Athearn is an United States manufacturer of model railroad
equipment, produced and distributed by American hobby manufacturer Horizon Hobby, Inc. of
Champaign, Illinois, USA.
The company's history began in 1938, when its founder-to-be, Irv Athearn, started
an elaborate 'O' scale layout in his mother's house. After placing an ad selling the layout,
and receiving much response to it, Irv decided that selling model railroads would be a good living.
He sold train products out of his mother's house through most of the 1940's. After becoming a full-time
retailer in 1946, Irv opened a separate facility in Hawthorne, California in 1948. The first
products sold were metal HO and 'O' scale kits.
Early on, Irv recognized the importance of time and value to his customers. He
introduced “an entirely
new principle in HO car construction,” a reefer kit with a preassembled body and spot-welded underframe—a
precursor to the popular Ready To Roll line. Athearn continued to shake up the model train industry through
the years, consistently marketing their products as innovations in quality, workmanship and excellent value.
Irv’s ability to recognize new trends and change with the times allowed Athearn to strike with a flaming
iron. For instance, in 1956, he released the EMD F7 diesel utilizing the revolutionary “Hi-F” drive, and,
in 1973, he introduced the F45 and FP45, among the first model locomotives to include flywheels on the
motor shaft.
Beginning in 1958 through the early 1960's, Athearn licensed HO gauge trains that it made for
resale by Lionel, which resold them as their own. Custom manufactured items included
a Rectifier Electric and auto loader. Other Athearn made Lionel pieces appeared to be exactly like Athearn's own
trains except for the inclusion of a circled "L" logo being the differentiator.
In the 1970's Cox trains complete
line of HO products consisted almost entirely of Athearn produced items, including F-7A and B diesels, GP-35
diesels, SW-1500 diesels, U28-C diesels, PA-1 and Hustler locomotives. Rolling stock produced by Athearn
for Cox included the 40' box car, 50' plug door Box car, 40' reefer, 40' hopper, 40' cattle car
3-dome tank car, 62' tank car, single-dome tank car, 50' gondolas, cupola and bay window cabooses, 50' auto
box car and Athearn's streamline passenger cars. Cox also marketed several Athearn accessories as their own.
Athearn also supplied freight cars for Atlas to sell with its Roco
-made diesel locomotives in train sets in the late 1970's.
In 1980 Athearn released its version of the Fairbanks-Morse Trainmaster. The Athearn
Trainmaster was an early example of prototype-specific tooling being offered on ready-to-run plastic models.
Irv Athearn died in 1991. New owners took control in 1994, but continued to follow Athearn's
commitment to high-quality products at reasonable prices. Recent additions of the Genesis line of premium models,
the licensing of John Deere kits and tractors, the acquisition of Rail Power Products, Inc., the entry into
the N-scale market and the development of the Ready To Roll line have further enhanced the company’s reputation
amongst hobbyists.
Athearn was bought in 2004 by Horizon Hobby Inc. Athearn was then moved from its facility
in Compton to a new facility in Carson, California. Under Horizon, Athearn purchased Model Die Casting, launched
1:50-scale precision die-cast products, and created the 4-6-6-4 Challenger with sound as well as other exciting
new models. Athearn also produces the former Railpower Products models of Intermodal equipment in 1/87 scale.
Link to Athern web site.
