American Flyer

American Flyer was a popular brand of toy train and model railroad in the United States in the middle part of the 20th century. Although best remembered for the 'S' gauge trains of the 1950's that it made as a division of the A. C. Gilbert Company, American Flyer was initially an independent company whose origins date back nearly a half century earlier. Chicago, Illinois-based toymaker William Frederick Hafner developed a clockwork motor for toy cars in 1901 while working for a company called the Toy Auto Company.