Toy Train History

THE LATE 1800s

The Earliest toy trains, made of iron and tin, were pulled across the floor by a string and had no motors or tracks. By the late 1850s, a wind-up clockwork motor was added, but it lacked sufficient power to pull any cars, and had no track. Toy engines with miniature boilers fired by alcohol that were actually powered by steam were popular in the 1870s.

Cast-iron engines followed, some with clockwork mechanisms that couldn’t pull the weight of the trains. Finally in 1896, electric trains became commercially available in the U.S. Although the wind-ups remained popular for some time, they eventually were replaced by the electric trains.

1900-1917

In 1901, the Ives Company combined wind-up trains with a workable track. These clockwork trains sold well and would continue to do so for many years. In 1900, the Lionel manufacturing Company was incorporated, and the first Lionel catalog was produced that year. In the early 1900s, dry-cell batteries were used to power toy trains in homes without electricity.

In 1906, the familiar Three Rail track was introduced, and this 2-inch wide “standard gauge” track became the norm. On the three-rail track, current was carried in the insulated center rail, with the outside rails acting as the negative or ground rails. This three-rail track was now available preassembled in straight and curved sections. In 1907, the American Flyer Company was founded, and would become Lionel’s biggest competitor.

In 1910, a new size of train began to emerge. These smaller “ O gauge” trains ran on track that was 1 ¼ inches wide, and was offered by both Lionel and Ives. Congress declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917, and raw materials and manpower were diverted from toy train production to the war effort.

1918-1942

In November of 1918, World War I ended. Train production resumed and the classic era of model trains began. Americans wanted to forget the horrors of war, and the 1920s brought many new inventions to toy trains. Engines could be reversed without touching them, block signals changed color, highway flashers twinkled. Flashy promotions and big flashy catalogs heralded these changes. In 1925, American Flyer introduced its own standard gauge line of trains. In late 1929, Lionel purchased the Ives Train Company. The Ives name was dissolved in 1933.

The Great Depression devastated the toy train industry. Sales plummeted with the stock market. 1935 was the year of the whistle, when Lionel introduced an authentic-sounding steam whistle. In the years preceding World War II, the sheet metal locomotives that had characterized standard gauge gave way to entirely different die cast engines. In 1938, American Flyer was purchased by A.C. Gilbert. Lionel discontinued the toy-like standard gauge trains in 1939. By June 1942, Lionel had suspended train production for the duration of World War II.

The end of World War II in August 1945 marked the beginning of a frantic campaign of retooling and retraining of toy company employees, in order to have toy trains in stores by that Christmas. Most toy trains sold in 1945 were leftovers from pre-war production and did not include the biggest innovation of post-war production: smoke. Both Lionel and American Flyer introduced smoke in their 1946 line of trains. After World War II, trains were markedly changed with many new realistic features, including knuckle couplers and bodies that were predominantly plastic.

Following World War II, American Flyer introduced a smaller 3/16” or S-scale line of trains that ran on 2-rail track as opposed to the standard 3-rail track. The late 1940’s and 1950’s was an era which saw massive development of operating accessories of every description, from operating milk cars to remote-control electromagnetic gantry cranes.

In the 1950’s, HO scale trains, which were made to a scale of 1/87, would begin to develop. As HO gained popularity, the large O, O-27 and S-scale trains would begin to lose their dominance in the toy train market. HO’s popularity came from their emphasis on realism and the fact that they required much less room than the larger O scale. In the late 1960s, Lionel purchased their major competitor, American Flyer, from the failing A.C. Gilbert Co.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, another scale train would enter the market. This new entry was to be called N-scale, which was the smallest train to date, running on 9mm track with a scale of 1/160. In later years, N-scale would become the second most popular scale, second only to HO.

In 1969, Lionel trains were taken over by General Mills and were produced under the “Fundimensions” name. The late 1960s marked the end of the toy train dominating the market, and scale model railroading began to take over.

1970 to the present

Model railroading in the 1970s and 1980s has been the era of development and growth of the smaller size trains. The larger O-scale and S-scale trains have given way to the smaller scales, including HO (1/87), N (1/160) and the newest and smallest of trains, the Z-scale (1/220) mini club trains from Marklin of Germany.

Along with increased interest in the smaller trains has come a renewed interest in the amount of detail and the variety of products offered. Detail has become more refined as the model railroaders have demanded quality products. Lionel trains, the last of the big train makers, was sold to a private collector by General Mills, launching a new chapter in its long history.

The early 1980s sparked a renewed interest in large trains, with Garden Railroading becoming very popular. The most popular Garden trains, L.G.B., are made in Germany and are made to a scale of 1/22.5 or ½ scale. The 1980’s marked the arrival of MTH trains. Mike’s Train House became a major player in the O scale market and sparked new compete ion for Lionel which has led to more and better products for O scale modelers and collectors.

The 1970s and 1980s produced some of the finest models ever, some of which can be purchased as kits and some of which are built from scratch by hand. As the 1990s progressed, ready to run locomotives and cars become more popular than kits as the Chinese manufactures began to produce better and better quality products at reasonable prices. Also at this time electronics began to play a major role in model trains with introduction of DCC (Digital Command Control) controls which allowed the operator to control more than one train on the same track simultaneously. Along with DCC came the digital sound systems for all scales. As we enter the new millennium the quality of model train products as well as the variety continues to get better and better. What will the next ten years bring?