The founder of Lionel trains, was born in 1877 to a Jewish immigrant family. His name was Joshua Lionel Cowen. It was just after the Civil War that Lionel Cowen immigrated with his family, settling in New York. Cowen and his family emigrated to America with the backdrop of great world change, particularly the industrial revolution. Edison had just created the electric light and trains signaled the progress of change. The rapid expansion westward in America, enabled by the joining of the Central and Union Pacific railroad lines marked an exciting time for some that was potent with new possibilities and dreams. Given the context of his formative years during the westward expansion and the industrial revolution, it’s quite fitting that Cowen would grow up to build and invent. He is credited with inventing the flashlight and just before the turn of the century, this college drop-out received his first patent for an instrument that was used to light the flash of a camera.
It is said that before the age of ten, he made his first working toy train. One of his earliest creations was a small actual working steam engine carved out of wood. This early steam locomotive experiment unfortunately exploded, damaging his parents kitchen Despite this exploding mishap, Cowen was undeterred and eventually founded the Lionel Corporation around the turn of the century. By this time, passenger travel was at a height and many saw it as classy and sophisticated. The then modern technology enchanted adults and children alike.
It’s sort of ironic that the first working toy train by what would soon become Lionel Trains was not a toy at all, it was a specialty store window display prop, designed to showcase featured merchandise. In it’s task of featuring store items, the flat electric express gondola wasn’t very successful however, it succeed in a then unexpected way. It failed to highlight featured items in the gondola, this was because it succeeded in creating so much interest that customers would want to buy the fascinating new electric train. Lionel Cowen made a smart decision after seeing this and brought Lionel Corporation around to focus on model trains that remain popular to this day.