Toy train

Toy train

A toy train is a toy which represents a train, distinguished from a model train by an emphasis on low cost and durability, rather than scale modeling. A toy train can be as simple as a pull toy that does not even run on track, or it might be operated by clockwork or a battery. Many toy trains, particularly some from American Flyer and Lionel, blur the line between the two categories, running on electric power and approaching accurate scale.

Prior to the 1950s, there was little distinction between toy trains and model railroads--model railroads were toys by definition. Pull toys and wind-up trains were marketed towards children, while the first model railways were marketed towards teenagers, particularly teenaged boys.

Today, S gauge and O gauge railroads are still considered toy trains even by their adherents and are often accessorized with semi-scale model buildings by Plasticville or K-Line (who owns the rights to the Plasticville-like buildings produced by Marx from the 1950s to the 1970s). Ironically, however, due to their high cost, one is more likely to find an HO scale train set in a toy store than an O scale set.

Prior to World War II, toy trains were often made of lithographed tin. Post-war toy trains were more frequently made of plastic, a trend which continues today.

Consumer interest in trains as toys waned in the late 1950s, but has experienced a resurgence since the late 1990s due to the popularity of Thomas the Tank Engine.