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The following article was published in our article directory on November 7, 2009.
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Prewar Lionel Model Trains

Article Category: Recreation

Lionel trains have been around for a very long time in the United States. Both adults and children have enjoyed these trains for more than a hundred years. When Lionel first started to build trains over 100 years ago, they were not to be sold to consumers as toys, but were rather used as store window displays, especially during the Holiday season. The first Lionel train operated through the use of electric batteries and ran on a track that was made of brass. Before long, store customers began to inquire about these Lionel trains so that eventually, the company stepped up to the plate and built 12 for public sale.

Collecting Pre-War Lionel trains has become very popular today as they have become popular collectors items, rather than simply a child's toy. When we speak about Pre-War model trains we're referring to those built by Lionel between 1901 and 1942.

Early prewar trains build shortly after 1900 were much smaller than the trains that we typically see today and they ran on a two rail track which were 2 7/8 inches apart. A three rail track system was added shortly after which strayed from the common track used by other manufacturers since the 1890's. This new track system differed only slightly, but enough to make it impossible to run other earlier trains made by other manufacturers on the track. It's not quite know why Lionel decided to change the size of the track as opposed to those made by other toy train makers, but there are a couple of theories as to why. They may have gotten the size wrong because drawings themselves were in error, or they made the track size different on purpose, especially as it related to a major competitor, Marklin. For whatever reason it would appear that the company was trying to differentiate itself from other train manufacturers and they named their new track size, Standard Gauge. Lionel's tactic worked, because soon after, other toy train makers in the US began to use Standard Gauge as well.

As World War I was becoming imminent, Lionel looked for ways to cut back on costs and build cheaper trains. To that end, in 1915, they began to build O Gauge trains. O Gauge trains were smaller than previous models, and therefore were cheaper to make and could be sold for less money as well. After just 15 years in business Lionel had built a solid name for themselves and were one of the largest toy train manufacturers in the United States. The company believed strongly in using marketing to their advantage and this allow the company to become well known to the public. For example, one of the ways Lionel got its trains in front of consumers was to encourage stores to use these trains in Christmas display setups. The displays themselves always got a lot of attention from prospective customers, which means that the company itself of course also got a lot of attention.

A major difference between Lionel trains of the prewar period and other manufacturers' trains was that they used bright colors and larger cars. Lionel had not yet begun to build tin litho trains, and instead chose to go with a very realistic looking train; children very much liked this type of train, and parents, too, thought they were a better deal. Lionel chose to go with bright colors for its prewar models, in that these would not have been used on real trains. That meant that the trains' shape and details were realistic, but the colors themselves were not. Other train manufacturers targeted Lionel for this, but in fact, Lionel's use of bright colors was deliberate.

Keywords: pre war lionel,prewar lionel,pre war lionel trains,lionel prewar antique trains,pre war train sets

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