A Short History Of The K-Line Model Trains

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Model trains have no shortage of brand names. You have the Lionels, MTHs, Bachmanns, and many more. But have you heard about the K-Line? Some might not have heard of this brand name other than its now current association with Lionel, but in its heyday, K-Line was one of the sought after brands of model trains due to its great designs at a very affordable cost.
 
K-Line was first owned by MDK, a small company founded in 1975 to market Lionel models. The brand K-Line was used for their tracks compatible for Lionel and American Flyer but not any original models or locomotives. However, when a toy company name Louis Marx and Company died in 1978, K-Line got its shot at the big time. MDK secured the tools and devices, including the molds, of the Marx model trains and accessories. Some of these were even scavenged from dilapidated and disused Marx factories. This gave MDK and K-Line the ability to build its own model trains.

They started with O27 scale trains. These were just copies of the original Marx designs but modified to run with and on Lionel products. However, they were cheap and this put K-Line on the market. They became so successful, K-line started to expand. This drew the ire of Lionel, who were they were in business with just a short 3 years back. They made their trains capable of not only running on the Lionel tracks but also capable of coupling with the Lionel trains, making their cheaper models attractive to even Lionel model owners. Many Lionel owners loved the cheaper K-Line cars that could go along with their locomotives.

With its success, K-Line started to expand into larger markets. They entered into the S scale models, with their own trains and tracks, and into the O scale which was the market dominated by Lionel. They even started to abandon their cheap and affordable philosophy and made O scale trains to compete with the high quality Lionel O scale trains.

This war that K-Line entered with Lionel would prove to be disastrous for K-line in the end. Lionel and K-Line fought fiercely but in the end, Lionel edged out K-Line in court and the latter eventually filed for bankruptcy. Afterwards, Lionel bought K-Line and now it exists as K-Line by Lionel.

Many of the original K-Line trains and models were cancelled because Lionel already produced equivalent models. This made these models, like the S scale K-Lines, become collector’s items. Even though the current K-Line is only limited in production, the originals have earned a place in the hearts of many hobbyists. Since they were copies of Marx Company models, another model line regarded as highly collectible, original K-Lines are also sought after as a source of spare parts for Marx Company models.
 
Some of their classic designs are already becoming collector favorites. Some of the more high quality model cars that were coupled with the Lionel engines are growing in popularity, despite being out of production.

Even with its decline, the K-Line legacy continues. They started as a cheaper alternative to established model railroad companies but now have become a part of the history of model railways. The continuing demand for original K-Lines may give this brand a new future.

James Stonebright is a model train enthusiast. For more great Info on k-line model trains, visit http://www.ModelTrainsGalore.com.