The Story Of The American Flyer Model Train Series
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by: MikeMartin
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Word Count: 807
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 addressed as William Hafner, in the very early 20th century developed a model train built 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 as well. Luckily he did, the car did not sell as well as trains.
William Hafner and his good friend had the same name, William Coleman approached a small manufacturer of hardware, Edmonds-Metzel. They used this firm to start making 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 draw out from the partnership around 1913. He used the cash he had already made and built up his own firm. Colemans American Flyer Trains. It did well for quite some time around the first world war. In 1938, the founder's son with the same name, who was in charge of the business after his father pass away in 1918 sold the American Flyer to a company called A C Gilbert Company. Gilbert already had experience in producing toys, but he is clueless about trains.
At the same time he decided to moved the organisation from Chicago where it was set up to New Haven in Connecticut where he stayed. He also begun 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 smaller then the O-scale and this made it more popular with enthusiasts as it needed less room to setup a proper track. The scale is 1:64, considerably smaller then the O-scale yet still very detailed and accurate.
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 better toy train maker and the market leader at time, Lionel Corporation bought the American Flyer. This enterprise itself was having difficulty with finances too and they also went bankrupt in 1969, so they sold off the rights to the American Flyer to some other manufacturer, General Mills.
This corporation, General Mills, started trading numerous of the designs of the original designed Gilbert American Flyer, it however sold off everything it purchased from then Lionel Corp to Kenner, who then in turn sold the corporation to a man named Richard Kughn. This happened in 1985.
Mr Richard Kughn had great success with the organisation and design for eleven years, but he sold out in 1996 to a firm also known as Wellspring Partners, who then took on the original name of Lionel and named themselves Lionel LLC, which still operates today.
They sell the S-scale American Flyer still. They were initially concentrating on selling several others scale models, but in 2002 they begin selling more and more of the American Flyer.
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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