Jouef
Jouef has been a model railway brand name since 2004 , which is now owned by the British company Hornby . Model railway vehicles and accessories in nominal size H0 based on French models are mainly sold under this trademark .
Jouef, founded in 1944, was an independent manufacturer of toy and model trains in Champagnole in the French Jura until 1972 . The own production was closed in 2001 by the then owner, the Italian Lima Group . With that, France lost its last large-scale manufacturer of model trains.
history
The company "Le Jouet Français" (German: The French toy ) was founded in 1944 by Georges Huard , who manufactured household items from plastic .
At the end of the 1940s, the first model railcar , a copy of the famous Transsahara train Algiers-Timbuktu made of sheet metal, the first models of which were powered by a rubber motor, in the nominal size H0 (scale 1:87). Around 1950 “Le Jouet Français” or “JF” for short became the “Jouef” brand.
From 1952 on, a full range of model railways made of sheet metal was offered. Electric trains were produced from 1955. The first locomotive, the BB 9003, was soon replaced by the BB 9004. Another novelty in 1955 was the Tenderlokomotive 020 №708, which sold over two million copies in 40 years of production came.
Jouef model railway starter set of the H0 gauge from 1955
Electric 6-volt passenger train with a BB 9003 locomotive and DEV-INOX car
BB 9003 electric 6-volt locomotive
Electric 6-volt locomotive BB 9003, open, with angled freewheel gear
In order to expand the product range , Jouef offered electric, track-bound car racing tracks from the late 1960s - one of the first car racing tracks with an overtaking function. The 1:40 or 1:43 scale vehicles ranged from Le Mans racing cars to luxury limousines to average family vehicles. In 1967 Jouef also took over the German company Egger-Bahn with its narrow-gauge models in 1:87.
After a change of ownership in 1972, the Jouef company was integrated into the Le Jouet Français group, which also included Delacoste (manufacturer of balloons and toys for small children), Solido (specialist in miniature vehicles) and Heller (plastic models). The production of the car racing tracks at Jouef was discontinued. The group filed for bankruptcy in 1980. In 1981 Jouef was integrated into the French toy manufacturer CEJI (Compagnie Générale du Jouet). This had to cease business operations in 1995. After further changes of ownership, the Lima Group took over the company and closed production in June 2001. The railway models then offered under the old name came from Italy.
In October 2004, the English model railway manufacturer Hornby bought Lima, thereby also taking over the trademark rights and molds from Jouef. Since 2006, model railway products have been available in stores under the name Jouef. The models were initially developed in England and Italy, and since 2009 in Spain. In addition to existing models in revised form, since the brand was restarted, newly developed Jouef models in 1:87 scale for the H0 gauge have been presented every year.
Sales of Jouef models are still concentrated in France. However, there are also occasional models for Luxembourg. Distribution in France is through Hornby France.
