Members of the public started approaching store owners about buying the trains instead, prompting Lionel to begin making toy trains for the general public. Cowen hoped to use the public's fascination with railroads and electricity to capture the public's attention and direct it to the goods for sale. Delivered in December 1900, it operated on a brass track and was powered by a battery and a motor Cowen originally intended to use in an electric fan. Lionel's first train, the Electric Express, was not intended for sale to consumers, but rather, as a storefront display. Initially, the company specialized in electrical novelties, such as fans and lighting devices. The company's devotees disagree over the date of incorporation, as the official paperwork gives a date of September 5, but the paperwork was not filed until September 22, more than two weeks later. The original Lionel Corporation was founded in 1900 by Joshua Lionel Cowen and Harry C. Today, Lionel, LLC owns all of the trademarks and most of the product rights associated with the Lionel Corporation there is, however, no direct connection between the two companies. Lionel remains the most enduring brand name associated with model trains in the United States, its products prized by collectors.

They published a television advertisement in the mid-1980s with a very well known and remembered jingle, 'Lionel Kiddy City, turn that frown upside down.' In 2006, Lionel's electric train, along with the Easy Bake Oven, became the first two electric toys inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame. During its peak years, in the 1950s, the company sold $25 million worth of trains per year. Lionel trains, produced from 1900 to 1969, drew admiration from model railroaders around the world for the solidity of their construction and the authenticity of their detail. Founded as an electrical novelties company, Lionel specialized in various products throughout its existence, but toy trains and model railroads were its main claim to fame. Lionel Corporation was an American toy manufacturer and retailer that was in business from 1900-1993.

Lionel fundimensions parts