In a collection I purchased earlier this year, this charming AF O gauge steamer was included. No tender. Wheels on the front truck are cracked.......I see an April York parts hunt coming.
Can anyone tell me something about this engine? What years was it made? What kind of consists where included, etc....
What kind of parts availability is there....where can I find them, etc.....
Thanks in advance.
Peter
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those Prewar Flyer locomotives really look great...except for that ginormous headlight.
Peter,
I have no answers for you...but it looks nice. Does it run?
Tom
I'm curious on the parts availability myself. I've seen several of these I'd like to have, but the zinc pest has scared me off.
It runs fine......which is always a plus!
Peter
not having a tender might be a clue to its origin. in 1940, this was the locomotive (without tender) included in the Erector 10½ set (known those years as "The Electric Train Set"). probably the hardest to find of the four locomotive versions known to be included in these sets over the five years in production, it is a Flyer Type X, #420 with nickel trim. with the Type IV, #421 tender, the combination is catalog #422. this locomotive was also the lead engine in the 1939 double-header set.
We are in the midst of cataloging, our line of recently purchased M.E.W. parts, which include about 120 parts + wheels for the AF "O" line. We have just listed a lot of AF wide gauge parts.
Go to our site: www.henningstrains.com, click on "SHOP ON LINE" and scroll down to M.E.W. for listing , description & photos. Harry
It is a 1939 or 1940 No. 420 engine. It was used by Gilbert-American Flyer to head a number of sets in the transitional era. I do not know where to get parts, but will tell you that the reverse tends to be a tad finiky. The tenders I have seen matched with it by Northwood Flyer, NationWideLines, and mersenne6 are either the Flyer wedge tender (very similar to the one made by Marx) and one that was designed for use with the PRR streamlined steamer in the mid 1930's. As noted above, it was sold in erector sets; however, it is not the only set they were sold in. The information above came from here:
I have seen the loco with 421 and 3199 tenders.
421. Knew I was forgetting the number.
Thank you, everyone, for your interest......it gives me a start.
Peter
Peter,
I am not all too familiar w/ AF pre war locos, but I do have an original AF tender matched w/ a very similar looking loco that you have (no number ). The tender is all original but needs a paint job. On the bottom is stamped 3192. If you would like it $20 + shipping. Harry
Harry Henning posted:.... I am not all too familiar w/ AF pre war locos, but I do have an original AF tender matched w/ a very similar looking loco that you have (no number ). The tender is all original but needs a paint job. On the bottom is stamped 3192. ...
the 3192 tender was coupled with the Type XX (#3303) locomotive as catalog #3313 in 1935 which is indeed similar to the #420 engine and should be a good fit. the 3192 is a 4-wheel tender, though whereas the #421 is not only an 8-wheel tender, but can be found with four different style trucks for a good match to various freight and passenger trains.
aside from variations to the handrails and decal/stamp/nameplate, the #421 and #1399 tender are essential identical. the change to #421 followed the sale to Gilbert.
Peter,
Your PW AF 421 is a seriously cool AF engine, definitely pick up the 3192 Tender from Harry, maybe restore her and as OVERLAND indicates it will be a real close match, maybe look around for the 1399, 8 Wheel Tender also, they are way cool.
Great info guys!
PCRR/Dave
Harry....that's great....I will call your store this week.
Peter
Your engine appears to have all nickel plated add on hardware (pipes, domes, etc.) Below is a picture of a set that is headed by an engine like yours.
I would not necessarily trust that to be an actual set... It appears to be from a rather inaccurate Greenberg book from 1971. As I posted before, Northwood Flyer and co. have been correcting the mistakes made by them 40 years ago.
El Classico, actually it is from a boxed one owner set. The reason the picture looks odd is because I scanned it from a photograph I took some time ago.
Ah. Alright. It didn't look like one I had seen before from a reputable source, so...
as far as sets go, you have to consider the the late 30's as 'anything is possible' for Flyer, especially when you see Chicago Flyer leftover production rolling stock with Type XII trucks/ Type IX couplers. i've got to believe that Gilbert was trying to get rid of the old stock and was not that worried about mixing tinplate car sizes in favor of just getting sets out the door.
If Henning's does not have the parts you need you can try PortLineHobbySupplies www.portlines.com/
Did you get the 3199 Tender that Santa dropped off with Charles on Christmas Eve?
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