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Post by healey36 on Sept 5, 2024 23:52:07 GMT
Flyer tunnel query...has anyone seen a prewar Flyer tunnel made of papier-mache that had lights mounted on either side of the portals at either end? I swear I've seen one, but maybe it was a custom-made/modified version. It had the telegraph poles on top as well. I checked back through the catalogs and could find nothing.
Maybe I'm losing it...
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Post by af3020 on Sept 6, 2024 1:42:56 GMT
Healey36 losing it? Not a chance! The American Flyer Cascade Tunnel which was first offered in 1928 had telephone poles on top but no lights.  In 1934 Flyer introduced a new line of tunnels some of which featured lights on either side of the tunnel entrance - one was for O gauge and the other was for Standard - in both cases the lights are just on one end.  None of the new tunnels had the telegraph poles (and the catalog illustration for 1934 was just a copy of an earlier tunnel illustration which did not have the lights). If you did see a Cascade tunnel with lights then the lights would have been a home modification. I've seen these tunnels and they are very large - they turn up from time to time - usually as part of the offerings of the bigger auction houses like Bertoia or Stout. |
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Post by healey36 on Sept 6, 2024 10:14:24 GMT
"In 1934 Flyer introduced a new line of tunnels some of which featured lights on either side of the tunnel entrance - one was for O gauge and the other was for Standard - in both cases the lights are just on one end."
Okay, thank you af3020 ...I was beginning to have doubts, lol. In the meantime, I went on a Youtube search in an effort to prove my sanity...found this snippet from Leon and his layout that features two of the illuminated tunnels in the foreground: Flyer tunnelsNow to find a couple of examples.
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Post by af3020 on Sept 6, 2024 12:14:15 GMT
Healey36, Leon Sweet is a great guy. I'm glad to know he put together a YouTube video featuring some of his tunnels. I do know his knowledge of the tunnels (as well as many other things Flyer) spans at least 15 years. By the way, about 40 some odd seconds into that video you can see examples of the #100 station and the very large #116. The #116 in that video is a reproduction but I know Leon has since acquired an original which needed some work and, to the best of my knowledge, he finished the restoration/cleaning effort some time back.
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Post by healey36 on Sept 6, 2024 13:46:06 GMT
Leon, and yourself, are terrific resources. I haven't seen him post anywhere for a while, so I was a bit worried about him.
The #116 station is a beautiful thing, well worth pursuing. It's doubtful that a nice example turns up at York, but I'll keep an eye open. I wonder who made a reproduction of it?
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Post by af3020 on Sept 6, 2024 15:32:47 GMT
Healey36, Leon has switched to posting over on a Facebook group devoted to American Flyer. I don't do Facebook so I don't know the group name but I'm sure you can find it. I did have a flyer on the reproduced station but I can't locate it and I've forgotten the name of the manufacturer - I'll keep looking. Before I forget, Leon wrote an interesting article on the #116 station which was published in the TCA e-train magazine - this magazine is open to anyone - the link to the article is below: www.tcatrains.org/etrain/american-flyer-prewar-accessories-series-article-6-union-station/ |
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Post by healey36 on Sept 6, 2024 17:46:30 GMT
The wife's a Facebooker, so I'll have to see if she can find the Flyer group. A number of my acquaintances have moved to Facebook and off the forums, which I find unfortunate. I'm not a Facebooker either, so I'll continue to "miss out".
Thanks for the link. I seem to remember a thread over on "the other forum" where he described his efforts to refurbish the #116. It looked like a heck of a project.
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Post by af3020 on Sept 6, 2024 17:53:27 GMT
Yes, that was the station he was working on. He also made an excellent series of posts on the American Flyer tunnels over there but all of the image links are broken so only the text remains.
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Post by healey36 on Sept 7, 2024 9:32:13 GMT
I'd read his recap on Flyer tunnels a few times, even managing to see it before all of the photo links were broken.
Maybe we can cajole him into joining and posting over here once in a bit...
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