Hobby Ideas

Although Lima model trains are still popular amongst collectors, it seems that their heyday is long gone and the likes of Hornby and Bachmann dominate the model railroad market. But this was not always the case.

In the 1940’s, Lima began producing budget lines of products and quickly realised that they had hit upon a niche in the market that had not been fulfilling the requirements of the train hobbyist. The popularity of their products grew steadily and by the 1960’s, they were being acknowledged as the most successful supplier of model train equipment in Europe.

During the 1980’s Lima expanded their range to include higher quality and higher priced ranges. Unfortunately, possibly they had become stuck with the idea of the less detailed models, they had previously manufactured for so long, they failed to grasp the specification that the hobbyist now demanded. While their competitors were selling intriquately crafted replicas of the originals, Lima never seemed to quite match up to the same level of realism and innovation. In fact, their range unfortunately became known more for their ‘toy’ trains and this really was not good in a market of enthusiasts that was becoming more sophisticated and demanding in their requirements.

Desperately trying to stay afloat, Lima attempted several mergers which ultimately failed and in 2004 they admitted defeat and ceased trading.

Although they are no longer trading, at the height of their success, Lima was able to manufacture reasonably small quantities of each product, as costs were kept lower than their main competitors. This resulted in certain models becoming extremely rare and therefore much sought after by collectors. A rare model Lima can demand a price of $150.00, compared to the $50.00 usually asked for a locomotive.

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