Lionel Trains and other History

(by Train Tender Jim)

Lionel has always been considered the king of toy trains.  They have been an innovator in the train world.  Lionel changed toy trains by adding lights, whistles, new trucks and couplers, the realistic knuckle coupler, scale train models, many accessories, magnetraction, and smoking engines. My specialty has been mechanical and electrical repair of traditional trains up to the circuit board era.  Therefore, I won’t comment on more modern trains.  I hope you enjoy this summary of how Lionel changed the world of toy trains.

Civil War      Toy Trains gain real popularity.  Early trains were wood or tin.

1868-1932    Ives toys make happy boys!  Harry C. Ives-Bridgeport, Conn.1928=bankruptcy difficulties;

1928-1932= Ives Transition period;

1929-1930=Partnership with American Flyer and Hafner and Lionel;

1931-1932=Ives and Lionel partnership.

1932=The last Ives catalog and the end of production.

1870s           American Tin Toy technology becomes popular.  Early trains were floor push or pull trains.  Later, they were activated by clockwork mechanisms or live steam generated by spirits of naphtha.  Windup trains continued as most Americans didn’t have electricity until the 1930s.

1880s           Trains have become a common universal toy.  Trains cast in iron become popular.  Cast trains and toys became favored more than tin toys.

1890’s          Early electric trains made by Marklin, Carette, Howard, Carlisle Finch (1896).  Europeans put tin trains on tracks. First O-gauge, but it wasn’t popular until later in the 1900’s.

1891             Sectional Track was developed by the Marklin brothers.

1896-1915    Carlisle Finch of Cincinnati

Nov.7,1899  Flashlamp patented by Joshua Lionel Cowen.  This patent was used by Mr. Hubert to start the Eveready Battery company.

Nov.13,1900 Explosive Fuse patented by Joshua Lionel Cowen.  This patent was used by the U.S. Navy.  Profits from these two patents gave him the capital to start manufacturing small electric toy motors.

1900             Trains on track become popular.  Ives makes cast locomotives with train tracks sold in the U.S.

1900             Joshua Lionel Cowan started Lionel Trains with 2 7/8-gauge.  As the result of a window display business, he developed a business selling Lionel toy trains.

1901             W. F. Hafner Co. is founded by William F. Hafner, a cofounder of American Flyer.  Trains were clockwork with cast boiler.  Production at 1088 Wilcox Avenue or 1010 Kolmar Avenue.  He was originally backed by W. O. Coleman who founded Edmonds-Metzel Hardware Co. (American Flyer) of Chicago, IL.  He made toys from 1901 to 1905; 1st train was made in 1905; 1st large train order was Jan. 30, 1907.

1903-1923    Voltamp Electric Mfg. Co. made trains in Baltimore which ran on 2 inch 2-rail track with wood ties.  Voltamp trolleys were lettered ‘United Electric.’  They copied real trains and trolleys running in the Baltimore area.  Voltamp made 5 catalogs in the years they made trains.  Trains could be reversed by remote control cars coupled automatically.

1904-1907    HML Co. (Howard Miniature Lamp Co.); 2-rail, 2-inch gauge.

1906             Lionel introduces Standard gauge trains which lasted until 1940/1942.

1907-1937    American Flyer started by Edmunds Metzel MFG. Co.(hardware); started with mechanical O-gauge.

1907             Lionel introduces the first light bulb in the #6 train.

1910-1917    Elektoy trains were made in Harrison, NJ.  Production was ended by WWI.  Trains were only sold wholesale to 5 distributors on NYC, Philadelphia, Chicago, St. Louis, San Francisco.  Trains were sold to small electric and hardware stores.  They only made 3-rail electric #1-gauge trains with the ‘Elektoy’ name on every piece.  Power was supplied by 4-to-6-volt dry cells.  Motors pulled 1 amp.  All locomotives were 0-4-0 and tenders were 8-wheel.

1911             Lionel introduces the first light bulb in the #27 passenger cars.

1914             Lionel introduces the first light bulb in the #61 street

1914             W. F. Hafner leaves Edmonds-Metzel and founded the Overland Flyer train line as Hafner Mfg. Co. to compete with American Flyer; American Can did the lithography; WWII ended train Production.

1923/1924    Buddy ‘L’ trains were started by Mr. Ludenhaul for his son ‘Buddy’.  Production was in East Moline, IL by Mr. Ludenhaul’s Moline Pressed Steel Co.  Buddy ‘L’ was made as ‘3.25’-inch gauge and some 2-inch gauge.  The Great Depression ended production in 1932.

1925-1935    Wide gauge (=Standard gauge) is made by American Flyer.

1925-1940    Hornby Book of Trains booklets were published.  All trains were O-gauge.  Founded by Frank Hornby.  Components were produced by Bing in Germany.  Also produced under the name M. Ld. L. (Meccano Ltd., Liverpool.  After WWII, Mecanno produced some OO-gauge trains under the Hornby name. Frank Hornby made Meccano construction sets, Dinky toys, and his Hornby Trains.

1928             Ives bankruptcy; American Flyer buys into Ives bankruptcy.

1929             Scale Model Railways (SMR) is founded by Jack Ferris of Indiana; sold in 1940 to the Megow Corp.

1931-1932    Lionel transition trains; the Great Depression ended Ives and was bought by Lionel.  1932=Lionel moves the Bridgeport, CN factory equipment to Lionel’s Irvington, NJ factory. Lionel benefits by gaining the Ives E-unit reversing technology.

1931-1939    Hoge Mfg. Co. started on Dec. 30, 1909, in Manhattan, NY and dissolved in 1958.  Hoge designed toys which were made by Mattatuck Mfg. Co. of Waterbury, Conn.  Hoge made tinplate electric O-gauge trains from 1931-1939.

1935             American Flyer wide gauge ends after 10 years of production.

1935             Lionel patents and introduces the first whistle tender.  The first whistle impellers were open backed with 4 lead impellers.  The next transition was 8 lead impellers with open back.  To move more air through the whistle they made a 4 impeller Bakelite impeller with a back.  The next and final transition was a plastic 8 impeller with back to improve the whistle.

1937-1942    Lionel introduces the beautiful 700E scale NYC Hudson.

1937             A.C. Gilbert buys American Flyer trains from Edmunds Metzel. Production moves from Chicago to New Haven, CT.

1938-42        Lionel introduces OO-gauge scale Hudson trains.1940-1942    Lionel Standard gauge ends.

1941             Lionel starts producing precision instruments for the Navy.  The WWII US War Production Board declares no metal trains to be manufactured until after WWII.  During WWII Lionel produces 40mm shells, classified firing circuits, and explosion proof motors.

1942             Lionel publishes Model Builder from 1942 – 1945 averaging 50,000 subscriptions per year.

1943             Lionel produces the paper train due to the war metal ban.

1944             Lionel publishes the Railroad Planning Book to keep kids dreaming.

1945             Lionel patents and introduces the realistic knuckle coupler.

1946             S-gauge American Flyer unveiled at the March 1946 Toy Fair.

1946             Lionel introduces the first locomotive smoke using a large bulb.

1947             Lionel introduces a better smoking unit in locomotives.

1948(May)    American Model Toys (AMT) is founded by Jack Ferris with production in Auburn, IN.  AMT introduced aluminum extruded passenger cars.

1948-1955    Colber Mfg. Co. was founded by Tony Collett and Bill Berke to compete with Lionel.  Production was in Irvington, NJ.  Boxes were orange and almost identical with Lionel.  Louis Marx bought their dies when production ended in 1955.

1949-1950    Lionel threatens American Flyer with patent infringement. American Flyer’s 314AW included a whistle in the tender. American Flyer quickly ends production of the 314AW.

1950             Lionel introduces train magnetraction.

1951-1953    Noma Electronic Announcing Railroad Station by Noma Electric Corp.; 16” inches long x 6 inches wide x 8 inches high. Noma = National Outfit Mfg. Assoc.; 175,000 made in 3 years.

1952             Lionel introduces aluminum extruded passenger cars to answer AMT’s line.

1953             American Flyer introduces their realistic knuckle coupler.

1954             AMT reorganizes under new AMT name of Auburn Model Trains.  AMT sold to Kusan Corp. of Nashville, TN in autumn.

1956             Kusan closes AMT plant in Auburn, IN.

1965             McCoy Mfg., P.O. Box 44, Kent, WA 98035.  All metal Standard gauge trains by Bob Margaret Mc Coy.

1966             Lionel buys American Flyer dies.  American Flyer is out of business.

1969             Lionel’s Postwar era ends.  Lionel sells to General Mills to start the Modern era of Lionel 1970 to the present.