Copyright 2009 T. Sheil & A. Sheil All Rights Reserved
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It all started in the 1920 and 1930s when adults took up toy trains as a hobby. Up to that time, the trains had been toys. The adults wanted more realism. One of their demands was scale realism. The toy train makers responded in different ways, producing their version of scale railroad models.
A.C. Gilbert had recently purchased the American Flyer company when he came up with a unique answer to scale model railroading. Gilbert's idea was to keep the O gauge track, but make a smaller car. Lionel and other American makers made O gauge's scale at 1/48. Gilbert opted to make his cars scaled to 1/64. At 3/16 inch to the scale foot as opposed to the 1/4 inch of 1/48 scale, Gilbert's equipment would be 3/4 the size of most O scale.
American Flyer produced the first of these new 1/64 scale trains. Being smaller, they could negotiate the relatively tight curves of the standard track of the time. Not only did they handle Flyer's 40" diameter curves. These scale cars made it through the tighter 31 inch curves of Lionel.
The Louis Marx company liked the idea and introduced a new scale line of trains. The first ones were tin-litho, and they were masterpieces. Marx made them until 1953. In the 1950s, Marx also introduced a scale plastic line of trains and scenery accessories. These were packed with 027 track. To allow for more realistic operation, Marx later produced a 34" wide track in the 027 profile.
Marx sold these trains from the late 1930s to the early 1970s. They were promoted as "scale" alongside Marx's other lines of 027 trains. The company was sold as the promotion of "scale" ended. When Maury Klein bought the tooling to start the K-Line company, he did not revive the 027 as scale. They were sold as 027, plain and simple. No mention was made of 1/64 scale.
O-64 may have been dormant but it was not dead. The raw materials were still abundant, via both the sale of old Marx and the manufacture of K-Line's 027. All it needed was people to revive the O-64 concept.
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