1922-1932

1922Bingunveils anewsmallerscale oftrains called “half-o,” or more simply “HO,”scaled to 4mm and running on 16.5mmgauge track.

1930As an electrical engineer, Bill Walthers homeattic is not only a layout for his Ives andLionel standard gauge equipment, but hislaboratory. Here he develops and tests avariety of new electronic devices that includetwin-solenoid switch machines to controlturnouts, signals that use Christmas treelamps, and interlocking circuits that usetelephone-style relays and more.

1931

Bill Walthers runs a personal ad in the Aprilissue of The Modelmaker looking for otherMilwaukee-area modelers to exchange ideasand possibly form a model engineers club.(Were not certain, but this may be how Billmet Al Kalmbach, Linn Westcott and otherswho would later form the National ModelRailroad Association.)

1932Out of work because of the Depression, Bill Walthers turns his hobby into a businessand sets up shop in his home on PierceStreet in Milwaukee.

Walthers First ad for self-published andprinted Signal & Control Manual for MiniatureTrains (priced at $3.00) appears in May issueof The Modelmaker. Soon after, letters arriveasking for help in locating supplies,purchasing parts, or requesting additionalinformation about plans in the book. Billbegins supplying electrical supplies andhelpful answers, setting the cornerstone forthe future of the company.

1825-1921

1825ColonelJohnStevensbuilds asteamlocomotiveand a circleof track onhis estateat Hoboken, New Jersey. The first full-sizedrailroad in America, it may also be the firsthobby garden railway and live steam modelrailroad.

1830-31

The locomotive John Bull is constructed inEngland, taken apart and shipped to theowners of the Camden & Amboy Railroad inAmerica as a full-size kit!

1835Thomas Davenport creates a motor-drivenmodel train powered by electricity.

1869East meetswest atPromontorySummit,Utah, asCentralPacific andUnion Pacific rails are joined.

1880sEuropean toy makers develop a thrivingexport business, supplying colorful toy trainsto the growing American market.

1893ColumbianExposition inChicagofeaturesmany railroadexhibitsshowcasingfull-size and miniature railroad equipment.

May 10 — The Walthers family welcomes itsnewest member, William Kearny Walthers.

1898 Märklin introduces its first electric toy trains

1899Bill Walthers age 7 receives his first train forChristmas, the start of his life-long love oftrains of every shape and size. After days ofwinding the clockwork mechanism, hedevelops a blister on his thumb that becomesinfected and requires minor surgery. Promiseda better train, he’s good for the doctor.

1901Lionel ManufacturingCorporation is founded.

1904George Lee builds the first known modelrailroad in the United States, operated withMärklin clockwork equipment. Layout is rebuiltin 1906 for American-made models, andconverted to electrical power in 1907.

1907

American Flyer begins production.

1914WWI begins, cutting off US from Europeantoys.

1921IvesunveilsfirstStandardGaugetrains.

Railway & Locomotive Historical Society isfounded, one of the first railroad historicalgroups.

1932-1935

1932 continuedBill begins producing signals and track forstandard gauge (#1 gauge)

Walthers First mail-order catalog of suppliesis offered —cost is 3¢, or mailed overnight for15¢. First year’s sales addup to a very respectable$500!

1933Model Craftsmanmagazine (later RailroadModel Craftsman) isfounded, and Bill Walthersfirst article, Operating theModel Railroad, appearsin the June issue.

Walthers offers its first O Scale signals andtrack, and begins production of car kitsfollowing purchase of American Model Co.from Ed Alexander.

Century of Progress opens in Chicago andincludes major display of model electric trains.

1934Model Railroad Cub of Milwaukee is formed;Bill Walthers is a charter member.

Model Railroader debuts in January – Billcontributes a series of articles showing howto transform a holiday display train set into areal model railroad.

Walthers issues first O Scale catalog listingfreight car kits (bronze or aluminum castingsand wood parts; also available assembled)and passenger cars featuring stamped brasssides.

1935UnionPacific’sdaring newStreamlineris the talk ofthe town, asthe brilliantyellow trainbarnstormsacross America. Popular Sciencecommissions Bill Walthers to build a modeland write a how-to article — due in five days— he finishes on time!

1935-1941

1935 continuedFirstNMRAconventionis held inMilwaukeeover Labor Dayweekend with 75 in attendance, mostlyfrom the Midwest.

Walthers offers its first water-slide decals.

1936 Model Railroad Cub of Milwaukee movesto new quarters in a Milwaukee Roadstation, and begins construction of the OGauge Milwaukee Union Terminal layout.

Santa Feorders first streamlined carfor new Super Chief.

Walthers expands O Scale with firstNorth Shore interurban cars and IngersollRand boxcab diesel. Passenger carsnow have punched brass car sides,embossed rivets and cast bronze endsincluding new Hiawatha cars to matchthe Lionel Atlantic.

1937

Walthers operations outgrow the familyhome. Bill acquires first office andmanufacturing space in the Erie TerminalBuilding, which led to the name “TerminalHobby Shop.”

Walthers begins replacing rough castingswith machine-made lead die cast parts,which are more detailed and accurate.

First HO models released under theWalthers name, based on items formerlyoffered under Taylormade brand. Lineincludes Milwaukee F6 Hudson, AlcoHH600 diesel switcher (sand cast bronzebody); passenger cars with cardboardsides, wood sides, ends and floor; andfreight cars with all-wood bodies.

1938 A.C. GilbertpurchasesAmerican Flyerline andintroduces newHO Scalemodels.

Walthers produces its first HO track.

1939EMDunveils itsFT, thefirst roaddiesel builtespeciallyto movefreight.

Bill Walthers is contracted to supplygeneric O Gauge streamlined car andloco models for a special display layoutat the World’s Fair in New York.

Walthers begins in-houseprinting of decals.

Walthersintroduces its own

brand of “Crestline”passenger cars kits featuring

wood and pressboard sides, anddiecast trucks.

World War II begins in Europe inSeptember.

1940Bill introduces streamlined O Scalepassenger cars, based on toolingdeveloped for the World’s Fair layout.

Meredith Smith, NMRA EngineeringManager compiles and presents firstNMRA clearance standards, adaptedfrom actual dimensions used byAmerican Railway EngineeringAssociation, in the March NMRA Bulletin.

1941Model Industry Association (later HobbyIndustry Association (HIA), is formed.

Supplies of hobby materials includingtinplate, wire, motors and more arebecoming harder to find.

US enters WWII on December 7.

1958-19621958Decals to the rescue! After several badyears, Walthers sales rebound almostovernight as Athearn unveils undecorated HO kits. Demand for decals skyrockets, andthe company becomes profitable once more.

Walthers acquires its first official home at1245 North Water Street in downtownMilwaukee.

1959Newer and smaller N scale is unveiled –named for it’s 9mm gauge, the word “nine”begins with N in nearly every language.

1960 NMRA issues firstmetal standardsgauges for HOand O, hailed as“…the mostimportant NMRA

development in many years.”

1961NMRA introduces Achievement Program tobuild a wide range of modeling skills, andrecognize individual modelers as MasterModel Railroaders.

1962Arnoldbeginsmaking first commercial N Scale models.

1942-1957

1942Emergency materials restrictions banmanufacturer of all nonessential goods(including most hobby products) that requirecritical materials such as brass, copper, andchromium.

1943Too small to handlemajor war work,

Walthers keepsup morale onthe home front(and amongservicepersonnel inrear areas)supplying

wood andpaper kits,and selling

off itsremaining inventory of

pre-war products, leading to famous “bottomof the barrel” ad.

1945 Victory! As the only model railroad firm tokeep producing the few model supplies itcould during the war years, Walthers beginsgearing up for bigger and better things withnew O Scale models and some additionalHO items.

1946Bruce Walthers returnsfrom active duty withthe US Navy andbegins working full-timefor his dad.

Walthers introduces new lineof paper building materialsand a new cartoon mascotnamed “Willie.”

1949Gulf, Mobile & Ohio becomes first largerailroad to be 100% diesel powered.

Walthers Catalog becomes Walthers Catalogand Reference Manual for the first time.

1950Plastics, which have been increasing in usesince the 1930s for all kinds of products, gaina foothold as a new material for modelrailroad products.

Dozens of new firms enter the model railroadfield, creating more diversity with limited linesof specialized products.

1951/52Walthers introducesGoo® all-purposeadhesive for wood andmetal kits. TS-5 SwitchMachine is unveiled.

1952Walthers announced #7700 series of 60’short passenger cars with prepainted built-upbodies and plastic roof. Detail parts fromother suppliers including Silver Streak andCentral Valley are included with Walthers kitsfor the first time.

1954Decaling gets easier with introduction ofSolvaset.

Responding torequests frommodelers whodon’t have localhobby shops,and problemswithin theindustry as other distributors cut back or dropmodel railroad supplies, Bruce createsWalthers new mail order arm, TerminalHobby Shop.

1955-56NMRA horn-hook or X2F coupler is adoptedas a standard for HO models, especially trainsets.

1957NMRA introducesRecommended Practicesin January, designed topromote interchange ofequipment and specifymajor componentdetails to improvedesigns andfunctions.

T E R M I N A LH O B B Y S H O P

1962-1971

1962 Continued Walthers 30th anniversary brings majorchanges and introduces wholesale lines forthe first time including 15 Akane, Alexander,Binkley, Laconia, Cal-Scale, SemaphoreHobby Industries, Central Valley, Andersontrack, Permacraft, Floquil, Main Line Models,Kadee, Marnold, Silver Streak andNortheastern Scale Models.

BeeJay Building series, based on Walthersbuilding paper are unveiled with die cut innerframe to which the building paper is applied.

Walthers purchases the Marnold powersupply line.

1967HO catalog now lists 40 wholesale lines.Brass model of an ACF Center Flow coveredhopper announced (only brass car model everimported under the Walthers name).

1969

Walthers moves to bigger quarters on 64thStreet

1971

Waltherspurchases the

Ulrich line of freightcars and trucks; releases

the first of a series of Circuspassenger car kits based on converted WWIIArmy hospital cars.

1972-1986

1972Märklin introduces amazingly tiny andfully operational models in Z Scale, sonamed as it seemed unlikely anythingsmaller could ever be built, and Z is thelast letter of the alphabet.

Walthers rolls out its first plastic HO kit, a 50' mechanical reefer under the“Golden Spike Series”.

1973“Craft Train” kits(multi-media, non-plastic models)is introduced byBruce Walthers.

1976First Walthers N catalog ispublished.

1977

Walthers completes its move to itscurrent home at 5601 W. Florist Avenueon Milwaukee’s north side.

1978 Last Walthers wood and metal passengercar kits are produced.

1979Walthers acquires tooling for the SS Ltd.Line of cast metal details and structurekits.

Walthers establishes a partnership withMärklin; first step in becoming a majorimporter of European product for the nextdecade and beyond.

1981Walthers acquires HO-West line ofprinted paper backdrop scenes, whichare reintroduced as Instant Horizons™.

1982Waltherscelebrates its 50thanniversary.First Walthers-brand plasticfreight car isintroduced (40' compositegondola). Last year thatMarnold and full line of passenger carswill be listed in Catalog.

WalthersacquiresMagnusonModels,begins

production of superbly detailed structurekits in resin for the first time.

1983Walthers first in-house plastic modelsinclude Ponderosa Pines tree kits, plus a40' composite gondola and an FGEinsulated boxcar in HO Scale.

1984 Brucehands thethrottle toPhil.

WaltherspurchasespopularTrainMiniatureline andbeginsproducing HO Scale freight car kits.

Walthers first Amtrak passenger models,including Amfleet cars and E60CPelectric loco are produced in plastic afteracquiring the tooling from American GK.

1985 Walthers begins HO freight car of themonth releases featuring special 12-packdealer displays (this popular programwould run for the next 10 years).

Walthers introduces exclusive all-newCode 83 track system, custom-made byShinohara

1986Walthers produces first joint projects withRoco and Arnold in N Scale.

TM

1996-2003

1996

New locos and accessories are added toTrainline series including GE Dash 8-40Band depot kit.

1998Walthers introduces the Big Trains Catalogfeaturing G, O and S Scales.

1999

Passenger car line expands with new AmtrakSuperliner II cars.

2001Information services expand aswalthers.com goes online forthe very first time.

Cornerstone Built-ups join HOstructure line with new

trackside interlockingtower, speeder shed and

crossing shanty.

2002Walthers begins production of new plasticpassenger car line with HO Budd 10-6sleeper 46-seat coaches, 24-8 slumbercoaches, diners (our first cars designed fordrop in lighting kits) and a converted Amtrak1700 series baggage car.

2003

New Platinum Line™ of fully-assembled,superdetailed freight cars rolls out of theWalthers shops with new C&O, UP and GTWstyle cabooses in HO.

First year for new N Scale Cornerstone Built-ups.

1986-1995

1986 continuedFirst all-new Train Miniature car debuts atBoston NMRA convention, the Airslide® 2-BayCovered Hopper.

1987Walthers HO Catalog includes special sectionfor new G Scale models this year.

1988 Electrical engineer Bernd Lenz introduces thefirst Digital Command Control system, whichis used in Märklin and Arnold models.

1989Walthers rollsout its firstmajor theme,The GreatCircus Train inHO Scale,based on thecolorfulequipment atthe CircusWorld Museumin Baraboo asit appeared in1967.Completeseries includes

20 spectacular cars, wagons and a brassmodel of Grand Trunk Western #5629decorated for Schlitz/Old Milwaukee,corporate sponsors of the prototype train.

1991 Combiningindustries withfreight cars,Walthers newCornerstoneSeries®, includingInterstate Fuel & Oil, American Millwork,Water Street Freight Terminal, 2-stall EngineHouse, Overhead Crane and Electric UtilityPole kits make their debut in HO Catalog.

1992Walthers introduces its first new locomotivesince the 1930s with the Fairbanks-MorseH10-44 in HO Scale.

N Scale Cornerstone Series structure kits areintroduced.

LicensedNASCAR® racingsets come to Life-Like Racing™ line.

1993

HO Engine line expands with all-new SW-1switcher.

First industrial themes combiningCornerstone Series kits and Walthers freightcars are released based on petroleum andintermodal operations.

1994First Walthers designed and tooled N Scalefreight cars, Cryo-Trans 75' reefer and Thrall stand alone double stack car alongwith 40' containers, are introduced.

1995

Trainline® Train sets providing high-qualityand affordable prices for beginners areintroduced.

Amtrak line expands with new Horizon fleetmodels.

First major industrial theme, ”The Works,”debuts to make steel modeling easier thanever before. Series stars all-new Cornerstonestructures including Walthers biggest kit todate, the Blast Furnace, new mill cars, andour first hardcover book, The History, Making,and Modeling of Steel by Dean Freytag.

®

2003-2007

2003

Walthers begins its classic name trains serieswith all-new models of the legendary SantaFe Super Chief cars and a custom-run ofAthearn F7 locos.

2004First Walthers Pullman-Standard passengercars are introduced in HO Scale.

Modern Engine Servicing Facility themeintroduces powered, assembled 130'Turntable with programmable indexing.

2005Walthers acquires themodel train and toy assetsof Life-Like™.

Gold Line™ freight cars areintroduced by Waltherswith knuckle couplers andRP-25 metal wheels.

Walthers passenger carline grows with new HO Scale heavyweight cars.

2007Walthers celebrates 75th Anniversary with all-new models of MilwaukeeRoad Hiawatha in earlyorange and later yellow schemes, as well as several structures.

2008-2010

2008

Märklin names Walthers its exclusiveNorth American distributor.

First N Scale passenger car is added toWalthers line. A bright spot in the historyof Walthers HO passenger carproduction, revised Superliners areintroduced with real metal finish tosimulate stainless steel and all grab ironsfactory installed.

2009LGB appointsWalthers as itsexclusive NorthAmerican distributor.

Stacey WalthersNaffah becomesthe first memberof the fourthgeneration ofthe Walthersfamily to join thecompany startedby her great-grandfather.

First plated metal finish PROTO 2000engine, CB&Q E7 is introduced.

UP City Streamliners introduce newprototypically tinted windows in HOpassenger car line.

Walthers structure selection line expandswith new Lasercut wood kits.

2010

Walthers name train series rolls into anew decade with an all-new replica of thefamed Broadway Limited in HO.

Santa Fe Super Chief is revised andupgraded with plated metal finish andmatching late production F3 PROTO2000 diesels.

Cornerstone Series® structure lineexpands with laser-cut Boomtown USAand amazing Los Angeles UnionPassenger Terminal kits featuringcardstock construction.

NMRA celebrates 75th Anniversarywhere it all began, back in Milwaukee.