All about the community of model railroading and rail enthusiasm
November 19, 2025
By TIM BLACKWELL/Cowcatcher Magazine
Micro-Trains Line Co., Inc. announced today that it has been acquired by Atlas Model Railroad Co. The deal includes “substantially all assets” of Micro-Trains Line Co., the Talent, OR-based manufacturer renowned for its precision N- and Z-scale model trains and couplers.
The transaction marks a significant expansion of Atlas’ manufacturing and product development capabilities, the company said in a press release. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Under the agreement, Atlas will assume ownership of Micro-Trains’ molds, tooling and associated intellectual property, ensuring continued production of the brand’s hallmark products. Production will transition into Atlas’ global manufacturing and supply network, ensuring continued availability and consistent quality standards worldwide, the company said.
“Our family and team are proud of what Micro-Trains has meant to hobbyists everywhere,” Micro-Trains president Eric D. Smith said in a statement. “Atlas’ commitment to excellence and long-term investment in the model railroad community makes them the right partner to continue our story.”
Atlas said that Micro-Trains’ existing dealer and distributor relationships will continue uninterrupted and that “Micro-Trains by Atlas” production will resume in 2026 following a brief transition period.
Both companies emphasized that the integration will focus on preserving the authenticity of Micro-Trains’ designs while leveraging Atlas’ engineering, logistics and production capabilities to broaden innovation and future product offerings.
“Micro-Trains has built an extraordinary legacy of quality and craftsmanship,” Atlas executive chairman Jarrett Haedrich said. “We are honored to carry that heritage forward and ensure that modelers around the world continue to enjoy the realism and reliability that have defined Micro-Trains for decades.”
Smith thanked industry counterparts, “many of whom we have worked so closely with making this hobby a true enjoyment to be part of. And a very special thank you to the model railroad consumers; your interest and patronage of our model trains is much appreciated.”
He added that Micro-Trains will remain in Talent and continue to accept and process orders until the company’s finished model train single-car releases, multi-packs, trucks, couplers, tools and accessories are sold out. This includes December releases.
Shortly after its inception in 1972, the company – then known as Kadee – became the industry’s little darling with its prototypically correct and finely detailed precision models augmented by a game-changing coupling system. The company’s U.S.-made N-scale products soon became collectibles that created a loyal following.
Many customers ordered every release the company offered. Non-company websites cropped up to chronicle Micro-Trains’ product line, company history, every new announcement and what cars were worth.
The company became known for its patented couplers and magnetic uncoupling approach based on the HO Magne-Matic® coupler system pioneered by brothers Keith and Dale Edwards, who cofounded Kadee Quality Products in 1940. By the early 1960s, the brothers began to manufacture the coupler system in N scale, setting a standard in the scale and leading to the founding of Micro-Trains.
Gradually, the company added wheels, trucks and under frames to its product line, and expanded to cars and couplers in Nn3 and Z scale.
The introduction of Micro-Trains’ first freight car – a 40-foot boxcar – in November 1972 marked a milestone. According to N Scale Supply, the first roads were Grand Trunk Western, Rock Island, Union Pacific, Southern Pacific and an undecorated model. A subsequent release in December featured New Haven, Norfolk and Western, New York Central, Southern and Santa Fe.
“Our products, known for their exquisite craftsmanship and detail, quickly became the finest model railroad cars available,” the company says on its website.
The 1990s brought a new era for Micro-Trains, which spun off into Micro-Trains® Line Co. and continued to innovate and expand its product line.
Micro-Trains also offers limited Z- and HO-scale models. In recent years the company has offered weathered models in N and HO.
This story has been updated from its original version.
