# Adding to the collection!



## mikesdaddy (Dec 18, 2010)

I nabbed a set of AF passenger cars this morning on Ebay. Shortly I should have the 660, 661, 662 and 663 cars in my possession. They appear to be the earlier aluminum version, converted to knuckle couplers.

Once they arrive, I'll of course share with the group!

Regards,

Greg


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

mikesdaddy said:


> I nabbed a set of AF passenger cars this morning on Ebay. Shortly I should have the 660, 661, 662 and 663 cars in my possession. They appear to be the earlier aluminum version, converted to knuckle couplers.
> 
> Once they arrive, I'll of course share with the group!
> 
> ...



All right the S men are filtering back in.:thumbsup:

Member XXXdougXXX has some Flyers posted here now for sale, even though the pictures are not the greatest.

Can't get enough of those Flyers, please do post pictures.

Lately, I find myself watching e bay's flyers. I just am curious to see how much they go for.
Maybe I was watching yours.


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Greg ... nice score ... looking forward to pics/details.

TJ


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## tooter (Feb 26, 2010)

PICTURES!


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## mikesdaddy (Dec 18, 2010)

choo choo said:


> PICTURES!


Soon as they arrive, I promise!


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## Rich_Trains (May 23, 2010)

Greg,

Good catch. I was able to buy the aluminum 660, 662, and 663 cars from a club member. I think these are one of the nicest passemger cars produced by Gilbert, well maybe tied with the NP North Coast Limited. What loco are you planning to use?

Rich


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## mikesdaddy (Dec 18, 2010)

Rich_Trains said:


> Greg,
> 
> Good catch. I was able to buy the aluminum 660, 662, and 663 cars from a club member. I think these are one of the nicest passemger cars produced by Gilbert, well maybe tied with the NP North Coast Limited. What loco are you planning to use?
> 
> Rich


For now, my only loco is a 283 I bought off craigslist last year....my son is big on the Polar Express and I thought that some passenger cars might spark his interest in the set.

The cars arrived yesterday and only this morning was I able to check them out--they look really nice for being 60 years old. Of course, now I'll probably HAVE to find a nice set of Santa Fe Diesels to go with them.  


I have to work this morning, but hopefully will have some pics up by this evening.


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## mikesdaddy (Dec 18, 2010)

Hey gang, sorry for the delay on the pics.

Here are a few quick shots of the cars, fresh out of the box...

They're in pretty good shape. The only exception is car 661--it's missing the sign on one side, and it seems to be devoid of passengers!

Looking forward to cleaning them up a bit.

Thanks!

Greg


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Greg,

Beautiful! The metal finish looks pristine!

Enjoy,

TJ


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## Stillakid (Jan 12, 2010)

Greg, really nice set of cars
They'll look great behind anything you decide to use!

Have A Ball!
Jim


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

Greg,

I've a set of them I'm still in the process of restoring (moving severely interrupted my life). If you need help finding replacement parts, Portline is an excellent place to go. You'll find that set is heavier than what you've been accustomed to, so you'll want to keep some powdered graphite in the journals. Also, if you remove the aluminum shell from the frame, you'll find it's a bit of a challenge to re-insert it---it's a tight fit and the trucks keep getting in the way. Two good tools for slightly spreading the shell are a 1/4" screw or bolt with a nut, about 3-4" long: you tuck the head of the screw under the ridge inside the shell on one (in)side and adjust the nut to the proper length and sort of rotate it into place to spread the opposite side. Another good choice is a really, really dead AA battery. It's a perfect fit: on my first attempt, I used a live rechargeable and it soon became too hot to touch! Ben Franklin was laughing his *** off at me!


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Ahh ... the infamous Faraday Cage experiment ...


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

It was quite nearly the burnt dining-room table experiment!


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Reckers said:


> It was quite nearly the burnt dining-room table experiment!



I like those Passenger cars.:thumbsup:
They look in great shape.
On the rear car what was once on the round plate? Do you know?

Hey King of S.

Check out post 93 in this thread and give me your S-pert opinion on whether it would be S rail.
Why do you think the middle rails are wired?

http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=2138&page=3


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

big ed said:


> I like those Passenger cars.:thumbsup:
> They look in great shape.
> On the rear car what was once on the round plate? Do you know?
> 
> ...


 Ed, on the rear observation car there is a plastic insert disc called a drum. It is illuminated by the car's light and looks pretty cool. I worked on one in this thread (http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=2768&page=2) but I'm hampered by the fact I can't see my own pics, here at work. I believe it's post #43, though.


As to the bridge, it's really hard to say since there's no reliable item on it to provide scale---that hand-laid track takes away any reference. I don't think it's AF or Lionel; AF tended to make smaller, more detailed ones and I have a Lionel that is flat across the top, not arched: unlikely they'd make two dissimilar products for the same purpose. Is it possible you have a single-with G scale that's been adapted down to a smaller (O or S)? I can tell you this much: if it's 2" between rails, it's not S gauge. S scale refers mostly to the bodies of the cars, while gauge is all about width between rails: S gauge is .883" between the rails.


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## mikesdaddy (Dec 18, 2010)

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions, folks.

I've started to clean up the worst of the bunch--no. 661. I'm happy to see that Portlines has all the parts needed to get it back into shape.

I've been experimenting with various metal polishes to see what does the best job on restoring a decent shine on the car bodies....so far I'm having pretty good luck with Turtle Wax deluxe chrome polish. Trying to get in the little grooves on the side of the bodies is tough, tedious work.

I've been unusually busy with work this summer...which severely limits my hobby time......but it never lasts forever.....we'll get to it soon..


When I have some progress pictures, I'll post them here.


Regards,

Greg


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

Greg,

The set I have were severely corroded and pitted, and I went through a variety of strippers, abrasives and polishes as I worked on them. You may want to glance through http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=2768 to save yourself some time, i.e, what worked and what didn't. Getting a good shine really requires first polishing the metal itself, as opposed to laying a gleaming coat of something on top of it. Car waxes are not abrasive enough to affect the metal itself unless you use some sort of buffing or polishing wheel. They're great over the finished product, but you really have to get the metal to gleam, first. Think "burnish". Best wishes, and let me know if I can be of assistance.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Reckers said:


> Ed, on the rear observation car there is a plastic insert disc called a drum. It is illuminated by the car's light and looks pretty cool. I worked on one in this thread (http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=2768&page=2) but I'm hampered by the fact I can't see my own pics, here at work. I believe it's post #43, though.
> 
> 
> As to the bridge, it's really hard to say since there's no reliable item on it to provide scale---that hand-laid track takes away any reference. I don't think it's AF or Lionel; AF tended to make smaller, more detailed ones and I have a Lionel that is flat across the top, not arched: unlikely they'd make two dissimilar products for the same purpose. Is it possible you have a single-with G scale that's been adapted down to a smaller (O or S)? I can tell you this much: if it's 2" between rails, it's not S gauge. S scale refers mostly to the bodies of the cars, while gauge is all about width between rails: S gauge is .883" between the rails.


OK thanks,
It is,
1&1/2" between the rails
bridge 26"L x 6"W x 5&1/2"H at the lowest beam.( 6"H on the middle beam.
I wanted to know about the wired center de-railers if that is what they are.
It is not g scale.


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