WheezerTheGeezer posted:After almost 50 years I'm retired and getting back to my inner American Flyer roots.
I always wanted an AF Frontiersman so off I went to eBay and snagged a nice set.
It turned out to be a 20550 kit. This one had the three cars.... surprisingly.
I haven't fired it up since it got delivered... I need to be careful so I don't damage anything.I'll be scouring this forum for hints as to how to proceed safely.. I want this set running under my Christmas tree this season.
Anyway, I took some pix of the kit. The tracks are stored under the cardboard tray that holds the engine, tender and the three cars.
In one of the pix you can see the sales tag. $27.94 purchased in Dayton Ohio from the Rike Kumler Company.
It looks like you snagged a pretty nice version of the 1960 set. The 1959 set would have had a pair of the "20" coaches while the 1960 set had a "20" and a "40" in the box. The 20550 set always had the "30" packaged separately. In '59 the "30" was available as an add-on, typically as a premium with a coupon from Post Cereals. In '60 the "30" was included but always in its own box. As you can see from your set, the place where the "3rd car" sits is actually where the track fits. There are no cutouts for the wheels and chassis as you can see where the cars just below the locomotive are positioned. That said, many sets were stored with the "3rd car" (typically the "30") in the space where the track goes simply because it's convenient.
I can't quite discern from your pictures, but the "40" should have a smokestack on the roof slightly offset to the right and positioned between the 2nd and third windows. (In some cases the roof has been repositioned so that the smokestack appears on the opposite side above the baggage door.) If your smokestack is missing you can get one inexpensively from Doug Peck at Portlines Hobbies.
A set as clean as yours and still in its original box typically indicates that it wasn't run much. A drop of lubrication here and there and a good cleaning of the tender wheels (and track) are all that's needed to get your Frontiersman fully operational.
Most of the commercially available smoke fluids will work well with your Frontiersman. I find that Anormal-1's fluid is close enough to Gilbert's formula. It's readily available on eBay at reasonable prices and often comes with the little funnel.
Hope your set is a Big Hit around this year's Christmas Tree!
