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American Flyer Trains, any gauge and any age, will always be my first love in collecting.  However, I have a fondness for any toy train. Reading this column weekly has also helped me to develop an interest in the "Toy Trains of Other Lands".  Thankfully I have been able to resist acquiring any of them - so far .

I do have examples of other brands of trains including Ives, Marx and Lionel.  I started acquiring some Ives pieces because I wanted to have some examples of American Flyer's contemporary manufacturers.  I should have known better. I have the collector gene, I am an amateur historian, I like to have "completeness", and I like to teach .  I have found that to be a very dangerous combination. Once the brand barrier is broken I just continue to add "examples".  I hope to have a toy train museum some day; in the basement, or in a larger train room, or perhaps a separate building.  A guy has to have dreams and goals you know.

My desire to have some examples of Ives started with a freight car or two.  It didn't take long until I had to have a representative train:

At the same time I was doing research about Ives (and buying books).  I discovered that Ives had only had the short caboose to use on their trains, until the joint bankruptcy purchase by American Flyer and Lionel. 

 

With the take over, the Ives Railway Lines got a 9 1/2" caboose to go with its longer freight cars.

An American Flyer 3211

Related image

disguised as an Ives 121

So now my Ives freight train had an appropriately long caboose.

If you have followed this thread for a while you know I didn't stop there and there are photos of the Ives portion of my collection scattered among the weekly threads. In fact I just purchased another Ives engine that will make its debut here on the thread in the future.

Thanks to all of you who post photos of your trains.  At least I can do some of my collecting vicariously, and its great to know that there are others who enjoy their hobby as much as I do.

Have a Great Tinplate Weekend.

Northwoods Flyer

Greg

Last edited by Greg J. Turinetti

Purchased this loco this week, which I believe to be a customized Flyer 3112 box cab. Roof, frame and motor all seem to be Flyer. Note porthole windows and oversized vents. It runs, but can't wait to open it up and see what's inside. Headlight has to be fixed anyway.

homemade 0-4-0 boxcab similar to 3112

Looks sort of like Hornby or JeP BB-8101.

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  • homemade 0-4-0 boxcab similar to 3112

Greg, i always enjoy your posts on American Flyer, they are always so instructives. It would be a great pleasure to visit an AF museum, with some Ives and other manufacturers it would be great. AF trains are not the most easiest one to collect, year of manufacture is often an enigma for me...

I have bought two wide gauge freight cars some time ago with 8 million plates, i think they may be around 1936, end  of production. They have, for me, a much better size than Lionel ones.

CABOOSE AFDCP03894

Now i have to find some more....

 

Have a great tinplate weekend;        Daniel

 

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  • CABOOSE AF
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Dieseler posted:

Early Lionel 248 .  What attracts me to prewar are the bright colors that were used and the simplicity of these toys.

HPIM1033 [Small)

Dieseler,

Ives (American Flyer and Lionel) used the Lionel 248 body and turned it into the Ives 3260 from 1928 through 1930 in a number of sets.

I agree with you; no matter who the manufacturer is, the bright colors of tinplate are truly fun and appealing.

Have a Great Tinplate Weekend

Northwoods Flyer

Greg

Dennis Holler posted:

Yeah, and I live in Lafayette not far from the Indiana Stout auctions... never been but man is it tempting... I'd probably get into a lot of trouble

Don't worry Dennis, I think the auction tomorrow is at their PA location. I may have to come down from Chicago to bid against you if you go to the Indiana one. 

George

Greg J. Turinetti posted:
Dieseler posted:

Early Lionel 248 .  What attracts me to prewar are the bright colors that were used and the simplicity of these toys.

HPIM1033 [Small)

Dieseler,

Ives (American Flyer and Lionel) used the Lionel 248 body and turned it into the Ives 3260 from 1928 through 1930 in a number of sets.

I agree with you; no matter who the manufacturer is, the bright colors of tinplate are truly fun and appealing.

Have a Great Tinplate Weekend

Northwoods Flyer

Greg

Greg i seen those in a prewar book and also 2 of them on the bay .

One in peacock same frame ives frame no stamp handrails as one you pictured but its cracked and one of the cowcatchers broke off and gone has the ives pickup intact.

The other one has the ives body no stamp handrails flanking doors or holes for them  same peacock color as above description but has the lionel 248 frame and Lionel pickup.

The one in my Lionel prewar book shows the Ives frame .

As a note i will not be bidding on them because of the flaws above too bad the one first mentioned has a bad frame otherwise i may have as i like the peacock color .

George S posted:
Dennis Holler posted:

Yeah, and I live in Lafayette not far from the Indiana Stout auctions... never been but man is it tempting... I'd probably get into a lot of trouble

Don't worry Dennis, I think the auction tomorrow is at their PA location. I may have to come down from Chicago to bid against you if you go to the Indiana one. 

George

I'm going to that darned Indiana auction someday, I just have to.  It'd be a travesty to live this close and not go there.  I better start buying lottery tickets.

Dieseler posted

Greg i seen those in a prewar book and also 2 of them on the bay .

One in peacock same frame Ives frame no stamp handrails as one you pictured but its cracked and one of the cowcatchers broke off and gone has the Ives pickup intact.

The other one has the Ives body no stamp handrails flanking doors or holes for them  same peacock color as above description but has the Lionel 248 frame and Lionel pickup.

 

Dieseler,

One of those Ives cadet blue (peacock)  3260s also has the two matching cars from the set offered in individual auctions. The set was offered in 1929 and was known as the Blue Comet Express.  If the cars were in a little bit better condition I might bid on them.  One of the things that I  have learned over the years of collecting is that another one will come along at some time.

Northwoods Flyer

Greg

Steve "Papa" Eastman posted:
Rob Shaubach posted:

New shipment of New for 2018 CMT freights arrived today. Modern Era Standard Gauge is alive and well!

Must be a preview of what David said was in the mail to me. A fleet of the PFE reefers would look great.

Enjoy them, Steve.

Yes - a whole string of PFE's would be very cool.  Word is that CMT passenger cars are not too far off. Too much fun!

Need to start building my planned under layout storage shelves - I'm runnin' out of room for all this stuff!!!

 

Rob Shaubach posted:
Steve "Papa" Eastman posted:
Rob Shaubach posted:

New shipment of New for 2018 CMT freights arrived today. Modern Era Standard Gauge is alive and well!

Must be a preview of what David said was in the mail to me. A fleet of the PFE reefers would look great.

Enjoy them, Steve.

Yes - a whole string of PFE's would be very cool.  Word is that CMT passenger cars are not too far off. Too much fun!

Need to start building my planned under layout storage shelves - I'm runnin' out of room for all this stuff!!!

 

David said he was picking up the passenger car parts. I do have a SP Mogul in need of some coaches.

Steve

Just something a little different - this uniformed porter is the "operator" of a  clockwork electric-style British baggage truck that I've had since I was a pup. Bigger than most common scales, he stands about 4 - 5" tall and the truck has the random steering that bangs around the furniture and walls when let loose. I'll post some more pics soon, as I'm cleaning the mechanism at the moment.

porter

Here's a pic of the prototype from around WW1.

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  • porter
Rob Shaubach posted:
Steve "Papa" Eastman posted:
Rob Shaubach posted:

New shipment of New for 2018 CMT freights arrived today. Modern Era Standard Gauge is alive and well!

Must be a preview of what David said was in the mail to me. A fleet of the PFE reefers would look great.

Enjoy them, Steve.

Yes - a whole string of PFE's would be very cool.  Word is that CMT passenger cars are not too far off. Too much fun!

Need to start building my planned under layout storage shelves - I'm runnin' out of room for all this stuff!!!

 

nooooooooooooooooo,omg,b&le hopper is a must have,,,stop the madness,,,no wait ,,don't stop,,,, 

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