Fixing Up This 72 Year Old American Flyer Train Set.
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 มิ.ย. 2024
- This 1952 American Flyer Set 4904T features a "Pacific" 4-6-2 Steam Locomotive and includes all of its original set pieces was an awesome find for me. Sat on My shelves for months until it's turn came up for a revival. Follow along and see what it took to get wonderful piece of Americana running the rails again.
E-mail me at: classicmodeltrains@aol.com
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Mailing Address: Classic Model Trains
1507 Old Hardin Road
Billings, Mt. 59101
@classicmodeltrains
My second channel mentioned link below.
@RonsClassicRVs
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😅 Thanks! Now I can fix my 4-8-4!
Thank you very much for the Super Thanks!! Glad to help you out with yours
I love how halfway through he just shows us his rv
:-)
I love your videos because it's like being there. Your conversation is always great. I feel like I'm hanging out with a buddy.
Very kind of you!!
Ron you are awesome, your sound effects and talking is why I keep watching your videos, keep up the awesome work.
Thanks so much Mark :-)
Ron love your videos and restoring the locomotives, very cool you rate right along SMT Harrison you both inspire to keep my ho scale trains running great
Thanks. 👌👍😇🇺🇸
Thank you John!! Very kind of you to say :-)
We are the proud owners of an American Flyer set around this vintage. It's fun to get it out and run it once in a while. I wish we had room for a dedicated layout for every gauge, but we don't. 🤣
I wish the same thing.
WOW! You are something, almost like the 7th wonder of the world, showing us all your world and supper smart with the homestead... I am part of your 33% now Thanks.
Wow, thank you!
I get more belly laughs from your wonderful repair videos than from anything on Netflix. Great job on this one -- and thanks for the tip about CA and backing soda!
Wow, thank you Stephen!
Ron. You're part mechanic, part electrician, part engineer, part detective and all together one heck of a teacher.
That transformer reminds me of the one I had when I was 8 years old. I got in trouble and Dad took the train away from me for punishment. Of course when Dad went to work and Mom was busy I snuck up into their bedroom where they were keeping it and had a grand ole time. Of course Dad came home and in a panic I ran out of the room and left the transformer on. An hour later the stink from the transformer burning up inundated the whole apartment. (Minot AFB mid sixties)
Not only couldn't I sit down for a couple of days but I watched my Christmas gift go in the trash. But hey. A couple years later I got another set and was wise enough to take better care of it.
That's quite a story there Norm. I have a similar one but involved a motorcycle. Endings were very similar as well ;-)
@@classicmodeltrains
Yep. When Dad says no, he means no.
Hey Ron. Was having classic model trains withdrawal. Glad to see the video!
Is that Nicole Kidman?
Great show Ron, kudos to you. Can’t wait for the RV show when it’s ready. Keep em coming, but when you’re ready, we will be here…
Thanks John!
This channel is one of the best. I think you’re easy to listen to and like how u can bring life back to these trains and make them run again. Good luck with your new camper and transition to the new train rm can’t wait to check it out.
Thank you very much!
I can't resist an old Tri-ang set, the worse they are, the more fun restoring them! You cannot beat the old stuff for quality. Another fine video!
I have one tri-ang waiting its turn for repairs. I like the old stuff as well
Love your videos. Always very informative and fun to watch. Good to see older equipment get a new lease on life. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you John!!
I love seeing these old models restored; but GD, these models are not easy to fiddle with
AF's are not that bad. The more you do the easier it gets
Wow, what a transformation Ron. I am looking forward to the new studio, that is exciting! Thanks, Jeff Hanna
Thanks. I'm looking forward as well.
Ron, be careful with any old transformer, especially American Flyer that doesn't have a circuit breaker. A.C.Gilbert identified all circuit breaker equipped transformers with the letter B after the model number. Yours doesn't have the circuit breaker, otherwise it would be a 2B. Hope this is helpful.
After I shorted it out in the video I realized it didnt have a circuit breaker. But Now I know which ones to look for. Thanks!!
Thanks Ron. I have this same Pacific t clean and fix up! Glad you’re moving on up to the East Side with your new trailer!!
Thanks Erick. Yup its taking some time to get the 5th wheel finished so we can move into that.
Nice trick on rebuilding the screw hole. Will add to my train notes. Another great job on repair and run.
Thanks Gabe
Thank you for the good video good bless you
Glad you enjoyed it!
Had a long day..came home saw another train video was out..made my day!..best Hobby in the world…
Glad to brighten your day
My 1956 set has knuckle couplers. The uncoupler works great uncoupling the cars AND, when a train is not running over the uncoupler, it works as a train horn 🙂
:-)
One tip I can offer as a American flyer guy that you may not know yet is that the white film you saw on the link couplers has leached out of the plastic. A bit of a blast with a hair dryer will eliminate the white quite easily. Nice video, thanks.
Thanks for this information Mark. The "new" hopper that showed up has that going on. I will try that technique out
The track is nice. But it's so flimsy. Is it tin? Thin Tin Tin! I love the old sets. Pure Americana! Thank you!
I trust you are busy fixin' RV's this summer. Stay cool.
Yup! Fixin RV's for the customers and then Mine in the evenings. Busy busy..
Exceptional work Ron! It's good to know that you're located where you are too. My daughter and her family will be taking our camper out your way this summer and if they have problems, I'll tell them about your day business.
Thanks William. I'm usually booked out a month or so for RV repairs.
Hello Ron , way to save those moldy oldies . My guess for model of the week was going to be Mama Cass : ( Oh well maybe next week . Thank you for your great teaching videos .
:-)
Marx guy here, Flyers are nice, but a pain in the ass to work on. Me likem vintage tin.
Love running into Fellers who dig Marx Tinplate!!
Blue Loctite. I use it when I reassemble steam locomotive drive trains. Keeps the little screws and wheel shafts from working out.
THANK YOU Mark!! Very kind of you Sir!
Nice model, Ron. I don't have any flyer models, but I've always been intrigued by them. I'm glad the CA and backing soda worked for you. I've used it to make a lot of repairs on broken corners of plastic cabs of Marx locomotives and replace broken missing center windshield posts of Marx E7's. I've repaired all the broken mounting studs in a K-line trainmaster shell. The black plastic can easily be touched up with a black magic permanent marker. Hobby Lobby has a good selection of different colored paint markers for touch-ups. I've found that the thin CA glue and fresh backing soda give the best results. It can be filed, sanded, drilled, painted, and now apparently tapped. It's quick and very effective and can be shaped to the original part. I've even repaired an interlocking hinge on a computer.
Yup, That CA/B.S. trick is a useful one. Thats the first time I tried it.
Hello my friend! Nice to have you back!
Although - as you now - we here at the South don’t mess much with American Flyer you did another amazing job Ron: congrats!
Hello Regis! Good to hear from you my Friend!!
Watched your Flyer restore video last night and enjoyed it very much. I have found Flyer to be slightly more difficult to r-hab due to their lack of part numbers and documentation. So, like you, I just tough it out while enjoying every minute of it. As a Lionel guy it makes me appreciate all the information that is readily available from them. Looks like you have your hands full with that trailer renovation....good luck with that....can't wait to see your new larger digs. Keep up the great work!
I wished all models of every gauge had documentation like the Lionel stuff does!!
Ooo, I've never seen an exposed E-unit before. Neat seeing how it works! I've cleaned up some old Marx O-gauge locos, but the E-units are covered up; sometimes they stick, but a good few taps on the top of the boiler usually fixes it.
They are kinda neat to see cycling around. On that Marx spray some brake parts cleaner on that reverser unit to get the gunk off and it shouldn't stick anymore
Great to see you are ok. I will cancel the search party.
It is nice to see the progress on the new home, looking good, the lil lady will be happy. Looking forward to seeing the new train room, rooms....?
Another outstanding video. Nice to see a complete old train set running the rails again. The decoupling device sure worked good, better than the new one..lol.
Coming here is like hanging out a a buddies shop.
Keep up the good work, don't get burned out. Have a beer and a smoke!
Good to be in the 33% group. Until the next one, Cheers 🥂
Thanks Robert! Your the second Feller to use the reference "hanging out with a buddy". Thank you for sharing that with me. Im glad I'm coming across like that in the video's.
Loved this video. I didn't know anything about S gauge and it is really interesting. Great to see the model running on the original track too. Enjoyed the story of the RV and I just watched it on your other channel when I discovered it and subscribed. I too own my transportable home except mine isn't on wheels and needs to be moved with a crane. It's a little 1 bedroom cottage and I just rent the plot it sits on and it's very affordable. If you can't afford to get on the property ladder, this is the next best thing and beats the heck out of the private rental market. I'm 71 and everyone in this little village is old so it's a nice place to live. Your new train building looks like it is going to be wonderful so looking forward to that. My train set takes up a corner of my lounge room! Excellent. 😊👍
Thanks Pauline for your support. Ive heard about those little retirement communities like you described. They sound real nice!
@@classicmodeltrains You're welcome. I feel safe here and I and many others can afford to live because contrary to popular belief, not all retired baby boomers are wealthy home owners.
Awesome train set Ron.
Many thanks!
As always Sir Great Video! Very well done and amazing job! Love the channel and all you do!
Thank you kindly!
I understand with summer, I live in Canada. The summer jobs kick in and the trains generally sit until winter.
Unfortunately yes. Model RRing can be a bit seasonal for us "younger" Fellers :-)
my grandpas friend has the same locomotive and same transformer, however he has red pullman coaches for it. cool video!
Thanks! Them red coaches are nice
This is great it’s Vice Grip for Model Trains
Fellers have mentioned that in the past
Train Boy....LOLOLOLOL good one
:-D
I enjoy the great videos. I don't mind waiting
Glad you like them!
Always remove the smoke tube before trying to take the shell off. The round side of the end cap for the motor always goes down. You can get better smoke from one that has been sitting around for year by shooting some WD10 down the smoke tube after it has been put back together. Nice job on repairing the screw hole on the shell.
Thanks David. I always forget that dang smoke tube on these AF's.
I’ve found those Flyers can be testing of one’s patience at times. Great job getting it all straightened out! I had a feeling you were a full time RV guy from how your property is layed out. Which in my opinion, anytime you can find a way to not pay as many taxes, DO IT! Danged government gets enough money from us only to figure out the stupidest ways to spend it or hassle us.
I like the way you think Joshua!!
I figured you were too busy doing something or other, but I know you. 'Nuff said. Oh, real nice job on the model too..
Greetings MC. Yes I bite off more than I can chew a lot over the Sumer months.
New trailer looks great.
Thanks
It’s great to see you back up and making train videos. No matter what, our lives get crazy at times, and we need to take care of things. No matter what, we’ll still be here for you. Great restoration on this American Flyer train set. That’s what makes your channel better than others. You have variety of trains, and that’s what makes it very entertaining! Great job! Tom
Thank you Tom!
Hello there. Good to see you are keeping your priorities in order and getting the new home all cleaned up, fixed up and ready for the little lady (what a massive amount of work - you deserve a smoke and a several cold ones)! Well, I guess you can stay there too as long as you are not in the doghouse with Oogy ;-). I really like it when you show us around your Tucked Away domain and all the stuff you get up to in your three hour work days. And Oh, how I remember my days in the Continental Army cleaning out cannon barrels...it really takes me back. Don't remember the Classic Model though; maybe she was with the British? (thanks for the pic of Max, nice to see him again). What will your next video be? GET TO IT, TRAINING BOY!
Thank you Very Much MZ!! That dog is a new pup we just got. Named her Dumpster. Shepherd/Husky Mix. Definitely looks like Max's offspring for sure. Yes I always enjoyed cleaning the smooth bore cannons, lots easier than the ones with rifling ;-)
Try using the milder liquid Ivory soap with water, when cleaning the plastic cars. Brush lightly with the tooth brush, and it will help not to remove the printing on the cars. Lionel cars have the same issue.
Yup. I have a different soap than usual in there
Youre an awsome creator
Very kind of you Marshall
The last big Christmas gift my father got when he was a kid was an American Flyer train set. Some parts are worse than others but I’ve still got most of his set.
Thats pretty cool you have your Dad's train set!
Wonderful work as usual.
Thank you
Hey Ron, great to see another video, do what you got to do for the homestead, don't worry about us, I slow down on train stuff this time of year, 10,000 other things I need to fix - LOL.
Future idears for shows:
Love to see more pro DC innovations - adding LED lights to DC locos, running DC with multiple xfmrs (hoping to do this),
Sound for DC, I recent bought 2- $10 bluetooth mini speakers, hide in a cattle car and BT train sounds to it from phone or computer. All you see on YT is DCC, any DC vids are simple track layout, need to run multiple locos on DC/lash ups etc.
I have almost 90 DC locos - really don't want to switch over to DCC - help ?
You going to put a big layout in the old house ? Look forward to it.
Hello Patrick, Thanks for some cool ideas on future video topics. Yes larger layout coming
Hi. small tip I got about 5 years ago from Darth SantaFe; ATF fluid makes for a good lube oil. It's conductive and last forever. Way cheaper than labelle.I use it on everything from brass to plastic - gears, wheel bearings, trucks, mouthwash....you name it.
Mouthwash........ he he!! I dont use petroleum based lubricants on plastic. It degrades the plastic over time. My video of the Big Boy restoration shows the proof.
@@classicmodeltrains really? oh crap....
Great video as usual. I have an old s gauge American flyer that I have had for about 60 years. I suppose I will need to work on it soon. I appreciate your tips.
60 years is a long time to have a train set. Thats pretty amazing to me :-)
I had the same set as a kid, with the same problems. Thanks for showing how to fix it.
“Takes me back to the 80s” 😂
;-)
Love your work ethics.
I make myself sound like I get less done than I actually do. :-)
Hi Ron, love your videos! I've been a subscriber for a good while and always look forward to see what you're working on next! I've been a collector and restorer of mainly Lionel for a long time, but I like American Flyer as well. 33%er here.
Thanks Roger for all your support!
Great video, Ron. Beautiful 5th wheel. Concerning the transformer, maybe a piece of electrical tape as an insulator to cut the power. What do ya think?
Thanks Mark. I believe the wipe is not going all the way to the park location in the transformer. Cheap transformers anyway. didnt offer much for power when I was testing with it.
Hey Ron,
I watch your videos. Love them. I just thought I would mention that I had a 283 last winter that I got on E-bay and it had the same problem with the front truck jumping the track. It had the compression spring and everything, just like yours. I tried everything I could think of but finally removed the spring altogether and it has never jumped the track since. Just a thought.
As always,
YesSirRee Bob.
Thanks for the information!!
I enjoyed your tenacity in this repair and like seeing these old train sets hitting the rails again. Great video, Jersey Bill
Thank you very much Jersey Bill!
Ron, that’s not paint on the tenders link coupler. American flyer link couplers and wheels sometimes turn white as they age. It’s thought that this is due to chemicals in the material leaching out. The best way to turn them back to their natural black colour is to heat them with a heat gun or hair dryer. Just make sure not to heat them too much or you’ll melt them. As you heat them up you’ll be able to observe the white disappearing. In my experience, the white colour doesn’t come back when you treat them with heat. At least not for another 60 or 70 years it won’t come back white.
Thank you for this great bit of information!! I will have to do that to one on video and pass it along :-)
Great video Ron. I like that you let us know what else is going on in your life, fixing up the 5th wheel and your new train room and your day job. Your videos are like your talking to us individually. Looking forward to the next video. 33%
Thank you for this comment. Several other have also made similar comments about the style I used in this video. Guess I will have to keep that up.
Someone mentioned belly laughs in their comments…I agree…haven’t had this many watching your vids since my kids were toddlers…keep up the stellar work…nice renno on that 5th wheel…cheers from Ontario…
Thank you for the compliments :-)
Too much fun Ron. great work. Love the repair with the baking soda and glue. I think your dog loves you outside. Good luck with the 40' train room. Looking forward to seeing that completed. CYA in a few weeks.
Thanks Gary
Great video!!
Thank you
cool video
Thanks
Nice video
Thanks
That was my first train set as a little kid, would like to have one again.
They made a bunch of them. My first set was a bunch of partial sets put together. I cant hardly remember any single part of the whole thing
On the variable side, AF transformers maintain a low voltage so that the e unit will not drop into neutral and the locomotive will start in the same direction. To drop the voltage to zero to change direction there should be a direction current cut-off button.
I have seen pictures of those, but I still believe this transformer was a bit broken because this set was complete and it did not include a cut-out button.
Ron love your stuff. I have lots of interests Lionel , American flyer and HO. As of today I am Lionel and American Flyer mostly. Love all your experiences with both. What you teach me is classic
Glad to be helping out Steve!
Thank you for sharing.👍
Thanks for watching !
Beautiful restoration Ron! So smooth and quiet. Love it love it! And yes, your sound effects are superb!
Thank you Marty
My grandmother was 1 or 2 years old when that set was sold
:-)
Add me to the list of “me to’ers.” Watching your channel is like hanging out with my buddy. You’ve got a real personable style about you that’s genuine and friendly. I don’t care about American Flyer. I care about you. I want to hear what you got to say and what you have been doing. Now, since you got a new RV to live in it’s gonna be amazing to see what you do as you move into your older RV with your trains. Maybe you’ll build a bigger layout that you’ll operate with freight and passenger cars! Holy moly! Montana rail service! What a great locale to run trains!
I know who Elle Macpherson is, but I just couldn’t recognize her from that pose you chose. Too much hair covering her face disguised her to me. Ain’t complaining, just saying, and she’s still a beauty! She’s older now, of course, but still long and lean and just as beautiful as she was 40 years ago. She’s an SI classic babe of top quality!
Thank you for your kind words! Yes Elle is still keeping it together now a days for sure!!
Outstanding as always Ron.
I appreciate that
Great video
Thanks!
Wow you sure are a busy guy and will have to check out your other channel that I previously didn’t know about but another fantastic restoration done up really nicely 👍
Thank you
Nice work on this 72 year old American flyer set!
Glad you like it!
@@classicmodeltrains I did it was cool! 33%er right here thanks for sharing this!
Keep Up the Awsomeness Don’t stop Doin What you’re Doing👍👍👍👍.
Thank you :-)
Sweet ... it's showing me from the beginning now 👍
Right on!!
You are what makes the videos Awesome 😊😊
Thank you so much Ron!!
Great video. Thanks for sharing. Gotta love the 33%ters. .😊
Thanks for watching!
Terrific job, Ron. This was a real pleasure to watch. I'm glad to see you have some challenging RV jobs to keep you occupied, also. The best of luck buddy.
Thanks for watching
glad to see your ok love the work done on the fifth wheel i couldnt do it
Yup, still kickin. over here :-)
Hi Ron & it's is Randy and i like yours video is Cool & Thanks Ron & Friends Randy
Hello Randy, Glad you liked this video :-)
Thanks for another informative video Ron! Got 2 of those locos I'll be working on soon. Feel a bit more confident digging into them after watching you're video! Great job as always! Thanks again! Have a couple cold ones for me!
Thanks Bob! Your revival will be smooth sailing
Been getting back into my HO Scale layout here recently. I have quite a few cars and locos I would love to get back up and running 😎
Welcome back! Hope you get your empire up and running again
Ron, My grandfather taught me a trick for holes and screws that turn and turn ... break off a small piece of a match stick and place it into the hole, it then gives the screw something to bite onto and makes it firm again. You can use any small piece of wood, tree twig, plastic, cardboard etc.. Looks like you will have a lot more room for your layout now so a new design?
Yes I'm familiar with that old trick as well. Usually use it with bigger screws and such. Yes going to make a new design as well for the layout. Can wait to get started
S scale’s prices are ridiculous. That has always kept me from getting into this scale. anyway, another good video. Thanks.
Some of it is expensive but a lot of the common stuff is very affordable and well built
You don’t have to Be Fancy But to work On that no matter what scale Is Always a Challenge But a Great Way to spend Time and Money on that hands Down.
I like fixing them all
Hi Ron. Great job on the American Flyer! Now I feel confident in taking my dad's American Flyer locomotive out of the attic and revive it, too.
With that said, for future screw post rebuild, another method is using cotton from a cotton ball and CA. When you pull the cotton fibers apart, you can mold it into a shape and place CA on top. Just like Fiberglass and resin. Baking soda and CA was a great gap filler in corners when building our balsa wood RC airplanes too.
Hello Mark, I hope you get your Dads AF running again and thanks for another "trick" with the cotton balls :-)
@classicmodeltrains Thank you, Ron! Thank you for your videos! I always enjoy them!
@classicmodeltrains - Hi Ron.. this is a follow-up. My father and I watched your American Flyer video on Father's Day. He was tickled and enjoyed the video. He was able to confirm that his American Flyer model was the "Pennsylvania H6". Thanks again!
I want a set just like that
There is a lot of them out there
Shoot! Missed it!
Sorry, I only gave it about 45 minutes of advertisement before it started. Next time I should go about 8 hours worth I'm guessing
You be da Man!
Thanks
The model is Elle Macpherson
Yup!!
Thanks for the video, well worth the wait. I would have just made another coal load for covering up the hopper. Does that rubber bottle-stopper looking part make the chugging sound? 33%er signing off.
Thanks John, Yes the black thing makes the chugging and also the air pressure for the smoke to come out.
@@classicmodeltrains Thanks for the info! I wonder why Lionel didn't try something like that until the MPC era?
Do what you gotta do.....5th wheel looks good!!!
Thanks!
It looks good. The only thing that I was wondering is how well the insulating paper holds up after going through the ultrasonic cleaning process. If it doesn't make it weak, then this process would work well with O gauge 3 rail track, also.
I have dumped track in several different types of cleaning products to either start the cleaning process or getting off rust without issue. I’ve even glass beaded very rusty track, painted it as a whole, then lightly sanded the top rails to get electrical connection. The insulating paper seems to hold up fine for me. I will say that it’s a good idea to ohm each piece of track in case there might be a problem. I’ve also completely tortured myself by taking track completely apart in order to clean it up correctly, but after I realized I could do basically anything to large batches I switch between soaking or glass beading.
I have not suffered any problems with the cleaning process I used. I do wait until the paper is dry once again before applying the juice.
👍👍Al Gorithm comment👍👍Keep up the good work!
Thanking you!!
Ron the variable voltage output reads 7- 15 volts.
Yes I seen that, but one would expect it to be "off" and then start at 7 volts, I could be wrong
I'm so sorry,I was wrong about the voltage,I'm sorry, but the model actor is Yvonne De Carlo I'm sure of that, maybe not sure I'm so confused.
I had to google Yvonne, Quite a looker back in the day