USA Trains

Lore & Background

USA Trains started out as part of Charles Ro Supply Company, the biggest train store and America's largest Lionel dealer. The company is a family-run business, started by father and son Charles Ro Sr. and Charles Ro Jr. Charles Ro Supply Company originally began as a beauty shop business of four salons with sixty hairdressers, but moved into the hobby business when Charles Ro Sr. began selling used Lionel trains at one of the storefronts in Everett, Massachusetts. In 1972, Ro started purchasing directly from Lionel to sell them mail-order, and by 1980 had completed Lionel's first million dollar order. At that time, the company moved to a new location in Malden, Massachusetts into an old supermarket building.

In 1982, Lionel moved production to Mexico and did not produce model trains for nine months. To make up for this, Ro began selling German-made large-scale model trains suitable for outdoor use. Realizing their popularity, Ro began making his own large scale model trains under the name Charles Ro Manufacturing Company. In 1989, business was moved into a new building in Malden, Massachusetts with three stories and over 50,000 square feet of area. Until 1995, when manufacturing was moved offshore, USA Trains were manufactured at this location, which also served as the store.

USA Trains manufactures locomotives, boxcars, work trains, and an extensive line of billboard reefers—early 20th century iced refrigerator cars with billboard-style advertising graphics on their sides. Many of these are limited edition collectibles, and in addition to prototypical cars, the reefer series includes special commemoratives and dated holiday-themed cars.

Reader's Guide

USA Trains occupies a notable position in the G scale model railroad market as a manufacturer that offers two distinct scale sizes—1:29 and 1:24—operating on the same track gauge. The company's origins trace back to Charles Ro Supply Company, which evolved from a beauty salon business into the largest Lionel dealer in America. When Lionel ceased production for nine months in 1982, the Ro family began importing German large-scale trains and soon started manufacturing their own under the Charles Ro Manufacturing Company name. The brand's products have received recognition from the modeling community, including multiple Reader's Choice Awards from Model Railroader magazine: the GP 7/9 locomotive in 1998, the Ultimate Series line introduced in 1999 (which won four awards), and the J1e Hudson in 2003. USA Trains claims to have the world's largest selection of G scale rolling stock. The company's billboard reefer series, featuring early 20th century iced refrigerator cars with advertising graphics, includes limited edition collectibles, commemoratives, and holiday-themed cars. Manufacturing was moved offshore in 1995, but the company remains a family-run business.

Did You Know?

• USA Trains started out as part of Charles Ro Supply Company, which began as a beauty shop business with four salons and sixty hairdressers.
• The company offers two scale sizes—1:29 (Ultimate Series) and 1:24 (American and Work Trains)—that use the same track.
• USA Trains claims to have the largest collection of G scale rolling stock in the world.