Lionel

Company History: Lionel Corporation was an American toy manufacturer and holding company of retailers that had been in business for over 120 years. It was founded as an electrical novelties company. Lionel specialized in various products throughout its existence. Toy trains and model railroads were its main claim to fame. Lionel trains have been produced since 1900. In 1969, they sold their model train lines to General Mills, but continued to operate until 1993 as a holding company for their toy stores.
The current Lionel, LLC roots lie in the 1969 purchase of the Lionel product line from the Lionel Corporation by cereal conglomerate General Mills and subsequent purchase in 1986 by businessman Richard P. Kughn forming Lionel Trains, Inc. in 1986. The Martin Davis Investment Group (Wellspring) bought Lionel Trains, Inc. in 1995 and renamed it Lionel, LLC.

Lionel has produced model trains of various gauges over its 100+ years of existence:

• Pre-standard gauge: 1900–1906
• Standard gauge: 1906–1939, 1986–1990, 1999–2002
• O gauge: 1915–1941, 1946–present
• OO gauge: 1938–1941
• HO gauge: 1957–1967 (produced by Rivarossi and Athearn), 1974–1990, 2016–present
• G scale: 1987–1995 and 2005–present
• S scale: 1967 (Purchase of A.C. Gilbert American Flyer), 1979–present

Brief History: The U.S. is a country of 50 states covering a vast swath of North America, with Alaska in the northwest and Hawaii extending the nation’s presence into the Pacific Ocean. Major Atlantic Coast cities are New York, a global finance and culture center, and capital Washington, DC. Midwestern metropolis Chicago is known for influential architecture and on the west coast, Los Angeles' Hollywood is famed for filmmaking.