For the model train line and current incarnation, see Lionel, LLC.
Lionel Corporation
Lionel logo on a box from the 1950s
Company type
Public company
Industry
Manufacturing and retail
Founded
1900
Defunct
1993
Fate
sold rights, Liquidation
Successor
Lionel, LLC
Headquarters
New York, New York, U.S.
Key people
Joshua Lionel Cowen (co-founder), Harry C. Grant (co-founder) 1900-1959 Roy Cohn 1960-1964
Products
Electric trains and accessories
Lionel Corporation was an American toy manufacturer and holding company of retailers that was founded in 1900 and operated for more than 120 years. It started as an electrical novelties company. Lionel specialized in various products throughout its existence. Toy trains and model railroads were its main claim to fame.[1] Lionel trains have been produced since 1900, and their trains were admired by model railroaders around the world for the solidity of their construction and the authenticity of their detail. During its peak years in the 1950s, the company sold $25 million worth of trains per year.[2]
In 1969, the company sold their model train lines to General Mills. It continued to operate until 1993 as a holding company for their toy stores. In 2006, Lionel's electric train became the first electric toy inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame. The model trains are still in production as Lionel, LLC.
^David Lander Archived 2010-02-18 at the Wayback Machine "Lionel" American Heritage, Nov./Dec. 2006.
^Osterhoff, Robert J. "When the Lights Went out at Lionel," Classic Toy Trains, May 1999. Page 76.
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