When model-trains enthusiast Irvin Athearn founded Athearn Trains in 1946, his first model-train kits were in O scale. But within just a few years, Athearn had added a line of HO-scale trains to his company's catalog. In the 1950s, Athearn sold his O-scale products to another manufacturer, while his company became so well regarded for its HO trains that Lionel hired Athearn Trains to produce its first lines of HO locomotives and rolling...Continue Reading