# American Flyer information



## Murphoff

When I was a kid, my dad built an American Flyer layout for me. I remember playing with it and still have a few pictures of it. I had kept most of it up until I left for college, then it disappeared. In the last few months, I decided to try to re acquire the cars and set that I had. I finally have everything I remember having. It was kind of expensive, but I had forgotten how cool it is to just watch the trains run on a simple loop of track. 
I was able to get a complete set called The Dispatcher. I also had some passenger cars, a searchlight car and a 25049 Walking Brakeman car. I have looked at a lot of the AF sites on the web but get conflicting information about the Cookie Box Walking Brakeman car. 
Does anyone one know when this car was made/sold? I have read it was only available in 1958 and only came with a specific set. Also, I would like to see if I can find the original instructions that came with this car.
If it was only made in 1958, that would mean my dad bought and built the set for me when I just one year old. My guess is he played with it about as much as my brother and I did! 
Thanks in advance for any information.
Murphy


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## Big Ed

Murphoff said:


> When I was a kid, my dad built an American Flyer layout for me. I remember playing with it and still have a few pictures of it. I had kept most of it up until I left for college, then it disappeared. In the last few months, I decided to try to re acquire the cars and set that I had. I finally have everything I remember having. It was kind of expensive, but I had forgotten how cool it is to just watch the trains run on a simple loop of track.
> I was able to get a complete set called The Dispatcher. I also had some passenger cars, a searchlight car and a 25049 Walking Brakeman car. I have looked at a lot of the AF sites on the web but get conflicting information about the Cookie Box Walking Brakeman car.
> Does anyone one know when this car was made/sold? I have read it was only available in 1958 and only came with a specific set. Also, I would like to see if I can find the original instructions that came with this car.
> If it was only made in 1958, that would mean my dad bought and built the set for me when I just one year old. My guess is he played with it about as much as my brother and I did!
> Thanks in advance for any information.
> Murphy



I don't know about that car but thought this might be of help to you in the future, http://www.thortrains.net/flyermanual.pdf

This comes from thors site it has an S section, http://www.thortrains.net/


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## Big Ed

no year, but I found this site too,
no year though, might be useful to you in the future,


http://www.trainweb.org/s-trains/numbers/af_nums4.html

I'm looking...


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## Big Ed

This says it was made from 58- 60

this might help in the future too.


http://www.rfgco.com/aflist.html


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## tjcruiser

Murphy,

Here's a great Flyer website. If you look in the Catalog section, they have scanned pages of years' worth of catalogs. Perhaps you can find your set and car info there ...

http://myflyertrains.org/

http://www.myflyertrains.org/AF_Catalogs/Gilbert Catalogs.htm

http://www.myflyertrains.org/AF_Catalogs/1958Catalog/AF_1958_catalog_index1.htm

Cheers,

TJ


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## Big Ed

From tj's link look in cat#d2048 1958 and you will see the car
http://www.myflyertrains.org/AF_Catalogs/1958Catalog/AF_1958_catalog_index1.htm

page 10 and 11 has that car the sunshine special with that car

the dispatch set came with a diesel, flat car, hopper, operating crane and caboose.

http://www.myflyertrains.org/AF_Catalogs/D2224/AF_catalog_page2.htm
1960 cat d2224 page 2 but it doesn't list your car in their.

no sets I know of, come with passenger cars and operating cars together. it was either a passenger set or a freight car set.

Your Dad must have had more then one set?


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## Murphoff

Thanks for all the information! I think he must have started with The Dispatcher set, and got the passenger cars and the operating car later. I also had a BAR box car, a Gulf tanker and a searchlight car. The toy/store, hobby shop I went to 50 years ago in Charleston, West Virginia is still in business. I'm pretty sure that's where he got the rest of the cars and accessories. 
I'm still amazed at the detail and graphics on the cars. 
Again, thanks for the information!


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## tjcruiser

Your welcome ...

It's really a treat to have a set / collection like that that's all "original" to one's childhood. I hope it gets handed down to grandkids some day!

TJ


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## flyernut

Great story on your childhood trains. I too, had a flyer set-up with 2 loops. I had a 301, k335 set, 355 switcher set, and the pretty Missouri Pacific passenger set. Dad sold the lot for $50 bucks including rubber roadbed, switches, etc. I obtained all the sets and cars, plus many switches and roadbed, except for the MP passenger set. I saw one in the original boxes at a train show for $2000 bucks! I'll never have that set again,lol.


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## pmcgurin

My dad set up 2 loops for two American Flyer trains when I was a kid, a Santa Fe F3 Ab passenger train and a steamer freight train. I loved the boxcar that chucked the boxes out. Reading your posts I have come to realize that this scale was a lot more enjoyable than the N scale stuff I have been using for the last 20 years.


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## flyernut

pmcgurin said:


> My dad set up 2 loops for two American Flyer trains when I was a kid, a Santa Fe F3 Ab passenger train and a steamer freight train. I loved the boxcar that chucked the boxes out. Reading your posts I have come to realize that this scale was a lot more enjoyable than the N scale stuff I have been using for the last 20 years.


Not to bash anyone for picking a particular gauge, but one of my local dealers used to refer to "N" scale as "nuisance" scale.


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