Our History
It all started innocently enough.
In the mid-90's - the 1990's, not the 1890's - former U.S. Air Force pilot Mike Whitworth received quite an unusual holiday gift from his wife of three decades -- a compound mitre saw, typically a tool reserved for fairly serious carpenters.
Of course, at the time, Mike was certain she was also giving him a hint - a tiny bit of encouragement to undertake installing some crown molding in various rooms of their home.
After letting the saw collect its share of dust for almost two years, Mike began to use it to create dust - lots and lots of dust - as he started to make wooden toy trains for friends, family and neighbors. (But nary an inch of molding, much to one person's chagrin.)
However, by 1997, local retailers had started asking Mike to make trains professionally. And one man's hobby suddenly became one man's business…a hobby gone terribly wrong.
As the local demand increased, son Brian joined forces with his dad to help keep up. Before long, daughter Colleen was also brought on board full-time, and a family business now known as the Whittle Shortline Railroad was born.
In the spring of 1999, with the Whitworths' home now fully resembling a toy factory, the family - and their new family business - were at a crossroads. It was then they made the bold decision to move. Now all they had to figure out was the answer to one question: "Where?"
Ten minutes and 117 years away.
Only a few miles away from the family home, nestled between the Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe east-west mainlines, stood a nearly-abandoned, red brick building steeped in railway history - The Frisco Hotel.
The hotel was built in 1880 for the Frisco Railroad crews who were pushing tracks westward across Missouri. Once the tracks were down and the railroad was complete, the Frisco used the hotel as a layover for their crews until the 1920s, when it became a commercial hotel.
Once the Great Depression hit, the 30-room hotel in the tiny town of Valley Park could no longer make it, and the doors were closed. In the decades to come, those same doors reopened time and time again as the building became home to a number of bars, restaurants, social clubs, a brothel and even a barber shop.
In the summer of 1999, The Frisco Hotel's railroad roots, architectural character and colorfully-checkered past combined to make it the absolutely perfect site for the Whittle Shortline Railroad, a new toy company with a rapidly growing reputation for meticulous attention to detail and authenticity.
For the next six years, dozens of trains were handcrafted at the Frisco each day by all of the Whitworths, as well as a growing number of Whittle Shortline Railroad employees.
During this time, the Whitworth family also refurbished more and more of this amazing building, making The Frisco home to hundreds of birthday parties every year. Click here to learn more about having one of your own.
These days, the hotel is also home to The Whittle Shortline Railroad Store, where you'll find just about every Whittle toy train known to man, not to mention a couple of the biggest train tables your kids may ever play on.
At the store, you can also feast your eyes (and ears) on any of the 70+ trains which still go by just about every single day. They're hard to miss…and even harder to forget!
The Louisiana Purchase, 2005 edition.
These days, the bulk of our production has moved an hour or so to the north to yet another historical building. This one, formerly a glove factory building, happens to be located on the west shore of the Mississippi River in the quaint, but bustling town of Louisiana, Missouri.
In the spring of 2006, part of our Louisiana location also became our second retail outlet, the Whittle General Store, and there you will find our entire product line, as well as a collection of other top-notch, unique items for people of all ages…all produced locally.
Be sure to stop by next time you find yourself heading toward Mark Twain country. We'd love to see you.
