MyFlyerTrains.org

Last time we learned what cars of the twenties through early sixties looked like as manufactured. This time, we’ll step through the gate of a small junkyard typical of the early sixties. Being a “Car Guy” of that era, I was a denizen of the junkyards of the day while looking for parts to restore [...]

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And now we do some serious work that many of you may wish to pass up. In this installment, we will go beyond the point of no return on this project by sectioning two old shells into one! This modification is time consuming and requires you to work slowly and carefully. We’re going to change [...]

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On this project, I wanted to update this engine from the “Turn of the Century” look of the inside bearing trailing truck to the later outside bearing trailing truck. This will require two things; a five digit Pacific two wheel trailing truck and a new drawbar. In this case, I didn’t have a late Pacific [...]

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Often times when I’m waiting for paint or glue to dry, I move on to another project, many times the tender of the locomotive that I’m working on. The post-“tin tender” Atlantics were followed by the common plastic Gilbert tender. These appear to all be the same, but they are not. The drawbars used to [...]

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The changes being made are for demonstration purposes. You may want to leave the loco as it is in some cases or come up with other modifications. You’ll notice that in the photos, sometimes the areas being worked on will be painted primer gray while other times the work area will be black. This is [...]

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The first thing to do when you have your project engine is to disassemble the locomotive partially by removing the tender from the engine and taking the shell off the locomotive. If you plan to install a DC can motor while you’re at it, you’ll want to take the tender shell off as well. Depending [...]

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Beginning this month, I’m returning to Kit Bashing old American Flyer locomotives as the subject. I have gotten some requests from those who have read my “Kit Bashing American Flyer Steam Locomotives” guide and still feel hesitant to try it, to do a series that takes the process step by step. For those of you [...]

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If all goes according to plan, next month we return to Kit Bashing old Flyer steam engines. This time I’ll take you through the process step by step, with photos, of modifications to a cheap and plentiful Atlantic. First we’ll discuss which ones are preferable for Kit Bashing, move to clean up and inspection of [...]

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One of the “Holy Grails” of model railroading is to find the perfect track plan and build the perfect layout. I have chased this dream for years in N, HO, S, O, and G scales, including the narrow gauges for most. I have built about 35 layouts for myself and for/with friends, indoors and outdoors, [...]

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I’m going to do something a little different this month. Over the years, people have e-mailed me to ask many questions. Here is a random sample of some of them: Many folks new to American Flyer trains have often asked why did Flyer put those “Wide White Wall” wheel rims on their steam locomotive drivers? [...]

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