Northern Steam Engines (1 of 2)

American Flyer Northern Steam Engines (1 of 2)

Gilbert called it the Challenger but the railroads called it a Northern. The Challenger was a different engine.

Gilbert made thirteen Northern Locomotives and Lionel has added nineteen more under their American Flyer name. Because there are so many, I have split them up over two web pages:

          Gilbert Northerns are on this page.
          Lionel #48047 through #48064 are on this page
                      #42562 through #47953 are on page 2
                      #2021110 through #2021160 are on page 2

Unless otherwise specified, the large pictures on this page are of engines in the collection of The Upstairs Train.

If you have a picture that you would like to share with the world of any of engines not shown here, or a better picture of one that is shown, email them to me: theupstairstrain@gmail.com

As I get pictures of the sets, you will be able to click on each engine to see the train(s) it pulled.

The #332 Union Pacific Northern made from 1946 to 1949 came in six versions:

An AC version with silver Union Pacific lettering and smoke unit in the tender made only in 1946

A DC version with white American Flyer Lines lettering and smoke unit in the tender made only in 1947
(Picture courtesy of an anonymous donor.)

A pre-production prototype with smoke unit in the boiler made only in 1947

A DC version with white American Flyer Lines lettering and smoke unit in the boiler made only in 1948

I think this is another example of the same version.
(Picture courtesy of an anonymous donor.)

A similar DC version with white stripe on the running board made only in 1949.
(Picture courtesy of Stout Auctions.)

Here's a view of the underside..
(Picture courtesy of Stout Auctions.)

A similar DC version lettered simply American Flyer made only in 1949.
(Picture courtesy of Stout Auctions.)

#332AC Union Pacific Northern made only in 1951.
(Picture courtesy of an anonymous donor.)

#332DC Union Pacific Northern made only in 1950.
(Picture courtesy of an anonymous donor.)

#334DC Union Pacific Northern made only in 1950.
(Photo courtesy of Bill Roselle.)

#K335 Union Pacific Northern made only in 1952.
(This is a picture I took of an engine in Jack Larson's collection.)
The first ones made had the riveted knuckle coupler attached by a screw.

Like the #326 Hudson, the K335 was made with two different motors, one larger than the other. The large motor is above and the small one below.
(Pictures courtesy of an anonymous donor.)

Here's a comparison of the two armatures.
(Picture courtesy of an anonymous donor.)

Gilbert made these "cut-away" engines for dealers so they could show people what was inside.
The other side looked perfectly normal.

My #336 Union Pacific Northern made from 1953 to 1957.

#21139 Union Pacific Northern made from 1958 to 1959.
(Picture courtesy of an anonymous donor.)

#21140 Union Pacific Northern made in 1960.
(Picture courtesy of an anonymous donor.)

In 2005, Lionel released their first American Flyer Northern locomotive and is still releasing new models.

Close-up of the #48047 Union Pacific Northern made in 2005 & 2006.
See the engineer in the cab?
(Photo courtesy of The MW Collection.)

Front detail.
(Photo courtesy of The MW Collection.)

Close-up of the #48047 tender.
(Photo courtesy of The MW Collection.)

#48054 Union Pacific Northern made in 2006.
(Photo courtesy of John Constible.)

#48064 Milwaukee Road Northern made in 2007 through 2009.
(This is a picture I took in Scott Kugler's store, D&S Hobbies of Temecula, California.)

Detail of the front.
(This is a picture I took in Scott Kugler's store, D&S Hobbies of Temecula, California.)

Detail of the tender.
(This is a picture I took at the San Diego S-Gaugers clubhouse in La Mesa, California.)

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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@gmail.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@gmail.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.

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