Lionel O Scale Trains

Founded in New York City in 1900, the Lionel Corporation’s earliest trains did not match any standards existing at the time. In 1915 Lionel adopted the practice of most of its competitors and started to manufacture its budget-level trains to the O gauge standard. By the end of World War I, Lionel was one of the three largest U.S. manufacturers of toy trains, and it continued to grow rapidly by marketing inexpensive, brightly painted trains with advertising targeted at children. After ceasing toy production during World War II, Lionel resumed by replacing their original product line with less-colorful, but more realistic trains and focusing exclusively on O scale trains. The years 1946–1956 were Lionel’s Golden Age, during which it outsold its closest competitor, American Flyer, nearly 2 to 1. The Lionel Corporation declined rapidly in the latter part of the 1950s , as hobbyists preferred the smaller, but more realistic, HO scale trains and children’s interest shifted from toy trains to toy cars.