MODEL TRAIN HISTORY
Everyone has heard of Lionel, the giant of the toy train industry. Most of us in model railroading began our journey with an O Gauge Lionel train at Christmas. In later years, most of us moved on from toy trains into true-to-scale model railroading.
For the true modeler of trains, Scale -- not, Gauge -- is the key word. Gauge is the distance between the rails, whereas Scale is the proportion of the whole model railroad, including locomotives, rolling stock (cars), people, animals, vehicles, and scenery, compared with real life.
In N Scale, the proportion is 1-to-160. In other words, anything that is 1 in N Scale is 160 in real life. One foot in N Scale is 160 feet in real life. At Montana NTRAK, we are true N Scale model railroaders.
True Scales include G, O, S, HO, N, and Z. G Scale is the largest. There is an even smaller Scale than Z Scale, but it has not gained significant modeler interest, not yet, anyway. HO Scale is the most popular for home layouts. N Scale, in the form of NTRAK, is the most popular modular or portable form of model railroading.
Regardless of your Scale of choice in model railroading, all of us in the hobby owe a big debt of thanks to Lionel toy trains. Lionel was the genesis of model railroading today.
Back in 1900, Joshua Lionel Cowen launched his toy train firm. He developed toy Standard Gauge (2 1/4-inch between the rails) and helped to popularize O Gauge. (Remember: Gauge is the distance between toy train or real train rails, and Scale is the direct proportion or size of any model as it relates to real life.)
Lionel became the pre-eminent toy train manufacturer during the late 1940s and '50s. In 1969, General Mills secured the rights to manufacture Lionel trains under the names Model Products Corp. and Fundimensions. A man named Richard Kughn acquired those rights in 1986, and he began Wellspring Associates, an investment firm that uses the name Lionel Corp.
Also well-known is American Flyer. Founded in 1907, seven years after Lionel, the American Flyer Manufacturing Co. made windup and electric Wide Gauge (the competitor to Lionel's Standard Gauge) trains. The A. C. Gilbert Co. bought the firm in 1937. After World War II, Gilbert switched from O Gauge to S Gauge. Lionel purchased the rights to produce American Flyer trains, after Gilbert went out of business in 1966, and introduces a few Flyer products each year.
Another company, Marx, offered affordable trains for the masses since the time its founder, Louis Marx, began making inexpensive windup and electric trains in the early 1930s. Consumers looking to purchase inexpensive yet attractive metal or plastic toy trains kept Marx a strong manufacturer well into the 1960s. Although the original company went out of business in 1975, a new Marx Trains Inc. makes Marx trains.
Before Lionel entered the scene, Ives Corp. dominated toy train manufacturing in America. Founded in 1868, just four years after the American Civil War ended, this toy firm developed a mechanical clockwork locomotive that gave its trains the edge of self-propelled motion. Around 1900, in response to competition from European toy makers, Ives produced colorful electric locomotives with the first automatic reversing units. Heightened competition from Lionel and American Flyer led to Ives declaring bankruptcy in 1928.
Among current manufacturers of the large toy trains, a few stand out. MTH Electric Trains makes detailed O Gauge trains and accessories and in recent years has built three extensive product lines (Premier, RailKing, and Tinplate Traditions) that compete directly with Lionel.
K-Line also offers affordable O Gauge trains, track, and accessories. The firm has recently upgraded its product line with scale-detailed diesel locomotives and freight cars, die-cast metal rolling stock, and semi-scale, die-cast metal steam locomotives.
Three other key O Gauge manufacturers are:
Atlas O, which offeres realistic O Scale rolling stock, and building kits, plus diesel and electric locomotives.
Weaver/Quality Craft Models, which offers scale-like brass steam locomotives, plastic diesels, and freight and passenger cars.
Williams, which offers locomotives and all types of rolling stock.
Two firms supply much of the new S Gauge and Scale equipment:
American Models offers a variety of steam, diesel, and electric locomotives, as well as freight cars, and passenger cars.
S Helper Service has become a major manufacturer of train sets, diesels, and freight cars.
The list of N Scale manufacturers is extensive and growing. The Scale became popular in Europe in the 1960s. It has become the second most popular Scale in American model railroading today. NTRAK, the standard for modular model railroading, has helped boost the Scale into extraordinary international popularity.
Nonetheless, today and always, we will remember and be thankful for the toy trains manufactured by Joshua Lionel Cowen.