# American Flyer Tune Ups & Repairs



## artrep1 (Feb 26, 2013)

I am located in Pittsburgh, PA and am looking for a person/hobby shop that can tune up post war American Flyer trains. My favorite hobby stores have gone out of business in recent years and I need a new contact. Can anyone out there recommend someone?? Thanks!
Cliff


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## daveh219 (Sep 16, 2012)

Cliff...not being familiar with Pittsburgh my suggestion is to pick up a copy of Classic Toy Trains (CTT) and check the back area for retailers. There is one in Imperial called Imperial Train Co. Others will probably give you a better list later. Good luck. Hopefully you'll feel like tackling some of the repairs yourself..


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## Nuttin But Flyer (Dec 19, 2011)

artrep1 - What type of Flyers are we talking about? If steam locos, they are extremely easy do-it-yourself servicing. However, if diesel, they can be more finicky - did I spell that right? If you are uninterested in the self-service, I can hook you up with a few names that can either do the service or direct you to someone who will.


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## artrep1 (Feb 26, 2013)

*American Flyer Tune-ups & Repairs*

I am having trouble with A Missouri Pacific & Northern Pacific Alcos - VERY sticky e-units in particular - it takes forever to get them running. Once they get warmed up they run well but it's always hard to get them back into forward, reverse, etc. I don't think I'm capable of working with e-units? Open for suggestions but I think it would be a good idea to get them serviced.


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## artrep1 (Feb 26, 2013)

*American Flyer Tune-ups & Repairs*

Actually I should be saying "reverse unit"!


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

There's a few of us here that can service them for you, or give it that old college try.I believe there's a great store in Scranton that can do the necessary work for you, if you don't mind a drive. I have several Alcos and Baldwins here that I serviced, and they still perform nicely. Nuttin but Flyer is also a possibility, and he's located in PA. Again, a little drive..That's about all I can offer right now. If you want to ship it to NY, I can recommend a shop here.


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

artrep1 said:


> Actually I should be saying "reverse unit"!


You're fine calling it anything you want to, we know what you're talking about.. Have you sprayed tuner cleaner all through the e-unit? It's available from Radio Shack and will not harm plastic. It sounds like there's crud and/or dirt/oil build-up in the e-unit. Pull the shell and hose down the e-unit with the cleaner. Use q-tips or the like to get everything clean. Put a SMALL drop of light oil on the pivot points of the drum, on the small brass finger that rotates the drum,( not the fingers)!, and on the coil plate pivot points. You should be good to go..These things are bullet-proof, but a build-up of crud will harm the performance immensely. I try to run the e-unit as dry as possible, but also impeccably very clean.


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## Nuttin But Flyer (Dec 19, 2011)

Luckily, the reverse unit is easily serviced and is NOT the 'finicky' I meant when I mentioned diesels. As F.N. said, a good dousing of contact cleaner is probably all it needs to remove the built up dirt, gunk, old oil and grease to free that baby. It can be removed slightly to work on it. Or you can remove it completely by unsoldering wires. If you go this route you may even wish to replace the fingers -- very cheap parts. By removing the unit, the drum can be removed and cleaned with some green scotchbrite pads or 2000 grit sandpaper to get those copper surfaces bright and shiny again. After reassembly, very miniscule drips of oil on the pivots and she should be working fine once again. See this website (#23) for further info on servicing reverse units...

http://www.portlines.com/afrepairclinics.htm


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## artrep1 (Feb 26, 2013)

*American Flyer Tune-ups & Repairs*

Thanks to all of you - I really appreciate the tips on servicing the reverse units. I will definitely give it a try. Also, I did contact Imperial Train Co. and they do service American Flyer if I need to go that route. I wasn't familiar with them until I checked them on the web and they are not that far from where I live. Thanks again guys!


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## Nuttin But Flyer (Dec 19, 2011)

Let us know how you make out, especially if you try do-it-yourself.


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## Kwikster (Feb 22, 2012)

Perhaps one of the best tips anyone can give is be patient and take pictures, lots of them. Patience to work slow enough to avoid damaging parts, especially on your first few. Taking pictures is key, if you happen to forget, as I often do, you have reference. Above all if you get stuck, the pictures can help us figure out your dilemma. Older trains like Flyers, Lionel, Marx etc are really fairly simple once you mess with them a bit. You'll have it back on the rails in no time. 

Carl


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## markjs (Dec 11, 2010)

Cliff,
Do you belong to the Pittsburgh S-Gaugers? We're a great bunch of guys who meet monthly, and also have "Coffee & Trains" at a local King's. A number of the members are very knowledgeable and have all kinds of experience with repairs etc. We'd be happy to have you join us.

Mark


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