American Flyer
American toy train brand known for S gauge and clockwork origins.
American Flyer is a brand of toy trains and model railroads that originated in the United States. While it is most famous for the S gauge trains produced in the 1950s under the A. C. Gilbert Company, the brand began as an independent venture nearly fifty years earlier.
The Chicago era, 1907–1938
William Frederick Hafner, a toymaker in Chicago, created a clockwork motor for toy cars in 1901 while working for the Toy Auto Company. According to his son John, Hafner had a clockwork train running on O gauge track by 1905. Hafner’s friend, William Ogden Coleman, took control of the struggling Edmonds-Metzel Hardware Company in Chicago around 1906 or 1907. Using the company’s spare manufacturing capacity, Hafner secured $15,000 in orders, and the two began producing toy trains. By 1907, retailers G. Sommers & Co. and Montgomery Ward were selling these trains. In 1908, the Edmonds-Metzel line adopted the name American Flyer, and by 1910 the company had left the hardware business entirely, renaming itself the American Flyer Manufacturing Company.
Initially known as Chicago Flyer, the brand was a budget option, undercutting prices set by market leader Ives. The trains sold well, and the product line expanded quickly, but this growth strained the partnership between Hafner and Coleman. In 1913, Hafner left after Coleman refused to give him a significant share of the company, which Hafner believed he had been promised. Hafner then started the Hafner Manufacturing Company, selling a line called Overland Flyer. G. Sommers & Co. dropped American Flyer in favor of Hafner’s brand. The two product lines were so similar that they may have shared tooling, suggesting possible continued collaboration. Hafner’s company made clockwork trains until 1951, when he sold it to All Metal Products Company.
American Flyer grew during World War I, as German manufacturers were locked out of the U.S. market. The company introduced bicycle and motorcycle toys, split its market into low-priced and high-priced lines, and moved away from Hafner’s original designs. In 1918, American Flyer released its first electric train, an O gauge model that replaced the clockwork motor with an electric one—a common approach at the time. That same year, William Coleman died, and his son, William Ogden Coleman Jr., took over.
- Founded
- 1907
- Founders
- William Frederick Hafner and William Ogden Coleman
- Headquarters
- Chicago, Illinois
- Key person
- Alfred Carlton Gilbert (acquired company in 1937)
- Notable product
- S gauge 3/16" scale trains
- Parent company
- A. C. Gilbert Company (1938–1966)
Lore & Background
American Flyer began in Chicago when toymaker William Frederick Hafner developed a clockwork motor for toy cars in 1901, and by 1905 had a clockwork train running on O gauge track. Hafner and his friend William Ogden Coleman used the excess manufacturing capability of the Edmonds-Metzel Hardware Company to produce toy trains, securing $15,000 worth of orders by 1907. Retailers G. Sommers & Co. and Montgomery Ward sold the trains, and in 1908 the Edmonds-Metzel company adopted the American Flyer brand name. By 1910 the company had left the hardware business and changed its name to American Flyer Manufacturing Company. Initially a budget brand undercutting market leader Ives, American Flyer expanded rapidly, but a rift between Hafner and Coleman led Hafner to leave in 1913 and start the Hafner Manufacturing Company, which sold a line called Overland Flyer. American Flyer grew during World War I, introduced its first electric train in 1918, and began offering wide gauge electric trains in 1925. The company struggled during the Great Depression and was sold to A. C. Gilbert in December 1937. Gilbert moved the company to New Haven, Connecticut, and redesigned the product line, introducing 3/16" scale S gauge trains in the 1939 catalog. The S gauge trains featured fully automatic coupling and uncoupling using gravity-based 'link & pin' couplers. Production ceased during World War II due to federal restrictions, resuming limited manufacturing by summer 1945.
Reader's Guide
American Flyer's significance lies in its evolution from a budget clockwork train maker to a major S gauge producer under A. C. Gilbert. The brand is notable for introducing 3/16" scale S gauge trains in 1939, which became its most recognized product line. The company's history reflects the broader shifts in the American toy train industry: the rise of electric trains, the impact of World War I in locking out German competitors, the Great Depression's pressure on manufacturers, and the wartime production halt that allowed Gilbert to differentiate its products from Lionel and Marx. American Flyer's joint purchase and operation of bankrupt competitor Ives with Lionel from 1928 to 1930 shows the consolidation within the industry. The brand's legacy is tied to its detailed diecast zinc alloy engines and cars, its gravity-based automatic couplers that offered functionality comparable to Lionel's more expensive design, and its emphasis on scale accuracy in catalogs and packaging. The company's Chicago-era products were expunged under Gilbert, who introduced entirely new designs by 1941.
Did You Know?
- American Flyer was initially a budget brand that undercut the prices of market leader Ives.
- The company's first electric train in 1918 was simply a windup model with an electric motor replacing the clockwork motor.
- American Flyer and Lionel jointly purchased and operated the bankrupt Ives company from 1928 to 1930.
- The S gauge trains introduced in 1939 featured gravity-based 'link & pin' couplers rather than Lionel's solenoid-based design.
More in Model Manufacturers, Part 3 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced