American Flyer Street Lamp Set
American Flyer Boulevard Lamps 778
In 1953 Gilbert stopped the relationship with Colber for street lamps and produced their own set of three. Now numbered 778 for the set, the lamp posts were still molded in gold plastic with white shades, but the shades are now round rather than faceted. In addition, one of the lamps in the set sports a green mail box (unrecognizable today) and another includes a red fire alarm box (also unrecognizable).
American Flyer No. 778 Street Lamp Set with Green Mail Box and Red Fire Alarm Box
American Flyer No. 778 Street Lamp Set – Box Packing
No. 778 Street Lamp Set
1953
American Flyer No. 778 Street Lamp Set – 1953
To introduce the Gilbert American Flyer produced No. 778 Street Lamp Set, the catalog description was rewritten. The three lamp set is repackaged in a box with a complicated structure to hold the three lamps inside. The box is specific to the No. 778 set and has blue, yellow and white images on the front. The image is clearly the new design with the round shades and faceted base. The box image is the mirror of the image shown in the 1951 catalog.
1954
American Flyer No. 778 Street Lamp Set – 1954
The image and description remain the same for 1954.
1955
American Flyer No. 778 Street Lamp Set – 1955
The No. 778 Street Lamps lost their yellow glow in 1955 but the image and description are otherwise the same.
1956
American Flyer No. 778 Street Lamp Set – 1956
For 1956 the yellow glow is back but the image and description remain the same. Packaging changed from the yellow, blue and white to the new red, black and white printing.
Although there are HO American Flyer trains cataloged for 1956, there are no street lamps.
1957
American Flyer No. 23778 Street Lamp Set – 1957
Along with the shift to the five digit numbering system, the Gilbert American Flyer No. 23778 Street Lamp Set gets an edited description. The box gets the new numbering and calls the set Boulevard Lamps.
The 1957 Gilbert HO American Flyer Trains do not catalog any street lamps.
1958
American Flyer No. 23778 Street Lamp Set – 1958
The image and the description remain the same for 1958 for the Gilbert American Flyer No. 23778 Street Lamp Set in comparison with 1957.
1959
American Flyer No. 23778 Street Lamp Set – 1959
Still called the No. 23778 Street Lamp Set in the catalog for 1959 although the box says Boulevard Lamps. The lamps have lost the yellow glow in the catalog image although the image is the same as used in previous catalogs as is the description.
1960
American Flyer No. 23778 Street Lamp Set – 1960
Still the same image and description for the No. 23778 Street Lamp Set in the 1960 Gilbert American Flyer catalog.
1961
American Flyer No. 23778 Street Lamp Set – 1961
For the Gilbert American Flyer 1961 Catalog it is still the same image and description for the No. 23778 Street Lamp Set.
The 1961 HO portion of the catalog does not have street lamps shown.
1962
American Flyer No. 23778 Street Lamp Set – 1962
The Gilbert American Flyer S gauge No 23778 Street Lamp Set still uses the same image but the description has been truncated and no longer conveys any excitement about the use of the lamps.
American Flyer No. 35240 Lamp Post Set – 1962
American Flyer No. 35241 Turnpike Lamp Set – 1962
American Flyer No. 35276 Highway Light Kit – 1962
The Ho gauge part of the catalog lists three street lamp sets: The No. 35240 Lamp Post Set; the No. 35241 Turnpike Lamp Set; and the No. 35276 Highway Lamp Kit. The latter two seem to be the same product but the user has to install the bulbs in the kit version.
1963
Except for the train sets, the Gilbert American Flyer 1963 catalog reduced the entries to single lines. No. 23778 Street Lights (3) is the S gauge entry and the No. 35240, No. 35241 and No. 35776 are the HO entries – all presumably the same as the previous year.
1964
American Flyer No. 23778 Street Lamp Set – 1964
For 1964 the No. 23778 has been reduced in description to Street Lamp Set (no description) and the catalog image shows up as it did before the 1963 catalog.
1965 – 1966
778 Street Lamp Set – 1965
The Gilbert American Flyer product line for 1965 and 1966 shifted to the All Aboard scenic panel system. The roadways were equipped with dummy street lights that mechanically plugged into holes in the scenic panels.