Your Lionel

The History of Lionel Model Trains

Innovative marketing strategies have always been the underlying reason for the success of any company, and the history of Lionel Model Trains is no exception. Using the power of animated display, the first Lionel train was designed to attract window shopping New Yorkers.

The story first begins, however, when Joshua Lionel Cowen, in 1901 placed a small motor under a model of a railcar, run by a battery on thirty inches of track, and this little experiment resulted in the creation of the first Lionel model train. Since then more than millions of train sets have been sold, and an even more impressive fact is that Lionel manufactures and sells hundreds of miles of track each year!

It is a well known fact that the name Lionel has been as closely associated to Christmas as Santa Clause himself. These magnificent trains have been chugging around Christmas trees and triggering the imaginations of children since the early 1900’s, and continue to do so today.

The initial success of Lionel trains had as much to do with brilliant advertising campaigns, as it did with the companies determined commitment to promoting the highest level of quality and attention to detail that placed it’s product in a position above all others.

Although the other model train manufacturers got on the band wagon, and began producing three-rail track, 2 1/8″ gauge tracks, this track size was actually the innovative idea of Joshua Lionel Cowen. Through this original idea, his new track was known as “standard gauge”, and was the start of Lionel’s domination of the toy train industry.

During the 1920’s, this time period was known as the “Golden Age Of Toy Trains”, and Lionel was the ruler of the model train world, producing some of the most beautiful trains that were available. It was during this period that quality rose to a higher level and Lionel became well known for it’s rolling stock and locomotives precise detail.

Lionel took an entirely different path during World War Two and unselfishly discontinued it’s toy production, and focused all of it’s efforts on the production of items for national defense.

In the upcoming years Lionel experienced some downturns that were ultimately overcome, and today enjoys the unrivaled position of being among the top manufacturers of model trains.

An interesting and probably not well known fact is that Lionel sold the company to a group of investors in 1995 called Wellsprings L.L.C. of New York. One of those investors is the legendary rock star Neil Young, who has also been a passionate model railroader for many years. Along with his other contributions to Lionel, Young has been involved for a number of years in the creation of controls that make it easier for handicapped people to use model trains.

Given the timeless and valued history of Lionel model trains, it should be an easy choice to include this manufacturers trains as part your collection.

About the Author

Next, if you would like more information about Lionel model trains you can do so by visiting this site: http://www.modeltraintipsandadvice.com

LIONEL 6-2280 Set of THREE (3) BUMPERS for your layout. $3.99

LIONEL TRAINS 39484 COCOA MARSH VAT CAR NIOB SUPER ADD LIFE TO YOUR SET SHARP $48.95

1934 DIE CAST JOHN BROWN FRUIT FARM TRUCK W/CATTLE FOR YOUR LIONEL LAYOUT MINT $30.00

LIONEL CHRISTMAS STORY shoot your eye BOXCAR 6-30118-B $42.60

Lionel Bart “LOCK UP YOUR DAUGHTERS” Premiere 1960 FLOP $39.99

1950 LIONEL TRAINS LUBRICATE YOUR EQUIPMENT PAMPHLET $5.99

Corinthian Microstars Series 14 CHOOSE YOUR PLAYER IN SACHET Teams A-N $4.67

How To Make Your Own Furniture by Henry Lionel Williams $3.25

LIONEL 11560 TX SPECIAL AA ALCO FREIGHT TRAIN SET READY TO RUN UNDER YOUR TREE $249.95

LIONEL RICHIE~TRULY b/w JUST PUT SOME LOVE IN YOUR HEART~1982~7″~MOTOWN~R&B/POP $3.00

LIONEL 6-2280 Set of THREE (3) BUMPERS for your layout. $5.95

LOCK UP YOUR DAUGHTERS Lionel Bart UK DECCA STEREO LP $11.99

LIONEL #36062 NEW YOUR CENTRAL GONDOLA MIB “O” GUAGE $19.99

Lionel Richie Carmichael Just put some love in your heart record $3.99

TWO LIONEL PICK-UP TRUCKS FOR YOUR LAYOUT FORD & CHEVY MIBS $34.95

Lionel Trains 6-19937 1995 Toy Fair Car – The Control is in Your Hands $46.95

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN FURNITURE Henry Lionel Williams $19.99

SEALED LP ~ KENNY ROGERS ~ Share Your Love ~ produced by Lionel Richie $9.75

Realistic Model Railroad Operation-How to Run Your Trains Like the-Lionel Strang $27.07

Lionel Richie 45″Truly/Just Put Some Love In Your Heart $4.49

LIONEL 31923 DO IT BEST UNCAT, FREIGHT SET SHARP READY TO RUN UNDER YOUR TREE $299.95

VINTAGE LIONEL SUPER ‘O’ TRAIN TRACK TO EXPAND YOUR SUPER O TRAIN SET OR LAYOUT! $79.50

45 RICHIE, LIONEL ~ TRULY / JUST PUT SOME LOVE IN YOUR HEART — ‘82 $4.95

Hello is it me your looking for “Lionel Richie records old 45’s” $0.99

FUTERA UNIQUE 2012 BASE CARDS 121 – 150 NEW IN SLEEVES COMPLETE YOUR COLLECTION $6.25

1945 LIONEL TRAINS ad ~ Speeding Your Way Postwar B+W $15.95

The Mermaid Theatre,Lock Up Your Daughters,Laurie Johnson,Lionel Bart,LP $15.62

Lionel Richie 45 Truly / Just Put Some Love In Your Heart w/ts $2.00

Greenberg’s Wiring Your Lionel Layout: A Primer for Lionel Train Enthusiasts, Pe $27.63

Lionel Ritchie Motown Records 45 Just Put Some Love in Your Heart/Truly $2.25

LIONEL NORTH SHORE LIMITED SET 296,1935 READY TO RUN UNDER YOUR TREE!,,,,lot 258 $303.00

LP SOUNDTRACK Lock Up Your Daughters VG+ LIONEL BART $9.99

LIONEL ROSE I Thank You / Pick Me Up On Your Way Down 1960’s OZ 45 $7.77

Greenberg’s Wiring Your Lionel Layout, Vol. 2: Intermediate Techniques $60.00

Greenberg’s Wiring Your Lionel Layout: Advanced Technologies Made Easy $99.95

1993 Lionel 6-16248 Budweiser Box Car Proud To Be Your Bud New L0756L $117.00

Panini Top Master Cards -Choose your card- Adrenalyn XL Champions League 2011/12 $5.86

Henry Lionel Williams How to Make Your Own Furniture $4.99

How to Make Your Own Furniture by Henry Lionel Williams 0517119498 $4.97

2 LP Lot Paula Abdul “Forever Your Girl” & Lionel Richie “Self Titled” $14.99

LIONEL RICHIE just put love in your heart MOTOWN 7″ $3.99

How to Build Your First Lionel Layout by Stanley W. … $8.99

Greenberg’s Wiring Your Lionel Layout vol 1 and vol 2 $49.99

Lionel Richie … Truly / Just Put Some Love In Your Heart 1982 Motown .. 45rpm $4.99

YOUR BUSINESS MAGAZINE 1948 BUSINESS OUTLOOK GREAT LIONEL TRAIN & OTHER ADS $8.95

Lionel Richie Just put some love in your heart/truly $0.99

VG++ LIONEL RICHIE JUST PUT SOME LOVE IN YOUR HEART/TRULY 1982 45 RPM MOTOWN $2.98

Autograhed LIONEL ROSE I Thank You / Pick Me Up On Your Way Down 1960’s OZ 45 $39.04

TWO REAL NICE LIONEL METAL SIGNS NEW FOR YOUR TRAIN ROOM $19.99

LIONEL RICHIE-TRULY-JUST PUT SOME LOVE IN YOUR HEART $3.95

Set of 6 new logs for your Lionel sawmill & log loader. $3.50

LIONEL TRAINS PW 600 MKT NW-2 SWITCHER – SERVICED & READY TO RUN YOUR RAILS !!! $109.95

Lock Up Your Daughters Lionel Bart Laurie Johnson Mermaid Theatre Programme 1959 $6.24

Lock Up Your Daughters Lionel Bart Ipswich Arts Theatre Michael Wisher 1966 $6.24

Lionel CW-80 80 watt transformer perfect for your O set $125.00

Greenberg’s Wiring Your Layout Volume 1 A primer for Lionel Train enthusiast By $30.00

LIONEL #11361 HERSHEY’S LIONEL LITTLE LINES TRAIN PLAY SET-START YOUR KIDS OUT!- $35.00

Drive Red 5 – Your Sincerely Lionel – 12 Inch Vinyl - $9.37

How to Buy a Good Business with Little or None of Your Own Money, Lionel Haines, $4.99

LIONEL RICHIE: TRULY / JUST PUT SOME LOVE IN YOUR HEART 45 soul disco record 6c $5.00

TS-50P LIONEL OUR EXCLUSIVE UNCOUPLING KIT FOR YOUR $54.95

LIONEL SANTA FE A-B 6-8652/6-8777 RARE CHECK YOUR BOOK $685.00

1932 Lionel Trains photo “Make Your Son Happy” print ad $7.96

LIONEL RICHIE I HEAR YOUR VOICE (PROMO/1 SONG) $4.00

LIONEL RICHIE truly 7″ b/w just put some love in your heart (tmg1284) uk motown $10.93

LIONEL RICHIE truly 7″ b/w just put some love in your heart (tmg1284) pic slv uk $10.93

Lionel Hampton “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” 45 rpm Promo $4.99

How to Build Your First Lionel Layout, Stanley W. Trzoniec, Paperback $5.69

45rpm~RICHIE,Lionel~Just Put Some Love In Your Heart~7″ Vinyl Record $2.90

1945 LIONEL TRAINS cartoon ad ~ SPEEDING YOUR WAY $19.95

12 large timbers for your Lionel Flatcar, Real wood custom cut model train load. $7.50

Champions League 2009-10 Super Strikes CHAMPIONS Choose Your Card $15.62

TRAIN CANDLE FOR YOUR LIONEL TRAIN LAYOUT $2.95

45rpm~CARTWRIGHT,Lionel~What Kind Of Fool/I’m Your Man♫Vinyl 7″ Record $1.80

Greenberg’s Wiring Your Lionel Layout, Vol. 2: Intermediate Techniques book OOP $49.95

LIONEL RICHIE I HEAR YOUR VOICE PROMO CD SINGLE $1.99

1921 Ad Lionel Strongfort Fitness Book Keep Your Job – ORIGINAL ADVERTISING $37.95

GREENBERG’S WIRING YOUR LIONEL LAYOUT VOLUME 2 $24.99

Kenny Rogers Share Your Love SEALED LP Lionel Richie 81 $6.89

LIONEL HAMPTON: MATILDA / SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES 7″ 45 record 8b $6.00

LIONEL 1999 RAILROADER CLUB GOLD MEMBER KIT VERY NICE ADD TO YOUR COLLECTION!!! $19.99

LIONEL RICHIE – Truly / Just Put Some Love In Your… $1.00

First Response 41 Ford Nebraska Safety Patrol NIB For Your Lionel “O” Layout $24.95

LIONEL 6-16486 COPPER RANGE ORE CAR VERY NICE CAR NUMBER 2027 COMPLETE YOUR SET! $14.99

‘50 Ford Fraternal Order of Police Pennsylvania NIB For Your Lionel “O” Layout $24.95

204-78 NOSE SUPPORT for your LIONEL TRAINS POSTWAR ALCO SERIES ENGINE – METAL ! $8.95

LIONEL RICHIE RE45 “Truly~Put Some Love In Your Heart” $5.06

Green Light Motor World 427 S/C Shelby Cobra 1:43 scale for your lionel layout $19.95

LOCK UP YOUR DAUGHTERS Lionel Bart UK DECCA STEREO Mint $19.99

Lionel Richie – I HEAR YOUR VOICE – Rare CD Single !! $14.95

MILK CAN WITH MAGNET – 7 CANS FOR YOUR LIONEL TRAINS 3462 – 3472 & 3482 MILK CAR $12.95

1945 LIONEL CHEM-LAB ad ~ Amaze Your Friends $9.95

KENNY ROGERS SHARE YOUR LOVE PRODUCED BY LIONEL RICHIE STEREO LP $4.99

Truly Just Put Some Love In Your Heart Lionel Richie 45 $0.99

42 Ultimate Hits $13.28 All products are BRAND NEW and factory sealed. Fast shipping and 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed….

Hello, Dolly! (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) $9.98 All products are BRAND NEW and factory sealed. Fast shipping and 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed….

The Commodores Anthology $24.98 The Commodores Anthology by CommodoresThis product is manufactured on demand using CD-R recordable media. Amazon.com’s standard return policy will apply….

Richard Simmons Sweatin’ to the Oldies [VHS] $6.23 Richard Simmons is the king of motivational exercise, especially if you’re a beginner. This video workout is a dance party simulating a class reunion, with an energizing live band playing lively hits from the ’50s and ’60s, such as “It’s My Party and I’ll Cry If I Want To,” “Great Balls of Fire,” and “Dancing in the Streets.” The singers and musicians sometimes come offstage and dance with the exe…

It’s a Wonderful Life [VHS] $0.01 Now perhaps the most beloved American film, It’s a Wonderful Life was largely forgotten for years, due to a copyright quirk. Only in the late 1970s did it find its audience through repeated TV showings. Frank Capra’s masterwork deserves its status as a feel-good communal event, but it is also one of the most fascinating films in the American cinema, a multilayered work of Dickensian density. Georg…

The Hound of the Baskervilles [VHS] $8.33 Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce star in this 1939 adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s frequently filmed novel, and the result is one of the most atmospheric and purely enjoyable versions of The Hound of the Baskervilles. Except for minor changes, the script is true to Doyle’s enthralling mystery about a centuries-long curse against heirs to the Baskerville estate, situated within the haunting an…

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Full Screen Edition) $3.37 This remastered, pan-and-scan 30th-anniversary edition of that kiddie-car caper is flawed but solid family fare. It retains a quaint charm while some of the songs–including the title tune–are quite hummable. A huge plus is Dick Van Dyke, who is extremely appealing as an eccentric inventor around the turn of the century. With nimble fingers and a unique way of looking at the world, he invents for…

Murder By Death $7.73 Neil Simon wrote this 1976 spoof in which virtually every famous fictional detective of the 1930s and 1940s congregate at the home of a mysterious fellow (Truman Capote) to try and solve the mystery of who’s trying to kill them all. Simon’s jokes are mostly obvious, and the film’s real appeal is the clever concept matched with fine–sometimes legendary–actors. Peter Falk plays a very Bogart-like …

Frankenstein: The Legacy Collection (Frankenstein / The Bride of Frankenstein / Son of Frankenstein / The Ghost of Frankenstein / House of Frankenstein) $18.48 Two-disc set includes “Frankenstein” (1931), “Bride of Frankenstein,” “Son of Frankenstein,” “The Ghost of Frankenstein,” and “House of Frankenstein.”…

Hawking HAI7SIP HiGain 7dBi Indoor Omni Directional Antenna $14.00 Hawking Hi-Gain Omni-Directional Antenna HAI7SIP Network Antennas (*)…