American Flyer S Scale Gondolas (1 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 this page
                        #C-2009 through #24130 and the unnumbered Buffalo Hunt Gondola are on page 2
Lionel gondolas  #9300 through #9304 are on page 2
                         #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.

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
The first (numerically) gondola is the black #620 Southern gondola made only in 1953.
It was made with even letter spacing (above), and uneven spacing (below).
(Both photos courtesy of Don Hasenzahl)
#631 unpainted T&P (Texas & Pacific) gondola made in 1946-1951.
The earliest gondolas had thin steps (on the right in the picture above) that broke off very easily.
Gilbert therefore changed the mold to thicken the steps (on the left).
(This is a picture I took in Scott Kugler's store, D&S Hobbies of Temecula, California.)
#631 painted T&P gondola made in 1951-1953.
(Photo courtesy of an anonymous donor)
#631 painted T&P gondola made only in 1951.
(Photo courtesy of an anonymous donor)
The rare #631 unpainted gray T&P gondola made only in 1948.
It was made with link couplers but this one has been converted to knuckle couplers.
The rare unpainted gray version of the #641 gondola made only in 1951.
(Photo courtesy of an anonymous donor)
One of my two red #641 painted gondolas made in 1949-1952.
There was also an unpainted red version of this car made in 1949-1952.
(This is a picture I took in Scott Kugler's store, D&S Hobbies of Temecula, California.)
#641 Frisco Lines gondola made only in 1953.
#804 N&W gondola made in 1956-1957.
#805 Gondola made in 1956 & 1957.
#911 Pipe Gondola made in 1955-1957.
The rare #911 Pipe Gondola with brown plastic pipes made in 1955-1957.
(Photo courtesy of an anonymous donor)
#916 D&H gondola with canister load made in 1955-1957.
#920 Southern gondola made in 1953-1957.
#931 painted gondola, one of the early knuckle coupler cars introduced in 1952 but sold only
in the K5206W and K5210W sets.  Some, but not all, had the riveted knuckle couplers.
(Many thanks to Ed Eckert for pointing out this distinction.)
The very earliest of the #931 gondolas had the knuckle coupler riveted on; made only in early 1952.
(Photo courtesy of Don Hasenzahl)
#931 painted gondola with closed spacing in the lettering,
introduced late in 1952 and manufactured through 1955.  See how much closer together the letters are?
It appeared in K5210W sets made late in 1952 and  is the version that should be in my Santa Fe Freight set.
(Photo courtesy of an anonymous donor)
#941 Frisco Lines gondola made in 1953-1956.

Show me the rest of the gondolas.

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:                                                                                                                                  
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