American Flyer 314AW

314AW tender wiring diagram

The American Flyer Locomotive 314AW is part of a series of models of the Pennsylvania Railroad K-5 type of Pacific Steam Locomotive. These locomotives were produced by Gilbert in the pre-war period and following WW II from 1946 to 1958. This catalog number was cataloged and produced in 1949. It is the ONLY locomotive produced by Gilbert with a motor operated whistle unit.

There is an erroneous urban legend that Gilbert only manufactured this locomotive and no others because it infringed upon some Lionel patent in the use of DC superimposed on the AC track power to control the activation of the whistle – and that Lionel had somehow legally stopped further production. However, Gilbert used this method in several locomotives and baggage cars for both direction control and whistle activation. There is no record of a Lionel patent on the subject. In “The Man Who Lives in Paradise” (Gilbert’s Autobiography) there is mention that the reason for not manufacturing additional locomotives with this type of whistle was that the design was difficult to manufacture and more costly than expected and that the market would pay for. Reliability was a problem as well and the impeller is well known to suffer from pot metal fatigue and disintegration or at least swelling to the point that the whistle no longer operates. (Courtesy of The Train Dr.)

Whistle Control Box Wire Connections