American Flyer S Scale Gondolas (2 of 3)
Gilbert made 24 distinct
gondolas, some of which had multiple variations, and Lionel made
14 more up through 2007. The Upstairs Train features 13 of
the Gilbert cars. Because there are so many, I have split
them up over three web pages:
Gilbert gondolas #620 through
#941 are on page
1
#C-2009 through #24130 and the unnumbered Buffalo Hunt Gondola are
on this page 2
Lionel gondolas #9300 through #9304 are on
this page
#48216 and above are on page
3
Unless
otherwise specified, the large pictures on this page are of cars
in the collection of The Upstairs Train, and the smaller ones are
from ebay auctions I didn't win.
If you have a picture that
you would like to share with the world of any of the cars not
shown, email them to me: theupstairstrain@yahoo.com
Starting in 1958
Gilbert made seven 5-digit gondolas that were versions of the
earlier 6xx and 9xx cars above; most have several variations.
There were also three 5-digit gondolas with new line names.
#C-2009 T&P
gondola made in 1962-1964.
Gilbert also made this in dark
green, painted and unpainted, but they are very rare.
#24103 N&W gondola made in 1958.
It was also
made in 1963 & 1964 with Pike Master couplers.
(Photo
courtesy of Mark Preman of AmericanFlyerTrains.com.)
Two
extremely rare painted versions, one black and one brown, were
also made.
Unpainted #24106 Pennsylvania Railroad gondola made in 1958-1960.
A
hard-to-find painted version was also made.
(Photo courtesy of
Don Hasenzahl)
This #24108
Pennsylvania Railroad gondola sold on ebay in March of 2006.
It
doesn't appear in any of my books. So is it a rare car or a
reproduction? Does anybody know?
#24109 C&O gondola with plastic pipes made in 1958-1960.
#24109 C&O
gondola with cardboard pipes also made in 1958-1960.
A
harder-to-find version with orange cardboard pipes was also made.
#24110 Pennsylvania Railroad gondola made in 1958-1960.
#24113 D&H gondola made in 1958-1959. It came with either 3 or 5 canisters.
#24116
Southern gondola made in 1958-1960.
(Photo courtesy of Gale
Wilson.)
#24120 T&P
gondola made in 1960.
(Photo courtesy of an anonymous
donor)
Two rare painted versions (dark green and red) were also
made.
#24124 B&M gondola made in 1963-1964 with both knuckle and Pike Master couplers.
There is a great deal of variation in the color of the cars you see on
ebay.
I don't know whether it's the photography or if the cars
actually varied that much.
(Photo courtesy of Jeffrey
L. Miller.)
The TM Guide
says "There is also a rare dark blue painted version."
but
this painted car is as light as many of the unpainted cars you
see.
(Photo courtesy of New
England Toy & Train Exchange.)
Painted #24125 Bethlehem Steel gondola with rail load made in 1960.
It was also
made with Pike Master couplers in 1961-1964.
(From the
collection of my firend Joe Philippson)
And an
unpainted version without rail load was made in 1965-1966.
(From
the collection of my firend Joe Philippson)
#24126 Frisco
Lines gondola made in 1961.
(Photo courtesy of an anonymous
donor)
#24127 Monon gondola made in 1961-1965.
#24130
Pennsylvania Railroad unpainted gondola with Pike Master couplers
made in 1960.
(Photo courtesy of an anonymous donor)
An
extremely rare painted version was also made.
Unnumbered
Buffalo Hunt Gondola made only in 1963 for the #20800
Game Train.
(This
is a picture I took of a car in Jack Larson's collection.)
Lionel made 14 gondolas under their American Flyer name between 1980 and 2007:
#9300 Burlington gondola made in 1980.
#9301 B&O gondola made in 1981 & 1983.
#9303 Southern gondola with unpainted red canisters made in 1984.
#9304 New York Central canister gondola made in 1986.
Over the years,
Gilbert made four different kinds of couplers, three of which are
common and familiar to most American Flyer owners: link, knuckle,
and Pike Master. The fourth, the so-called "solid
knuckle coupler," was short-lived and not used on very many
cars. Lionel later came up with its own version of knuckle
coupler. American Flyer has therefore gone through five
generations
of couplers.
Because there seem to be a lot of people confused by this, I
created a page to show the differences. Click the picture
below for more detail.
It takes time and
money to maintain a website like this. If this site is
interesting and helpful to you, please contribute financially to
its ongoing success. You may send
a contribution via PayPal using
theupstairstrain@yahoo.com as the payee. Both credit card and
direct transfers would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very
much.
If you or your friends have some American Flyer
trains and would like them to go to a nice home where they'll be
loved and cared for, this is the place! Email me:
theupstairstrain@yahoo.com. See my Wish
List for the
items I need most. Thank you very much.
On the other
side of the coin, I post pictures from time to time on my For
Sale page of
surplus items I have for sale.
This gallery will continue
to grow and become more comprehensive as I collect more cars and
as visitors like you send me pictures of the cars I don't yet
have. If you have a car that you would like to share with
the world, email me a picture:
theupstairstrain@yahoo.com. Click
here for a
list of the pictures I need to complete the Gallery.
The
books I am using for reference are listed in the Bibliography
page. All the writing
and all the pictures on this website are, however, my own, except
where cited. No copyrighted materials have been included and
all pictures provided by others are used by permission.
Now show me:
The Gilbert Gallery Home Page
Engines
Passenger Cars
Freight Cars
Freight Sets
Work Cars
Accessories
Infrastructure Gallery
Christmas Cars
Boxcars
Refrigerator Cars
Stock Cars
Hopper Cars
Gondolas
Tank Cars
Flatcars
Aquarium Cars
Autorack Cars
Mint Cars
Cabooses
Pictures Needed
Useful Links
For Sale
Wish List
Bibliography
The
Upstairs Train