American Flyer Street Light 579

1940

This Gilbert American Flyer designed street lamp entered the product line in 1940 and included a No. 690 Track Terminal and wires. The bulbs came in a small parts can like the ones in Erector sets used for screws and nuts. Cushioned by tissue paper was a frosted bulb with a finial glued to the top. Lamp posts are known in silver or in green paint. There is a banner on the page that these are scaled properly for O gauge.

1941

The 1941 Street Light image is retained from the 1940 catalog but the description has been cut to about ½ the number of words. The track terminal and wires allowed the user to reduce the amount of wire to get power to the light but at the expense of having to watch the light get dimmer and brighter as the speed of the train was changed – or go off when the power to the track was stopped.

1946

The post war No. 579 Single Street Light appears identical to the prewar version. This time the image shows the green version and still includes the finial. The description is missing some of the information as it was associated with the dual street lamp and can be seen below.

1947

The image reverts to black and white and the description is the same as the 1946 catalog. The No. 579 Single Street Light still indicates a finial and the description shared with the No. 580 Double Arc Light shown below indicates that the No. 690 Track Terminal is included.

1948

Same image as the 1946 catalog for the No. 579 Single Street Light. Somewhere in this time period the Street Lights no longer are provided with finials and the bulbs change from round to pear shaped frosted. The description still indicates that a No. 690 Track Terminal is included. (see the No. 580 description for detail).

1949

By 1949 there are boxed examples with American Flyer Street Lamp 579 Single 1949 dated inspection slips where the round bulbs with finials have been replaced with pear shaped bulbs. The track terminal is still included.