Proud to be a 33-percenter! Ahhh, childhood memories, the last time I was a 33%'er was the second semester of Sophomore Al-gibberish! Keep up the great videos...
Very good, that light oil made for hair clippers bought at beauty supply stores is what many of us use. Great on axles, cleaning all over chassis, metal or plastic. Can't remember who makes it. Got a terrible memory!!
@@FourDollaRacing I think I fixed that issue a few minutes ago. Lots of things I don't know about with the U Toob :-). Thanks for pointing this out to me!!
Late to the party here, but definitely a great video, Ron. I learned a lot from this one and now will be hunting down a similar AF passenger set-the Alco PA is a looker! And yeah, who wouldn't want to proudly wear a "Classic Trains" t-shirt or ballcap? Let's see some merch!
Where you said someone mentioned don’t use q-tips, I’ve used them and also pipe cleaners are good for wrapping around the worm gear and cleaning the old crud off of them.
Great job Ron! That set looks fantastic! The test track is good for testing, but maybe you set aside an area in your train room where you can put together a temporary loop of track of the proper scale for the trains you clean and restore. Just a thought. I love that you do ALL scales of trains. It’s great to see different varieties from many different manufacturers. Great stuff Ron!!
Greetings Tom! I wish I had room for a loop. I'm thinking some banquet tables set up outside (temporarily) for the final run scenes. Let them stretch their legs a bit :-)
Great video. I have had people comment on me using Q-Tips as well. Hell; I remeber in grade 7 some stupid teacher telling us not to put them in my ears as they are dangerous. Good thing, fifty years later, I am a 33 percenter! Cheers!
The 2 set screws adjust the gap between the field and armature. I hold it up to a bright light and eyeball the gap, it's about the only way I found to get the gap close. After you get it running and you know it's gaped as best as you can, use some enamel paint on the heads of the screw to keep them from backing out. Replacement traction tires are available online. Portline hobbies has been good to me for AF parts. Glad to see you saved the Sante fe. The 5 digit are harder to come by then the 3 digit trains.
I'm a 33%er. Thanks for the history and photos of the Alco PAs. I don't currently have any American Flyer diesels, but I had, but I had six or seven of these bac in the 1980s and '90s. Some came with front couplers, and some did not. The one shown here does have the pilot front cut out for a coupler. I don't know whether or not this particular number of locomotive actually had a front coupler. I have found that an easy way to touch up scratches on the these satin silver cars is to use a silver paint pen. Just touch the pen to the scratch, press enough to deposit a small blob of paint, then use a finger to spread the paint along the scratch. The paint may or may not blend in perfectly, but the result looks much better than the exposed plastic.
Hello Mark, Thanks for your support of the channel. A Few Fellers have told me this set did not come with the front coupler. Your paint marker pen idea sounds pretty good to me
Recently had a Santa Fe PA converted to dual can motors by SNS Trains and added a Soundtrack Bluenami decoder to control it with my phone. It is unbelievable how great it makes running American Flyer trains .
I want to thank you for getting me back into American Flyers again. I dont think my wife will thank you. LOL. I am having more fun fixing them then running them. So I have been buying alot on ebay and repairing. Having a blast too. Its now about how many can I save. I am right now 3 out of 4. One the loco shell was too trashed.
Hey Ron! Loving these videos! Can’t believe 66%ers quit! Yeah I’m thinking “Merch” is cool! Maybe a Ron’s classic trains engineer hat and t-shirts. I would be interested.
Hello Steven.Thanks for the kind words!! Actually 40% drop off in the first 30 seconds. Must be that darn autoplay YT has. then there is a bit of loss during the video. People just window shopping I guess. Seems there is a lot of analytics to be studied in there YT world
Looks like the coaches are made by A.C. Gilbert Co. I've got a set of Northern Pacific HO scale coaches that I changed out the incandescent lighting to LED strip lighting with keep alive circuits. Is your O gauge track O gauge or 027? Cheers from eastern TN
Good job working on something out of your wheelhouse. Traction tires and a replacement decal can be order from Portline Hobbies as well as a few others suppliers. The slop in the truck is not a big deal as Flyers are more forgiving than smaller scales. As far as the front coupler goes some PA's didn't have one. The Gilbert was known not to waste anything so it is possible a noncoupler front truck may have been thrown on this one. Also, CRC 2-26 is a must have for Flyer repairs. Works good on reverse units and other things.
When I watch any of your train videos I'm always a 100% term each are every time. They are that good, filled with valuable information to me, plus with. Your brand of humor to boot
If 33% watch till the end, and I have to watch the end twice because I fell asleep, what does that make me? Besides being tired, that is.😅 Seriously, though you might want to try and find some Floquil Aged Silver (it's been out of production). I've been told that it's a good match for the silver used on passenger cats. The turbocharger was the main source of trouble for the PAs. Once the turbocharger was changed from air-cooled to water-cooled, most of the problems went away. Except for the damage to their reputation.
I stuck through the entire video. The secret? Watch in Fast Forward. YT has speed control up to 2x. Allows me to get more videos watched :) Well I watched this one entirely but havent gotten to see the RV's yet. Beautiful set. The Alcos are much more impressive looking in person. I actually didn't keep mine, the ones I had were dual motor units and they had issues even after repair - one motor would run and one would stick. Then it drags itself around. Single motor units are a lot weaker but don't have the half working problem. Also agree the motor design is rather poor, with the large U bracket that swings because it loosened up with age. I think Flyer had better steam engines than Lionel, but the opposite is true for diesels, the Lionel motors are just a better design in their diesels. Wax sure shined it up nice. For removing the pins, if one is really really stuck, u can use a drop of Kroil or Liquid Wrench and let it sit for a while they slide out easier. I've had some really stubborn ones. I like the green screen effect. Gave me some ideas for how to paint an ALCO FA I have in HO scale. Bicentennial or Orange. Either would be cool!
Thanks for stopping by and taking in a video! Too bad the dual motors gave you such a fit. I hope to work on one of them someday. Now I know what to expect :-). I bet a PA-1 would look amazing in person. I need to get out to some of these RR museums. Gotta get my RIDE all fixed up first.
The screws on that brass collar around the field are, in fact, for holding the field in place. Also, the screwdrivers that hold screws in place are either called screw-holding screwdrivers or Quick Wedges!
The wire on top of the observation car? Radio antenna. It being a little difficult to play records on a moving train, they'd pipe radio stations through the cars. Or at least the cars they served the adult beverages in.
Hey buddie I just received a American Flyer # 499 New Haven Ep-5 Diesel Needs Some Cleaning & 2 Couplers & I would like For you To Give It A Good Once Over Maintenance Job To Make Sure Everything Inside Is Up To Par ... And I'll Pay You ..????
Hey Ron …33% er Here ‼️ Your videos are 100% … In the process of binge watching all…, Going over to the R/V channel as well.. Great Job on all your efforts 👍 Thanks ..
Well, I watch the videos all the way through, on my account or my wife’s account…. lol If I have time at work, I watch on my phone and my account. But when I’m at home I watch on my wifes’. Sometimes my Grandkid’s watch with me.
This is the set "20735 THE CHIEF". Made in 61 & 62. The set came with pikemaster track, so because of the tighter radius it did not have a front coupler installed.
I wondered about that. This lot had some pieces of pike master track in it. Not enough for a whole circle. I did not know pike master had a tighter radius. Thanks for the good information!!
I have more experience with o and ho then I do American flyer I was in ho scale from 1997 to 2009 then I switched to o gauge from 2014 onwards have loved model railroading for as long as I can remember been running trains since I was little from a battery operated Thomas I had when I was 4 to a postwar inspired layout that my dad and I are working on currently
Right on Tony! I have a post war layout ready to be built as soon as I find a larger venue for it to live it. It will also have a "S"gauge loop incorporated into it.
Hey Ron, just wanted to say that I really enjoyed the video. I have pretty much the same set except my passenger cars have the smooth roofs(roovs?), I have the B unit and both my trucks are powered. I guess they're not so much the same set after all, but still. Impressive results with the car wax! I thought for sure you were going to destroy those flimsy water based decals (like I did when I picked up my engine) but you didn't! I think you could make some extra money as a comedian if you get bored with da trains. Also, I hate watching youtube videos and then finding out they were made fifteen years ago and the guy's dead now. So glad these are new and you're not. Take care!
Yup I have some paint, but I don't plan on keeping these forever. Buyers get wary if someone has been after it with paint. I guess I will let the future owner do what they want to with it. I agree paint before wax on - wax off :-)
Love tappin' 😂😂 I guess I'm part of your 33%. I wonder if you couldn't weld the steel to the aluminum to deal with your drive truck movement problem. Of course, it would have to be a non permanent type of bonding agent...
I enjoyed your video! Yes the paper difuser in the cars belongs in the center. If you think that set is expensive; you should see what the larger set with the ABA locos costs! That one was one of the Top of the Line Gilbert sets! TM AF collector
Polish your cars with plain old mineral oil, not spirits! My green new haven cars shine like crazy. You dont need to wash anything in water that way or take anything apart like your diesel bodies too. Keep it simple and neat!
I use mineral spirits as a solvent for removing old oil and grease from the motor assembly. I enjoy dis-assembling and cleaning up the old stuff with soap and water. then polishing with car wax. I would not put a petroleum based liquid on the plastic body but to each their own :-)
I think you have two great and probably true idea's there. Although I believe the "S" stuff ran on 36" radius. Not a super tight curve. Perhaps they did not want to come up with the jigs to make a 3 axle truck so they just used what they had and faked us out with the appearance of the 3rd axle
if the lock out lever is in the pushed up spot it will only go one way it needs to be pulled down to go both ways i have the same set and both of the older versions !!.
Another great service Ron, could I recommend a can of electrical contact cleaner for you? It's used on electrical car parts and it's basically pressurised isopropyl alcohol in a spray can, I think it'd be good to spray in those places you can't get your cotton buds in like the enclosed chassis block and axles, should shoot out any old dried up oil and grease in there that'd be causing any running problems
Thank you! I have some contact cleaner. Its kinda spendy compared to the cases of brake parts cleaner I always have on hand. You make a good point that its just iso-alcohol so if/when I run into needing to clean a plastics based or painted stuff it would be much milder on the item. Thanks for the good information :-)
Hey Ron, Great videos. Re the stain on the top of the passenger car after washing and waxing, have you thought about using orange oil? It may get that out if it is grease or oil based.
Hey, Ron. I normally stick with ya til the end because I enjoy hearing you talk. You have a Northern states accent that’s pleasing to my ear, oh sure! 😅 And I don’t want to miss any of your wisdom you put out about repairing the model trains. There’s three of you fellas I routinely follow because you each repair and restore model trains that teach me plenty about my own equipment and I hate to miss any information because I fear what I miss just might be that one odd piece of info I need to fix or correct something on one of my trains. Now I collect HO equipment but that doesn’t mean there isn’t something I could learn if you cover a Lionel or American Flyer repair. Electrical repairs or soldering are easily transferable skills in model railroading. Best wishes and see you on another video.
The trucks on those American Flyer diesels shifted forward and reverse normally. The truck was designed to rotate around the attachment to the yoke to allow the truck to transition at the beginning of a grade if you were using trestles. The design allowed a degree of equalization, but the consequence was that the trucks would shift back and forth a little. On the subject of the pins used to fasten the car chassis to the body, this was a cost-saving measure compared to earlier S gauge passenger car production, where they used screws fasten the body to the chassis. As the popularity of toy trains started to wane in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, and things like slot car sets and space toys began taking their toll on train sales, both American Flyer and Lionel began cost-reducing their products to compete. I enjoy your videos. Your commentary is very entertaining.
Switch all the pin/ rivets with screws. I stay for all and entire video. Unless I realized I watched it before. But if it's a real good video I will watch it cpl times.
The vlack of a front coupler was done to reduce costs and allow it to negotiate the tighter radius of pikemaster track. I now own the set and it is an interesting counterpoise as it runs adjacent to my 1955 Chief set.
One more tip Ron, when pulling out those little rivets that hold the body on, take your pen soldering iron and put just a little heat on the heads, just enough that they will pry up easily, just make sure you don't over do it with the heat. Press them right back in with the soldering pen. Wait till you see how easily they go in and out using this method.
Proud to be a 33-percenter! Ahhh, childhood memories, the last time I was a 33%'er was the second semester of Sophomore Al-gibberish! Keep up the great videos...
Another 33%er!!!!! Thanks for your support :-)
Very good, that light oil made for hair clippers bought at beauty supply stores is what many of us use. Great on axles, cleaning all over chassis, metal or plastic. Can't remember who makes it. Got a terrible memory!!
Ive heard of the Old timers swearing by that oil back in the day.
Great Restorations! also Merch Would be Awesome.
Working on it!
Like No. 222 I'ma 33%'er... always watch to the end. Cool job you did! John BC, Canada (someday, back to Bellingham, WA)
Hello John up in Canada, Thank you for supporting the channel :-)
CRC 2-26 is the best cleaner for everything, keeps track clean and saves a lot of work.
I hear a lot of Fellers like that stuff
I couldn't find your other channel, when I looked a few weeks ago, because it's not linked on this channel's page.... glad you pitched it again.
I'm having a hard time getting the link in my description. I believe it's there now. You must have found it?
The message states, "This channel doesn't feature any other channels.", so I searched The YewToob.
@@FourDollaRacing I think I fixed that issue a few minutes ago. Lots of things I don't know about with the U Toob :-). Thanks for pointing this out to me!!
Late to the party here, but definitely a great video, Ron. I learned a lot from this one and now will be hunting down a similar AF passenger set-the Alco PA is a looker! And yeah, who wouldn't want to proudly wear a "Classic Trains" t-shirt or ballcap? Let's see some merch!
Thanks! Yup them alco's are sharp lookers. One item of merch currently available. Link is in the description of my latest 5 video's :-)
Where you said someone mentioned don’t use q-tips, I’ve used them and also pipe cleaners are good for wrapping around the worm gear and cleaning the old crud off of them.
Ooohhh.....pipe cleaners! That sounds like a great idea to add to the cleaning tool arsenal. Thank you!!
@@classicmodeltrains your welcome!
Great job Ron! That set looks fantastic! The test track is good for testing, but maybe you set aside an area in your train room where you can put together a temporary loop of track of the proper scale for the trains you clean and restore. Just a thought. I love that you do ALL scales of trains. It’s great to see different varieties from many different manufacturers. Great stuff Ron!!
Greetings Tom! I wish I had room for a loop. I'm thinking some banquet tables set up outside (temporarily) for the final run scenes. Let them stretch their legs a bit :-)
@@classicmodeltrains Exactly! And in natural light, you can a better perspective of them in the video as well. That would look pretty cool.
Yes ‼️ Do a DCC
Will do!
Really enjoy your videos. If I ever get out to your neck of the woods lunch and beer on me😁
Thank you! I will take you up on the offer :-)
BTW, as stated in previous comments,Portlines Hobbies is the go to for AF parts. Doug Peck has everything you need for American Flyer.
Thanks for the good recommendation on a parts house!!
Hey Ron. Nice train you have :) I am watching till the end every time. Greetings from Slovakia
Hello Tony from Slovakia!! Thanks for your kind words and support of my channel :-)
Great video. I have had people comment on me using Q-Tips as well. Hell; I remeber in grade 7 some stupid teacher telling us not to put them in my ears as they are dangerous. Good thing, fifty years later, I am a 33 percenter! Cheers!
Thank you Maltux for your kind words once again and being a 33%er!!!
The 2 set screws adjust the gap between the field and armature. I hold it up to a bright light and eyeball the gap, it's about the only way I found to get the gap close. After you get it running and you know it's gaped as best as you can, use some enamel paint on the heads of the screw to keep them from backing out. Replacement traction tires are available online. Portline hobbies has been good to me for AF parts. Glad to see you saved the Sante fe. The 5 digit are harder to come by then the 3 digit trains.
Thanks for the good information there Steel City :-)
I hope this info is useful.
I look forward to future TH-cams fixing and just watching the trains "roll".
EFrankB
Thank you!
I watch all the way through. I might start and stop a few tomes.
Thanks for all your support John :-)
Merchandise would be cool, shirts, hats and bumper stickers
Thanks Steven :-)
That would be great 👍🚂
I hope you do another live show again, it was awesome.
Thank you! probably in November I'm thinking
Ron love your videos Brother. Always till the kids drive the train.😳
Thank you Mike!!
Enjoyed it, as usual.
Thanks Richard :-)
I'm a 33%er. Thanks for the history and photos of the Alco PAs. I don't currently have any American Flyer diesels, but I had, but I had six or seven of these bac in the 1980s and '90s. Some came with front couplers, and some did not. The one shown here does have the pilot front cut out for a coupler. I don't know whether or not this particular number of locomotive actually had a front coupler. I have found that an easy way to touch up scratches on the these satin silver cars is to use a silver paint pen. Just touch the pen to the scratch, press enough to deposit a small blob of paint, then use a finger to spread the paint along the scratch. The paint may or may not blend in perfectly, but the result looks much better than the exposed plastic.
Hello Mark, Thanks for your support of the channel. A Few Fellers have told me this set did not come with the front coupler. Your paint marker pen idea sounds pretty good to me
33% er here, brother!! Nothing wrong with a little bit of merch. Nice restoration! Glue trick in the screw hole outstanding!💯🫵👍✌️
Yay!! a 33%er :-) thanks for responding to the Merch question!
@@classicmodeltrains no problem, brother!!💯✌️
Great job ron
Thank you Dave!
Recently had a Santa Fe PA converted to dual can motors by SNS Trains and added a Soundtrack Bluenami decoder to control it with my phone. It is unbelievable how great it makes running American Flyer trains .
WOW!! That sounds pretty cool!!!!
Great video Ron.
Thanks 👍
I want to thank you for getting me back into American Flyers again. I dont think my wife will thank you. LOL. I am having more fun fixing them then running them. So I have been buying alot on ebay and repairing. Having a blast too. Its now about how many can I save. I am right now 3 out of 4. One the loco shell was too trashed.
Right on!! Yes it is quite relaxing fixing these classics up. I fix more than I run also :-)
Very entertaining video Ron. I could always use another coffee cup but I'll only fill'er 33% full.😂
Thanks Mark!!
I was one of the 33%. LOL Another great video. Just love watching you bring the old stuff back to life. Keep them coming.
Thanks John :-)
the screw holder - great idea! waxing - great/not so great. looks so good ya have do do the whole train ...man that thing looks good.
Thank you. The turtle wax idea did not work out so well. little details hard to get wax off of.
The super chief love the war.Bonnet paint scheme an the Silver
Good looking design for sure!
Hey Ron! Loving these videos! Can’t believe 66%ers quit!
Yeah I’m thinking “Merch” is cool!
Maybe a Ron’s classic trains engineer hat and t-shirts. I would be interested.
Correction Classic Model Trains hats and shirts
Hello Steven.Thanks for the kind words!! Actually 40% drop off in the first 30 seconds. Must be that darn autoplay YT has. then there is a bit of loss during the video. People just window shopping I guess. Seems there is a lot of analytics to be studied in there YT world
Looks like the coaches are made by A.C. Gilbert Co. I've got a set of Northern Pacific HO scale coaches that I changed out the incandescent lighting to LED strip lighting with keep alive circuits. Is your O gauge track O gauge or 027? Cheers from eastern TN
This is a test track with "S" and "O" on it. The track is O-27, but it has no curves since it's just a 11 foot long test track
Good job working on something out of your wheelhouse. Traction tires and a replacement decal can be order from Portline Hobbies as well as a few others suppliers. The slop in the truck is not a big deal as Flyers are more forgiving than smaller scales. As far as the front coupler goes some PA's didn't have one. The Gilbert was known not to waste anything so it is possible a noncoupler front truck may have been thrown on this one. Also, CRC 2-26 is a must have for Flyer repairs. Works good on reverse units and other things.
Thanks Steve for the good information!!
When I watch any of your train videos I'm always a 100% term each are every time. They are that good, filled with valuable information to me, plus with. Your brand of humor to boot
Thank you very much Christopher!!
If 33% watch till the end, and I have to watch the end twice because I fell asleep, what does that make me? Besides being tired, that is.😅
Seriously, though you might want to try and find some Floquil Aged Silver (it's been out of production). I've been told that it's a good match for the silver used on passenger cats.
The turbocharger was the main source of trouble for the PAs. Once the turbocharger was changed from air-cooled to water-cooled, most of the problems went away. Except for the damage to their reputation.
Passenger cars, not passenger cats.
Thanks for the good idea, and the good information on the turbo problems. :-)
100% 33% viewer here. Merch would be neat, but I wouldn’t buy any. I do have some ideas for art tho.
Thanks for your support of there channel. Would love to see some art idea's. Would have to goto my fan page on Facebook in order to post anything.
I stuck through the entire video. The secret? Watch in Fast Forward. YT has speed control up to 2x. Allows me to get more videos watched :) Well I watched this one entirely but havent gotten to see the RV's yet.
Beautiful set. The Alcos are much more impressive looking in person. I actually didn't keep mine, the ones I had were dual motor units and they had issues even after repair - one motor would run and one would stick. Then it drags itself around. Single motor units are a lot weaker but don't have the half working problem. Also agree the motor design is rather poor, with the large U bracket that swings because it loosened up with age. I think Flyer had better steam engines than Lionel, but the opposite is true for diesels, the Lionel motors are just a better design in their diesels.
Wax sure shined it up nice. For removing the pins, if one is really really stuck, u can use a drop of Kroil or Liquid Wrench and let it sit for a while they slide out easier. I've had some really stubborn ones.
I like the green screen effect. Gave me some ideas for how to paint an ALCO FA I have in HO scale. Bicentennial or Orange. Either would be cool!
Thanks for stopping by and taking in a video! Too bad the dual motors gave you such a fit. I hope to work on one of them someday. Now I know what to expect :-). I bet a PA-1 would look amazing in person. I need to get out to some of these RR museums. Gotta get my RIDE all fixed up first.
Always a 33%er. Although I'm not really into the larger scale, that came out look'n very nice.
Thanks Lynn!!
Not only do i watch the whole video, i like , subscribe and share! AND i have an older RV! Thanks for taking time to make these videos Ron!
Thanks for your support on this channel. Old RV also? well your going to be getting a double dose of me then ;-)
@@classicmodeltrains your format and personality is fun. I look forward to seeing your videos.
Build a layout inside the RV.
Actually ...............(SHHHhhhhhh.......). :-)
Outside video 👍
👍
I meant OUTSTANDING video. Not outside video 🤦♂️
@@JackStrawfromWichita1 Well that makes more sense. Thank you Jack!! Dang spell check anyway :-)
The screws on that brass collar around the field are, in fact, for holding the field in place. Also, the screwdrivers that hold screws in place are either called screw-holding screwdrivers or Quick Wedges!
Thanks. screw-holding screwdrivers.......It just seems to easy of a name that it completely escaped me. :-)
I want to be in the 50 percentage...😂😂😂😂
Thanks for supporting my channel William :-)
If you need parts there is a guy Doug peck from Newburyport Ma.
Having a parts "Guy" is always useful information. Thank you!!
I watched the whole thing and only skipped ahead a little, so I'm a 78% er. Love your shows. Thanks!
Thanks, This video is one of my first few months of videoing
Lookin good on this one really did a great job on it
Thanks so much :-)
Yes to merch!!!
:-)
The wire on top of the observation car? Radio antenna. It being a little difficult to play records on a moving train, they'd pipe radio stations through the cars. Or at least the cars they served the adult beverages in.
MMMMmmmm...........Adult Bev-rage!!!
Hey buddie I just received a American Flyer # 499 New Haven Ep-5 Diesel Needs Some Cleaning & 2 Couplers & I would like For you To Give It A Good Once Over Maintenance Job To Make Sure Everything Inside Is Up To Par ... And I'll Pay You ..????
Hello David, drop me a email. Contact info in all my video's desription
Awesome video Ron,some merch would be great,I live in New Zealand an never miss your videos
Thank you for your support of my channel and replying to the merch question. sounds like it would be well received.
Hey Ron …33% er Here ‼️ Your videos are 100% … In the process of binge watching all…,
Going over to the R/V channel as well.. Great Job on all your efforts 👍
Thanks ..
Thanks for your support of my channels Gerald
Well, I watch the videos all the way through, on my account or my wife’s account….
lol
If I have time at work, I watch on my phone and my account.
But when I’m at home I watch on my wifes’.
Sometimes my Grandkid’s watch with me.
Thanks for all the channel support your providing Jeb, Really appreciate it.
This is the set "20735 THE CHIEF". Made in 61 & 62. The set came with pikemaster track, so because of the tighter radius it did not have a front coupler installed.
I wondered about that. This lot had some pieces of pike master track in it. Not enough for a whole circle. I did not know pike master had a tighter radius. Thanks for the good information!!
I have more experience with o and ho then I do American flyer I was in ho scale from 1997 to 2009 then I switched to o gauge from 2014 onwards have loved model railroading for as long as I can remember been running trains since I was little from a battery operated Thomas I had when I was 4 to a postwar inspired layout that my dad and I are working on currently
Right on Tony! I have a post war layout ready to be built as soon as I find a larger venue for it to live it. It will also have a "S"gauge loop incorporated into it.
Hey Ron, just wanted to say that I really enjoyed the video. I have pretty much the same set except my passenger cars have the smooth roofs(roovs?), I have the B unit and both my trucks are powered. I guess they're not so much the same set after all, but still. Impressive results with the car wax! I thought for sure you were going to destroy those flimsy water based decals (like I did when I picked up my engine) but you didn't! I think you could make some extra money as a comedian if you get bored with da trains. Also, I hate watching youtube videos and then finding out they were made fifteen years ago and the guy's dead now. So glad these are new and you're not. Take care!
Thanks for your kind words. I'm glad I'm still around also :-)
42:17 Tamiya have flat aluminium XF-16 paint which might be suitable for touching up spots like that. Preferably before waxing though.
Yup I have some paint, but I don't plan on keeping these forever. Buyers get wary if someone has been after it with paint. I guess I will let the future owner do what they want to with it. I agree paint before wax on - wax off :-)
Love tappin' 😂😂 I guess I'm part of your 33%. I wonder if you couldn't weld the steel to the aluminum to deal with your drive truck movement problem. Of course, it would have to be a non permanent type of bonding agent...
Another 33%er!! But I already knew that. Your the very first 100%er. Should get you a biker patch!!
I enjoyed your video! Yes the paper difuser in the cars belongs in the center. If you think that set is expensive; you should see what the larger set with the ABA locos costs! That one was one of the Top of the Line Gilbert sets! TM AF collector
Thanks for the tips!
DO NOT USE THOSE GASKETS FOR THE WHEELS. Those gaskets are meant for car parts NOT model trains.
I needed SOMETHING to put on the wheels so it can run for the video. Relax, I have some new proper traction tires on order :-)
Great video Ron and yes I want to buy some merch. Lets get to Crackalackin.
Thanks Dennis. Wheels are in motion.
Polish your cars with plain old mineral oil, not spirits! My green new haven cars shine like crazy. You dont need to wash anything in water that way or take anything apart like your diesel bodies too. Keep it simple and neat!
I use mineral spirits as a solvent for removing old oil and grease from the motor assembly. I enjoy dis-assembling and cleaning up the old stuff with soap and water. then polishing with car wax. I would not put a petroleum based liquid on the plastic body but to each their own :-)
Ron, I watch your videos from beginning to end. I can't imagine why you would have any 33%ers.
Thanks for you support John :-)
thats my philosiphy what ever works, nevermind what somebody thinks.
;-)
I was part of the 33% and the video was full of info . Yes when can we get merchandise from you? sweaters, tee shirts, hats!
Thanks for watching all the way!! The wheel are in motion for some merch :-)
i would love an american flyer set! preferably one of the older ones with the modular track set up.ebay has them too i think!
I wished I had the room for a AF layout
They came out beautiful!
Thank you!
Screw starter will work
Yup! thanks
American flyers are easy to fix
They are pretty straight forward.
Looks like Tyco stole the molds for their passenger cars from American Flyer. Take care Ron!
Greetings Erick. Yup They do look very similar!!
I've heard it said that inside every Alco diesel locomotive, there's a steamer trying to get out - through the exhaust stack!
LOVE that saying!!!!
having 30 years in the lionel/american flyer retail repair bus. do not use oil on a e-unit use a silcone spray its dry and works great
Thank you for the "Pro Tips"!!! Ive only got a few years in so I will take all the advice I can get :-)
you can magnetize screwdrivers to hold screws by rubbing on a magnet
Yup!
Ron, try a dab of Super Lube on the end of your screwdriver to hold those small screws.
I thought of that also. A bit messy but would get er done for sure!!
Was the middle axle omitted as a cost-cutting measure, or was it to facilitate operation on tight radii? Or both?
I think you have two great and probably true idea's there. Although I believe the "S" stuff ran on 36" radius. Not a super tight curve. Perhaps they did not want to come up with the jigs to make a 3 axle truck so they just used what they had and faked us out with the appearance of the 3rd axle
if the lock out lever is in the pushed up spot it will only go one way it needs to be pulled down to go both ways i have the same set and both of the older versions !!.
Yup, Figured that out about half way thru. Never seen one of these before so was learning as I go :-)
great job mr davis yes do merch do coffoe cups and t shirts maybe hats im a 33 percent guy
Thanks Greg!! Merch gunna be a go it sounds like :-). Thanks for being a 33%er
it cant gum up, it wears off after you run it for a while then you have to reapply it.
Grease? Oil? sure they can. age gets to them
Knock that scub out Ron. Love your stuff a repeat 33% here
Thank you for supporting the channel!!
I'm interested in some merch
Thank you for your input :-)
Nice video. I have a 1958 Northern pacific pa1. My dad bought it for me way then along with 3 passenger cars. Orange ban
Thanks. From my research I believe these all had the same running gear in them. Can you confirm that?
@@classicmodeltrains Hi I believe the running gear is the same. My reverse mechanism if different. I will open her up in a few days to make sure
Good job looks nice I'm a 33 percenter
Thank you and thanks for being a 33%er!!!
Your content is great and I’m the top 33% 🎉🚂
thank you very much :-)
would be cool , to have some n scale coffee mugs or shirts
Thanks for the input John :-)
Another great service Ron, could I recommend a can of electrical contact cleaner for you? It's used on electrical car parts and it's basically pressurised isopropyl alcohol in a spray can, I think it'd be good to spray in those places you can't get your cotton buds in like the enclosed chassis block and axles, should shoot out any old dried up oil and grease in there that'd be causing any running problems
Thank you! I have some contact cleaner. Its kinda spendy compared to the cases of brake parts cleaner I always have on hand. You make a good point that its just iso-alcohol so if/when I run into needing to clean a plastics based or painted stuff it would be much milder on the item. Thanks for the good information :-)
Ron you ever done a video on a Lionel 2016
I don't believe so Mike. Under playlists I have all my Lionel videos grouped up for the Lionel Fellers out there.
good video, whats up with the trains in the back? or have I missed what you did, it looks good
Thanks William! I built some shelves for all my "O', "O-27", and "S" gauge stuff. HO is on the other wall still
I like it@@classicmodeltrains
Looks Great! BTW The Wiha "Precision Chip Lifter 3.5mm x 50mm" works a treat on those pins. And yeah, they are SO FRUSTRATING! Have a great day.
Thanks for the tip Tim!!
Hey Ron, Great videos. Re the stain on the top of the passenger car after washing and waxing, have you thought about using orange oil? It may get that out if it is grease or oil based.
Hello and thanks. Never heard of orange oil. Will have to look into that!
@@classicmodeltrains One brand goes by the name Goo Gone.
@@mloik1 Oh! gotcha. yes goo gone is good stuff
Where can I get parts for my s scale train, such as new couplers and motor brushes.
Not really sure. I don't have a parts guy. Been lucky on the eBay.
I'll try ebay. I just don't have a lot of experience at this. Thanks.
Merch? I don't know.
Appreciate the response :-)
Hey, Ron. I normally stick with ya til the end because I enjoy hearing you talk. You have a Northern states accent that’s pleasing to my ear, oh sure! 😅 And I don’t want to miss any of your wisdom you put out about repairing the model trains. There’s three of you fellas I routinely follow because you each repair and restore model trains that teach me plenty about my own equipment and I hate to miss any information because I fear what I miss just might be that one odd piece of info I need to fix or correct something on one of my trains. Now I collect HO equipment but that doesn’t mean there isn’t something I could learn if you cover a Lionel or American Flyer repair. Electrical repairs or soldering are easily transferable skills in model railroading. Best wishes and see you on another video.
Thanks so much for supporting my channel and taking the time to leave a comment. :-). Glad I'm able to help
The trucks on those American Flyer diesels shifted forward and reverse normally. The truck was designed to rotate around the attachment to the yoke to allow the truck to transition at the beginning of a grade if you were using trestles. The design allowed a degree of equalization, but the consequence was that the trucks would shift back and forth a little. On the subject of the pins used to fasten the car chassis to the body, this was a cost-saving measure compared to earlier S gauge passenger car production, where they used screws fasten the body to the chassis. As the popularity of toy trains started to wane in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, and things like slot car sets and space toys began taking their toll on train sales, both American Flyer and Lionel began cost-reducing their products to compete. I enjoy your videos. Your commentary is very entertaining.
Thank you for your kind words and some great information!!!
I'm a 33%er Love your videos.
Thank you so much Gary :-)
i stayed til the end. I love PA's
Thanks Robert. This one did run a bit long
Great video, I'm currently working on a set of these, and this was incredibly helpful! Thank you!
Thank you. Sounds like the timing was just right :-)
Switch all the pin/ rivets with screws. I stay for all and entire video. Unless I realized I watched it before. But if it's a real good video I will watch it cpl times.
Thanks for your support of my channel John!!
The vlack of a front coupler was done to reduce costs and allow it to negotiate the tighter radius of pikemaster track. I now own the set and it is an interesting counterpoise as it runs adjacent to my 1955 Chief set.
A couple other Fellers informed my about what you mentioned. Thanks for sharing :-). Best them two look good running side by side!!
One more tip Ron, when pulling out those little rivets that hold the body on, take your pen soldering iron and put just a little heat on the heads, just enough that they will pry up easily, just make sure you don't over do it with the heat. Press them right back in with the soldering pen. Wait till you see how easily they go in and out using this method.
Ahhh.......Gotcha. The heat softens up the plastic. GREAT tip once again Sir!! Thank you :-)
Hey Ron, you can get a holding screwdriver or you can use a fixed magnet to magnetiz any screwdriver. Hope that helps and thanks for the great video.
Thanks Tom. I was looking for a magnet but it just escaped me where I stashed them all at. Screw-holding screwdriver.... I need to get one :-)