Fun With A. C. Gilbert S Gauge Trains

   We just want to have fun with American Flyer Trains and have established an internet based club in Denver Colorado for American Flyer enthusiasts.  We are somewhat unique in that we have formed a toy train collector and operator's club with;

• No Dues
• No Officers
• No Constitution or By-Laws
• No Rules
• No Politics
• Just fun with American Flyer trains

   To join all we need is your email address. You can sign up on our About Us page. The membership is free and you can opt out any time.

A Website Featuring American Flyer Displays
www.americanflyerdisplays.org

   An entire website dedicated to preserving the history of the classic Gilbert American Flyer display layouts.
The following is a description of the site taken from their home page;

   In these pages, we hope to provide a place to explore the history and art of the classic American Flyer display layouts in all their forms, including:

The factory prepared layouts and displays that were sold to dealers,
The custom department store layouts that delighted young and old at Christmas time,
The layouts illustrated in various consumer catalogs, whether they actually existed or not,
The Boy's Railroad Club Layout, featured on the television series, and finally,
The grandaddy of all the display layouts, the custom layouts created for the Gilbert Halls of Science

   Whether you want to relive the days when these layouts actually existed, or want to recreate some of them, either in whole or in part, we hope these web pages will be useful and enjoyable. We have included track plans with accessory placement based as closely as possible on the contents lists for most of the factory display layouts. On the other layouts we have attempted to approximate the track plans based on photographs.

New Layout Pictures & Videos

     NEW 12/07/10 - The following link is to Chuck Eral’s American Flyer Table-top Train Layout blog az-flyer.blogspot.com. A picture of the layout is on the right. While building his current (5'x16')Arizona Mountain to Desert model train layout he will be updating his web site pages weekly to show his layout's progress.
   The following is a link to his Video Library featuring the American Flyer UP Northern 4-8-4 (with RailSound 5.0) and other of his Flyer videos http://vimeo.com/14982599.

     NEW 12/07/10 - Several pictures of his layout contributed by Martin Lukatch.

     NEW 12/01/10 - Added pictures from member Brian Snook's layout to the website.

     NEW 10/06/10 - American Flyer Train Layout Pro Video
    A wonderful video of a 300 sq foot layout on YouTube. It portrays how American Flyer trains are to be played with and enjoyed by children.

     A video from Carl Tuveson (www.tuveson.com) on YouTube. It shows the  American Flyer Big Boy using a TMCC Servo Controlled Pan Head on a Key Chain Camera Car. See Carl's new video on the Layout Videos page (the second one down).

     Two really nice Videos of Ray Puls' American Flyer "S" Gauge Layout. The videos were made on April 17, 2010 during the final meeting of the season of "The Badgerland "S" Gaugers". His layout is under construction and is using all original American Flyer track and roadbed. Member Videos

    Three member layouts have been added to the website.

1. Randy Thompson added pictures and an article about the building of a new train room with
    a 1950's "retro" style American Flyer layout. Read more

2. Robert Graves, a member of the San Diego S-Gaugers, a club formed to promote S-Scale
    model railroading in all its flavors, sent us information on a modular layout he has been
    working on. Read more

3. Tim Brown is in the process of the tear-down and re-build of his fifth "permanent" American
    Flyer based layout in his 20’ X 40’ train room. You will find a link to his blog on the
    Member Layouts page.

Copies of Gilbert Advertising

   NEW 6/29/2010  I have scanned copies of some American Flyer and Gilbert advertisements and uploaded them to the Gilbert Advertising page.

American Flyer Videos

   Our Videos page has links to several YouTube videos of American Flyer trains from the past as well as videos of some current layouts.

   Also on the page is a link to our Member's layout videos.

   On the "1950s Television Shows" page are copies of the "You Asked For It' television show episode and two commercials from the 50's and 60's.

Online Copies of American Flyer Catalogs
And The American Flyer Factory Service Manual

   In addition to his collection of the 1938 to 1967 American Flyer Train Catalogs, Chuck Harrington has announced the addition of the American Flyer Factory Service Manual to his fantastic American Flyer Trains website - MyFlyerTrains.Org.

   Chuck is one of our heroes for creating such a fantastic website for American Flyer enthusiasts. He has put together an outstanding collection of information and recently announced the addition of the American Flyer Factory Service Manual that is now posted on his website. The manual that is over 400 pages in length has been compiled from several factory service manuals that were used in actual Gilbert American Flyer Service stations, and are 50 years or so old.

   If you haven't been to his website yet, you are in for a real treat.

   Thank you Chuck!

Flyer Links & Other Links pages

   Check out our "Flyer Links" and "Other Links" pages. We have added links to other websites that may be of interest to club members.

   We are just beginning to add links to the list that we hope will eventually become a valuable reference for all American Flyer enthusiasts.
 

To A Man about to Buy an Electric Train for His Boy
A 1954 message from A. C. Gilbert

   BUYING an electric train is an important step for most people. It frequently represents a sizeable investment, not only in dollars but in hours of future happiness for that boy of yours and for you.
   Read more...

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Portions Copyright © 2009, 2010 by the American Flyer Club
All Rights Reserved.