You want to know what’s really at the vanguard of toy train hobby? What trains do avid toy trainers foam at the mouth for? What throw back style of trains are about to make a come back the way bell bottoms and tye-dye did a the end of the Reagan Administration?I could go on and on like this, but let me just let the cat out the bag: it’s s gauge toy trains. You got it? If you’re not that familiar with scales and gauges then you probably don’t realize that this isn’t a standard gauge these days. You couldn’t tell me if that is as large as g gauge train or as small as an n scale, huh? Alright so here’s what you need to know for your next model railroader’s meeting:
Two words, “American Flyer”:
This line of trains has entered the hall of fame of model locomotives. But a big explanation why this gauge is so popular is because after having been shut down during World War II, American Flyer retooled and marketed a forward looking line of state of the art locomotives in s scale. This was in large part an attempt to keep up with Lionel’s O gauge who was the king of the hill through the 50’s. S scale is an “inbetween” gauge, way bigger than HO but smaller than Lionel’s O. Real world locomotives are 64 times larger than s scale models whereas real world locomotives are 48 times the size of Lionel’s O. That means that S scale is a little more manageable in terms of the minimum space suggestions for the track but still big enough for those of us that dig the arts and crafts part of toy training. These trains are a lot of fun to paint and weather.
S scale is rare:
Another reason that s gauge has gained such popularity is that s gauge is not a standard gauge. American Flyers are simply the only kind of trains that were mass produced in this gauge and even they were only made in this gauge for a small period just after the Big One. American Flyer locomotives from the 50’s only fit s gauge and wouldn’t run on Lionel’s O. Because of the law of supply and demand, American Flyers brief life span has raised the demand for their parts and sets. This has made American Flyer the Holy Grail of model locomotives for many fans.
Lionel LLC has broadcast their intention to produce new “vintage” s scale locomotives:
Lionel LLC, who purchased the American Flyer company when it went under in 1966 has recently started re-releasing popular American Flyer locomotives. The fantastic success of these releases has driven Lionel to promise to reproduce 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 gauge and collectors will have yet another size to decide between.
So if you want to get ahead of this wave, now’s the time. This is when the early adopters wade in and check things out. Get one of these flap jacks while they’re still hot. Remember when I told you about this little coffee house called Starbuck’s. Not only that, American Flyer and s gauge just rock even if nobody were into them.
Here is more information on Model Train Scale. Here is a website with a free mini-course dedicated to Model Trains.
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