Williams Electric Trains

Jerry Williams founded Williams Electric Trains in 1971, under the premise of manufacturing select trains for collectors and operators. By 1981, their 10th Anniversary, the Columbia, Maryland company was producing engines and passenger equipment, as well as kit form passenger equipment.

The line expanded to include several lower -priced starter sets in O-gauge in 1983, and the company’s fortunes and offerings continued to expand during the rest of that decade. The fortunes of Williams at this time were closely linked to those of his top distributor at the time, Mike Wolf of Mike’s Train House, later to become MTH Electric Trains.

In late 1991, Williams, due to financial difficulties, offered deep discounts on his line of engines and cars. While a bonus for those who took advantage of the offer, it was a serious error on the part of Williams. Collectors who had purchased the Williams items at full price just months of even weeks before were angered, and subsequent preorders of Williams products were soft, as collectors waited to see what the “real” price will be after discounting. Williams lost much of its dealer base as well. It is now identified as Williams by Bachmann.