@pd: Hey your engine matches mine! Nothing on the boiler side near the boiler front and "401" under the cab window. Note the curly q coupler on the tender. Thanks for posting
Don
Since we are posting photos of Set 301, here is mine, although I am not positive about it being set 301 due to the gunmetal gray 401 engine with nickel trim and the streamline tender, which is unusual due to it not having the more common billboard type decal, but rather 2 smaller decals per side. I note that the set also has 2 coaches and no baggage. However, it is as found and although it has no boxes, it is in nicely matched condition,
Below it is Set 1 from 1938 with hook couplers and above it is set 303 with blue cars (with an extra coach) with curly q couplers.
NWL
NWL : I would refer you to Schuwiler's book, pgs 72-73 for what he calls the Type XII tender and pgs 94-95 for a rather lengthy discussion on the Type XX or 401 locomotive. Too long to quote here, but the key item might be that he mentions the 401 went uncataloged in 36 & 37 and when it returned to the catalog in 1938 it was GREY like yours. He then states that the locomotive returned to black in 1939. There is quite a lot of variability in this engine over these late 30's years and Schuwiler takes a number of paragraphs to try and describe the chronological order of things. To me, such a number of changes speaks to the possibility of quite a number of variations showing up in sets as they were sold, sometimes perhaps even by the dealers at the point of sale. OBTW beautiful 301 sets, I really loved the blue one.
Just to make matters even more confusing, I have a Type XX loco which appears to date from 1935 but it is a 2-4-0 vice 2-4-4 and has a huge whistle mounted on the back of the motor that basically fills up the cab!
Don
@Don McErlean posted:NWL : I would refer you to Schuwiler's book, pgs 72-73 for what he calls the Type XII tender and pgs 94-95 for a rather lengthy discussion on the Type XX or 401 locomotive. Too long to quote here, but the key item might be that he mentions the 401 went uncataloged in 36 & 37 and when it returned to the catalog in 1938 it was GREY like yours. He then states that the locomotive returned to black in 1939. There is quite a lot of variability in this engine over these late 30's years and Schuwiler takes a number of paragraphs to try and describe the chronological order of things. To me, such a number of changes speaks to the possibility of quite a number of variations showing up in sets as they were sold, sometimes perhaps even by the dealers at the point of sale. OBTW beautiful 301 sets, I really loved the blue one.
Just to make matters even more confusing, I have a Type XX loco which appears to date from 1935 but it is a 2-4-0 vice 2-4-4 and has a huge whistle mounted on the back of the motor that basically fills up the cab!
Don
Don,
Technically, only one of the sets may be a 301 set. The red set with 4 cars and the 4603 is Set 1 from 1938 and the blue set with 417 locomotive is set 303 from 1939.
I do have a gray 4603 (that would be the correct number for a 401 type loco in 1938) engine, but it has decals on it, with no actual numbering and copper trim. The gray 4603 engine is with my 1938 set 1. The gray 4603 has the streamline type tender, with billboard stripe on it. My gray 401 engine is lettered 401 (on the side not pictured) and has the nickel trim, similar to the black 401 engines. That points to my motor actually being from 1939 or later, as the engines were not numbered in 1938. I have seen a couple of the gray 401 engines sell and they are somewhat difficult to find.
The whistle in the type XX locomotive is likely one of the uncataloged variations from 1936 or 1937. I know that I have a number of these motors with the whistles, as well as some of the cheap Hiawatha locos with whistles.
Here is a picture of the other side of the 401, note the 401 lettering below the cab window.
Here is a picture of the gray 4603, note the copper trim and decals
Here is the 417 locomotive that heads up Set 303 with the blue cars
NWL
Oh well, in for a penny in for a pound.... Here's my 1938 Set #1 - it is a boxed set and has everything listed in the catalog illustration.
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Here is a newly restored American Flyer Wide Gauge 4672 running. Sadly, this engine has been apart for years. I finally painted it in the summer of 2020 and it sat for another year, before I took it to a friend to re-assemble. A shout out to Rob English for making some of the steel linkage parts that are attached to the steam chest.
NWL
NWL : Beautiful 4672 and it seems to run well and smoothly as well. I have a few std gauge sets (3 Lionel and 1 AF) but no where to run them as I have no room for a std gauge loop. I was wondering however, behind the 4672 in the last picture is a small black steamer with what appears to be red wheels pulling a green baggage car / coaches...what is that?
Thanks,
Don
@Nation Wide Lines posted:Today we are running a c. 1930 Montgomery Ward uncataloged American Flyer set with 3195 engine, Hancock tender, and Illini cars.
The engine last ran in the late 1990s and has been in a box or on a shelf ever since. I had the engine re-wheeled by someone else in the late 90s and it was sub-par work. Problem was a replaced axle that had sub-par splines, which resulted in the wheels slipping on the axle and super-glue being applied to try and get the wheels to not slip. I replaced the axle with no splines and the 2 drive wheels. I hate sub-par work, but when I first got into prewar Flyer, I did not do my own repairs. I quickly realized it was too expensive to have others do the work for me and began doing my own repairs.
To answer Don's question about the small engine-tender and green cars behind the 4672, it is the above set. I just was not running it today.
As for the wheel color on the engine, Flyer painted some of their wheels orange and this engine originally had the orange drive wheels on it, so the replacements are orange as well.
NWL
NWL: Thanks, I guess I didn't recognize that guy from your prior post. I have been looking at a "Hummer" engine and tender and wondered if that was the same (it isn't)...runs great now though.
Don
@Don McErlean posted:NWL: Thanks, I guess I didn't recognize that guy from your prior post. I have been looking at a "Hummer" engine and tender and wondered if that was the same (it isn't)...runs great now though.
Don
Don,
There would be no electric hummer engines. The hummer line was all windups. Hummer engines also would have only pulled very small cars.
NWL
Hummer !
(nothing new again this week ... Bummer! )
Just sticking my nose in here to bookmark my return. Some of you may have been wondering who was "Liking" your posts from 6 months ago that was me catching up after a long hiatus. The way my brain is wired I felt obliged to to scrutinize each and every post I had missed to earn my way back in with the Tinplate Gang. Tons of good stuff you guys have ! Happy to be back.
@G-Man24 posted:Just sticking my nose in here to bookmark my return. Some of you may have been wondering who was "Liking" your posts from 6 months ago that was me catching up after a long hiatus. The way my brain is wired I felt obliged to to scrutinize each and every post I had missed to earn my way back in with the Tinplate Gang. Tons of good stuff you guys have ! Happy to be back.
Hi, G-Man24! It's good to hear from you!
Dare we hope that you made progress on your layout during the hiatus?
Welcome Back! G-Man 24 !!
Don
Fatman / NWL : NWL, I embarrassingly did actually know that all the Hummer engines were clockwork, I just had a "senior moment" when I saw your 3195 and forgot that when I asked the question about that engine on the layout. However the info you provided on that little guy will not go wasted...it will be filed away for future hunt items so Thank you again!
To both of you...I just could not resist the Hummer engine and tender on e-bay and went for it. The pictures make it look just like yours Fatman and I also purchased a tender. This tender has an interesting lithograph pattern on it and has the number "513" in a rectangle on the side and the words..."The Hummer" over a spreadeagled bird on the rear. I will post pictures when they arrive.
Best wishes to you both.
Don
@palallin posted:...Dare we hope that you made progress on your layout during the hiatus?
Ashamed to admit it, but minimal progress at best. Hope to change that in the next couple weeks.
@Don McErlean posted:Welcome Back! G-Man 24 !!
Don
Good to see you again Don, always enjoy your posts.
So desperate to be relevant am I, that I'm posting some tinplate that is not even mine. My friend is emptying out the house he grew up in after the passing of his dad and he asked if I could list some stuff on that auction site for him. He was bringing me old board games and ashtrays and bottles and I said "you got any good stuff ? you know....slot cars, model trains, hot wheels , stuff like that...? He said "I was gonna throw that junk out !" 
So the next time I saw him he had a trunk full of pretty good stuff including this old Marx Tales of Wells Fargo train set. I'm guessing it's "S" guage ?.. unfortunately the Locomotive is missing but the lithographed buildings are pretty neat and the rail cars are nice especially the No.1 baggage car.
Anyway, thought you guys might enjoy seeing it, the graphics on the front and inside of the building are a hoot.
.
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@G-Man24 I found one of the carriages ages ago and the William Crookes Set has been on my radar since then!
What a pity it doesnt have the loco ...It should go for a price that might surprise you nevertheless 
Mine is in a crappy condition compared to your friends , but its such a departure from "regular" Marx I had to bring it home ( it wuz cheep!)
G-Man24: that play/trainset is O! it is obviously not complete, but the pieces there will make some Marx collector VERY happy! They are in very good condition! CTT ran an article about these pieces many years ago; if you want, I can try to dig it out.
