Q & A

A.O. of Port Coquitlam, British Columbia writes:

This train belonged to my grandfather. He received the train on his third Christmas about 1921, which makes the train 83 years old. The train is all cast iron, the winding mechanism does not work. Part of the front grill is missing; the wheels still move.

We asked Doug Jarvis to respond:

There were about 3 manufacturers of very similar trains- Ives, American Flyer, and Bing. The engine is certainly of the right time frame as was described in the note. It would appear that the engine in the photo is probably American Flyer. (It is a little hard to tell from the photo). I assume that the engine is the only part of the train. The engine alone is probably in the $150 -$175 range without the tender and in the condition that it appears to be in. If there is a tender it would add about $50-$75. Hope this is of some assistance.