American Flyer City of Denver O Gauge restored set mid 1930's (Prewar)

Restored set. Rebuilt motor. New armature, brushes and wiring. New homemade wheel bushings were installed after the motor plates separated. Motor mount shoulder rivet was tightened up with a ball peen hammer. Passenger trucks cleaned and adjusted. Axles straightened. 2 new (Lionel) wheels were added to replace the missing set. New wiring was put into the coaches. Added a light to the middle coach instead of a whistle. Paint was stabilized. Where paint and decals were lifting I mixed custom colors to work under the lifting paint to hold down the original chips. 2 new bulbs were put in the coaches. Original red bulb in the rear of the observation still works. Lovely train that is nearly 90 years old and it now runs like new.

[@AnnaSeay-ff4nw]

Super great to see someone saving a piece of history..😊😊😊

[@henryszubielski8601]

Fantastic job Dave!

[@markslioneltrains]

Fantastic how well that is made.! How creative the way the cars hook together with power and all built in. Shame it was not better taken care of but at the time they really did not think about it back then. I'm very lucky to have my Dad and Uncle's Pre War trains that were well taken care of and wish all were like that. Glad this one found a good home like yours.! WELL DONE.! 👍

[@Cbtrainnut]

Awesome video and train. Thanks for sharing!

[@plunkervillerr1529]

Me likem plenty good.

[@johnbaptist1928]

90 year old light bulb that work and we can’t make LED bulbs replacing incandescent bulbs last more than 6 months!

[@herbemont7627]

I like your approach, trying to save what you can when you can, but not afraid to do a full resto-mod when a train is a lost cause. I'd like to see some behind the scenes repair videos myself maybe some of your preservation techniques etc. What kind of soap do you use in your cleaning? I've found sometimes the paint fades when I try it

[@davesmith2169]

I used cold water, a soft brush and tecnu. It is a poison ivy liquid soap from CVS or Walgreens. It is easy on the skin but cuts through oil. Worked well on this train. Dish soap sometimes causes that fade. Warm or hot water is an ABSOLUTE NO. If they do fade, turn chalky, I use Griots Garage Best in Show Wax. That usually removes the fade amd gets everything shiny again.

[@rickferguson943]

Awesome, why is the track elevated?

[@davesmith2169]

I have 5 different loops. It is a small room. 3 of the loops are elevated to get additional loops