Editing S scale (section)

==History==
S scale is one of the oldest model railroading scales. The earliest known 1:64 scale train was constructed from [[card stock]] in 1896.<ref name="ukhistory">[http://www.s-scale.org.uk/history.htm S Scale MRS Standards: History]</ref> The first working models appeared in England in the early 20th century.<ref name="ukhistory"/> Modeling in S scale increased in the 1930s and 1940s when CD Models marketed {{frac|3|16}}-inch model trains.

[[American Flyer]] was a manufacturer of standard gauge and O gauge "tinplate" trains, based in Chicago, Illinois. It never produced S scale trains as an independent company. Chicago Flyer was purchased by A.C. Gilbert Co. in the late 1930s. Gilbert began manufacturing S scale trains around 1939 that ran on three rail "O" gauge track. This was known as {{frac|3|16}}-inch O gauge. Gilbert stopped producing trains during WWII. When the war ended, Gilbert began producing true S scale S gauge trains in 1946 under the American Flyer mark.

The term "S scale" was adopted by the National Model Railroading Association ([[NMRA]]) in 1943 to represent that scale that was half of [[1 gauge]] which was built to 1:32 scale. A.C. Gilbert's improvements in 1:64 modeling and promotions of S gauge largely shaped the world of 1:64 modeling today.

As early as 1948, an industrially produced narrow-gauge railway on tracks with a model gauge of 16.5 mm was available from the French company ''Allard''. The vehicles in the scale of 1:60 to be assigned to today's ''Sm gauge'' ran with direct current on commercially available H0 gauge centre conductor tracks from the same manufacturer or from competitors, which also has a model gauge of 16.5 mm and centre conductor. The traction units, a steam locomotive and a rail bus (autorail), were also available with a clockwork drive.<ref>François Robein: 50 ans de trains miniatures H0 en France 1950 - 2000. LR Presse, chapter 4: Les productions françaises Antal, VB, PMP, Allard, TAB et les autres, page 80 ff.</ref>

S gauge entered what many consider its heyday in the 1950s (although there is more available in S scale today than was available during this period). However, during that period, [[Lionel Corporation|Lionel]] outsold American Flyer nearly two-to-one. American Flyer's parent company went out of business and the brand was sold to a holding company that also owned Lionel in 1967.

Lionel re-introduced S gauge trains and accessories under the American Flyer name in 1979. Another S manufacturer, American Models, entered the marketplace in 1981 and is now also one of the major S suppliers. S-Helper Service, another major S gauge manufacturer of locomotives, rolling stock, track and other products, began operations in 1989 and delivered their first S products in 1990. In 2013, S-Helper Service was sold to MTH Electric Trains. And while the S scale market has seen a number of brass model manufacturers, today the major brass model supplier in S scale and S gauge is River Raisin Models. Today's S gauge and S scale modelers have a greater selection and higher quality products, from a wide range of manufacturers, than at any time in the past. In addition to the basics of locomotives, rolling stock, and track, various manufacturers now offer S scale structures, detail parts, figures, other scenic items, bridges, and more.