Lionel's earliest trains were larger than the sizes commonly available today, running on two-rail tracks with the rails 2 7⁄ 8 inches apart. In 1906, Lionel began offering a three-rail track that simplified wiring of reverse loops and accessories. Its outer rails were 2 1⁄ 8 inches apart, which did not match any of the existing standards that other manufacturers had been using since 1891. Whether this was an accidental misreading of Märklin's 2 gauge specifications or an intentional incompatibility is unclear, but Lionel marketed this non-standard track as 'The Standard of the World,' and soon adopted the name in its catalogs as Standard Gauge and trademarked the name. companies began using Lionel's standard, they usually called it wide gauge.

Starting in 1915, Lionel followed most of its U.S. competitors and adopted the smaller O gauge standard for its budget-level trains.īy the end of World War I, Lionel was one of three major U.S. toy train manufacturers, and it grew rapidly due to shrewd marketing. Cowen began getting department stores to incorporate his toy trains into their Christmas tree displays, linking toy trains to Christmas and making them popular Christmas presents.

Lionel made its trains larger than its competitors', making them appear a better value.Ĭompetitors criticised the realism of Lionel's trains - Cowen had been unwilling to invest in the equipment necessary for lithography, so its early offerings were simply painted in solid colors of enamel paint with brass detail parts.

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