Our History

Beginnings Youthful inventor Joshua Lionel Cowen wasn't the first to manufacture toy trains. But his talents as an engineer and salesman soon put Lionel ahead of its competitors. Cowen designed his first train, the Electric Express, not as a toy, but as an eye-catching display for toy stores.

During Lionel's early days, Americans were captivated by the railroads and awed by electricity, still a rarity in many homes. Lionel's first trains were powered by wet-cell (acid-filled!) batteries, soon replaced by the 110-volt electric transformer. By 1906, with the introduction of preassembled track and a selection of engines and cars, the Lionel we know today was already taking shape.

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Gathering Steam The decade between 1910 and 1919 saw Lionel's sales increase fifteen-fold. This resulted from a bustling economy, the growth of electric power, World War I defense production, and the end of German toy imports.

Changing times were reflected by "Racing Automobiles" and a passenger train with internal lighting, the retirement of the quaint "Pay-As-You-Go" trolley, and the introduction of a war train with cannons. Smaller, less expensive O-gauge track debuted (and is used by Lionel to this day).

Though the company became a corporation, the family tradition continued, with Cowen's son Lawrence ("The Happy Lionel Boy") gracing catalogs, packaging, and sales materials.

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Roaring Ahead Following a brief recession, Lionel entered an era of unprecedented growth. People wanted to forget the war and indulge in life's pleasures — and more of them could afford luxuries like toy trains, thanks to easy credit. Cowen was among the finest practitioners of modern advertising. Lionel ads appeared nationally in newspapers, boys' magazines, and "Grown-up" publications like The Saturday Evening Post.

Cowen got endorsements from celebrities, and even started a Lionel radio show. Slogans such as "Lionel: The Father and Son Railroad," and "Real enough for a man to enjoy — simple enough for a boy to operate," were the first of many to pitch family themes. Meanwhile, Lionel's fabulously illustrated catalogs became children's cherished "wish books." The products they portrayed — like the No. 402 electric engine, the Hellgate Bridge, and the No. 840 Power Station — grew ever more elaborate. Working accessories — including crossing gates, highway flashers, and traffic warning bells — became more and more lifelike. This was a golden age for Lionel, but like the Roaring Twenties, it wouldn't last.

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After the Crash During the Great Depression, Lionel's sales and profits slumped, and 1931 was its first year in the red. Ironically, as times grew tougher, the company introduced its greatest standard-gauge steam locomotive, the No. 400E, whose $42.50 price was beyond the means of most families. In 1934, financial troubles led Lionel into court-ordered receivership to stave off bankruptcy.

That year the company's fortunes were boosted by the debut of the wildly popular Mickey and Minnie handcar, a $1 windup toy. Meanwhile, streamlining was all the rage on America's railroads, and Lionel followed suit with its own designs, like the Union Pacific, the Hiawatha, and the Flying Yankee. Lionel showed profits again in 1935, and the receivership was discharged. The No. 700E New York Central Hudson, with its blueprint-accurate details, appealed to adult hobbyists. It also marked the ascendancy of affordable O gauge over the more expensive standard gauge, which was discontinued in 1939.

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War, Peace, and Prosperity Lionel benefited financially from defense production during World War II, but toy train production was put on hold. So boys (and their dads) were encouraged to "plan your postwar railroad" in Lionel's Model Builder magazine and Railroad Planning Book. Lionel engineers were busy too, and in 1946 the company unveiled a stunning array of milestone products. These included locomotives with real puffing smoke (like the all-new Pennsylvania S-2 steam turbine), a remote-controlled coupling system, and a realistic water tower with a moving spout.

Lionel's offerings, many styled to match actual railroads, reflected America's renewed love affair with trains. And the postwar baby boom was just getting started....

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Halcyon Days Lionel was at its peak in the early 1950s, with record profits and some of its best products ever. Its catalogs of the period were absolute stunners. Unfortunately, Lionel was selling far more engines and rolling stock than existed on real railroads, which were rapidly overwhelmed by competition from highways and airlines.

Lionel actually had its own television show, but the new medium soon mesmerized America, and interest in toy trains waned. Lionel products of this period included a stereo camera, the pastel-colored Lady Lionel train set, and trains with space age and Cold War themes. The "father and son railroad" of Joshua Lionel Cowen and Lawrence Cowen ended in 1959, when they sold their interest in Lionel to distant relative Roy Cohn.

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End of an Era Lionel in the 1960s was a company that had lost its founder and its bearings. America was undergoing social upheaval, and the idealized image of Lionel railroading no longer fit in. In a doomed effort to diversify, the company introduced slot cars, science kits, and even phonographs. Despite several creative covers, Lionel catalogs soon featured uninspiring product shots, devoid of all romance.

Joshua Lionel Cowen passed away in 1965 at the age of 88. Another American legend, the venerable Twentieth Century Limited, made its last run in 1967. That same year Lionel filed for bankruptcy. The company licensed its electric train manufacturing to breakfast-cereal conglomerate General Mills in 1969.

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New Beginnings By the 1970s, what remained of the original Lionel Corporation was a holding company specializing in toy stores. It had leased the Lionel name to Minneapolis-based General Mills, which bought other toy companies like Parker Brothers, Kenner, and MPC. By 1973 Lionel was folded into General Mills subsidiary Fundimensions, which carried on the Lionel tradition with many trains that equaled or bettered the originals.

One highlight of the decade was The Mickey Mouse Express -- an instant hit and prized collectible, which revived an association with Disney dating from 1934. With the Fundimensions slogan, "Not Just a Toy, A Tradition," Lionel appeared to be getting back on track.

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Moving Along In 1980, Fundimensions celebrated Joshua Lionel Cowen's self-claimed hundredth birthday (he was actually born in 1877) with seven commemorative boxcars. Then in 1982, General Mills shocked Lionel employees when it decided to relocate production to Mexico. The move was disastrous, and production returned to Michigan in 1984. That year Lionel recreated its greatest steam locomotive, the No. 773 Hudson, as the No. 783.

In 1985, General Mills sold off its toy divisions, with Lionel absorbed by Kenner-Parker. In 1986, Detroit-based real estate developer -- and railroad enthusiast -- Richard Kughn bought the brand and established Lionel Trains. In 1989, Lionel rolled out RailSounds™, heralding an era of high-tech audio realism, and trumpeting better things yet to come.

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Building the Future A reinvigorated Lionel started off the 1990s with the reissue of the legendary No. 700E locomotive. In 1992 Richard Kughn and rock musician Neil Young, an avid model railroader, created Liontech, chartered to develop exclusive new model train control and sound systems. Liontech's RailSounds II™ debuted in 1994 on the Santa Fe Mikado. This all-new digital system captured a real-life Mikado's actual sounds, and propelled Lionel to the forefront of model train technology.

Also debuting in 1994 was the TrainMaster® control system, which can command any locomotive via a wireless remote. Richard Kughn sold Lionel in 1995. In 1996, Lionel issued its first fully illustrated catalog in more than 30 years. The Lionel Century Club, announced in 1997, was the first event in the ongoing celebration of the company's upcoming centenary.

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