I finally completed my K-Line American Freedom Train Set

What a rich and rewarding journey!  It is the great stories about our hobby that make it one of the best.  Thanks for sharing.

Earl     

Thank you. 

Congrads great story

Love the story and the train! Hope your boys have enjoyed the adventure as much as you have. 

Great story,  sad about your friend that passed but nice to have a memory from him. Look forward to seeing a video of the engine and all 18 cars in tow. It will be impressive.  Thanks for sharing.  Nick T 

WindyCitySaint,

    Fantastic job, and great memories.  Maybe a real nice Military Train of some kind, for the younger son would be nice.  I am sure you will find something very special for him.  The important thing is you started a great family tradition with Don's help,  hopefully your sons will pass it on down thru the family for many generations to come, a great way to enjoy our hobby!

PCRR/Dave

Windy City Saint,      And the legacy is passed on to new generations.  As with myself, and many in the OGR Forum, and elsewhere, it is the memories of running trains with my father and rest of the family I cherish most.  Whether it be as Christmas gifts, birthday, or my purchase when older and have a job, it is synergistic.......    Congrats on the completion of such an endeavor and beginning of your own legacy.

Jesse    TCA   12-68275

Where did you find the last four cars at?

Thanks to everyone for the great replies. I'm currently finishing my basement however I do hope in the near future to have the shelves installed so I can display the set. I am curious to see if the semi scale engine will pull all the cars. I have the new legacy aft engine on order. 

Chuck, I bought the last four cars on eBay. They are pretty tough to find. 

PCRR/Dave- A military set would be great. I'm was thinking of the GGD 20th century set with a matching dreyfuss Hudson. 

It is a great set. I just ran mine at the July Greenberg Show in Monroeville,Pa.  I Pull it with my MTH  Freedome  Train T1 and GS4. I have the Kline engine but the Scale engines  make the set look much better, All 31 feet of Red White and Blue.

Thom- Any pictures?

Windycity,

 What seller?

Wow, I don't know if that K-Line GS-4 can pull all those cars. Great Job and enjoy it.

windycitysaint posted:

PCRR/Dave- A military set would be great. I'm was thinking of the GGD 20th century set with a matching dreyfuss Hudson. 

The Dreyfuss Hudson powered 20th Century Limited would be an excellent choice. I completed mine about a year ago. Now I'm trying to complete the 1948 version! Easier said than done. 

The Kline engine WILL PULL all the cars.  

WINDYCITYSAINT There are some Video's Of the set  at the Greenberg show in July. The Complete set all 31".

What a nice story, thanks for sharing.  Don't forget to make a similar pact with your youngest son when the time comes.  

Steven J. Serenska

That's a great story. It reminds me of a good friend of mine. Lionel made a similar PA powered train at around the same time that depicted a similar earlier patriotic train that toured the U.S. in the 1940s. 

Great story. Now you can get the Lionel full scale set coming out in Jan 2017. I also think 3rd rail is making the aft t&p locomotive.

Very nice story indeed. However I think you are missing 1 car. I to have the K-Line set and I have 19 cars. The original set included the engine, tender and 5 cars. Then there is the 4 pack and then 10 individual cars (Display cars #101 thru #109 and the #111 "Museum of America's Freedom") Car #111 is the hardest car to find. It took me almost 6 years to get car#111. I truly do not mean to put a damper on your quest or your story but you are missing 1 car. I have a spread sheet with the item numbers and descriptions. I will gladly email you the list if you wish. I do apologize for being a "nudge"

Mark

Mark Zeigler- there are 2 showcase cars, 11 display cars, the 4 pack passenger set and 1 observervation car. What is the 19th car that I'm missing????  I just checked the freedom train website and it says 18 cars total. 

This is from the freedom train website. 

I would also like to know what car I am Missing.  I to have all 18 cars. Every listing I have that's all that there were if the is a 19th I would like to know what it is.

First car with the Set 40-41-101-110-205 OBS.

Display cars  102-103 -104-105 106-107 108-109

4 Crew cars set

111 Museum car   TOTAL  18 cars

Please tell us What the 19th car is and a picture of it. Picture of the box also. 

I would be great for Lionel to produce the 3 flat cars as well. Check out the picture I found on the Internet. 

The owner of the website sells decals for the complete set of Freedom Train cars in HO and N scales.  If you ask real nice, he will sell you some in O sale.  I bought decals for the 3 flat cars and the containers and put them on some Atlas 68 foot flats.  They look real nice.  I am working on creating the 20' containers.  With the new cars Lionel is making I am hoping to complete the original 26 car consist.

Rolland

Here is a shot from the Greenberg Show with the MTH T1:

And you can see a bit of  it running in the videos in this thread.

It is a very impressive train!

Andy

I think this is awesome, we need a dedicated video so we can see more of the train.

To everyone on the forum and especially windycitysaint I apologize. I am wrong. I waited until this morning to verify my spread sheet. I had car number 101 from the 5 car set listed as car number 100. I do have 19 cars but I have a duplicate car number 101. I am truly sorry for interjecting false information into this thread and ruining an outstanding and thoughtful story. My apologies to all.

Mark

windycitysaint,

Really nice story.  Since your goal was to get all the cars to complete your friend's set, I'm glad you were successful.  When I first read the story I counted the number of display cars in the picture and saw you had all 11.  I was impressed, because as Mark pointed out the museum car (#111) is very hard to find since relatively few were made.  Great work finding them all.

Now, don't be like me.  My set is in storage and has not been run as a whole train.  I hope you can run your set soon - and don't forget to take pictures/video.

I had a little bit of cell phone video of the AFT - it can be seen near the beginning of these short videos:

Andy

Mark-No problem. 

Thanks to everyone for the replies and kind words. I will post a video and some more pictures in the near future. I'm currently having special shelves made for my display. I will try to have a few videos too. I'm currently finishing my basement but I will put some track together and run it on the floor. I do have the legacy aft engine on order and it's due in September. I'm gonna give it to my oldest son for his birthday in October. It would be very cool if the Lionel box was in aft colors like the passenger cars are. Thanks to all forum members. 

That's a very nice story. Sorry to hear about friend Don. Reminds me that last weekend not this past, my Grandmother passed away which is really sad, but a friend of mine, just a little under a week after she died, he's having a Grandchild. That's really nice. But my grandmother is in a better place with no pain and your friend Don is. But I bet he is very proud of you that your son has the American Freedom Train now and that someone young is into the hobby as the younger generation are all in phones and video games and not into model railroading. That's what model Railroading is all about. People. But Trains are the best stress reliever if something stressful goes on. That's why if I get stressed or upset over something, I'll go out to our layout or go see trains and then you forget all your troubles. Anyway, the song below I dedicate to you and your family to a happy future with your son and the next new train set for your youngest son. As Frank will say....

WindCitySaint - thanks for sharing your story and congratulations on completing the set.  Don would indeed be proud.  My Dad took me to see the AFT when it came through our hometown on 18 Oct 76.  I still have the ticket, program and belt buckle.  I was fortunate enough to recently acquire the K-Line set as well and like you, just need to find the 4-car pax set.  Congratulations again and enjoy!

Daryl

Tom Jr-Sorry for your loss. Thank you for the kind words. On of my favorite songs. 

Daryl-  I'll keep my eye out on a 4 pack set for you. 

That's a good one all around.  Have fun.

WindCitySaint - thanks and enjoy the set!  Hope to see some pictures or a video of your set up and running soon.

Daryl

A very nice story and a great accomplishment!   

Andy Hummell posted:

Here is a shot from the Greenberg Show with the MTH T1:

And you can see a bit of  it running in the videos in this thread.

It is a very impressive train!

Andy

Andy that looks great.  In addition to the train, I really like the corner module.  It takes a lot of work to make a nicely round section like that.  Can you tell me what size curves those are?  I know my club uses o-72 on the inside, but only three sets of tracks opposed to the four I see here.

Windycitysaint - congratulations on finishing your quest.  the last time I embarked on such a mission was many years ago collecting the "favorite spirits" series of reefers.  Unfortunately there was no engine to go with them.

John Z.

jhz563 posted:

Andy Hummell posted:

Here is a shot from the Greenberg Show with the MTH T1:

And you can see a bit of  it running in the videos in this thread.

It is a very impressive train!

Andy

Andy that looks great.  In addition to the train, I really like the corner module.  It takes a lot of work to make a nicely round section like that.  Can you tell me what size curves those are?  I know my club uses o-72 on the inside, but only three sets of tracks opposed to the four I see here.

The inner curve is approximately O-72.  Not sure exactly how the other curves work out.

Andy

Andy Hummell posted:

jhz563 posted:

Andy Hummell posted:

Here is a shot from the Greenberg Show with the MTH T1:

And you can see a bit of  it running in the videos in this thread.

It is a very impressive train!

Andy

Andy that looks great.  In addition to the train, I really like the corner module.  It takes a lot of work to make a nicely round section like that.  Can you tell me what size curves those are?  I know my club uses o-72 on the inside, but only three sets of tracks opposed to the four I see here.

The inner curve is approximately O-72.  Not sure exactly how the other curves work out.

Andy

Nice. What is the center to center spacing from track to track?

Wow.  I am a big Freedom train fan, having seen it right before my 7th birthday in my hometown in Florida during the last month of the train's run. 4449 pulled it at that time.

If I modeled standard gauge in any scale, I'd have built a model of this train by now as it's one my most cherished memories of my youth. There's a very good Freedom Train site that goes over the history of the train and shows where all that equipment is now if it still exists (I've contributed a lot of photos and info to that site over the years). The observation car from the train is near where I live, slowly rotting away on a siding along the Mt Rainier Scenic RR....

P51-Where exactly is the observervation car now and how do you know it's the same observervation car?  Any pictures?

BobbyD posted:

Andy Hummell posted:

jhz563 posted:

Andy Hummell posted:

Here is a shot from the Greenberg Show with the MTH T1:

And you can see a bit of  it running in the videos in this thread.

It is a very impressive train!

Andy

Andy that looks great.  In addition to the train, I really like the corner module.  It takes a lot of work to make a nicely round section like that.  Can you tell me what size curves those are?  I know my club uses o-72 on the inside, but only three sets of tracks opposed to the four I see here.

The inner curve is approximately O-72.  Not sure exactly how the other curves work out.

Andy

Nice. What is the center to center spacing from track to track?

Had to look it up - our tracks are 4.25" center to center, so that means the outer 3 curves work out to around O-80.5, O-89, and O-97.5.  These are estimates and might actually be bigger, as I am not certain that the inner is actually O-72 - it might be bigger.

Andy

Andy Hummell posted:

Here is a shot from the Greenberg Show with the MTH T1:

And you can see a bit of  it running in the videos in this thread.

It is a very impressive train!

Andy

Andy,

It looks like the first car is part of MTH's set of passenger cars painted in AFT colors.  I have both of the baggage cars MTH has issued and, like in the picture, plan to run them with the K-Line cars simulating the two storage cars.  Like windyciry I hope someone (Lionel as part of their current effort?) makes the flat cars and sells them individually or as a set.

CAPPilot posted:

Andy Hummell posted:

Here is a shot from the Greenberg Show with the MTH T1:

And you can see a bit of  it running in the videos in this thread.

It is a very impressive train!

Andy

Andy,

It looks like the first car is part of MTH's set of passenger cars painted in AFT colors.  I have both of the baggage cars MTH has issued and, like in the picture, plan to run them with the K-Line cars simulating the two storage cars.  Like windyciry I hope someone (Lionel as part of their current effort?) makes the flat cars and sells them individually or as a set.

You have a sharp eye!   That baggage car is MTH.  It didn't play well with the rest of the train (kept derailing) and was removed from the consist for the rest of the show.

Andy

Andy

Is that the K-Line 4449 pulling the Freedom Train or The MTH one?

Jim

Jim Troutman posted:

Andy

Is that the K-Line 4449 pulling the Freedom Train or The MTH one?

Jim

 

The MTH one.

Andy

Andy Hummell posted:

CAPPilot posted:

Andy Hummell posted:

Here is a shot from the Greenberg Show with the MTH T1:

And you can see a bit of  it running in the videos in this thread.

It is a very impressive train!

Andy

Andy,

It looks like the first car is part of MTH's set of passenger cars painted in AFT colors.  I have both of the baggage cars MTH has issued and, like in the picture, plan to run them with the K-Line cars simulating the two storage cars.  Like windyciry I hope someone (Lionel as part of their current effort?) makes the flat cars and sells them individually or as a set.

You have a sharp eye!   That baggage car is MTH.  It didn't play well with the rest of the train (kept derailing) and was removed from the consist for the rest of the show.

Andy

Andy,

Did you try running the MTH car closer to the back of the train, in front of the crew cars, where the real storage car would have been most of the time?

The baggage car had a coupler problem that I have to fix, This Baggage had those silver doors that I repainted.

Really glad that I have this set on of my favorite's.

Mark Zeigler posted:

Very nice story indeed. However I think you are missing 1 car. I to have the K-Line set and I have 19 cars. The original set included the engine, tender and 5 cars. Then there is the 4 pack and then 10 individual cars (Display cars #101 thru #109 and the #111 "Museum of America's Freedom") Car #111 is the hardest car to find. It took me almost 6 years to get car#111. I truly do not mean to put a damper on your quest or your story but you are missing 1 car. I have a spread sheet with the item numbers and descriptions. I will gladly email you the list if you wish. I do apologize for being a "nudge"

Mark

Hope this isn't too late - Can you e-mail me your spreadsheet?

Thanks

Paul,

Technically, you are not missing any of the AFT cars. The museum car would be nice to have but it is a fantasy car and never on the AFT.  I have it but do not display it.

K-Line was going to issue a new car every 20 years, and the museum car covered 1977 to 1996. Too bad K-Line is not around anymore to add to the set.

The original #111 was the exit/power car.

CAPPilot posted:

Paul,

Technically, you are not missing any of the AFT cars. The museum car would be nice to have but it is a fantasy car and never on the AFT.  I have it but do not display it.

K-Line was going to issue a new car every 20 years, and the museum car covered 1977 to 1996. Too bad K-Line is not around anymore to add to the set.

The original #111 was the exit/power car.

I am not planning on adding the museum - as you mentioned - because it was not part of the AFT. The only cars I'm currently looking to add  are the 2 showcase cars - #40 and #41 because they were part of the AFT. Would be nice to be able to add all the remaining cars, but doubt the'yre going to be made. Just hoping for $#40 and 41.