standards that other manufacturers had been using since 1891. Whether this was an accidental misreading of Märklin's 2 gauge specifications or an intentional incompatibility is unclear, but Lionel marketed the non-standard track as "The Standard of the World," and soon adopted the name in catalogs as Standard Gauge and trademarked the name. When other U.S. companies began using Lionel's standard, they usually called it wide gauge. Starting in 1915, Lionel followed most of its U.S. competitors and adopted the smaller O gauge standard for its budget-level trains. By the end of World War I, Lionel was one of three major U.S. toy train manufacturers. Cowen convinced department stores to incorporate his toy trains in their Christmas displays, linking toy trains to the holiday, and making them popular Christmas presents. Lionel made its trains larger than its competitors', making them appear a better value. Competitors criticised the lack of realism of Lionel's trains - Cowen had been unwilling to invest in the equipment necessary for lithography, so its early offerings were simply painted in solid colors of enamel paint with brass detail parts. Lionel responded by targeting advertising at children, telling them its products were the most realistic toy trains. Additionally, Lionel criticised the durability of competitors' products in ads targeted at parents. By 1922, Lionel was competing mainly against American Flyer and Ives. Also in 1922, Boucher bought out VoltAmp and started making what was known as the "Rolls-Royce" of standard gauge trains. In 1925, American Flyer jumped into the standard gauge market; and by 1926, Dorfan started making their own standard gauge trains as well. William Walthers, a large seller of model railroads, asked Cowen in 1929 why Lionel painted its trains in bright and unrealistic colors. Cowen said that the majority of trains were purchased by mothers for their children, and the bright colors attracted women buyers.<ref>Hollander, Ron. "All Aboard!, 1981. Page 89.</ref> In 1929, Lionel opened a factory in Hillside, New Jersey where it produced trains until 1974. By the 1920s, Lionel had overcome Ives to become the market leader, selling metal trains with colourful paint schemes. Lionel's fierce ad campaigning took a toll on Ives, which filed bankruptcy in 1928. Lionel and American Flyer bought Ives and operated it jointly until 1930, when Lionel bought Flyer's share outright, causing Lionel to operate Ives as a subsidiary until 1932. The Great Depression badly hurt Lionel. In 1930,