History
During the mid-1990s, former US Air Force pilot Mike Whitworth received a compound mitre saw as a gift from his wife, ostensibly for doing home improvement projects.
The saw sat unused for almost two years, when Whitworth got the inspiration to produce toy trains for friends and family. By 1997, word of his craftsmanship had reached local retailers, who in turn asked that he make the wooden trains on a professional basis.
In 1999 the production moved from the family home some miles to the historic building of the Frisco Hotel in Valley Park, a suburb of St. Louis. By 2005 most of the production was moved north to the city of Louisiana, Missouri.
In the recent wake of the recalls of many Chinese-made consumer goods (including toys), Whittle Shortline have seen a heightening of interest in their products.
Read more about this topic: Whittle Shortline
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