Lionel

For half a century, Lionel was the leading American manufacturer of electric trains, among the most popular toys for boys during that time. By the 1960s, the era of trains, and the era of Lionel, had passed.

Joshua Lionel Cowen (1877–1965) built his first electric train, the battery-operated Electric Express of 1900, as a store window display. When customers asked to buy not the product but the train advertising it, Cowen founded the Lionel Manufacturing Company. By 1906 Lionel train sets featured authentic detail, three-rail tracks for smooth operation, a wide variety of rolling stock, and transformers that allowed kids (and adults) to control the speed of the trains.

Cowen introduced “0” gauge in 1915, and it came to dominate by the 1930s. In the 1920s, he opened a precision tooling operation in Italy and added gates, lights, stations, and many more accessories. The depression saw the company's first deficit year, 1931, and Lionel went into receivership in 1934 to avoid bankruptcy. During World War II and the 1950s, Lionel prospered.

Lionel became a boy's Christmas wish, and in 1950, Joe DiMaggio hosted the Lionel Clubhouse on television. But Americans moved to the suburbs after World War II and later began flying commercial planes across the continent. The Twentieth Century Limited, Pennsylvania Station, and Joshua Lionel Cowen all passed in the 1960s. The Lionel Corporation went bankrupt and sold out to General Mills in 1969.

General Mills licensed the Lionel name and products and put the trainmaker under Model Products [Page 364]Corporation (MPC). MPC changed the axles and trucks to reduce friction and allow longer trains and in the 1980s it produced “O” gauge trains, scaled 1:48. Lionel LLC produced about $70 million worth of “O” gauge trains a year, 60 percent of the market.

In 1979 General Mills reintroduced the American Flyer, which Lionel bought from bankrupt A.C. Gilbert in 1967 shortly before its own failure. American Flyer produces collectors' items—“S” gauge (1:64) with a two-rail track rather than the three rails used by Lionel.

Shifting of production to Mexico in 1982 alienated fans, who objected to the quality of Mexican trains or to the loss of an 80-year history of American manufacture. Production returned to the United States in 1984.

Collector Richard P. Kughn bought Lionel in 1986. New products and reproductions of prewar trains rekindled Lionel's appeal. Lionel also made its toys more realistic, with more accurate scale and details. A 1989 locomotive electronically produced realistic locomotive sounds.

Out of the train business, Lionel Corporation became a holding company for ventures including Lionel Leisure World, a chain of toy stores. When Lionel Corporation went bankrupt in 1993, Kughn bought the original trademark and no longer operated as a licensee.

Kughn sold out to Lionel, LLC, which continued producing reproductions and developing new lines that were ever more detailed and expensive. Remote control and built-in electronics and speakers added realism. Lionel, LLC owns the Lionel brand and products but has no direct link to the original Lionel Corporation. Since 1995 various licensees have used the Lionel name on their products. In 2001 Lionel ended U.S. production, outsourcing to China and Korea. The backlash was less than that of the Mexican venture.

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