by Bob Carper

Created on: February 11, 2007   Last Updated: April 12, 2007

The hobby of model railroading has been around for a very long time almost 100 years. Every Christmas, no matter where in the country we live, Santa would bring a train set and tracks, and it would run round and round the Christmas Tree.

Then, as soon as the Christmas tree would be taken down, the train set was stowed away in its packing box. It would sit in the family closet until next Christmas. Many times, another train set would join the older train set. Then, the two train sets would run around the tree. Oh what fun !

Just before World War II, a number of very interesting things happened. First and foremost was the emergence of the Lionel Corporation. About the same time, a man named A.C. Gilbert was launching his own company to be known as American Flyer. Suddenly, toy trains became real. Lionel modeled a train set in the exact likeness of the New York Central. It sold in 1940 for over $200, a stupendous price in that day for a train set. American Flyer produced a number of very accurate models of both the New York Central and the New Haven railroads, which also sold for very heavy price tags.

Soon thereafter, a number of authors wrote books showing how to design various track layouts. These showed how to install switches, build railway stations and houses, trees, and model factories. All at once, toy trains were evolving into model railroads. After WW II, model railroading took off and has not stopped ever since. A new industry and hobby was born.

What made it all happen? I believe it was the emergence of HO Scale as the model size of choice. The very first toy trains were scaled at inch to the actual foot. Lionel produced its toy trains at inch to the actual foot. This was known as O Gauge.

However, it was HO Scale that really launched the hobby. While Lionel and American Flyer produced excellent replicas of the New York Central and other railroads, they were just too big to fit inside a house or apartment. In June of 1948, Gordon Varney, founder of Varney Model Railroads, issued the second of his "Commemorative Cars". This was the Hollywood & Western. The H&W was a refrigerator car from the famous pioneering model railroad layout belonging to Jim Trout, Sam Raymond, and Dick Sutphen.

Varney came up with the name and made the sides for the reefer car when he visited the layout at Trout's home prior to World War II. At the end of the war, Varney decided there was a market for private owner car sides, and began producing HO scale refrigerator cars with Hollywood

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