I'm a 33%er. Thanks for the history and photos of the Alco PAs. I don't currently have any American Flyer diesels, but I had, but I had six or seven of these bac in the 1980s and '90s. Some came with front couplers, and some did not. The one shown here does have the pilot front cut out for a coupler. I don't know whether or not this particular number of locomotive actually had a front coupler. I have found that an easy way to touch up scratches on the these satin silver cars is to use a silver paint pen. Just touch the pen to the scratch, press enough to deposit a small blob of paint, then use a finger to spread the paint along the scratch. The paint may or may not blend in perfectly, but the result looks much better than the exposed plastic.
Hello Mark, Thanks for your support of the channel. A Few Fellers have told me this set did not come with the front coupler. Your paint marker pen idea sounds pretty good to me
Proud to be a 33-percenter! Ahhh, childhood memories, the last time I was a 33%'er was the second semester of Sophomore Al-gibberish! Keep up the great videos...
When I watch any of your train videos I'm always a 100% term each are every time. They are that good, filled with valuable information to me, plus with. Your brand of humor to boot
Great video. I have had people comment on me using Q-Tips as well. Hell; I remeber in grade 7 some stupid teacher telling us not to put them in my ears as they are dangerous. Good thing, fifty years later, I am a 33 percenter! Cheers!
I want to thank you for getting me back into American Flyers again. I dont think my wife will thank you. LOL. I am having more fun fixing them then running them. So I have been buying alot on ebay and repairing. Having a blast too. Its now about how many can I save. I am right now 3 out of 4. One the loco shell was too trashed.
Very good, that light oil made for hair clippers bought at beauty supply stores is what many of us use. Great on axles, cleaning all over chassis, metal or plastic. Can't remember who makes it. Got a terrible memory!!
I enjoyed your video! Yes the paper difuser in the cars belongs in the center. If you think that set is expensive; you should see what the larger set with the ABA locos costs! That one was one of the Top of the Line Gilbert sets! TM AF collector
Thanks for the video! On the later diesels the power trucks where designed to pivot a bit on the truck yoke. I suspect this was due to the traction tires possibly causing derailing when starting or stopping too suddenly.
Hey Ron …33% er Here ‼️ Your videos are 100% … In the process of binge watching all…, Going over to the R/V channel as well.. Great Job on all your efforts 👍 Thanks ..
Late to the party here, but definitely a great video, Ron. I learned a lot from this one and now will be hunting down a similar AF passenger set-the Alco PA is a looker! And yeah, who wouldn't want to proudly wear a "Classic Trains" t-shirt or ballcap? Let's see some merch!
The trucks on those American Flyer diesels shifted forward and reverse normally. The truck was designed to rotate around the attachment to the yoke to allow the truck to transition at the beginning of a grade if you were using trestles. The design allowed a degree of equalization, but the consequence was that the trucks would shift back and forth a little. On the subject of the pins used to fasten the car chassis to the body, this was a cost-saving measure compared to earlier S gauge passenger car production, where they used screws fasten the body to the chassis. As the popularity of toy trains started to wane in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, and things like slot car sets and space toys began taking their toll on train sales, both American Flyer and Lionel began cost-reducing their products to compete. I enjoy your videos. Your commentary is very entertaining.
@@FourDollaRacing I think I fixed that issue a few minutes ago. Lots of things I don't know about with the U Toob :-). Thanks for pointing this out to me!!
Hey, Ron. I normally stick with ya til the end because I enjoy hearing you talk. You have a Northern states accent that’s pleasing to my ear, oh sure! 😅 And I don’t want to miss any of your wisdom you put out about repairing the model trains. There’s three of you fellas I routinely follow because you each repair and restore model trains that teach me plenty about my own equipment and I hate to miss any information because I fear what I miss just might be that one odd piece of info I need to fix or correct something on one of my trains. Now I collect HO equipment but that doesn’t mean there isn’t something I could learn if you cover a Lionel or American Flyer repair. Electrical repairs or soldering are easily transferable skills in model railroading. Best wishes and see you on another video.
Hey Ron! Loving these videos! Can’t believe 66%ers quit! Yeah I’m thinking “Merch” is cool! Maybe a Ron’s classic trains engineer hat and t-shirts. I would be interested.
Hello Steven.Thanks for the kind words!! Actually 40% drop off in the first 30 seconds. Must be that darn autoplay YT has. then there is a bit of loss during the video. People just window shopping I guess. Seems there is a lot of analytics to be studied in there YT world
Where you said someone mentioned don’t use q-tips, I’ve used them and also pipe cleaners are good for wrapping around the worm gear and cleaning the old crud off of them.
Great job Ron! That set looks fantastic! The test track is good for testing, but maybe you set aside an area in your train room where you can put together a temporary loop of track of the proper scale for the trains you clean and restore. Just a thought. I love that you do ALL scales of trains. It’s great to see different varieties from many different manufacturers. Great stuff Ron!!
Greetings Tom! I wish I had room for a loop. I'm thinking some banquet tables set up outside (temporarily) for the final run scenes. Let them stretch their legs a bit :-)
One more tip Ron, when pulling out those little rivets that hold the body on, take your pen soldering iron and put just a little heat on the heads, just enough that they will pry up easily, just make sure you don't over do it with the heat. Press them right back in with the soldering pen. Wait till you see how easily they go in and out using this method.
The 2 set screws adjust the gap between the field and armature. I hold it up to a bright light and eyeball the gap, it's about the only way I found to get the gap close. After you get it running and you know it's gaped as best as you can, use some enamel paint on the heads of the screw to keep them from backing out. Replacement traction tires are available online. Portline hobbies has been good to me for AF parts. Glad to see you saved the Sante fe. The 5 digit are harder to come by then the 3 digit trains.
Good job working on something out of your wheelhouse. Traction tires and a replacement decal can be order from Portline Hobbies as well as a few others suppliers. The slop in the truck is not a big deal as Flyers are more forgiving than smaller scales. As far as the front coupler goes some PA's didn't have one. The Gilbert was known not to waste anything so it is possible a noncoupler front truck may have been thrown on this one. Also, CRC 2-26 is a must have for Flyer repairs. Works good on reverse units and other things.
Hey Ron, Great videos. Re the stain on the top of the passenger car after washing and waxing, have you thought about using orange oil? It may get that out if it is grease or oil based.
Well, I watch the videos all the way through, on my account or my wife’s account…. lol If I have time at work, I watch on my phone and my account. But when I’m at home I watch on my wifes’. Sometimes my Grandkid’s watch with me.
Hey Ron, just wanted to say that I really enjoyed the video. I have pretty much the same set except my passenger cars have the smooth roofs(roovs?), I have the B unit and both my trucks are powered. I guess they're not so much the same set after all, but still. Impressive results with the car wax! I thought for sure you were going to destroy those flimsy water based decals (like I did when I picked up my engine) but you didn't! I think you could make some extra money as a comedian if you get bored with da trains. Also, I hate watching youtube videos and then finding out they were made fifteen years ago and the guy's dead now. So glad these are new and you're not. Take care!
The wire on top of the observation car? Radio antenna. It being a little difficult to play records on a moving train, they'd pipe radio stations through the cars. Or at least the cars they served the adult beverages in.
Love tappin' 😂😂 I guess I'm part of your 33%. I wonder if you couldn't weld the steel to the aluminum to deal with your drive truck movement problem. Of course, it would have to be a non permanent type of bonding agent...
Recently had a Santa Fe PA converted to dual can motors by SNS Trains and added a Soundtrack Bluenami decoder to control it with my phone. It is unbelievable how great it makes running American Flyer trains .
Another great service Ron, could I recommend a can of electrical contact cleaner for you? It's used on electrical car parts and it's basically pressurised isopropyl alcohol in a spray can, I think it'd be good to spray in those places you can't get your cotton buds in like the enclosed chassis block and axles, should shoot out any old dried up oil and grease in there that'd be causing any running problems
Thank you! I have some contact cleaner. Its kinda spendy compared to the cases of brake parts cleaner I always have on hand. You make a good point that its just iso-alcohol so if/when I run into needing to clean a plastics based or painted stuff it would be much milder on the item. Thanks for the good information :-)
The vlack of a front coupler was done to reduce costs and allow it to negotiate the tighter radius of pikemaster track. I now own the set and it is an interesting counterpoise as it runs adjacent to my 1955 Chief set.
Ron, for those tiny machine screws that are stripped out, and you don't need to fiddle with them, add a tiny bit of soft grade thread locker to them. If ever, they need to be removed in the future you can, and they will be held solid in the meantime. Edit: I spoke too soon....
@@classicmodeltrains There is Permanent" thread locker and "Removeable" types. It all depends on how hard they dry. When I refer to "Soft" I mean the stuff that dries as "Removeable". Yes, the Blue Loctite. I was not being brand specific. But again, your dried glue in the thread shaft worked quite fine as well.
Yup I have some paint, but I don't plan on keeping these forever. Buyers get wary if someone has been after it with paint. I guess I will let the future owner do what they want to with it. I agree paint before wax on - wax off :-)
The screws on that brass collar around the field are, in fact, for holding the field in place. Also, the screwdrivers that hold screws in place are either called screw-holding screwdrivers or Quick Wedges!
if the lock out lever is in the pushed up spot it will only go one way it needs to be pulled down to go both ways i have the same set and both of the older versions !!.
If 33% watch till the end, and I have to watch the end twice because I fell asleep, what does that make me? Besides being tired, that is.😅 Seriously, though you might want to try and find some Floquil Aged Silver (it's been out of production). I've been told that it's a good match for the silver used on passenger cats. The turbocharger was the main source of trouble for the PAs. Once the turbocharger was changed from air-cooled to water-cooled, most of the problems went away. Except for the damage to their reputation.
Polish your cars with plain old mineral oil, not spirits! My green new haven cars shine like crazy. You dont need to wash anything in water that way or take anything apart like your diesel bodies too. Keep it simple and neat!
I use mineral spirits as a solvent for removing old oil and grease from the motor assembly. I enjoy dis-assembling and cleaning up the old stuff with soap and water. then polishing with car wax. I would not put a petroleum based liquid on the plastic body but to each their own :-)
Looks like the coaches are made by A.C. Gilbert Co. I've got a set of Northern Pacific HO scale coaches that I changed out the incandescent lighting to LED strip lighting with keep alive circuits. Is your O gauge track O gauge or 027? Cheers from eastern TN
I stuck through the entire video. The secret? Watch in Fast Forward. YT has speed control up to 2x. Allows me to get more videos watched :) Well I watched this one entirely but havent gotten to see the RV's yet. Beautiful set. The Alcos are much more impressive looking in person. I actually didn't keep mine, the ones I had were dual motor units and they had issues even after repair - one motor would run and one would stick. Then it drags itself around. Single motor units are a lot weaker but don't have the half working problem. Also agree the motor design is rather poor, with the large U bracket that swings because it loosened up with age. I think Flyer had better steam engines than Lionel, but the opposite is true for diesels, the Lionel motors are just a better design in their diesels. Wax sure shined it up nice. For removing the pins, if one is really really stuck, u can use a drop of Kroil or Liquid Wrench and let it sit for a while they slide out easier. I've had some really stubborn ones. I like the green screen effect. Gave me some ideas for how to paint an ALCO FA I have in HO scale. Bicentennial or Orange. Either would be cool!
Thanks for stopping by and taking in a video! Too bad the dual motors gave you such a fit. I hope to work on one of them someday. Now I know what to expect :-). I bet a PA-1 would look amazing in person. I need to get out to some of these RR museums. Gotta get my RIDE all fixed up first.
This is the set "20735 THE CHIEF". Made in 61 & 62. The set came with pikemaster track, so because of the tighter radius it did not have a front coupler installed.
I wondered about that. This lot had some pieces of pike master track in it. Not enough for a whole circle. I did not know pike master had a tighter radius. Thanks for the good information!!
I think you have two great and probably true idea's there. Although I believe the "S" stuff ran on 36" radius. Not a super tight curve. Perhaps they did not want to come up with the jigs to make a 3 axle truck so they just used what they had and faked us out with the appearance of the 3rd axle
I enjoy your upbeat presentation. It's harder to just find entertaining videos anymore
Thanks, it's my goal to be entertaining!
I'm a 33%er. Thanks for the history and photos of the Alco PAs. I don't currently have any American Flyer diesels, but I had, but I had six or seven of these bac in the 1980s and '90s. Some came with front couplers, and some did not. The one shown here does have the pilot front cut out for a coupler. I don't know whether or not this particular number of locomotive actually had a front coupler. I have found that an easy way to touch up scratches on the these satin silver cars is to use a silver paint pen. Just touch the pen to the scratch, press enough to deposit a small blob of paint, then use a finger to spread the paint along the scratch. The paint may or may not blend in perfectly, but the result looks much better than the exposed plastic.
Hello Mark, Thanks for your support of the channel. A Few Fellers have told me this set did not come with the front coupler. Your paint marker pen idea sounds pretty good to me
Proud to be a 33-percenter! Ahhh, childhood memories, the last time I was a 33%'er was the second semester of Sophomore Al-gibberish! Keep up the great videos...
Another 33%er!!!!! Thanks for your support :-)
The super chief love the war.Bonnet paint scheme an the Silver
Good looking design for sure!
When I watch any of your train videos I'm always a 100% term each are every time. They are that good, filled with valuable information to me, plus with. Your brand of humor to boot
Thank you very much Christopher!!
Very entertaining video Ron. I could always use another coffee cup but I'll only fill'er 33% full.😂
Thanks Mark!!
I hope you do another live show again, it was awesome.
Thank you! probably in November I'm thinking
Great video. I have had people comment on me using Q-Tips as well. Hell; I remeber in grade 7 some stupid teacher telling us not to put them in my ears as they are dangerous. Good thing, fifty years later, I am a 33 percenter! Cheers!
Thank you Maltux for your kind words once again and being a 33%er!!!
the screw holder - great idea! waxing - great/not so great. looks so good ya have do do the whole train ...man that thing looks good.
Thank you. The turtle wax idea did not work out so well. little details hard to get wax off of.
I was one of the 33%. LOL Another great video. Just love watching you bring the old stuff back to life. Keep them coming.
Thanks John :-)
I want to thank you for getting me back into American Flyers again. I dont think my wife will thank you. LOL. I am having more fun fixing them then running them. So I have been buying alot on ebay and repairing. Having a blast too. Its now about how many can I save. I am right now 3 out of 4. One the loco shell was too trashed.
Right on!! Yes it is quite relaxing fixing these classics up. I fix more than I run also :-)
Yes to merch!!!
:-)
Very good, that light oil made for hair clippers bought at beauty supply stores is what many of us use. Great on axles, cleaning all over chassis, metal or plastic. Can't remember who makes it. Got a terrible memory!!
Ive heard of the Old timers swearing by that oil back in the day.
I enjoyed your video! Yes the paper difuser in the cars belongs in the center. If you think that set is expensive; you should see what the larger set with the ABA locos costs! That one was one of the Top of the Line Gilbert sets! TM AF collector
Thanks for the tips!
Not only do i watch the whole video, i like , subscribe and share! AND i have an older RV! Thanks for taking time to make these videos Ron!
Thanks for your support on this channel. Old RV also? well your going to be getting a double dose of me then ;-)
@@classicmodeltrains your format and personality is fun. I look forward to seeing your videos.
Lookin good on this one really did a great job on it
Thanks so much :-)
I watched the whole thing and only skipped ahead a little, so I'm a 78% er. Love your shows. Thanks!
Thanks, This video is one of my first few months of videoing
I was part of the 33% and the video was full of info . Yes when can we get merchandise from you? sweaters, tee shirts, hats!
Thanks for watching all the way!! The wheel are in motion for some merch :-)
Thanks for the video! On the later diesels the power trucks where designed to pivot a bit on the truck yoke. I suspect this was due to the traction tires possibly causing derailing when starting or stopping too suddenly.
Sounds good to me :-)
Awesome video Ron,some merch would be great,I live in New Zealand an never miss your videos
Thank you for your support of my channel and replying to the merch question. sounds like it would be well received.
Hey Ron …33% er Here ‼️ Your videos are 100% … In the process of binge watching all…,
Going over to the R/V channel as well.. Great Job on all your efforts 👍
Thanks ..
Thanks for your support of my channels Gerald
Late to the party here, but definitely a great video, Ron. I learned a lot from this one and now will be hunting down a similar AF passenger set-the Alco PA is a looker! And yeah, who wouldn't want to proudly wear a "Classic Trains" t-shirt or ballcap? Let's see some merch!
Thanks! Yup them alco's are sharp lookers. One item of merch currently available. Link is in the description of my latest 5 video's :-)
I have been, and always will be, a 33 percenter! Excellent work!
Thank you so much for your support Ean!!
The trucks on those American Flyer diesels shifted forward and reverse normally. The truck was designed to rotate around the attachment to the yoke to allow the truck to transition at the beginning of a grade if you were using trestles. The design allowed a degree of equalization, but the consequence was that the trucks would shift back and forth a little. On the subject of the pins used to fasten the car chassis to the body, this was a cost-saving measure compared to earlier S gauge passenger car production, where they used screws fasten the body to the chassis. As the popularity of toy trains started to wane in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, and things like slot car sets and space toys began taking their toll on train sales, both American Flyer and Lionel began cost-reducing their products to compete. I enjoy your videos. Your commentary is very entertaining.
Thank you for your kind words and some great information!!!
Like No. 222 I'ma 33%'er... always watch to the end. Cool job you did! John BC, Canada (someday, back to Bellingham, WA)
Hello John up in Canada, Thank you for supporting the channel :-)
Looks Great! BTW The Wiha "Precision Chip Lifter 3.5mm x 50mm" works a treat on those pins. And yeah, they are SO FRUSTRATING! Have a great day.
Thanks for the tip Tim!!
Hey Ron. Nice train you have :) I am watching till the end every time. Greetings from Slovakia
Hello Tony from Slovakia!! Thanks for your kind words and support of my channel :-)
I couldn't find your other channel, when I looked a few weeks ago, because it's not linked on this channel's page.... glad you pitched it again.
I'm having a hard time getting the link in my description. I believe it's there now. You must have found it?
The message states, "This channel doesn't feature any other channels.", so I searched The YewToob.
@@FourDollaRacing I think I fixed that issue a few minutes ago. Lots of things I don't know about with the U Toob :-). Thanks for pointing this out to me!!
I'm a 33%er, really enjoy the videos. The Train can out great!
Thank you Rick for your support :-)
Hey, Ron. I normally stick with ya til the end because I enjoy hearing you talk. You have a Northern states accent that’s pleasing to my ear, oh sure! 😅 And I don’t want to miss any of your wisdom you put out about repairing the model trains. There’s three of you fellas I routinely follow because you each repair and restore model trains that teach me plenty about my own equipment and I hate to miss any information because I fear what I miss just might be that one odd piece of info I need to fix or correct something on one of my trains. Now I collect HO equipment but that doesn’t mean there isn’t something I could learn if you cover a Lionel or American Flyer repair. Electrical repairs or soldering are easily transferable skills in model railroading. Best wishes and see you on another video.
Thanks so much for supporting my channel and taking the time to leave a comment. :-). Glad I'm able to help
Knock that scub out Ron. Love your stuff a repeat 33% here
Hey Ron! Loving these videos! Can’t believe 66%ers quit!
Yeah I’m thinking “Merch” is cool!
Maybe a Ron’s classic trains engineer hat and t-shirts. I would be interested.
Correction Classic Model Trains hats and shirts
Hello Steven.Thanks for the kind words!! Actually 40% drop off in the first 30 seconds. Must be that darn autoplay YT has. then there is a bit of loss during the video. People just window shopping I guess. Seems there is a lot of analytics to be studied in there YT world
Where you said someone mentioned don’t use q-tips, I’ve used them and also pipe cleaners are good for wrapping around the worm gear and cleaning the old crud off of them.
Ooohhh.....pipe cleaners! That sounds like a great idea to add to the cleaning tool arsenal. Thank you!!
@@classicmodeltrains your welcome!
Really nice work!!!
Thanks a lot!
CRC 2-26 is the best cleaner for everything, keeps track clean and saves a lot of work.
I hear a lot of Fellers like that stuff
Your content is great and I’m the top 33% 🎉🚂
thank you very much :-)
Great job Ron! That set looks fantastic! The test track is good for testing, but maybe you set aside an area in your train room where you can put together a temporary loop of track of the proper scale for the trains you clean and restore. Just a thought. I love that you do ALL scales of trains. It’s great to see different varieties from many different manufacturers. Great stuff Ron!!
Greetings Tom! I wish I had room for a loop. I'm thinking some banquet tables set up outside (temporarily) for the final run scenes. Let them stretch their legs a bit :-)
@@classicmodeltrains Exactly! And in natural light, you can a better perspective of them in the video as well. That would look pretty cool.
Yes ‼️ Do a DCC
Will do!
Great Restorations! also Merch Would be Awesome.
Working on it!
Merch for sure! Put me down for a hat or 2 now!! Love the channel pal.
Thanks Digger!!
Merchandise would be cool, shirts, hats and bumper stickers
Thanks Steven :-)
That would be great 👍🚂
Great video, I'm currently working on a set of these, and this was incredibly helpful! Thank you!
Thank you. Sounds like the timing was just right :-)
What a set to have, runs great too. Good save!
Thanks Darren :-)
One more tip Ron, when pulling out those little rivets that hold the body on, take your pen soldering iron and put just a little heat on the heads, just enough that they will pry up easily, just make sure you don't over do it with the heat. Press them right back in with the soldering pen. Wait till you see how easily they go in and out using this method.
Ahhh.......Gotcha. The heat softens up the plastic. GREAT tip once again Sir!! Thank you :-)
Nice video. I have a 1958 Northern pacific pa1. My dad bought it for me way then along with 3 passenger cars. Orange ban
Thanks. From my research I believe these all had the same running gear in them. Can you confirm that?
@@classicmodeltrains Hi I believe the running gear is the same. My reverse mechanism if different. I will open her up in a few days to make sure
Enjoyed it, as usual.
Thanks Richard :-)
Good job looks nice I'm a 33 percenter
Thank you and thanks for being a 33%er!!!
The 2 set screws adjust the gap between the field and armature. I hold it up to a bright light and eyeball the gap, it's about the only way I found to get the gap close. After you get it running and you know it's gaped as best as you can, use some enamel paint on the heads of the screw to keep them from backing out. Replacement traction tires are available online. Portline hobbies has been good to me for AF parts. Glad to see you saved the Sante fe. The 5 digit are harder to come by then the 3 digit trains.
Thanks for the good information there Steel City :-)
Good job working on something out of your wheelhouse. Traction tires and a replacement decal can be order from Portline Hobbies as well as a few others suppliers. The slop in the truck is not a big deal as Flyers are more forgiving than smaller scales. As far as the front coupler goes some PA's didn't have one. The Gilbert was known not to waste anything so it is possible a noncoupler front truck may have been thrown on this one. Also, CRC 2-26 is a must have for Flyer repairs. Works good on reverse units and other things.
Thanks Steve for the good information!!
I watch all the way through. I might start and stop a few tomes.
Thanks for all your support John :-)
They came out beautiful!
Thank you!
finished train looks beautiful, and runs as new!! Good job!!
Thank you David!!
Ron, try a dab of Super Lube on the end of your screwdriver to hold those small screws.
I thought of that also. A bit messy but would get er done for sure!!
Thank you for sharing.👍
Thanks for watching!!
Hey Ron, Great videos. Re the stain on the top of the passenger car after washing and waxing, have you thought about using orange oil? It may get that out if it is grease or oil based.
Hello and thanks. Never heard of orange oil. Will have to look into that!
@@classicmodeltrains One brand goes by the name Goo Gone.
@@mloik1 Oh! gotcha. yes goo gone is good stuff
TY
:-)
Hey Ron, you can get a holding screwdriver or you can use a fixed magnet to magnetiz any screwdriver. Hope that helps and thanks for the great video.
Thanks Tom. I was looking for a magnet but it just escaped me where I stashed them all at. Screw-holding screwdriver.... I need to get one :-)
Well, I watch the videos all the way through, on my account or my wife’s account….
lol
If I have time at work, I watch on my phone and my account.
But when I’m at home I watch on my wifes’.
Sometimes my Grandkid’s watch with me.
Thanks for all the channel support your providing Jeb, Really appreciate it.
I'm a 33%er Love your videos.
Thank you so much Gary :-)
great job mr davis yes do merch do coffoe cups and t shirts maybe hats im a 33 percent guy
Thanks Greg!! Merch gunna be a go it sounds like :-). Thanks for being a 33%er
Awesome
:-)
Ron, I watch your videos from beginning to end. I can't imagine why you would have any 33%ers.
Thanks for you support John :-)
Your the best Ron
Thank you William :-)
Really enjoy your videos. If I ever get out to your neck of the woods lunch and beer on me😁
Thank you! I will take you up on the offer :-)
Good job
Thanks
Hey Ron, just wanted to say that I really enjoyed the video. I have pretty much the same set except my passenger cars have the smooth roofs(roovs?), I have the B unit and both my trucks are powered. I guess they're not so much the same set after all, but still. Impressive results with the car wax! I thought for sure you were going to destroy those flimsy water based decals (like I did when I picked up my engine) but you didn't! I think you could make some extra money as a comedian if you get bored with da trains. Also, I hate watching youtube videos and then finding out they were made fifteen years ago and the guy's dead now. So glad these are new and you're not. Take care!
Thanks for your kind words. I'm glad I'm still around also :-)
Ron love your videos Brother. Always till the kids drive the train.😳
Thank you Mike!!
i would love an american flyer set! preferably one of the older ones with the modular track set up.ebay has them too i think!
I wished I had the room for a AF layout
The wire on top of the observation car? Radio antenna. It being a little difficult to play records on a moving train, they'd pipe radio stations through the cars. Or at least the cars they served the adult beverages in.
MMMMmmmm...........Adult Bev-rage!!!
Great video Ron and yes I want to buy some merch. Lets get to Crackalackin.
Thanks Dennis. Wheels are in motion.
Love tappin' 😂😂 I guess I'm part of your 33%. I wonder if you couldn't weld the steel to the aluminum to deal with your drive truck movement problem. Of course, it would have to be a non permanent type of bonding agent...
Another 33%er!! But I already knew that. Your the very first 100%er. Should get you a biker patch!!
Recently had a Santa Fe PA converted to dual can motors by SNS Trains and added a Soundtrack Bluenami decoder to control it with my phone. It is unbelievable how great it makes running American Flyer trains .
WOW!! That sounds pretty cool!!!!
i stayed til the end. I love PA's
Thanks Robert. This one did run a bit long
Another great service Ron, could I recommend a can of electrical contact cleaner for you? It's used on electrical car parts and it's basically pressurised isopropyl alcohol in a spray can, I think it'd be good to spray in those places you can't get your cotton buds in like the enclosed chassis block and axles, should shoot out any old dried up oil and grease in there that'd be causing any running problems
Thank you! I have some contact cleaner. Its kinda spendy compared to the cases of brake parts cleaner I always have on hand. You make a good point that its just iso-alcohol so if/when I run into needing to clean a plastics based or painted stuff it would be much milder on the item. Thanks for the good information :-)
The vlack of a front coupler was done to reduce costs and allow it to negotiate the tighter radius of pikemaster track. I now own the set and it is an interesting counterpoise as it runs adjacent to my 1955 Chief set.
A couple other Fellers informed my about what you mentioned. Thanks for sharing :-). Best them two look good running side by side!!
having 30 years in the lionel/american flyer retail repair bus. do not use oil on a e-unit use a silcone spray its dry and works great
Thank you for the "Pro Tips"!!! Ive only got a few years in so I will take all the advice I can get :-)
you can magnetize screwdrivers to hold screws by rubbing on a magnet
Yup!
That's one smooth running engine.
It came out quite a bit better than I expected.
Great job ron
Thank you Dave!
Ron, for those tiny machine screws that are stripped out, and you don't need to fiddle with them, add a tiny bit of soft grade thread locker to them. If ever, they need to be removed in the future you can, and they will be held solid in the meantime.
Edit: I spoke too soon....
Whats soft grade thread locker? Blue locktite? I wonder if that would hold way to much? Hummmm.........
@@classicmodeltrains There is Permanent" thread locker and "Removeable" types. It all depends on how hard they dry. When I refer to "Soft" I mean the stuff that dries as "Removeable". Yes, the Blue Loctite. I was not being brand specific.
But again, your dried glue in the thread shaft worked quite fine as well.
Great video Ron.
Thanks 👍
42:17 Tamiya have flat aluminium XF-16 paint which might be suitable for touching up spots like that. Preferably before waxing though.
Yup I have some paint, but I don't plan on keeping these forever. Buyers get wary if someone has been after it with paint. I guess I will let the future owner do what they want to with it. I agree paint before wax on - wax off :-)
The screws on that brass collar around the field are, in fact, for holding the field in place. Also, the screwdrivers that hold screws in place are either called screw-holding screwdrivers or Quick Wedges!
Thanks. screw-holding screwdrivers.......It just seems to easy of a name that it completely escaped me. :-)
33% er here, brother!! Nothing wrong with a little bit of merch. Nice restoration! Glue trick in the screw hole outstanding!💯🫵👍✌️
Yay!! a 33%er :-) thanks for responding to the Merch question!
@@classicmodeltrains no problem, brother!!💯✌️
Looks like Tyco stole the molds for their passenger cars from American Flyer. Take care Ron!
Greetings Erick. Yup They do look very similar!!
I hope this info is useful.
I look forward to future UA-cams fixing and just watching the trains "roll".
EFrankB
Thank you!
BTW, as stated in previous comments,Portlines Hobbies is the go to for AF parts. Doug Peck has everything you need for American Flyer.
Thanks for the good recommendation on a parts house!!
Always a 33%er. Although I'm not really into the larger scale, that came out look'n very nice.
Thanks Lynn!!
if the lock out lever is in the pushed up spot it will only go one way it needs to be pulled down to go both ways i have the same set and both of the older versions !!.
Yup, Figured that out about half way thru. Never seen one of these before so was learning as I go :-)
If 33% watch till the end, and I have to watch the end twice because I fell asleep, what does that make me? Besides being tired, that is.😅
Seriously, though you might want to try and find some Floquil Aged Silver (it's been out of production). I've been told that it's a good match for the silver used on passenger cats.
The turbocharger was the main source of trouble for the PAs. Once the turbocharger was changed from air-cooled to water-cooled, most of the problems went away. Except for the damage to their reputation.
Passenger cars, not passenger cats.
Thanks for the good idea, and the good information on the turbo problems. :-)
Outside video 👍
👍
I meant OUTSTANDING video. Not outside video 🤦♂️
@@JackStrawfromWichita1 Well that makes more sense. Thank you Jack!! Dang spell check anyway :-)
I've heard it said that inside every Alco diesel locomotive, there's a steamer trying to get out - through the exhaust stack!
LOVE that saying!!!!
Polish your cars with plain old mineral oil, not spirits! My green new haven cars shine like crazy. You dont need to wash anything in water that way or take anything apart like your diesel bodies too. Keep it simple and neat!
I use mineral spirits as a solvent for removing old oil and grease from the motor assembly. I enjoy dis-assembling and cleaning up the old stuff with soap and water. then polishing with car wax. I would not put a petroleum based liquid on the plastic body but to each their own :-)
Looks like the coaches are made by A.C. Gilbert Co. I've got a set of Northern Pacific HO scale coaches that I changed out the incandescent lighting to LED strip lighting with keep alive circuits. Is your O gauge track O gauge or 027? Cheers from eastern TN
This is a test track with "S" and "O" on it. The track is O-27, but it has no curves since it's just a 11 foot long test track
I stuck through the entire video. The secret? Watch in Fast Forward. YT has speed control up to 2x. Allows me to get more videos watched :) Well I watched this one entirely but havent gotten to see the RV's yet.
Beautiful set. The Alcos are much more impressive looking in person. I actually didn't keep mine, the ones I had were dual motor units and they had issues even after repair - one motor would run and one would stick. Then it drags itself around. Single motor units are a lot weaker but don't have the half working problem. Also agree the motor design is rather poor, with the large U bracket that swings because it loosened up with age. I think Flyer had better steam engines than Lionel, but the opposite is true for diesels, the Lionel motors are just a better design in their diesels.
Wax sure shined it up nice. For removing the pins, if one is really really stuck, u can use a drop of Kroil or Liquid Wrench and let it sit for a while they slide out easier. I've had some really stubborn ones.
I like the green screen effect. Gave me some ideas for how to paint an ALCO FA I have in HO scale. Bicentennial or Orange. Either would be cool!
Thanks for stopping by and taking in a video! Too bad the dual motors gave you such a fit. I hope to work on one of them someday. Now I know what to expect :-). I bet a PA-1 would look amazing in person. I need to get out to some of these RR museums. Gotta get my RIDE all fixed up first.
This is the set "20735 THE CHIEF". Made in 61 & 62. The set came with pikemaster track, so because of the tighter radius it did not have a front coupler installed.
I wondered about that. This lot had some pieces of pike master track in it. Not enough for a whole circle. I did not know pike master had a tighter radius. Thanks for the good information!!
Was the middle axle omitted as a cost-cutting measure, or was it to facilitate operation on tight radii? Or both?
I think you have two great and probably true idea's there. Although I believe the "S" stuff ran on 36" radius. Not a super tight curve. Perhaps they did not want to come up with the jigs to make a 3 axle truck so they just used what they had and faked us out with the appearance of the 3rd axle
would be cool , to have some n scale coffee mugs or shirts
Thanks for the input John :-)
good video, whats up with the trains in the back? or have I missed what you did, it looks good
Thanks William! I built some shelves for all my "O', "O-27", and "S" gauge stuff. HO is on the other wall still
I like it@@classicmodeltrains
If you need parts there is a guy Doug peck from Newburyport Ma.
Having a parts "Guy" is always useful information. Thank you!!