American Flyer Displays & History

About the Ray Mohrlang Collection

Ray Mohrlang was a major collector of American Flyer trains. In addition to his train collection, he had a collection of rare American Flyer and Gilbert photos. Ray passed away recently and his photo collection was sold. The new owner has made these photos available for display on this website as a way to increase knowledge and understanding of the history of the A.C. Gilbert Co.

Many times photos turn up and we have little information about where they came from. That is not the case here. This photo collection originated with Maury Romer who sold the photos to the late Peter Jugle in 1977.  Peter sold them to the late Dave Garrigues, a noted Gilbert historian and collector.  Finally Dave sold the collection to Ray.  In 1980, Maury Romer collaborated with the late Bruce Manson to present an article featuring a few of these photos and the Gilbert Hall of Science in the Train Collector's Quarterly.  It is unclear when the subsequent sales to Dave Garrigues and to Ray took place, but the photos were in Ray's possession in 1992, when Bruce Manson did a followup article, crediting the photos to Ray. 

Ray had long hoped to share these photos with American Flyer collectors in a book, but for one reason or another this was not possible. It is hoped that their availability on this website will help achieve this goal.  Our thanks go to Ray and the other custodians of this collection, who preserved them for our education and enjoyment.