American Flyer Train Sets

On this site, you will find American Flyer train sets offered by some of the top suppliers of electric toy trains and loads of information to assist you to decide which of the American Flyer train sets is best for you.

American Flyer Train Sets

American Flyer train sets were first manufactured by the American Flyer Manufacturing Corporation in Chicago, Illinois by the toy maker William Frederick Hafner, who developed clockwork engines for toy cars in 1901 while working for a company called Toy Auto Company.

According to the recollections of William Hafner's son, John, he had developed a clockwork model train running on O gauge track by 1905.

Hafner's friend, William Ogden Coleman, took control of the Edmonds-Metzel Hardware Company, a struggling hardware manufacturer in Chicago, in 1906 or 1907. Hafner and Coleman began manufacturing toy trains using Edmonds-Metzel's excess production capability after Hafner was able to secure $15,000 worth of orders.

By 1907, two American retailers, G. Sommers & Co. and Montgomery Ward, were selling Edmonds-Metzel model trains. In 1908, Edmonds-Metzel adopted the American Flyer brand name for the toy trains, and by 1910, Edmonds-Metzel was out of the hardware business and changed its name to American Flyer Manufacturing Company.

They first made clockwork toy trains and, later on, wide gauge and then O gauge electric trains. In the late 1930's the line of American Flyer train sets was bought by the A.C. Gilbert Company of New Haven Connecticut, headed by A.C. Gilbert, the inventor of Gilbert 'Erector' box sets and many other toys, because Gilbert had already begun the manufacture of an HO gauge line of trains.

During the early 1930's, American Flyer train sets was struggling under increasing competition, especially at the low end of the market. In 1931, Flyer announced it would not produce an electric train set to sell for less than $4 like its competition had.

However, within three months, it relented and released electric toy trains without a transformer for $3.95, and in 1932, it released a set with transformer that retailed for $3.50. Sales increased, but the company was not profitable. Expansion into other toy arenas also failed.

After the end of the Second World War, when the necessities of wartime production had ceased, Gilbert resumed production of American Flyer train sets, but on a new, S Gauge, which was scaled to 3/16 and running on authentic two rail track.

There were different styles of locomotive available along with a single dome tank car, a single dome tank car, an extended vision caboose, a flat car and other rolling stock, a crane car, freight cars and passenger cars, although a firm favourite has always been the Southern Pacific Daylight Streamliner engine. There were also other items from American Flyer range

Gilbert was the first to introduce the American Flyer Train Sets 'All Aboard' - a complete railroading system in a box. The A.C. Gilbert Company was acquired by The Wrather Corporation in the early 1960's but was closed in 1966.

The American Flyer name and logo, along with all the tools and dies to make the American Flyer train sets, the parts and the accessories, was sold to The Lionel Corporation.