Model Trains and Accessories

Model Trains and Accessories

Model trains first gained popularity in the 1920s when department stores displayed them in their Christmas display windows but they have been available since the beginning of the railroads. Today, model railroading is a widely popular hobby. Collectors and modelers alike recreate every aspect of railroad history and operations, sometimes creating complete railroad layouts, which include towns that the trains would stop in.

Vintage model train collectors tend to collect by scale, type or manufacturer. Gauge refers to the size in which the model was made. There are many sizes that formed over the years. Type indicates the material in which the model was produced. Early model trains were made of tinplate and then later brass was introduced. Although brass is widely used today, the most collectible are the brass trains produced in Japan up into the 1970s. Manufacturers of model trains include Lionel, American Flyer and Marx. Lionel is the most widely known but other manufacturers can be extremely collectible.

Model train accessories are just as important in the world of collectors. These accessories include railroad signs, people and tracks that make recreating a particular train scene possible. Most accessories were included with a particular train but many have been lost or forgotten. Finding these items is rare and highly collectible.

Some people tend to collect by the railroad rather than gauge, type or manufacturer. These railroads include the Pennsylvania Railroad, New York Central, Union Pacific, Southern Pacific, Santa Fe and Chicago and North Western. These collectors also fall into the category of hobbyist because they recreate layouts of these railroads that are historically accurate. It is indeed a hobby to these people and is surely fascinating to see.