American Model Trains
Pop quiz: what are the three most famous American model trains makers? I bet you’ll remember them when I tell you. They are: “Lionel, American Flyer and Bachmann Trains”. You probably didn’t known that Bachmann was American, but it is. And American Flyer was a creator not just a line of trains. Here’s other interesting facts about these American model train makers that you might find fascinating:
Lionel Trains:
Lionel was perhaps the the top dog of model train makers in your father’s day. Lionel’s great marketing allowed it to outwit the competition. One tactic it deployed was to embed model trains to Christmas traditions, making the circular train tracks around the Christmas tree a mainstay of the Christmas experience. Their O gauge trains which were one 48th the size of actual 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 had its humble beginning in turn of the century Chicago. 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. After World War II the company slowly failed as its trains switched to S scale. 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:
Although this was the last of the three toy train makers to enter the model train market, it is the the oldest of the three–having been born way back in 1833. 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 really began to catch on just after World War II when it began catering starter kits for middle class hobbyists. Their success continues to this day and they remain one the leaders in HO model trains in the world.
We have never had more choices in model training. The Internet has opened whole new choices for model train enthusiasts. You can choose from almost any scale and from any era of train at just the touch of button. It is not overstated to claim that these three companies are truly American treasures.
Here is more information on Toy Model Trains. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Model Trains.
Historic Model Trains
It’s really hard these days to persuade kids to be interested in our traditions. If it doesn’t connect to the power grid and add to the monthly electrical bill, lots of boys and girls are just not that into it. This is after all the cyber age and if a child isn’t reading three things at once he feels like he is slacking. Even though they consider history to be what happened last week, it’s still important to find ways to get them involved with it. It’s not enough to know that there were some guys named Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson and Benjamin who now have their faces on our money. I don’t mean to get on my high horse, but it’s our duty as patriotic Americans to pass on some sense of our rich traditions to them. So how do we get them to crack the book on the traditions of this country without feeling like we’re pulling teeth? model locomotives can put our youngsters on the track to becoming more culturally and historically literate. Yes. That’s right, historic model locomotives. Here’s how to teach history with toy locomotives:
Use locomotives as a subtle vehicle for history:
If you’ve already gotten your kids involved in model locomotives, a great second step is to create a model train set-up that accurately reveals a particular period and location. Imagine a set-up that is set during Reconstruction in the American Southwest. You can get your kids to research this period and then add period details that will really add to the enjoyment and historical accuracy of your toydesign. They might read about the telegraph and add telegraph lines next to the tracks. A ghost town that failed to capitalize on the railroad because it didn’t get a stop might be shown tantalizingly close to the track. Maybe even have a few washed out prospectors still panning for gold in the nearby stream.
Spice up the tired old school project by swapping in a toy train setup instead:
You might also manage to talk your kid’s history teacher into allowing him to bring in a historic model locomotive set-up in place of the usual boring diorama. You will need to lay it out on a portable table and possibly help your youngster bring it in on the day that it is due, but the combination of historic detail and the fascination that such trains inspire simply on their own are likely to really go over well. Just imagine, for example, adding a toy locomotive display to your kid’s essay on Jesse James. As your period specific train rounds the curve there are Jesse and his whole gang just waiting to attack and continue his wrong headed crusade. It’s sure to be a coup!
Visit a model train Museum:
If you’re anywhere in the American West you are never far from historical train sites and museums where toy trains are often featured. If your local historic train site doesn’t have model locomotives consider suggesting they incorporate some to the curator or manager of the site. In some places, model locomotive clubs often put on model train events.. Just google it and you are sure to come into contact with your local toy train society.
Whatever you decide to do, you will find that model locomotives are a door to the past even if you don’t explicitly use them as such. Even if you just do model training without even considering the educational possibilities you will inevitably foster a greater sense of historical knowledge simply by handling these little mechanical doorways to the past.
Here is more information on Model Steam Trains. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Model Trains.