| Although The American Flyer model trains were | | | | trains, had a number of major advantages in |
| at their peak of popularity between the 1940s | | | | terms of the track and track layouts. |
| and the 1960s, they actually had a long | | | | |
| history before that, and their popularity | | | | In 1946 Gilbert made another major change to |
| seems to be on the increase again today. | | | | the American Flyer. Until that stage model |
| William Hafner, working as a toymaker in | | | | electric trains had run on three rails, with |
| Chicago, developed a clockwork motor for use | | | | the centre rail carrying the current. Gilbert |
| in toy cars in the very early part of the | | | | developed a two rail system for running the |
| 19th Century and by 1905 was making toy | | | | American Flyer. This two-rail track, which |
| trains using that clockwork motor. | | | | had seven-eighths inches between the rails, |
| | | | made the track layout, and hence train |
| With a friend, William Coleman, and using a | | | | operation, more realistic as the track now |
| small hardware manufacturing business known | | | | looked like 'real train track'. |
| as the Edmonds-Metzel Hardware Company, | | | | |
| Hafner began producing toy clockwork trains | | | | With the advent of television - to distract |
| during 1906-7. These Edmond-Metzel trains | | | | both younger people and older people from |
| were sold so successfully through some major | | | | their regular hobbies - together with the |
| retailers that the brand name The American | | | | rise of the discount chain stores which |
| Flyer was adopted for marketing purposes and | | | | undercut prices and demanded lower wholesale |
| by 1910, the name of the hardware company had | | | | prices, A C Gilbert Company ran into trouble |
| been changed to American Flyer Manufacturing | | | | and in 1962 was sold to Wrather Group. The |
| Company. | | | | new owners produced lines of toys, including |
| | | | model trains, which were of very poor quality |
| The American Flyer trains proved very | | | | and sales dropped sharply until in 1966 |
| popular, in part because they were lower | | | | production of the American Flyer ceased. By |
| priced than other makes popular at that time, | | | | 1967 the Company was bankrupt. |
| and also because their detailing made them | | | | |
| more realistic than other low budget model | | | | At this time, Lionel Corporation, which was |
| trains. | | | | itself in financial trouble although it had |
| | | | been the leading model train manufacturer for |
| Hafner left the partnership in 1913 to start | | | | many decades, bought the rights to the |
| up his own company and Coleman's American | | | | American Flyer. However, by 1969 Lionel |
| Flyer trains did extremely well during the | | | | Corporation itself was bankrupt and sold the |
| First World War as they had no competition in | | | | rights to the manufacture of its model |
| the US from the German companies. By 1918, | | | | trains, including the American Flyer, to |
| the first of the American Flyer electric | | | | General Mills. |
| trains were in production and business boomed | | | | |
| during the 1920s but declined sharply during | | | | General Mills began selling some of the |
| the Great Depression. | | | | original Gilbert designed American Flyer |
| | | | trains by 1979 but in 1984 sold its Lionel |
| In 1938, William Coleman Jr, son of the | | | | Company section to a toy manufacturer, Kenner |
| company's founder, who had taken over the | | | | who on-sold the company to Richard Kughn in |
| business following his father's death in | | | | 1985. |
| 1918, sold the American Flyer to the A C | | | | |
| Gilbert Company. Gilbert had been | | | | Kughn was very successful for over 10 years |
| manufacturing and selling an extensive range | | | | with the Lionel and American Flyer trains but |
| of toys but not toy trains. He moved the | | | | sold in 1996 to Wellspring Partners who set |
| company from Chicago to New Haven, | | | | up the company Lionel LLC, which operates |
| Connecticut and immediately began to | | | | today selling a range of model trains, |
| re-design the trains. He re-developed the | | | | including the S-scale American Flyer. |
| American Flyer as S-scale in 1939 , a scale | | | | Initially Lionel LLC concentrated on |
| which was a modification of the very popular | | | | promoting the O and O27 scale model trains of |
| O gauge model trains then on the market. The | | | | its original lines but since 2002 has been |
| S scale, which scales trains to the 1:64 | | | | releasing more and more American Flyer |
| ratio and made them smaller than the O scale | | | | models. |