Athearn Model Train History

Athearn Model Trains

Athearn Model Trains

This is an article to give you all a little bit of an idea about where Athearn model trains come from. Irv Athearn started The Athearn Company along with his love for collecting and assembling model trains in the year 1938. He first started by building a large O-scale setup at his mothers house which in the end he sold for a huge ten thousand dollars. For this time this was a lot of money which also gave him the foresight and vision to create the Athearn Company which would become his income for many a year to come.


So, by 1946 he had a fully fledged business building and selling model trains and railroads from his mothers house. He then started retailing them in California in 1948 at which time he also started building HO type model trains. What followed was the reefer kit which provided the convenience of pre-assembly, something he realized was in high demand with his clients. This then lead to the famous Ready To Roll type kits which due to the high standards he demanded from his workers became very popular amongst enthusiasts due to their high quality but affordable prices.


Irv was able to stay at the top of his game once he had come up with prototypes for the very first locomotives to ever be built that had flywheels on the shaft. Irv Athearns always manufactured model train products that were of the best quality and which provided the most value to his clients.


In 1991 Irv Athearn sadly passed away. Athearn model trains continued to grow after his death and eventually was bought out by Horizon Hobby Incorperated who are continuing to carry on the high standards which Irv Athearn worked so diligently to create during his lifetime.

Athearn Model Trains

The Athearn Company is very famous for producing such model train types as Iron Horse, Warbonnet, Streamlined Passenger and Heavyweight Passenger. In the HO scale range there is Locomotives, Rolling stock, Vehicles & accessories available. The latest models are the Genesis with Tsunami sound and DCC controlers from SoundTraxx. The premium HO Ready to Roll sets are very sought out by enthusiasts due to them having crisp paint jobs and numbers. On top of extras like detailed air hoses, MU hoses and coupler lift bars. Most of the N-scale sets also have extras including safety slogan stickers and brilliant new paint schemes.


It is not very often we get to take our passion and turn it into a business profit as Irv Athearn did.Very few of us have the opportunity to take our passion or hobby and turn their pastime into a successful business venture, but this is exactly what Irv Athearn did. Irv set a very high standard with is company to produce high quality products at exceptional prices to deliver to his client base. This industry-standard proceeds to stay on within the current model train industry. Irv is well missed by the industry for his innovative model train concepts and keen business sense.