The American Flyer is probably the most well known of all model train series. They did achieve their peaks around the 40's and some other peak in the 60's, they had been around for much longer then that. Their popularity is also very famous now too and they are, I feel they are going to be still here another 100 years!
A toy maker in Chicago called William Hafner, in the very early 20th century developed a model train developed on a clockwork motor, primarily for the use in toy cars. By about 1905 how ever he made up his mind to put them into use in model trains too. Good thing he did, the model cars sold no where near as well as the trains.
William Hafner share the exact same name as his best friend, William Coleman went to look for a small manufacturer of hardware, Edmonds-Metzel. They used this corporation to start selling trains in 1907.
They were first commercialized under the name of Edmond Metzel trains, but because they were selling so fast and so well they required a new name and they came up with the name of the American Flyer. This happen at 1910. Even the name of the hardware firm they were using had likewise changed its name to incorporate the American Flyer name in it.
They were very popular and there are a couple of reasons for it. They were quite easily affordable then other popular makes of model trains at the time and because they were also quite a bit more practical then more budget style model trains of the time.
Mr William Hafner draw out from the enterprise around 1913. He used the funds he had already made and set up his own corporation. Colemans American Flyer Trains. It did well for quite some time around the first world war. There was little to no competition at the time due to the war efforts. Right before the break out in 1938, the founders son with the same name,took over the business after his father died in 1918 traded the American Flyer to a firm called A C Gilbert Company. Gilbert already had experience in producing toys, but had never done so with trains.
At the same time he decided to moved the enterprise from Chicago where it was created to New Haven in Connecticut where he lived. He also begun to drastically re design the American Flyer and turned it into an S-scale model train in 1939. It is a copy of the popular O scale which is then the leader of the market.
The S-scale was much tinier then the O-scale and this made it more well known known with enthusiasts as it required less room to setup a proper track. The scale is 1:64, considerably smaller then the O-scale yet still very detailed and accurate.
He also made another change in 1946 that amended the realisticness of the American flyer more so. Model trains, electric model trains at that time had been run on 3 rail tracks. Not practical. He modified it so they ran on two rail tracks, much like their huge counterparts. These tracks had 7/8th inches between each rail. This made the trains operate better as well.
How ever, television was starting to take hold at this time also. This distracted many from their hobbies they would normally spend their extra time on. Likewise at this time, discount chain stores came into play, discounting train sets that organizations like A C Gilbert could not compete with. in 1962, Gilbert traded the American Flyer to Wrather Group. This organisation produced toys as well, but usually on a huge scale and tended to make poor quality as well. Sales of course fell through the floor and in 1967 the corporation went bankrupt.
A higher-ranking toy train maker and the market leader at time, Lionel Corp purchased the American Flyer. This company itself was having trouble with finances as well and they too went bankrupt in 1969, so they sold off the rights to the American Flyer to some other maker, General Mills.
This firm, General Mills, started selling numerous of the designs of the original designed Gilbert American Flyer, it however sell everything it purchased from at that time Lionel Corporation to Kenner, who then in turn sold the organisation to a man named Richard Kughn. This occurred in 1985.
Mr Richard Kughn had large success with the organisation and design for 11 years, but he sold out in 1996 to a enterprise called Wellspring Partners, who then took on the original name of Lionel and called themselves Lionel LLC, which still functions now.
They sell the S-scale American Flyer still. They were actually concentrating on selling other scale models, but in 2002 they started selling more and more of the American Flyer.
The American Flyer nowadays is more then 100 years old and has gone through many extraordinary hands. It is still well known and growing stronger and stronger. Lionel trains will not disappear so fast