I have my sources for parts for Lionel and Marx but not having much luck finding a source for my pre-war American Flyer "O" gauge stuff. Was at the Allentown show and talked to several "flyer" parts dealers but they dealt in "S" gauge. I'm looking for some link couplers to replace some broken ones. Does anyone know of a dealer that sells American Flyer prewar O gauge parts?
Thanks
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As usual you are a terrific source for information. Thanks for your help Steve...
Concerning AF couplers, I am in need of a American Flyer HO Hudson rear coupler. Is this coupler a common HO coupler?
Harry III has just returned with our purchase of the M.E.W. parts line. It will take a little while to sort and get into our 'on-line' parts listing (includes pictures). For those of you unfamiliar, go to our site: www.henningstrains.com, In the upper left hand corner, click on 'SHOP ON LINE', this will take you to our product line. Scroll down to M.E.W. and click on Lionel, American Flyer, Ives or Dorfan.
I know we have Ives std. gage electric wheels, both wide & narrow frame type, AF std. electric wheels, Lionel 'O' 260 steam wheels , AF std. passenger car wheels, AF std. black steam wheels w/o crank insert.
We are working on producing Lionel std. electric wheels first, No time line yet. All parts will continue to be made in U.S.A. 
The Old Man.
Bruce,
Thank You for your kind offer but besides couplers I'm going to need new link coupler pins so I'm just going to go ahead and get everything from Port Lines Hobby supplies. I have 8 cars that need coupler work and that is just too much to ask of anyone. Thanks again for the offer... Jay
Looking for current parts providers for American Flyer prewar O gauge parts. Specifically the valve gear for a 4-8-4 that was probably a kit (no engine #), but seems exactly similar to the engine #571. Any help would be appreciated.
@sclouse posted:Looking for current parts providers for American Flyer prewar O gauge parts. Specifically the valve gear for a 4-8-4 that was probably a kit (no engine #), but seems exactly similar to the engine #571. Any help would be appreciated.
I don't believe anyone makes those parts. Best bet is to find a junker that has the parts you need.
Any advice on what 'key words' I should be searching for to find the missing valve gear/side rods for the American Flyer prewar O gauge 4-8-4 in the pic?
If you go to our website, scroll down a bit and click on "ENTER STORE" in the black rectangular box, then Scroll down on l.h. side to MEW. Click on A.Flyer "O" and everything we have in stock is pictured and priced. I know little or nothing about Flyer & Ives, so "POT LUCK"!! You folks decide if you can use. Harry
You are looking for engine models 571, 572, or 806.
The prewar numbering system for the Flyer 3/16ths O gauge trains is screwy - the 4-8-4 Challenger was available in standard worm gear drive models, worm gear drive with RDC models (the reverse unit controlled by a relay that was triggered by DC ala the way Lionel triggered the whistle in their whistle tenders - the Flyer engine would continue running in the same direction, even if power was cut and then restored until the jolt of DC triggered the reverse unit to cycle), spur gear models with RDC, kit version models - the catalog/dealer ordering numbers didn't always match the number stamped on the cab. Luckily, the valve gear/linkage/siderods are the same for all the prewar O gauge variations of the 4-8-4 Challenger.
The parts number for the side rods for a prewar 3/16ths O gauge 4-8-4 is the same as the part number used for a postwar S gauge 332/335/336 4-8-4; the part number is PA8994-A, and you should be able to easily obtain those. The parts that were used to assemble the valve gear/linkage have common parts except for the 3/16ths O gauge version having a dogleg bend on one piece that clears the wider axle spacing of the drivers for 3 rail O gauge track. I've never seen a parts listing from parts dealers that listed the 3/16ths O gauge valve gear/linkage assemblies - you'll in all probability need a carcass to harvest the valve gear assemblies (ebay is where I used to score junkers when I had a layout and ran Flyer 3/16ths O locomotives - those were moved on to other folks when my layout came down about 15 years ago).
Years ago I obtained a large lot of factory paperwork from AMT and A.C. Gilbert that was addressed to Fort Wayne, IN model train dealer Ralph Calvert. The Gilbert paperwork contained notes requesting 3/16ths O gauge parts, and more importantly a parts listing dated June 20, 1947 for the 3/16ths O gauge line. I shared this information with my friend Art Shifrin, who was waist deep into collecting/restoring/running prewar 3/16ths O gauge Flyer. Art kindly took scans I made of the paperwork and cleaned/sharpened the images in Photoshop - I compared the O gauge part numbers on the factory parts list with the factory parts diagrams for the postwar S gauge 4-8-4 locomotives in the K-Line Complete Service Manual for American Flyer Trains and found the side rod part numbers matched.
That's amazing information and am so thankful for it. I also have a #570 4-6-4 o gauge, and an s gauge #322, where the shell and valve gear/linkage/side rods also look interchangeable, so it makes sense they may have used this strategy as they transitioned away from o gauge into the s gauge models. But still, your detailed confirmation is so appreciated.
@sclouse posted:That's amazing information and am so thankful for it. I also have a #570 4-6-4 o gauge, and an s gauge #322, where the shell and valve gear/linkage/side rods also look interchangeable, so it makes sense they may have used this strategy as they transitioned away from o gauge into the s gauge models. But still, your detailed confirmation is so appreciated.
The prewar 3/16s O gauge trains have valve gear/linkage that has the dogleg bends to provide enough space/clearance for the engines’ drivers to fit O gauge track - lose the dogleg bends and the valve gear is spaced for S gauge track.
As a side note, look into picking up some lithographed Marx 3/16ths O gauge cars to run behind your Flyer engines - the cars are S scale sized and look great (much nicer than the stamped steel cars Flyer made). You’ll need to swap out a Marx truck for a Flyer truck (the Flyer harpoon couplers don’t mate with the Marx scissor style coupler).
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