HO Scale Lionel Model Trains
Lionel is a historically significant brand for model scale trains. The company was founded by Joshua Lionel Cowen who was credited to release one of the first electric powered trains in the US. The company was founded in 1900 and eventually became a great success until the 60s. Lionel was eventually sold to General Mills which continued its production until the 80s. It received criticism during the 80s when the plant was transferred to Mexico to save costs but it was returned to the US due to quality problems. Due to production costs, the company filed bankruptcy in 2004 only to regain its original standing May of 2008.
Lionel is primarily known for their O scale model which continues to dominate the O scale models. It was estimated that almost 60% of the O scale models today were made by Lionel. The company only started to release HO scale models during the 90s but it’s not as popular as the O scale models. That’s why the HO scale models of Lionel are collector’s item because of its rarity. The General Mills era of HO model scale is particularly popular because it was manufactured in US and the quality was thought to be at par of some of the popular HO model scale manufacturers.