By Donna Turner


In 1964, Robert Rands decided to take his love and passion for building model trains to the next level. He saw a business opportunity, and that was what got Rail Craft Products going, which was the original name of the company. While starting small and at first only offering a few different products, the demand of their customers continued to grow, and so they offered more and more different products, and the company was renamed Micro Engineering to be a better reflection of this.

The narrow gauge track that this company first offered was something that was specially designed by Bob Rands himself. He started to notice that HOn3 trains needed a different prototype of track both so that the trains could run better and so the track was a better representation of the actual track that it is modeled after. This company was the first one ever to manufacture this product, and this was also the first product that the company offered.

In the early days of Rail Craft Products, there were only a few products to choose from. However, their product range quickly grew and grew, starting off with the creation and manufacturing of the popular Code 55 rail. This led to many other sizes of tracks being offered, finally coming to the Flex-Trak, a very popular line, and eventually led to the company changing its name to represent a more diverse range of products.

It is clear that Bob passed his love of model trains on down to his children. Ron Rands, one of his sons, brought his own passion to the company in 1972. In 1981, Richard, another of Bob's sons, also decided to join, but he would later leave in 1997 to pursue other business ventures. Many of the products he developed can still be bought.

In order to create all of the amazing products that this company makes, plenty of specialized equipment is required. This can include everything from injection molding machines, various types of tooling, to CNC milling machines. That is why in order to be able to deliver all of these products and develop new ones, the company moved into a bigger building for their tool and die shop.

Companies that have been around for longer have the advantage of being able to know exactly what their customers want and knowing the best way to deliver quality products that are exactly what their customers want. Having been in business for over 50 years, this company has plenty of experience. With that experience, they bring the same enthusiasm that they've always had.

Many people are benefitting from the act of building, setting up, and designing these types of models. One of the big things that people notice when working on these small trains is that their fine motor skills are honed in on, which can lead to having better handwriting and less prone to knocking things over. There are also very few things that are quite as relaxing as taking the time to build up a beautiful scale model country landscape.

There is no end to the possibilities when someone is putting together their own model railroad. The businesses, foliage, bridges, and everything else that can be imagined that are available from this company can completely transform what all started out as raw materials and truly bring it all to life. It is so much fun to see how a railroad transforms as more pieces are added and customized.




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