I just bought a slew of AF trains from a 86 year old man that just sold his home. There are quite a few engines. He told me that he had converted all the engines to DC. He never touched the engines, but took the e-units out of the tenders. The e-units are gone. All these engines and tenders are in really nice condition. What I want to know is, Is there a market for these. I may just put them all on e-bay either in one lot or seperately. I am a Lionel pre-war operator & collector, and I don't know a hell of a lot about AF, but I am learning..I hope not the hard way. NEED HELP. Thanks

Eddie:

I guess the answer is it depends. Flyer experimented with DC shortly after the war on some of their trains, but went back to AC shortly thereafter so there actually are some PW Flyer engines that can run on DC (Usually marked with "DC" after the engine number on the cab). For an aftermarket conversion you would not get anywhere near the price for an original unconverted model. A collector would want to convert them back to AC with an original e-unit, a job that would take some time. Original Flyer e-units are not cheap so the conversion back to AC may not be worth it for a lower end engine.

An operator, however, may find them attractive since DC engines tend to run a bit better due to the absence of the Flyer e-unit (which can be troublesome). Some Flyer parts dealers now sell conversion kits to convert some Flyer engines and handcars to a DC can motor and electronic e-unit so the operators have the ability to improve performance. It is not quite a "drop in" process but can be done by most folks fairly easy. Also not that the new Flyer engines produced by Lionel are can motor powered but can run on AC.

Not sure which is better, to sell as a lot or individual. Personally, as a collector I would want to buy as a lot , convert the ones back that are worth it and use the rest for parts (since I'm a Flyer collector and repairman). Good clean "collector grade" Flyer is still available and, for the most part, still within reach for most collectors so a converted loco is not as desirable.

Others may feel differently, and of course it is ultimately your decision.

Hope this helps, please feel free to e-mail me off line if you want more information.

Brad Rock

Hi Brad, Thanks for your help. I think I am going to put them on ebay all in one lot. These are the cheaper engines. 301, 302, 303, & 2- 312's. Not worth converting them back to AC.

Eddie G

FWIW, I think you should offer them for sale here on the OGR Forum, in the Buy/Sell section. Just my 2cents worth.

Richie

Eddie, agree they are common engines, IMHO the 312's are the best of the bunch.
Richie, agree try here first Eddie couldn't hurt.

Good Luck

Brad

If in otherwise excellent condition, it would depend on how they were modified for DC operation. Did the man swap out the AC field and armature for a DC set or did he just remove the reverse unti and do some fancy rewiring, or did he do one of the new can motor conversions? Depending how severe the modifications were will determine how much the value has been affected. You've got to figure, the reversue units in junk boxes are typically $15 to $25 on average. If the field was also changed, the AC ones are dirt cheap at $3 to $5 on average, but the DC one with permanent magnet can be sold easily for more than enough value to replace it.

PRRDave

I have already put them on ebay..They go for what they go for. .99 start no reserve. They are all in one lot. Start time is 10pm EDT tonight. Thanks for your help. Ed P.s. I would think thay have to be worth something if just for parts.

Did you put them in the correct category, cause I cannot find them.

PRRDave

Good Luck you never know what may happen. I'll check it out tonight when I get off work. Recently, a plain box of Flyer track went for over 75 times what it usually goes for! Just depends on what someone wants.

Try this I saw it last night DC Engines

Well, They are on ebay, and with 5 day's left, they are up to $56. I will be overjoyed to get $100. for them.

I can't believe it, they are up to $152. Something there that I don't know about it?