Atlas Model Railroad

Lore & Background

Atlas began as the Atlas Tool Company, founded in 1924 by Stephan Schaffan, Sr., an immigrant from Czechoslovakia, in the garage of his Newark, New Jersey home. In 1933, his son Stephan Schaffan, Jr. joined the business at age sixteen. While building model airplanes, Schaffan Jr. was challenged by a local hobby shop owner to improve track components. He created a switch kit that sold so well the family assembled them at night. He later engineered the stapling of rail to fiber track, invented the first practical rail joiner, and developed pre-assembled turnouts and flexible track, helping to popularize model railroading as a mass-market hobby. The company built its first factory in Hillside, New Jersey, in 1947 and incorporated on September 30, 1949.

Atlas expanded into rolling stock in 1968 with N scale locomotives made by Rivarossi in Italy, followed by EMD diesels made by Roco in Austria in the 1970s. In 1971, Atlas began importing O scale locomotives and rolling stock from Roco. The company entered the HO scale ready-to-run diesel market in 1975 with models from Roco. A partnership with Japanese manufacturer Kato Precision Railroad Models in 1983 produced an N scale Alco RS-3 that raised standards for fine scale fidelity. In the early 1990s, the company changed its name to Atlas Model Railroad Company, Inc. In 1997, Atlas O, LLC was established as a separate entity for O scale products, later becoming a wholly owned subsidiary merged into Atlas in 2012. Atlas acquired assets from Industrial Rail in 2006, Branchline Trains in 2011, and tooling from MTH Trains and River Point Station in 2021.

Reader's Guide

Atlas Model Railroad Company has played a foundational role in the development of model railroading as a mass-market hobby. Stephan Schaffan, Jr.'s inventions—the stapling of rail to fiber track, the first practical rail joiner, pre-assembled turnouts, and flexible track—made model railroading more accessible to hobbyists who previously had to build everything from scratch. These innovations helped create a ready-to-run market that expanded the hobby's popularity. Atlas's entry into N scale locomotives in 1968 and HO scale diesels in 1975 brought high-quality, imported models to American modelers. The company's partnership with Kato in 1983 set new standards for scale fidelity. Atlas's product tier system—Master, Premier, Classic, and Trainman—allows modelers to choose from varying levels of detail and price. The company's acquisition of tooling from Branchline Trains, MTH Trains, and River Point Station has broadened its offerings. Atlas remains a family-connected business, with Stephan Schaffan's great-grandson serving as chief operating officer. The company's legacy is recognized through Schaffan Jr.'s posthumous induction into the Model Railroad Industry Association Hall of Fame in 1985 and the National Model Railroad Association Pioneers of Model Railroading in 1995.

Did You Know?

• Atlas was founded in 1924 as the Atlas Tool Company in the garage of Stephan Schaffan, Sr.'s home in Newark, New Jersey.
• Stephan Schaffan, Jr. invented the first practical rail joiner and pre-assembled turnouts, helping to create the mass-market model railroading hobby.
• Atlas's first N scale locomotives were USRA Pacifics made by Rivarossi in Italy in 1968.
• In 1983, Atlas partnered with Japanese manufacturer Kato to produce an N scale Alco RS-3 that raised standards for fine scale fidelity.