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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