Gilbert American Flyer S Gauge Repair and Operating Guide B&W (Repairing and Operating Gilbert American Flyer Trains and Accessories)($28.95Value)

Description

This is a completely revised book. Please consider this and not the earlier 3rd Edition. It's 200 pages longer with all the information of the highly reviewed 3rd Edition. - Tom BarkerOver the past six years I have provided the 3rd Editions of my Gilbert American Flyer Operating and Repair Guide books. Both Volume 1 and Volume 2 have been declared excellent helpers for those engaged in the repair and operation of these fine trains.More and more new AF enthusiasts are joining the thousands of experienced Gilbert American Flyer operators and collectors as evidenced by the growing numbers in the Facebook Groups. In conjunction with these groups I have discovered many new ideas that have been lingering around regarding the repair and operation of these fine trains and accessories. Some topics are common ideas and are just sitting around in the ordinary vernacular (like using a hair dryer to flex balky plastic engine shells). Neophytes need to have a reference beyond my original Guides to document many of these “everybody knows” AF topics.My second Volume approached that goal, but there are still many more ideas to expand the newbies’ knowledge. The Second Volume also had an extensive Index for quick reference to the many topics in both books.Now, in a vastly enlarged 4th Edition, I have incorporated and expanded all the topics of Volume 1 and Volume 2, added an additional 100 pages of new topics including more user friendly pictorial wiring diagrams, a huge chapter on accessories, and a reorganization of the book that guides the reader into the philosophy of AF repair. Plus a complete Index to all topics.The cost of producing a book like this (even in the age of print on demand) is especially high for color. Therefore, I am offering both a black and white version at a reasonable price of $28.95 and the color version for $61.95. (Color printing is 5 times the cost of B&W).The book size continues in the 8 by 10 inch format that fits easily on a workbench. It has a wider center space so the information does not get lost in the crease between facing pages. It is perfect bound and printed by Createspace, an Amazon Company. If you have just discovered a set of Gilbert American Flyer S Gauge trains and want to get them back on track, this is the book that will help you do just that. These trains were built to last and Tom Barker has been helping AF owners tune them up for over 45 years. This book will help repair and maintain these trains and bring back memories from a long ago Christmas in the late 1940's, and 1950's. If it's your grandfather's train or one that you had as a kid, this is the book that will help breathe new life into it. I first assembled my thoughts on Gilbert American Flyer train repair and restoration in the early 1970's, some years after the Gilbert Company had ceased operation. Up until then, the only "official" guide to the repair of these great model trains was a set of exploded diagrams with part numbers that were being circulated from photocopies of the originals. There was nothing on how to really fix these trains and the company was no longer there to supply replacement parts.   My first AF Repair Book was a handmade compilation of the experience I had gained by fixing hundreds of engines and lots of accessories for a fellow collector who did not have the skill to do it himself. He "paid" me with 20%  of what I worked on and that's how I built my collection - but what I really built was the knowledge base on how these trains worked and how to make them work again.  Later, Greenberg Publishing asked me to have them print the book in a professional format which became the "First and Second" Editions. When Greenberg sold out to Kalmbach and the book inventory ran out, I obtained the rights back to my book. After ten years of supplying it in an electronic format, I discovered Amazon's Creatspace publishing arm and went to work revising and making the book live again. However, it was not just a reprint of the original with a new cover - it is a complete revision of the original work with over 80 new photographs and expanded and added chapters. All the original Gilbert instructions and diagrams have been reset in a more readable type and the entire book has been put into a larger font for easier reading.  The Facebook AF group was very supportive in my efforts and five of the members volunteered to proof read the pages. I am so grateful for their help and support. Restoring AF by Gilbert is a labor of love and I hope my efforts have helped in this labor.