| Back in the 1970s, there was a huge war going on | | | | K-Line expanded into the O and S scale. This was |
| between the model train makers. Companies rose and | | | | particularly concerning for Lionel since they held the O |
| fell with regularity as model trains became prime | | | | scale and to some extent the S scale markets. The S |
| business. One of the names to come out of this time | | | | scale was the scale of the American Flyer models, |
| period is K-Line. | | | | which Lionel eventually acquired. K-Line, also having |
| K-Line was originally a brand used by the MDK | | | | previous access to the American Flyer tracks, had the |
| Company in the 1975. MDK was a dealer for one of | | | | advantage of being able to produce not just the |
| the more established brands, Lionel. K-Line was their | | | | models but the tracks as well. Lionel failed to secure |
| brand for their tracks, which complemented the Lionel | | | | the rights to those tracks and suffered for it. |
| and American Flyer, another popular model maker, | | | | Although K-Line did enjoy success for some time, |
| locomotives. | | | | even pushing out of its normal affordable production |
| However, as this was a time of great rises and falls of | | | | into high end models (through its own O scale high end |
| companies, MDK was about to get a great opportunity. | | | | models, matching those from Lionel) this competition |
| With all the turmoil, one of the toy train-making | | | | would eventually end badly for them. In 2006, K-Line |
| companies, Louis Marx and Company, filed for | | | | was bought by Sanda Kan, a subcontractor for Lionel. |
| bankruptcy in 1978. With the company's fall, MDK | | | | All of the rights to make the K-Line products went to |
| swooped in and managed to recover a lot of the tools | | | | Lionel. Today, this is known as K-Line by Lionel. |
| and equipment the Marx Company used to make their | | | | Because of this buyout, many of the popular K-Line |
| models. Some were even scavenged from the broken | | | | products went out of production. Being their direct |
| down Marx Company factories. The K-Line was | | | | competitor, Lionel opted to discontinue many of the |
| immediately expanded to now produce their own | | | | K-Line models that had counterparts in their own |
| brand of trains and models. This included not just the | | | | model line. |
| locomotives but also the miniature accessories like | | | | But this may have only secured K-Lines place in |
| towns and tracks originally produced by the defunct | | | | history. Many who did encounter the K-Line models fell |
| company. | | | | in love with them. With them now out of production, |
| Even if the models produced by K-Line were almost | | | | their demand can only grow in the future. The S scale |
| direct copies of their Marx Company produced | | | | K-Lines are already seeing some of this interest. Since |
| predecessors, they were cheap enough to make | | | | the whole S scale line from the original K-Line was |
| K-Line a viable option for train collectors. This put them | | | | discontinued, many have begun to collect these S |
| in direct competition with their previous business | | | | scale models. Since many of the original K-Lines were |
| partners, Lionel. This competition was pushed even | | | | copies of Marx products, which are now also highly |
| further with the fact that K-Line had previous access | | | | collectible, they are also sought after for spare parts |
| to Lionel products and made their models compatible | | | | for the original Marx models. Their accessories and |
| with the Lionel brand models. This attracted even the | | | | model train cars have also earned a place in the |
| Lionel owners because they could buy cheaper | | | | hobbyist's imaginations, as some of their more |
| accessories for their trains and sets from K-Line. | | | | extravagant models are heavily sought after. With this |
| K-Line opened with their O27 scale models, copied | | | | nostalgic following, it's not hard to imagine a large |
| from the Marx line. These were engineered to work | | | | K-Line following in the future. |
| with Lionel scale tracks and trains. With its success, | | | | |