Basement Find: 1950s American Flyer Train Set
Looking at all of the high-tech gadgetry in the hands of today’s youth, a vintage train set reminds us of the simpler times that were our childhoods. BarnFinds reader Joseph B told us that here’s a nice set for sale here on craigslist in Jacksonville, Oregon and it looks like an excellent value for a paltry $200! This picture of the locomotive is only a teaser – read on to see the rest of the set and the landscape!
In mid-century America, a train setup like this was a dream for many young people. Just the set alone was neat, but to have a whole working diorama – wow!
Although best-known for these large-scale electric sets, American Flyer dates back to the very early 1900s in Chicago, when William Hafter developed a clockwork motor for toy cars. His friend, William Coleman, just happened to own a struggling hardware manufacturing outfit that had some extra space, and the American Flyer was born. Today, American Flyer has become Lionel trains, and they’re still some of the most prominent and most-loved scale-model railroad components in the world.
The seller doesn’t go into a whole lot of detail, other than spelling out what locomotives and cars and buildings are included. We can see in the pictures that, while not super-detailed, the 4’x8′ landscape has plenty of open space and room for its next caretaker to modify, customize, and add whatever elements they might desire.
A quick search brought back information that, for the asking price, you’d likely spend quite a bit more money and time to try to buy these pieces separately and make the landscape, so all in all, it looks like a solid deal.
I’m old enough to remember wanting a train set, and being fascinated by the level of detail on many of them. If I recall correctly, a member of my extended-family had a set similar, minus the landscape.
I’ll admit that I don’t know a whole lot about train sets: I got into 1/24-scale cars and trucks instead, because I was more into automobiles than trains. In my humble opinion, this set includes everything you would need to get started (or re-started) in the larger-scale side of the model-train hobby. We have featured actual, real trains in the past, but most of us would have a difficult time with the logistics of that. What say you, good people? Do you have a train set memory that you’d be willing to share with us? Let us know in the comments!
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Comments
Growing up, kids I knew had either Lionel or American Flyer trains – HO gauge seemed to be for older “hobbyists” who had some skills in modeling landscapes and structures. I had, and still have, Lionel trains which were somewhat larger than American Flyer’s and ran on 3 rail track instead of the more realistic 2 rail of American Flyer (DC vs AC power). I love the vintage look of this layout and I think there would be a lot of entertainment value here for the grandkids (and me).
This seems to be really cheap!
We had a Lionel set when I was a kid, set up by dad, and given to my older brother and me for Christmas one year. Loved it, rearranged it a time or two, then ultimately sold it to get a slot-car setup. IIRC, we got maybe $110 for it, and that was in the middle 1960’s?
One of my old neighborhood buddies from that era does half-basement train dioramas in the HO scale, although at one time he had a slot car track and larger train sets at the same time.
Growing up, every kid got a train set. It was almost issued at birth. To be clear, the American Flyer was kind of the cheapo set, and the Lionel was the real detailed one. There’s clubs that put on these massive displays, and fun to see. I had the standard oval with center switch yard and I believe the “O” gauge. My dad built this big table, we had switches, lights, had a locomotive that smoked( try that today) great fun. When cleaning out my late parents house, I came across the set. It was in poor shape from sitting, and a toy collector gave me like $50 bucks for the whole set. He really just wanted the smoking locomotive, which if refurbished, can bring hundreds of dollars. When my son was a little boy, I bought him a train set. I think my ex-wife still has it. If you’re looking for fun, especially in the winter with your kids, a train set, even a cheapie, is great fun, and will get them away from their electronics for a while. This was OUR high tech wizardry.
Hey Howard, I never had a train set but I did get a Johnny Express which I still have. https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/lot-images.atgmedia.com/SR/34789/2900047/138-20145816390_540x360.jpg
Howard,
American Flyer was cheaper but the detail was much better than Lionel. Today american Flyer is bringing more than Lionel.
Ironic, because Lionel bought American Flyer in 1966.
https://www.ecommercebytes.com/guides/toys-hobbies/a-short-history-of-american-flyer-trains/
American Flyer was not “cheapo.” In fact, it was far more detailed than Lionel. Both Lionel and Flyer had their lower priced entry level sets, but both also had upper end top of the line sets. Lionel had the better on board whistle, but Flyer’s smoke and choo-choo sounds were WAY above anything Lionel could produce back then and in terms of scale, there was no comparison. Flyer was far better. Also, almost all of Flyers locomotives were powered by worm drive motors which resulted in a far smoother and more realistic speed range. They also pulled far better than Lionel. Cheapo? I think not
Whats this quarter mile time?
Will it beat a Camry or Honda family car and the 454 Vette?
Kidding..i have a Lionel train and yes these old toys are still cool 😎
I still have the Lionel train that my father bought me for Christmas 1951. (I was born in January 1952; I got it used;-)
I would buy this in a heart beat if it was closer. Love American Flyer stuff.
I’ve had stuff shipped fron Craigslist before, so at $200 don’t let a few extra bucks stop you.
These trains look like the ones we had 60 years ago. I always wanted to set up a garden railroad but don’t have the space for one.
Say Dave, how is the payment worked out? Thanks for any advice, take care, Mike.
The market for vintage trains has declined dramatically. There are fewer adult collectors who had toy trains in their youth.
Compared to Lionel, some AF is quite rare. When I lived on CT, I had the pleasure of meeting the son of an old American Flyer (AC Gilbert) employee who had amassed at that time the most complete collection of AF known, virtually all mint. He very kindly gave me a tour of his private collection, consisting of multiple hundreds of models which at the time I believe was worth mid six figures then. I have no idea if the collection still exists today.
There is a good TV show on Sunday mornings @ 21.2, welfare TV. Tracks Ahead, It covers old rail services and some amazing scale layouts. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL58E1067A0F53B9AC
That’s a favorite show, Mike! Anything train-related is great.
Your right Scotty! This place was featured on the show. I drive by all the time beating the Z3 but never see it open. Looking forward to stopping in. http://www.whrc-wi.org/trainbarn/ Take care, Mike.
The Bullitt sold for $3.4M based on nostalgia, here is a toy train set for $200.00 that took me instantly back in time 55 years when a childhood acquaintance got one for Christmas. Amazing how something can trigger a memory like that. It is a bargain at twice the price. If had the space I wouldn’t let this pass, but unfortunately I’m in the downsizing era now and many things I value are going away.
The American Flyer sets were built in “S” scale, which sits between “HO” (half O) and “O”. “S” scale had been lost for a bit, but has been making a very big comeback, with more available track, buildings, engines, cars, etc. As the HO guys get older, some are looking for a scale not as big as “O” for space reasons and this scale fits in well. Narrow gauge in “S” scale, Sn3, runs on HO track, I believe, so you can run larger engines on smaller track, meaning more track for your space. $200 is a steal.
I was waiting for someone to correctly identify the two rail S-scale. Comforting in the knowledge. I still have my three rail O-gauge 4-4-2 Atlantic American Flyer set with the three red lighted passenger cars that I got for Xmas back in the ’40’s. I refurbed it about ten years ago. Still need to get some new decals.
Wow, blast from the past! This looks exactly like the American Flyer set I received when I was 7. I still remember seeing it by the Christmas tree. There drops you put in the smokestack and it would put out smoke as it ran. I am sorely tempted as someone is going to get a great deal on this.
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Never get rid of these things! My old 027 Lionel steam engine and tender still reside on the mantel. 70 years and counting.
My brother & I had an AF train set along with an Aurora slot car set coupled with a Kenner girder & panel building set ( remember those?) We would create elaborate setups. Hours of wintertime fun!
I wonder if it’s a coincidence that the set includes a 4-4-2 Atlantic and a 4-6-2 Pacific?
I got a Lionel Train set 100 years ago for Christmas. This brings back fond memories……….thanks for that.
The founder’s name was Hafner, not Hafter. and there are tons of great Hafner toy trains.
American Flyer really wasn’t a cheapo set as stated above. They may have been less expensive than the Lionel – but the build quality was excellent. I got a set in the ’50’s that was made in New Haven, CT by A.C. Gilbert (probably best known for their Erector Sets). My grandmother worked for A.C. Gilbert. And, yes, they did have capsules with some sort of a liquid in them that you could squeeze into the smokestack on an American Flyer locomotive and it would puff smoke when the locomotive ran. Don’t know what the liquid was but, if I smelled it today, I’m certain I would be transported back to the ’50’s.
I believe liquid smoke was mostly glycerin and water, not 100% sure on that. The Lionel tables were made from meta-terphenyl.
I see I am not the only one that still has the twin to this set.
It’s a great buy if it was closer! These old American made train sets brings back many memories! My good friend and I had both H.O. and later N gauge sets in our basement! Luckily, I still had mine and my friend’s now! I bought his because his was Japanese made all brass and very well made too. It’s too bad toy train sets have somewhat disappeared and the newer ones are made out of plastic “junk”! I recently acquired some Marklin sets and N gauge Fleishmann as well. I believe these two brands are still available. The Marklin and Fleishmann were made in Germany.
So have the hobby shops – disappeared – where me & my friends raced big model cars on a huge track – the one near me is a convenience store now. (& all the so many nightclubs i went to in the 80’s are now either restaurants, 7/11s, churches, parking lots, housing, etc.) arrgh lol
A friend of mine was a serious Lionel collector in the ’70s and ’80s. In 1993, he sold off his entire collection and bought a ’68 Shelby and a ’93 Mustang Cobra from the sale. He told me one car alone was worth $5,000 at that time. Pretty good investment, I’d say. My wife has her father’s old Lionel train set that probably dates to the ’40s that I intend to get out of the attic and set up to display for her. I’m interested to learn as much as I can about it, too. Should be fun.
I had a train set as child. My brother and I shared it. I don’t remember what brand it was but it was bigger than the ones you see nowadays. It ran on three tracks and was all steel construction. It a was designed after a steam locomotive and had a coal car, a flat bed, two passenger cars and a caboose. We changed the tracks so much the pins started coming out and contact became increasingling difficult.
This makes me want to buy another one.
God bless America
P.S. There used to be a working model of the actual train system at the train station in Seattle.
I remember that. And there used to be a HUGE diorama with five or six O-gauge trains running simultaneously on the boardwalk at Santa Cruz, CA. As a kid I would drool all over the windows……… Probably still would.
Still have the Lionel set Santa started in 1946 and added to annually. All are in their original boxes. I best remember coming downstairs Christmas morning the year Santa brought the Warbonnet Red SantaFe double A set. That had to be maybe 6 years later. As an adult I ventured into HO which was fun because you could build rolling stock and locos from reasonably priced kits. Gave the HO to a younger brother to play with for his son. He since sold or disposed of my extensive collection. Also have Marklin HO sent home from Germany by dad at the end of WW11. Still in the wood shipping crate.
What a great memory this has stirred up. And as with so many others here my late brother and I received a lionel set for Christmas in the mid 50’s and what fun that was we had it in our bedroom on a wood platform that we could slide under our bunkbed when not in use. I seem to recall the engine would smoke but used a small pill in the smokestack, anyone else remember this type train setup? My father had as much or more fun with the train at the time than we did. I have a large cardboard barrel with several old train sets my father left me back in the mid 90’s, I keep saying I will get these out and do something with them, now maybe after seeing this set I will do something soon. Thanks for posting this find!
That brings back some memories. An Aunt and Uncle bought both my cousins each a train set back in the 50’s. One was black and the other was pink (the locomotives that is), a boy and a girls model. My aunt sold both sets years ago much to the dismay of my cousins (having left home by that time). Turns out apparently the sets were worth some real $$, but the pink one was apparently worth much more $$ than the black set due to it’s rarity. They got the sets probably 60 years ago so it’s been a while since received or sold.
My friend has a brand new, unopened, sealed American Flyer train set from about 1953. Needless to say he has no plans to open it. I suspect it is worth a pretty penny.
Born in New Haven. AF plant was 10 minutes from the house. This engine is the exact model I had. Still love trains but have no extra time for them.
I still have the Lionel train set I got in the mid-sixties when I was about 10 or so.