, is that they both feature round brushes in tubes. That feature did not appear in regular American Flyer production until 1925.
The motor below is the regular production motor. It features a different armature holder and has copper finger type brushes.
It is interesting to see another very early American Flyer motor, similar to the unusual motor that I have. I only wish I had known about the motor that Carey saw at the auction, as I would have bid on it.
For your viewing pleasure, here are the two motors I own running on the layout. My unusual motor is in the passenger set and my regular production motor is in the freight set.
NWL
