# S scale or O scale American Flyer?



## plasticvillemayor (Jan 19, 2013)

Hi guys,

I looked around in vain for some answers to my question before deciding to post this.

I inherited from my older brother an American Flyer (all metal) train from the 1940's that is O scale (I think). It runs on the same track as my Lionel 027 stuff, although the train sits a bit lower and is a bit smaller in general. (please see the third picture to compare it to a modern era train).

The couplers are as shown in the second picture. They are not the "slot and tab" type. 

The engine and tender do not work very well (jerky starts for a bit and then stops. There is also a rotted wire hanging out of the tender which you can see in the first picture.), and I am looking to replace them with the something as similar as possible to what I have.

A few questions from someone who has no idea:

Could this train be S scale that can run on 027 track? Is that even possible? Can I replace this engine and tender with S scale? The "pre-war" American Flyer stuff does not have the same look as this train, although I've been told that this train is also pre-war.

Any direction anyone can give me would be appreciated.


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## Strummer (Jan 6, 2013)

Looks to me like pre-war o gauge;I think this particular engine would become the post war S gauge #"300"...

Mark in Oregon


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## Kwikster (Feb 22, 2012)

In look at the wire it appears to be a pick-up wire for center rail power. I would think using 22 or 24 gauge super-flex wire would be the ticket here, not to hard to find. I'd venture to guess one thing it really needs is a complete clean and lube, using 5w-30 motor oil as the lube and white lithium grease on the worm gears. That will do wonders.

The Lionel 1225 next to her is actually a "baby berk" meaning it's significantly smaller than the larger one. Yours will run on O-27, the larger one needs O-54 minimum. I have the PE 1225 and it's smaller than my postwar 2025. Yup, I'm an O-scaler no AF (yet) but will in the future.

Carl


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