Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best Selling in Locomotives
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This locomotive is one of the earliest ready-to run HO products for the American public. It was such a large engine because the model needed a fairly large motor, and smaller prototypes would not acommodate the available motors. This unit appears to be AC driven, as it looks to have the reversing unit in the tender. The AC models have a on-off-on-off characteristic to reverse. Gilbert did make a few of these models for DC. In those, the AC motor simply had the AC wired electromagnet replaced with a permanent magnet for DC operation. This is a collector's item, but running it on any ready to go HO track nowadays would be very difficult, since it is AC. The problem with longevity of the model is that the drive axles are inserted into holes in the frame. When the grease lubing the wheels begins to dry out, the axles can freeze. On later designs from other manufacturers, a cover plate is removed and the axles drop out to be cleaned, and then replaced. The Gilbert axles require a gear pulling tool to get one wheel off to slide the axle out of the frame. Once that is done, it is anybody's guess if the wheel can be reseated properly. If not, the engine gallops or stalls.Read full review
Verified purchase: No
American flyers are the best made train's
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned