Quilt Patchwork Patterns

S Scale Model Railroad

You want to know what’s really at the vanguard of toy train world? What’s coming down the pike that has every model trainer tossing and turning with anticipation?  What scale of toy train do collectors go crazy for?I could go on and on like this, but let me just let the cat out the bag: it’s s scale model trains. You got it?  You don’t even know what size that is, do you? Do you even know about different scales?  Alright so here’s what you should know for your next toy train railroader’s meeting:

Here’s a blast from the past, these s gauge trains are “American Flyers”:  

This brand of locomotives has been enshrined in the pantheon of toy trains.  But a large explanation why this scale is so popular is because after having been decommissioned during World War II, American Flyer retooled and came out with a forward looking line of state of the art locomotives in s gauge.  This was in large part an attempt to compete with Lionel who was the king of the roost through the 50’s. S scale is an “inbetween” gauge, way larger than HO but smaller than Lionel’s O.  S gauge is one 64^th the size of a real train whereas Lionel’s O gauge is one 48^th the size.   These are still pretty hefty locomotives but not so much so that you would have to have them only outside. You can still really get into detailing with these huge model trains.

S scale is not a standard gauge:  

Since American Flyer in effect created s gauge and then went out of business a little while after, you don’t run across it much.  A.C. Gilbert, who ran American Flyer at the time, created this gauge as an attempt to introduce a brand of locomotives that would challenge Lionel by introducing high quality trains that weren’t interchangeable with Lionel locomotives. That means there are not that many of them.   Because of the law of supply and demand, American Flyers short life span has increased the demand for their parts and sets.   This has made American Flyer the Holy Grail of toy trains for many hobbyists.

American Flyers are about to be introduced into the market again:  

Lionel LLC, who bought the American Flyer company when it went under in 1966 has recently started re-releasing popular American Flyer locomotives.  The huge success of these releases has driven Lionel to resolve to bring back the s scale trains that avid fans are so in love with.  So any day now you may be coming across new models in this scale and hobbyists will have yet another size to choose from.

Now’s the moment to put your chips down if you want to cash in early on this tip.  This is when the early adopters wade in and check things out.  Don’t say I didn’t give you a heads up later on.  Remember when I told you about this little coffee house called Starbuck’s.  And you said no one would ever shell out more just for some coffee. 

Here is more information on Model Train Scale. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Model Trains.