O Model Railroad
We love O toy railroads and locomotives, there’s just no denying it? You can hold up the locomotives and really take a look at them. You require two mits to hold it even as an adult. And you can really see the detail. This is not one of those tiny little locomotives you need to go get your microscope for. I don’t know about you but I could easily stare at this train for hours. Why do O locomotives just seem to come at us from some place deep in ourselves? Here’s why:
Nostalgia:
Baby boomers grew up with these trains and had their impressions placed into their memories even before they constructed a sense of their own identities. If you passed by a department store during the holiday season as a kid you probably saw one of these trains in an elaborate display. Many of us wrote these locomotives on our Christmas lists in the hope that we might wake up to their whistle on Christmas morning. And they’re also likely to be the model trains that you didn’t get because they were too pricy. Because of this they are in addition the locomotives that remained always in the land of the wished for. Now that you have become a hobbyist again, they are the locomotives that are most likely to scratch that long festering itch.
O model railroads are more often than not Lionel train railroads:
It was Lionel (now Lionel LLC) that popularized these trains. Lionel is still perhaps the most well known brand in the toy train business. They have weathered more ups and downs than any other locomotive manufacturer and had more face lifts than Elizabeth Taylor’s had husbands. Lionel’s aggressive marketing in the pre-WWII era is the reason why you associate model trains with Christmas. It was these strategies that made them the kings of the toy training world in the early previous century. It was only during the baby boom after the GI’s came back that competitors like Bachmann started overtaking Lionel by marketing littler locomotives at more reasonable prices. By the sixties when model training was at an all time low in terms of American interest, Lionel’s lower cost, smaller sized competitors pushed it out of business. But Lionel has been resurrected as Lionel LLC and, though still beset by revenue woes, remains one of the central model train makers around. The Lionel brand still holds a certain majic that other long standing train makers like Bachmann don’t.
O gauge is just a wonderful size to work with:
Although O gauge requires a lot more room than HO or N, its size also offers a large host of benefits. O gauge model railroads are not as large as the German g gauge that appeals to out-doorsy enthusiasts. O scale is one 48th the size of actual locomotives. It is a train that is easy to paint, decal and weather. You don’t require incredibly fine motor skills so even the least coordinated of young people or most palsied of old folks can work with these locomotives. Even if you can’t paint the side of a barn you will find O scale a manageable toy to work with. Because these are such large trains people will actually see your handy work. You can really individualize your model training experience with O scale since everything is on a gauge that you could do them from scratch. O gauges reputation is well deserved.
Model train fans idealize O scale because of its full tradition:
Fan’s of model trains just love O because of its connection with Lionel locomotives. Vintage Lionel trains of days gone past often fetch good prices on e-bay and many model locomotive enthusiasts like to collect Lionel locomotives from different time periods so that they can have a sort of vibrant history of the evolution of model locomotives.
Even if this were a just developed scale with no fans, it would soon find hobbyists exclusively because it just seems like the perfect dimensions for a model train. It does take up more room than other tinier types of trains, but this drawback seems well worth it for most of us. Lionel, because of its wonderful brand identification, is unlikely to succumb to its debt problems. Even if it did, the long tradition of Lionel will keep O gauge fanatics stocked up for a great deal of time into the future. Just ask the rocker Neal Young who loved O scale locomotives so much that he was at one point part owner in Lionel and is still retained as an consultant to the company!
Here is more information on Model Train Scale. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Model Trains.
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.
Vintage Model Railroads
I know people collect lots of things. Some people collect stamps, some hobbyists collect coins and some collect trading cards. There’s something ususual about collecting historic model locomotives though. When you collect something that actually still does what it is meant to in real life it is different than when you take that thing out of real life. So it’s not like you are just taking a gander at them in some book or on some wall. They still can be caused to serve their function in the world. Try doing that with your stamp collection!
What are the cool collectible locomotives today? Here’ the large three:
Lionel [train|locomotive]s:
First of all there are Lionel trains. Lionel train has been the longest lasting model crafting obsession. When you collect a Lionel locomotive you are collecting toy train royalty. Through savvy advertising they connected their locomotives with Christmas and by World War II when Lionel was forced to shut down manufacturing to aid in the patriotic struggle Lionel was the accepted gold standard of the model train world. Lionel’s historic model trains are some of the most popular and widely purchased locomotives around. The rocker, Neil Young fell in love with Lionel locomotives as kid and became a collector and then part owner of the company as an adult. Lionel has a strong literature that helps support it. Because Lionel was on top in the 1950s and because the post War era was the high point of model hobbying, it is no surprise that Lionel should be as well regarded as the company is.. The truth is that Lionel was in the process of being usurped by other companies during that period and that most of us, like Neil Young, didn’t actually get Lionel trains as Christmas gifts only makes Lionel more popular now as a collector’s item.
American Flyers:
The only model locomotive brand that can really give Lionel a run for its money is American Flyer. A. C. Gilbert’s attempt to take the Midwest company and make it a challenger of the juggernaut Lionel ultimately failed. Gilbert’s effort, however, created some of the most beloved trains around and collectors go absolutely ape doo doo over these vintage toy trains. The uniqueness of s scale adds to the mystique of the American Flyer brand. Perhaps no model locomotive release has been more anticipated by enthusiasts as the upcoming American Flyers release by Lionel LLC. They are sure to sell like hot cakes.
Ives:
If you actually want to get a locomotive that no one has try locating an old Ives train. Just before World War II it was an Ives, American Flyer, Lionel three way fight for supremacy. Ives did not survive but if you are lucky you might be able to discover one of their classic locomotives. Most are in O gauge just like Lionel but they are real collector’s items these days.
Clock operated [train|locomotive]s of the Victorian era:
If you really want to go old school you can’t go older than a 19th century clock operated train. These are mostly shown at shows these days but if you can actually find one, you’ll have a locomotive that is really a part of the creation of model locomotives. During this era in model training the toy locomotive market was dominated by German imports. This would persist until World War I when a sense of patriotism pushed potential buyers away from these foreign models. You can really make out the hand crafting on these simple wooden trains. No plugs, no batteries, no electricity—these are wind-up trains in the truest sense. They were largely purchased by the upper class back in the day and that’s who can afford to collect them now. They clearly had the children of the rich in mind. These trains can really capture the imagination of another age. In fact, you might say that model training came to us just like kindergarten. Both were part of Germany’s obsessions with childrearing in the early 20th century.
Whatever kind of historic model locomotive you choose to collect you will no doubt learn quite a bit about the history of toy trains, toys in general and us as nation. You could choose a far worse hobby.
Here is more information on Model Steam Trains. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Model Trains.