I have a few American Flyer Tranz4mers to repair for a friend. My usual sources have lots of AF parts but not the ones I need.
The transformers are 30B and need standard things like Carbon Rollers and Pins and the replacement power cords, preferably grey.
Anyone have a favorite source for AF parts? Any to avoid?
Thanks.

Try Doug Peck at Portlines Hobbies. He has everything you mentioned.

Portlines

There are several good AF parts vendors out there. The rollers and pins you can get from any parts vendor, even Lionel as they are the same. The cords are also available, but you'll pay extra for a gray one which begs the question, why waste the money. You can raid any modern item with a heavy duty black cord.

PRRDave

Thanks for the links. If it were for me a black cord would be fine. It's for a friend who would like to keep the transformers as close to original as possible. Now I might be wrong but the rollers appear thicker than Lionel. Also the pins appear to be brass, appear thicker and are crimped from the side instead of press riveted from the end.Some of the biggest Lionel parts dealers have a good stock of AF parts but not these for some reason.

There may be slight differences from original to current reproductions. Vendors that sell you them will be getting them from Lionel, and they are the same parts used in the ZW.

PRRDave

We have both items available online. Online Catalog

We manufacture the carbon rollers, so they are the same as the originals.
We sell them in a kit along with the brads and instructions.

RFGCO,

I bought your roller kit on ebay a few weeks ago, and I have a question. Is it normal for the roller to be tight on the pin? I haven't installed the rollers and pins yet, but I noticed the tightness when I was inspecting the parts. Will they loosen up with use?

They will be a little tight. Once they are on the should roll fine.

Thanks for the info.
I ended up buying the correct carbon rollers and pins from my repair friend at one of my local hobby shops at a pretty good price. I'll skip the gray cord for now.
Thanks again.

RFGCO,

Thanks for the reply.

Kent,

Is it just me, or are Flyer transformer harder to service than Lionel? I'd rather have a ZW on the bench over a Flyer 16B-30B.

They are more simple but don't have as many features.
Pros- Crimp on connectors with posts and nuts vs. solder joints on Lionel.
- Each handle and the accessory power has it's own breaker.
- Power on/off switch.
- The meters are cool
- Terminals on back bigger easier to tighten.
The studs on Lionel's tend to break from overtightening
- Simple design with no whistle/rectifier or switches.
- Easier to screw down to a table

Cons- The dead-man device as a reverse switch works but is a little lame.
- Lots of empty space in there.
- no whistle system.
Generally they have less parts and seem easier to work on and are pretty solid.

Real American Flyer sized graphite rollers and pins are basic parts that are way too expensive. I ended up with Doug Peck's parts from the local hobby shop which ended up being Lionel rollers with the cotter pins. They work fine but I would have preferred to install the correct size parts. Next time I'll order Lionel rollers from www.ttender.com and pick up the cotter pins at the local hardware store.

Kent,

I tried using the Lionel rollers and pins (V-45 roller and ZW-102 pin) in an early Flyer 16B, and it doesn't work well. The diameter of the ZW-102 pin is smaller than the hole in the contact arm, which gives the roller and pin too much movement. This resulted in poor contact with the secondary coil which produced an open circuit at various points through the voltage range. Also, the excessive movement made lifting the handle useless because the roller would drop down and touch the coil even though the contact arm had moved away from the coil. I know that the correct parts are overpriced, but there doesn't seem to be any alternative.

On the 30b the lionel rollers work fine with the cotter pins. The dead man throttle levers work as they should. After bending the legs of the pins, they were trimmed shorter. I can see where the lionel pins with the smaller head wouldn't work very well in an oversized hole. The cotter pins measure about .05 to .065. The Lionel pins measure .059

I too prefer the larger dia rollers and matching pins, but they are less easy to find and purchase than the smaller variety. 30B's are my favorite transformer, but there's one thing to be aware of - - the wires from the pivoting turret can fatique and fail within the insluation (i.e. with no visible sign of a problem). If a 30B develops a dead spot somewhere within the rotation range of the throttle handle and the roller, etc. look OK inside, try replacing that wire. I do as a matter of preventative maintenance on 30B's that will see heavy usage (e.g. club transformers). Another peculiarity to keep in mind with 15B and 16B transformers -- they have a hot spot with the handle down and positioned just off "0" on the mph scale. If left in that position they can become very hot inside.

The 30B that I just repaired had the turret wire fatigue thing.