The American Flyer is in all likelihood the most popular of all model train series. They did reach their peaks around the 40's and another peak in the 60's, they had been around a long time. Their popularity is also skyrocketing today too and they are, I feel they are going to be hanging around another 100 years!
A toy maker in Chicago called William Hafner, in the very early 20th century built a model train developed on a clockwork motor, actually for the use in toy cars. By about 1905 however he made up his mind to put them into use in model trains too. Luckily he did, the model cars sold no where near as well as the trains.
William Hafner share the exact same name as his best friend, William Coleman approached a small manufacturer of hardware, Edmonds-Metzel. They used this organization to start producing trains in 1907.
They were first marketed under the name of Edmond Metzel trains, but because they were selling so fast and so well they required a entirely new name and they came up with the name of the American Flyer. This occur around 1910. Even the name of the hardware company they were using had also changed it's name to incorporate the American Flyer name in it.
There are a few reasons why they sell so well. They were quite easily affordable then other popular makes of model trains at the time and because they were also quite a bit more practical then more budget style model trains of the time.
Mr William Hafner left the organisation around 1913. He used the cash he had already made and built his own organisation. Colemans American Flyer Trains. It did well for quite some time around the first world war. There were no competition because of the war. In 1938 right before the break out of the second world war, the founders son with the same name,took over the business after his father died in 1918 sold the American Flyer to a firm called A C Gilbert Company. Gilbert already had experience in producing toys, but he has no idea anything about trains.
At the same time he also moved the corporation from Chicago where it was created to New Haven in Connecticut where he stayed. He also started to drastically re design the American Flyer and turned it into an S-scale model train in 1939. This scale is a modification of the popular O scale or model which was then the leader on the market.
The S-scale was much tinier then the O-scale and this made it more famous with enthusiasts as it needed less room to setup a decent track. The scale is 1:64, considerably smaller then the O-scale yet still very detailed and precise.
He too made some other change in 1946 that amended the realisticness of the American flyer more so. Model trains, electric model trains at that time had been run on 3 rail tracks. Not practical. He changed it so they ran on two rail tracks, much like their larger counterparts. These tracks had 7/8th inches 'tween every rail. This made the trains run better as well.
How ever, television was beginning to take hold at this time too. This distracted many from their hobbies they would commonly spend their extra time on. Also at this time, discount chain stores came into play, discounting train sets that organizations like A C Gilbert could not compete with. in 1962, Gilbert traded the American Flyer to Wrather Group. This enterprise made toys as well, but normally on a mass scale and tended to make poor quality as well. Sales of course fell through the floor and in 1967 the organization went bankrupt.
A superior toy train maker and the market leader at time, Lionel Corporation bought the American Flyer. This company itself was having difficulty with finances as well and they too went bankrupt in 1969, so they sold off the rights to the American Flyer to some other manufacturer, General Mills.
This firm, General Mills, started trading some of the designs of the original designed Gilbert American Flyer, it how ever sell everything it purchased from at that time Lionel Corp to Kenner, who then in turn sold the organisation to a man named Richard Kughn. This occurred in 1985.
Mr Richard Kughn had enomous success with the firm and design for eleven years, but he sold out in 1996 to a enterprise called Wellspring Partners, who then took on the original name of Lionel and called themselves Lionel LLC, which still functions now.
They sell the S-scale American Flyer still. They were at first concentrating on selling some other scale models, but they started selling more of American Flyer in 2002.
The American Flyer nowadays is more then a hundred years old and has gone through many different hands. Its popularity is still going strong and while it fluctuates, this model train and scale is going no where fast.
A toy maker in Chicago called William Hafner, in the very early 20th century built a model train developed on a clockwork motor, actually for the use in toy cars. By about 1905 however he made up his mind to put them into use in model trains too. Luckily he did, the model cars sold no where near as well as the trains.
William Hafner share the exact same name as his best friend, William Coleman approached a small manufacturer of hardware, Edmonds-Metzel. They used this organization to start producing trains in 1907.
They were first marketed under the name of Edmond Metzel trains, but because they were selling so fast and so well they required a entirely new name and they came up with the name of the American Flyer. This occur around 1910. Even the name of the hardware company they were using had also changed it's name to incorporate the American Flyer name in it.
There are a few reasons why they sell so well. They were quite easily affordable then other popular makes of model trains at the time and because they were also quite a bit more practical then more budget style model trains of the time.
Mr William Hafner left the organisation around 1913. He used the cash he had already made and built his own organisation. Colemans American Flyer Trains. It did well for quite some time around the first world war. There were no competition because of the war. In 1938 right before the break out of the second world war, the founders son with the same name,took over the business after his father died in 1918 sold the American Flyer to a firm called A C Gilbert Company. Gilbert already had experience in producing toys, but he has no idea anything about trains.
At the same time he also moved the corporation from Chicago where it was created to New Haven in Connecticut where he stayed. He also started to drastically re design the American Flyer and turned it into an S-scale model train in 1939. This scale is a modification of the popular O scale or model which was then the leader on the market.
The S-scale was much tinier then the O-scale and this made it more famous with enthusiasts as it needed less room to setup a decent track. The scale is 1:64, considerably smaller then the O-scale yet still very detailed and precise.
He too made some other change in 1946 that amended the realisticness of the American flyer more so. Model trains, electric model trains at that time had been run on 3 rail tracks. Not practical. He changed it so they ran on two rail tracks, much like their larger counterparts. These tracks had 7/8th inches 'tween every rail. This made the trains run better as well.
How ever, television was beginning to take hold at this time too. This distracted many from their hobbies they would commonly spend their extra time on. Also at this time, discount chain stores came into play, discounting train sets that organizations like A C Gilbert could not compete with. in 1962, Gilbert traded the American Flyer to Wrather Group. This enterprise made toys as well, but normally on a mass scale and tended to make poor quality as well. Sales of course fell through the floor and in 1967 the organization went bankrupt.
A superior toy train maker and the market leader at time, Lionel Corporation bought the American Flyer. This company itself was having difficulty with finances as well and they too went bankrupt in 1969, so they sold off the rights to the American Flyer to some other manufacturer, General Mills.
This firm, General Mills, started trading some of the designs of the original designed Gilbert American Flyer, it how ever sell everything it purchased from at that time Lionel Corp to Kenner, who then in turn sold the organisation to a man named Richard Kughn. This occurred in 1985.
Mr Richard Kughn had enomous success with the firm and design for eleven years, but he sold out in 1996 to a enterprise called Wellspring Partners, who then took on the original name of Lionel and called themselves Lionel LLC, which still functions now.
They sell the S-scale American Flyer still. They were at first concentrating on selling some other scale models, but they started selling more of American Flyer in 2002.
The American Flyer nowadays is more then a hundred years old and has gone through many different hands. Its popularity is still going strong and while it fluctuates, this model train and scale is going no where fast.
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