Think quick: what are the three most widely recognized American miniature trains manufacturers? I bet you’ll remember them when I tell you. The answer is: “Lionel, American Flyer and Bachmann Trains”. You may not have known that Bachmann was American, but it is. And American Flyer was a creator not just a line of trains. Here’s the facts:
Lionel Trains:
Until the fifties Lionel was the front runner in the model training world. Lionel’s great marketing allowed it to outwit the competition. It was Lionel’s marketing campaign that placed model train tracks around Christmas trees. Their O [scale|gauge] trains which were one 48th the size of [regular|real world|actual] [trains|locomotives] ruled the roast up until the 1950’s when HO scale trains started to take over the market. Starting in the 60’s Lionel went through several ups in downs but is still around. Lionel O gauge is back and as hot as ever. Their great trains are well loved by all.
American Flyer:
We mostly recognize American Flyer trains as a line of trains now, but they were their own manufacturer until 1966 when they were bought out by Lionel. American Flyer originated in Chicago around 1900. They were bought out by A C Gilbert who also popularized the famous “erector sets” of the early 20thcentury. American Flyer is partly still so popular as a collectible today because it offered such a strong alternative to Lionel’s O gauge trains. Like Lionel these trains were produced largely in O scale until after World War II when they attempted to establish an S gauge train line that ultimately failed but that has remained American Flyer’s most popular trains. When Lionel bought American Flyer in 1966, they kept and refurbished much of the equipment. In the last ten years Lionel has started reissuing the most famous and popular of the American Flyer trains using the original manufacturing devices but updating the trains with new sound systems and 21st century quality controls.
Bachmann Industries:
This is actually the oldest of the three companies, founded way back in the 1830s but was the last of the three to enter the toy train business. Descendants of the original founders of the company, the Carlisle’s and the Bachmann’s, are still on the company board, though the company is now headquartered in China, not in Philadelphia. Bachmann rose up after WWII by marketing starter kits to a middle class audience. To this day Bachmann remains the leader in HO scale.
We now have more choices than ever before when it comes to the model train hobby. The Internet has opened whole new choices for model train hobbyists. You can choose from almost any scale and from any period of train at just the touch of button. The three American classics I have been discussing are really American treasures.
Here is more information on Toy Model Trains. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Model Trains.