American Freedom Train

Doing an HO scale version of the 1975-1976 American Freedom Train. I am using the display cars that Lionel produced in 1976 as a starting point. The cars are pretty close to the prototype and include the special doors on the ends that were necessary for the public to pass through. This is a 25 car project and going is slow. Lots of rework/modifications to the cars and parts.

First up, one of two display cars that held large objects. This one, No.41, had a twice-sized replica of the Liberty Bell, A U.S. map of the trains' 1975-1976 journey, and a copy of a Lunar Land Rover(none of the originals returned from the moon). These cars had 3 large showcase windows per side and the public did not enter them but view the displays from ground level.







More to come......

Johnny

 

There should be a lot of photographs of this train. I think the photographs Warren Motts took of the train should be available somewhere. You might kit-bash something with more detail than any kits.

 

You might want to join the Yahoo AFT group. There are a lot of photos and discussions of models in different scales, availability of decals, etc. :teeth:

 

Thanks Jim, Yeh I have seen quite a few pictures but, relatively speaking, Few are of the 'working' part of the train. By this I mean the flats, and details of the other cars. But I'm still gathering as I go........

Johnny

 

Display Car No.101

Here is the second car I've done. Display car No.101.Equipped with accurate window displays and both 'panel' and shadowbox' sides.

Panel side with flush-mounted posters.


Shadowbox side with deeper-set windows.


Both cars together.


Only 23 more to go...........

Johnny

 

Johnny, is that the same as these cars now on eBay? (Might give you some odd parts or extra cars? There are others coming up later too.)

http://cgi.ebay.com/FREEDOM-EXPRESS...7QQihZ007QQcategoryZ38274QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

Hey Watash,

The cars I'm currently doing came from these sets;
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...MEWA:IT&viewitem=&item=130057451538&rd=1&rd=1

The one you posted was only a model, I don't believe there was ever a prototype for it. I could be wrong. Are they yours? They do intrigue me as I've seen them before. The Lionel cars I buy are not in the collector sets as folks want WAY too much for 'em. I buy 'em cheap and extensively re-work them to a more prototype appearance. The sets only had three variations of the cars so everything else has to be created from scratch and bash stuff.
If you come across any in need of a new home drop me a line!

Johnny

 

I'm bumping this up after inviting Burlington John to join us. He runs the Yahoo AFT group. :teeth:

 

Burlington John checking in ... thanks Fitz for the link. Looking forward to seeing more of John's work. I too want to do the complete train ... one of these days!

Regards,
Burlington John

 

Welcome aboard John. I think you will enjoy it here, as this is a very civil place. Heck there are even a bunch of Burlington fallen flag fans here. Check out our fallen flag forums. :teeth:

 

Hey Johny Ripp,

You mean like these on eBay now, 3 more days!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Lionel-5-2586-L...8QQihZ003QQcategoryZ19136QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Welcome to TrainBoard B-John! Burlington lover's are always welcome here.

 

Welcome Aboard John!!


Yeh Man!! Grab 'em!!! Personally I wouldn't pay that much for the set, but collectors do. And those guys would keel over if they saw what I'm doing to these cars.!! I'm sure the set you linked will draw some currency, I've seen 'em go for over $200.00.

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it!!

Johnny

 

AFT4449 Update............

OK, While I'm waiting for some scratchbuilding supplies to arrive for the rest of the train, I turned my attention to something else....the 4449. Well, Lionels version anyway. The engines that came with these sets were junk at best. And my guess is that they only hold collector value. (The set Watash and I yacked about went for nearly $300.00 I think).

So after receiving one in a group of cars I bought for my project, I decided to see if I could breath some new life in the ole' girl. My starting point was rough at best. The engine and frame/wheels were caked with mud, dirt and who knows what else. The motor was fried and frozen-up. The drivers were all screwed up and there were parts broken off and/or missing.





After tearing it down completely, I did the following; Removed the motor and re-quartered the drivers. This gave me a free-wheeling 'dummy' that would always have a homeroad helper tucked in behind her. (The early Lionel cast frames had a motor about the size of a quarter with no room to re-motor it properly without major frame work). I cleaned and touched up engine and tender shells, replacing/fixing the broken/missing parts. The drivers had their tires painted white as did the rims of the pony and trailing trucks. The tender received new 36" metal wheels w/white rims per the big girl, plus a kaydee coupler. And now she looks like this.......



There is still work to be done such as blackening her rods, repositioning the boiler numberboards, some touch-up paint and re-positioning the cab numbers, but all in all, I think we can kick the tires and light the fires.....at least for photo shoots. For now, I got the stuff I needed and it's back to the rest of the train.



Happy Modeling,

Johnny

 

Johnny, what a great transformation! Merry Christmas. :teeth:

 

Thanks Jim, and a Merry Christmas to you as well!!

Johnny

 

If I had the Bachmann, I probably would've used the Bowser conversion for it. Still, BOTH versions' shells need a lot of work to be accurate.

Happy Modeling!!

Johnny