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Fatman:  Thanks for the pictures of the lithographed 3978 in both blue and black.  The blue tender version is really neat but I am afraid nothing very close to it was offered in the US.  Marx did do an early lithographed loco, the # 897 available pre -war only '39 and '41-42 and of course the long body sheet metal loco in "Mickey Mouse" scheme in '50-51.  The #897 does somewhat resemble the 3978 but with cow catcher not buffers.  It is however, in my view, only a resemblance not a duplicate.  It has always seemed strange to me that Marx, undisputed king of lithography in toys and trains used it so little in steam loco's , I guess to Marx steam loco's were plain black and that was that. Now diesels well that's a different story.  I do have a Marx floor toy locomotive that has a really wild lithographed scheme.  I have posted it before but here it is again and it does illustrate what Marx could do with lithography and trains  when he chose to  and makes one wonder..."what might have been".

Marx floor train - front viewMarx floor train and tender-side view

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  • Marx floor train - front view
  • Marx floor train and tender-side view

A little bit late to post this week, but I just got it partially back together this morning.

A 1938 American Flyer 1680 Hudson!  To the best of my knowledge, the 1680 decal below the cab window only appears on the 1938 version.  I have an original 4-car chrome streamline set with an identical 1680.

This one came to me needing a bit of work, but having 2 excellent 1680 decals below the cab windows.  The confusing thing to me was that a former owner had taken most of the trim off of the boiler and cleaned the black paint off of it and then polished it (as evidenced by black painted cotter pins holding the trim on and the trim that was not cleaned and polished).  Although the 1936 and 1937 Chicago era Hudsons had polished brass/copper trim, that is incorrect for the Gilbert era Hudsons, the 1680 should come with gloss black trim and the 447 comes with a blackened trim.  Therefore, I removed the trim from this motor and sprayed it gloss black and re-installed.  

The motor needed 2 new drive wheels (pictured) and I need to paint their rims white, before installing the side rods.  I also put all new leading and trailing trucks on and new springs and brushes.  

All I can say is that this engine runs great!  It pulls its 4 red streamline cars like a dream!  I will have to post photos of the entire set on next week's gallery, as it should be put back together by then.

NWL

 

A little bit late to post this week, but I just got it partially back together this morning.

A 1938 American Flyer 1680 Hudson!  To the best of my knowledge, the 1680 decal below the cab window only appears on the 1938 version.  I have an original 4-car chrome streamline set with an identical 1680.

This one came to me needing a bit of work, but having 2 excellent 1680 decals below the cab windows.  The confusing thing to me was that a former owner had taken most of the trim off of the boiler and cleaned the black paint off of it and then polished it (as evidenced by black painted cotter pins holding the trim on and the trim that was not cleaned and polished).  Although the 1936 and 1937 Chicago era Hudsons had polished brass/copper trim, that is incorrect for the Gilbert era Hudsons, the 1680 should come with gloss black trim and the 447 comes with a blackened trim.  Therefore, I removed the trim from this motor and sprayed it gloss black and re-installed.  

The motor needed 2 new drive wheels (pictured) and I need to paint their rims white, before installing the side rods.  I also put all new leading and trailing trucks on and new springs and brushes.  

All I can say is that this engine runs great!  It pulls its 4 red streamline cars like a dream!  I will have to post photos of the entire set on next week's gallery, as it should be put back together by then.

NWL

 

You did a great job restoring this! That is one thing I really enjoy doing as part of this hobby, especially with tinplate. The thrill of the first time you get that restored item running is fantastic! 

My 1681 glides to a stop when I cut the power. Does your 1680 do that?

George

@George S posted:

You did a great job restoring this! That is one thing I really enjoy doing as part of this hobby, especially with tinplate. The thrill of the first time you get that restored item running is fantastic! 

My 1681 glides to a stop when I cut the power. Does your 1680 do that?

George

Yes it does glide to a stop when the power is cut.  That is typical for these engines. 

Here's a photo of an original 1680 boiler with complete fittings. 

2019-08-03 20.08.302019-08-03 20.08.57 - Copy2019-08-03 20.10.28 - Copy

It was in the train set with four streamlined cars painted green.  The tender, which I've already sold was the one in this photo.

2019-08-03 19.44.03

This was an accidental acquisition with some prewar Lionel that I bought.  The engine was such a mess that I'm selling it as parts.  The motor looked good but the reverse mechanism was destroyed.  NWL, does yours reverse ?

With much difficulty, I got the motor running forward only.  I couldn't find the wire to the field.  Finally found out from a friend that one side of the field is wired directly to the pickup. So I need to find a buyer for a forward only motor.  here it is - runs nicely.

m1

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Images (5)
  • 2019-08-03 19.44.03
  • m1
  • 2019-08-03 20.08.30
  • 2019-08-03 20.08.57 - Copy
  • 2019-08-03 20.10.28 - Copy

Here's a photo of an original 1680 boiler with complete fittings. 

2019-08-03 20.08.302019-08-03 20.08.57 - Copy2019-08-03 20.10.28 - Copy

It was in the train set with four streamlined cars painted green.  The tender, which I've already sold was the one in this photo.

2019-08-03 19.44.03

This was an accidental acquisition with some prewar Lionel that I bought.  The engine was such a mess that I'm selling it as parts.  The motor looked good but the reverse mechanism was destroyed.  NWL, does yours reverse ?

With much difficulty, I got the motor running forward only.  I couldn't find the wire to the field.  Finally found out from a friend that one side of the field is wired directly to the pickup. So I need to find a buyer for a forward only motor.  here it is - runs nicely.

m1

Your 1680 is one of the 1937 versions, as its trim is polished copper/brass.  My 1680 has all of the trim on it, it is just painted gloss black, as is correct for 1938.

My engine has the proper Gilbert era drum reverse unit on it and it functions perfectly.  Your engine would have had the earlier Chicago era pendulum style reverse unit on it (I can see the remains of it in the photo), which did not always work well.  

NWL

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