Trix
| TRIX Modelleisenbahn GmbH & Co. KG
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| legal form | GmbH & Co. KG |
| Seat | Nuremberg |
| Branch | Toy industry |
| Website | www.trix.de |
TRIX is the brand under which the company Marklin their DC - Model Railroad track widths H0 and N sells. Until 1997, the company TRIX Modelleisenbahn GmbH & Co. KG , based in Nuremberg, was a manufacturer of toys, primarily model railways in 1:87, H0 ( TRIX Express , later also TRIX International ) and in 1: 160, N gauge ( Minitrix ). The former product range also includes metal construction kits ,Morse code machines , tape recorders , radio receivers and a slot car track .
Company history
The prehistory from 1838 to 1932
The pewter figure factory founded by Johann Haffner in 1838 and the metal toy factory founded by Andreas Förtner in 1899 can be regarded as predecessor companies. After Förtner's death in February 1922, the two companies were merged in April 1923 under the name “Vereinigte Spielwarenfabriken Andreas Förtner and J. Haffner's Nachhaben Aktiengesellschaft Nürnberg”, with Max Erlanger as managing director.
In October 1928 the company was converted into a GmbH and taken over by Stephan Bing, Herrmann Oppenheim and Siegfried Kahn. With them came other proven employees of Bing Werke AG and began to develop ideas and concepts for new toys.
The brand name TRIX appears in 1931 with the first TRIX metal construction kits . The experts are still arguing how the name TRIX came about. The rumor persists that the name of the favorite cigars of the development engineer Siegfried Kahn was decisive. A special three-hole system was developed for the metal construction kit, so it is much more likely that this system was the name giver (German: dreifach / Engl. / Latin: triplex / short form: trix).
Conception and development of the TRIX-Express-Bahn 1932 to 1935
In cooperation with the former Bing managing director Stephan Bing, Siegfried Kahn and other former employees of the Bing company , the TRIX Express model railway was developed from 1932 and production began in 1934.
The TRIX-Express -Bahn can be seen as a further development of the "table railway" produced by Bing from 1922; many details reveal the origin. The Bing table railway already had a track width of 16.0 mm and initially clockwork locomotives, later also electric locomotives and an electrically insulated center rail.
The TRIX-Express-Bahn took over the track geometry of the Bing table railway. However, the track received a Bakelite track and three insulated sheet metal rails, which made independent two-train operation possible. The cars were assembled from lithographed and punched sheet metal. For the first time, the locomotives were given heavy die-cast zinc housing (to improve traction) and remote-controlled travel direction switches.
The market launch of TRIX Express 1935 to 1941
In March 1935, TRIX Express was presented to the public in the Petershof exhibition center at the Leipzig spring fair , at that time still in the so-called 00 gauge . From the beginning, TRIX Express had the three-rail, three-conductor track on Bakelite body and thus enabled two-train operation on one track. The first TRIX Express locomotive 20/51 with solid disc wheels from 1935 is now a sought-after collector's item. The competitor Märklin was only able to present series models of its own 00-gauge railroad at the Leipzig autumn fair in 1935, although some hand samples of different models were already shown at the spring fair.
In this era, DC motors were not yet common in model railways; either clockwork drive or 14 to 20 volts alternating current were used. Initially, the light voltage of 220 V or 110 V was even fed directly - without a transformer - into the toy train and, with the help of lamp resistors (carbon filament light bulbs), was increased to the operating voltage of approx. 60 V reduced. For safety reasons, this was given up in 1927 due to a tightened VDE regulation. The TRIX Express locomotives were initially operated with 14 V alternating voltage, the power supply was provided by alternating current transformers or direct current converters. All-current motors were used in the locomotives, with which a change of direction is only possible with additional equipment. At TRIX Express, the direction of travel was switched by turning a shift drum with the full operating voltage of 14 V using a pawl and a shift wheel after a brief voltage drop. Märklin later switched the direction of travel with an overvoltage surge of 24 V.
The demand for the new TRIX model railway was unexpectedly high. Sales boomed until production was stopped due to the war in 1941. In just a few years, TRIX was able to develop numerous innovations for the 00 gauge:
- The TRIX Express model series was presented as a special milestone at the Leipzig Autumn Fair in 1937. These included, among other things, a replica of the Reichsbahn series 01, the first full-scale express train locomotive 20/57 with the real wheel arrangement 2 'C 1' (previously the locomotives were built with a reduced number of axles and shortened), long express train passenger cars with different window and roof designs as well as a two-part diesel railcar 20/58 with light changes that depend on the direction of travel. In the same year, the successful 1:90 manual of the TRIX railway company was published for the first time , written by Ernst Ganzer and published in 21 editions by 1969.
- In 1938, the large express train locomotive 20/59 received a remote-controlled uncoupling device (TRIX automatic coupling), which could be used to uncouple anywhere on the layout. At the same time, the remote-controlled uncoupling track 20/12 was presented.
- Automatic standard couplings followed on all locomotives and wagons in 1939. In the same year electrical signals and switches with train control were also brought onto the market.
- The last new development before the forced break due to the war was the tank locomotive 20/56 with the super automatic (remote controlled TRIX automatic decoupling at both ends ) and a special gearbox.
The Jewish owners Stephan Bing and Siegfried Kahn fell victim to Aryanization after the Nuremberg Laws were passed : In spring 1938 they were forced to sell their share in the TRIX plant and emigrated to England, where they played a key role in the expansion with the support of WJ Bassett-Lowke the English Trix model railroad, the Trix Twin Railways (TTR) were involved. Until the beginning of the Second World War there were trade relations between the German and the English company; important spare parts were exchanged, and the German TRIX factory delivered chassis for the two-axle locomotives to TTR (the chassis were marked as imported goods with the word “Foreign”). The German company was acquired by Ernst Voelk in 1938 and traded as TRIX Vereinigte Spielwarenfabriken Andreas Förtner and J.Haffner's Nachf. When Ernst Voelk took over the company, TRIX also owned the traditional manufacturer of tin toys Johann Distler from 1938 (until 1962) .
A wide range of accessories was also produced for TRIX-Express both by TRIX itself and by other companies. The buildings sold by TRIX included B. the train station "Trixstadt" as well as matching a covered platform, a goods shed and a locomotive shed. A year later, the large "Trixburg" station with a large platform hall was brought out. All buildings were made of wood and are in great demand with collectors today. It is assumed, however, that the wooden buildings were not produced by TRIX itself, but by suppliers. So far it is not known who the supplier was. In the meantime, perfect replicas of these sought-after wooden buildings are appearing on collectors' fairs or online auctions.
In addition, there was a close cooperation with the company Kibri , which also had its sheet metal buildings (stations, platforms, bridges, signal boxes) marketed by TRIX with small changes in color and design. The delivery program included the well-known and sought-after bridge signal box with attached signals.
From 1940/41 the toy industry in Germany gradually came to a standstill due to the war. There was also a TRIX catalog 1939/40 and a TRIX Express service from October 1940. Before Christmas 1940 the aforementioned tank locomotive 20/56 was brought onto the market. A last delivery announcement from February 1941 is known, in which an already reduced TRIX Express program is offered to dealers, but further restrictions have also been announced. To what extent and for how long it was actually possible to deliver is no longer known today. At least the tank locomotive 20/56 was still built in certain numbers in the 1940/41 version.
The TRIX production facilities now also had to convert to the manufacture of armaments, in particular precision mechanical and thermoelectric devices (e.g. Morse code machines , field telephones ). Due to the growing danger of Allied air raids on Nuremberg, which was not only a preferred strategic goal as an important industrial location and railway junction, but also a goal of great symbolic importance as the site of the Nuremberg Nazi Party rallies and race laws, production was relocated to the rural area at the beginning of 1943 Nurembergs, according to Spalt . In the course of this measure, some of the toy articles that had already been completed (TRIX Express trains, metal construction kits and accessories) were also stored there. The production facilities in Nuremberg, Kobergerstrasse 15, received several hits from high explosive and phosphorus bombs in the spring of 1945. The hand samples stored in the safes, including all construction plans and drawings, also burned up. The damage to the buildings, which could no longer be used after the end of the war, was just as serious.
New beginning in 1948 and second heyday in the 1950s
It was not until 1948 that the production of toys from railways and metal construction kits was possible again. As a result of the currency reform carried out in 1948 , the demand for toys at Christmas 1948 was unexpectedly high. Fortunately, TRIX was now able to fall back on the undestroyed inventory that was outsourced to Spalt. With the sales and profits from this Christmas business, an important foundation stone was laid for the rebuilding of toy production in Nuremberg. In the spring of 1949, toy production at TRIX started up again on a larger scale. By the end of 1949, with the exception of a few models, the entire pre-war range (the alternating current system) was available again. There was still no time to develop new TRIX products.
The company names in the post-war period were:
- 1950: TRIX United Spielwarenfabriken GmbH , Nuremberg
- 1955: TRIX United Toy Factory Ernst Voelk KG , Nuremberg
- 1971 (sale to GAMA ): TRIX-Mangold GmbH & Co KG
- 1993 (merger with Schuco ): TRIX-Schuco GmbH & Co
- January 1, 1997 (sale to Märklin GmbH ): TRIX Modelleisenbahn GmbH and Co KG
At the first German toy fair of the post-war period, in March 1950 in Nuremberg , TRIX was able to present three very detailed new developments with the super model freight cars: tank cars with different decorations, the long box car “Bromberg” and the long stake car “Cologne”. The following year, 1951, the E 94 electric locomotive was an absolute top product. In addition to the super-automatic system (remote controllable couplings at both ends) , TRIX had installed functional pantographs for the overhead line - now even three-train operation on one track was possible, and TRIX was once again ahead of the field in terms of technology. This top product was not sold in a cardboard box, as usual, but in a red wooden box lined with gray velvet ("jewelry box"). The E 94 007 remained in the TRIX range for many years. During this time around 1952, the track designation changed from 00 to H0 (half-zero).
After the war, TRIX produced in West Germany and primarily supplied the market there and in the neighboring western countries. After the division of Germany and the introduction of separate currencies, the TRIX friends in East Germany could still be supplied with material to a limited extent for a while, i. d. Usually by sending gifts from relatives. In addition to a few smaller manufacturers, the Sonneberg company Pico (later Piko ), whose product 'Pico Express' was initially based on the TRIX Express, but soon developed independently, entered this niche in the GDR .
Little is known about a small post-war production in Czechoslovakia that cannot hide a close relationship to the TRIX Express. Before the war, there were a number of companies in Gablonz which, in addition to jewelery and fine work products, also supplied cast parts for the TRIX Express. After the war, the tools and molds stayed there. On this basis, the Gewis company produced simple model railways in the early 1950s that used the bogies and drive elements of the TRIX Express railcar 20/58. However, the housing has been redesigned from colored plastic in a very futuristic way. TRIX itself had further developed the named components after the war, the components from Gewis corresponded to the pre-war versions.
Like many other manufacturers (with the exception of Märklin), the company had been producing model trains with DC motors since 1953 .
The direct current version of the E 94 also appeared in 1953, as the flagship of the new TRIX Express direct current program. It was initially driven by the conversion permanent motor, so named because the excitation winding of the alternating current motor was replaced by a permanent magnet and the motor was made suitable (converted) for direct current operation. In 1957, the converted Permamotor on the E 94 was replaced by the standard Permamotor, which remained the standard drive for almost all TRIX locomotives for many years.
In the 1950s , the cars continued to be made from lithographed sheet metal. In 1954, a series of shortened sheet-metal express train wagons were presented, which were based on the then newly introduced 26.4 m wagons of the Deutsche Bundesbahn - but also had features of the skirted wagons of the former Deutsche Reichsbahn. The typical bellows transitions and bulges of the pre-war cars were reproduced here, but at the same time the rounded window corners of the post-war cars.
A series of heavy two-axle wagons made of die-cast zinc followed for freight cars.
A special novelty from 1954 was the large conveyor bridge, which was developed by the English partner company TTR and sold on the German market together with a self-unloading wagon. In addition, the English Welttrol low-loader was offered in Germany with several load variants (boiler, cable drum and transformer).
The long-cherished wish of the TRIX friends for a turntable was never fulfilled by the manufacturer. This was justified by the fact that the polarity of the outer rails is reversed when the turntable is rotated 180 degrees. This would mean that the TRIX-specific system advantage of two or three-pass operation would be lost. However, this argument did not prevent many TRIX friends from converting HO turntables from other manufacturers for TRIX Express themselves.
In the mid and late 1950s, other well-known models of Deutsche Bundesbahn locomotives with the new Permamotor followed. E.g. the express train electric locomotive E 10, the express train diesel locomotive V 200, the express train steam locomotive series 01 and the heavy goods train electric locomotive E 50, which as a new flagship was even equipped with two motors and in connection with the heavy cast housing had an outstanding pulling power. There was also the BLS Ae 4/4 locomotive, a beautiful model from a Swiss railway company.
Need for action in the 1960s
The TRIX Express program was initially expanded further with other typical Deutsche Bundesbahn locomotives in the conventional TRIX design with cast housing and Perma motor (including BR 18.6, BR 42, V 100, E 10.1, E 410). However, TRIX soon had to react to the increased expectations of buyers with regard to the detailing and color design of the models. The new possibilities of plastics processing offered corresponding scope for design. TRIX used cooperations with Willy Ade ( Röwa ) and Rivarossi for this (see cooperation with other model railway manufacturers ).
At the same time, TRIX had to react to the increasing market share of the two-wire direct current model railways and the newly introduced N-gauge. In 1964, TRIX added both the TRIX International program and the Minitrix program to its range. This tied up capacities that the TRIX Express program lacked. The number of new products decreased and reached a low point by the early 1970s. During this period there were also several changes of ownership and changes in the entrepreneurial and technical management of the company. In 1972 older locomotive models were brought out in special colors (green 01, gray 01, gray S 3/6).
Only a few new models have been offered for the TRIX Express program since the 1970s. It was even gradually reduced as the market share continued to decline. Since the late 1960s at the latest, it can be assumed that newcomers hardly opted for the TRIX Express program, but rather for the internationally standardized two-wire direct current system, which enabled vehicles from different manufacturers to be freely exchanged. TRIX tried to regain market share with its international program, but in the meantime had a further competitor in the form of the manufacturer Roco , who pushed their way onto the German market with inexpensive models.
The end as an independent company in 1997
After more than six decades of independence, the TRIX company ran into economic difficulties in the 1990s and was completely taken over in 1997 by the Göppingen competitor Märklin , but continued as an independent brand. Since then there has been increasing overlap between the model ranges from TRIX and Märklin in size H0; New model developments differ only in the respective power systems (alternating current at Märklin, direct current at TRIX International).
The causes for the economic crisis of the model railway manufacturers can be seen in a serious change in the market. To date, the companies have not been able to develop any long-term sustainable concepts for this.
The Märklin company, which also had to struggle with falling sales, showed little interest in continuing the TRIX Express program after the takeover and largely discontinued this traditional system. Initially, no more innovations were presented for this, and now no more tracks and vehicles are produced for TRIX Express.
TRIX was also affected by the bankruptcy of the Märklin company in 2009 and the takeover by Simba-Dickie owner Michael Sieber.
The former company premises in Kreulstrasse in Nuremberg was demolished at the end of 2019 and apartments are being built on.
Self-help of the TRIX Express collectors
After the annual number of new items for the TRIX Express system had already declined noticeably from the 1970s, the TRIX Express range was even completely discontinued after the takeover by Märklin in 1997. In particular, the spare parts supply was no longer guaranteed by the manufacturer.
The traditional TRIX Express system was still widespread. Many collectors and model train owners wanted to stick to this system, expand their vehicle collections, expand their systems and procure the necessary spare parts. For this purpose, regional TRIX Express round tables and an interest group were set up in Germany. There are further associations of TRIX-Express friends in Great Britain ( TTRCA ) and in the Netherlands ( TEC ). There are still numerous TRIX Express friends in Switzerland too.
The TRIX Express friends organize regular meetings in the Aachen area, in the Nuremberg-Erlangen-Fürth area, in the Weinheim area, in Koblenz, in the Backnang area (Rems-Murr district), in the Münster / Osnabrück area, in Delmenhorst, in Schwerte and in Berlin. Locomotives, wagons, accessories and spare parts are exchanged and contacts are made at the meetings. Converted vehicles are also presented there and people help each other with the repair of TRIX vehicles or with the conversion of vehicles from other manufacturers.
Self-help is becoming increasingly important, particularly when it comes to maintaining and repairing vehicles. There are corresponding instructions on the Internet pages or in the forums of the TRIX Express friends. For many years, two committed TRIX Express friends have been producing the most important spare parts on their own initiative and offering them at meetings or by mail. It is currently possible to get spare parts for the classic TRIX-Express models built from 1935 onwards.
Some TRIX Express collectors concentrate on certain characteristic product ranges, such as B. the AC models from the prewar years or the time of the first DC models from the 1950s. Both epochs are characterized by heavy cast locomotives and wagons made of lithographed sheet metal, which embody the charm of the old model railways and are therefore increasingly gaining popularity again. So the Berlin TRIX Express friends have concentrated on the old alternating current technology from the period from 1935 to 1955 and present these old model railways to the public several times a year at regulars' tables. In cooperation with the German Museum of Technology in Berlin , a large anniversary exhibition was held in March 2010 to mark the 75th anniversary of the presentation of the system at the Leipzig Spring Fair in 1935. Since October 2012, the Berlin friends of TRIX Express have organized a large historical model railway exhibition every year in cooperation with the Gustav Heinemann School in Berlin-Marienfelde . The 80th birthday of TRIX Express was in Berlin on 24./25. October 2015 with an old trade fair presentation and over thirty model railways, also from other manufacturers, presented historically.
Product range / overview
TRIX metal construction kit
The TRIX metal construction kit established the company's success in the early years. For several decades, the modular system was, in addition to the model railways, economically the second pillar for the company. Due to constantly falling sales figures, production was stopped at the turn of the year 1997/98.
TRIX Express battery railway
→ Main article: TRIX Express battery railway
The TRIX-Express battery railway was produced in addition to the existing TRIX-Express model railway program from 1953 to 1960 inclusive in the nominal size H0. It aimed to expand the customer base with children and young people in order to introduce them to the model railroad hobby at an early stage. Today, the simply designed and limited edition battery trams have become rare and thus sought-after parts for many collectors.
TRIX Express
Track system - special features and types
TRIX Express as a three- rail system with a continuous central conductor enabled the simultaneous, independent operation of two trains on the model railway layout , and even three trains when using an overhead contact line (three-train operation), since the two outer rails, in contrast to the Märklin system, are electrically isolated from each other . That was the main advantage over the other model railway systems, in which only a single train could be controlled without overhead lines and installation of technical aids. The advantage of playful possibilities was offset by the disadvantage of the lack of model fidelity, which was in increasing demand from model railroad fans from the 1960s onwards. The clearly visible center conductor bothered many customers.
At TRIX Express, power was drawn using spring-mounted sliders, both from the middle rail and initially from an outer rail. Late models took power from the outer rail through the wheel.
Another special feature of the TRIX Express system are the wide flanges , which require a particularly large distance between the control arms at the points. Like the other H0 systems, TRIX Express uses the track width of 16.5 mm, but the inside dimension of the wheel flange is only 11.8 mm due to the large wheel flanges. For this reason, TRIX Express vehicles cannot drive over points of the other H0 systems without conversions, whose vehicles have much narrower wheel flanges. On the other hand, vehicles from other manufacturers have problems on TRIX Express turnouts because the vehicles are not correctly guided by the wheel guides in the turnout. With Märklin vehicles, the two wheel disks on an axle are not electrically separated from each other, which hinders the independent multi-train operation. In both cases, the only thing that helps is replacing the wheel sets.
In the course of seventy years of development of TRIX Express, the tracks have also been adapted to the current state of technology and the availability of materials. In order to be able to connect the different types of construction, so-called transition tracks were used, half of which corresponded to the old system and half to the new system.
- Bakelite tracks : offered from the beginning of 1935 to 1955. The ballast bed of the tracks was reproduced using Bakelite . The rails were made of tinplate hollow profiles.
- Cardboard tracks : This track system was brought onto the market in 1953 with the first direct current models. The sleepers were made of pressed cardboard, the rails continued to be made of a tinplate hollow profile.
- Full- profile tracks: From 1964, the rails reproduced the profile of a railway track true to the model for the first time, using corrosion-resistant nickel silver . The sleepers were made of plastic.
- International tracks : These tracks were offered from 1964 and were a modification of the full profile track for the two-rail system. The sleepers were also made of plastic. The center conductor was dispensed with, the points were given the narrow wheel guide distance. Accordingly, the flanges of the wheel sets were also made smaller.
TRIX Express International
TRIX Express International was first offered in 1964 as a two-wire system without a middle wire . This system complied with the usual international standards. Initially, the power was drawn using a rail grinder, and then later using slide springs on the inside of the wheel.
Most vehicles were now offered for both systems, TRIX Express and TRIX Express International. Later the two-rail two-rail system was offered under the name TRIX International and finally as TRIX H0.
Minitrix
Forerunners of the Minitrix system were initially produced without a drive as pure standing models or sliding models without their own rails on a scale of 1: 180 ("sliding trix"). At the beginning of 1964, the first electrically operated series models appeared on a scale of 1: 160, i.e. N gauge. The name Minitrix was often used as a synonym for N gauge model railways.
The Minitrix products are still manufactured today and are also very popular internationally.
digitalization
- ems , the " E lectronic M ehrzug- S inflation " was introduced 1,973th This made it possible to control twice the number of trains on a route at the same time independently of one another, i.e. four with TRIX Express, and even six with overhead lines. The ems consists of a controller and a decoder per circuit. The controller draws its current from the 14 V alternating current output of a transformer (this voltage is otherwise used for switches, lighting, etc.) and conducts alternating voltage with a frequency of approx. 9 kHz ( audio frequency ) into the track. This alternating voltage is superimposed with the direct voltage from the normal speed controller, but is not processed by the locomotive motors, i.e. H. the classic locomotives only react to the mean value of the voltage, ignoring the superimposed alternating voltage. The train lighting is different: it gets brighter and darker, depending on the position of the ems controller, and so instead of a separate train, ems can also be used to implement largely speed-independent train lighting. An ems decoder is built into the locomotive, which is to be controlled by the ems controller, which converts the 9 kHz AC voltage into DC voltage for the motor, with polarity reversal for changing the direction of travel. Except for the slightly lower top speed of the ems locomotive, the "normal" and the ems locomotive react identically and independently on the same circuit.
- The digital age of model railways began with Selectrix in 1983 . The multi-pull control developed by TRIX with modern microprocessor electronics can also be used universally for other two-wire branded products. With the spread of digital controls, multi-train operation was now also possible with other providers. This lost the market advantage of the TRIX Express system.
- In 2005 Selectrix was replaced by TRIX Systems . This new digital system is based on the widespread, manufacturer-independent DCC standard , but remains compatible with Selectrix. With Digirail, Rautenhaus, Peter strengz and MÜT there are still suppliers of Selectrix components.
Other products
At the beginning of the 1950s, TRIX tried to open up new markets with small tape recorders ( PhonoTrix ). The battery-powered, handy tape recorder was equipped with a separate loudspeaker and was driven by the so-called Distler motor , an energy-saving, double-ball-bearing, bell- armature electric motor. In Germany the device was probably not very successful because of its relatively high price (150 DM).
Other products that were sold under the name TRIX in the 1950s and 1960s were:
- a razor with a Distler motor,
- a plastic model of the BMW 2000 CS Coupe with built-in transistor radio, the Trix Radio-Car
- a 1:43 scale slot car track produced by the Lincoln company in various designs (2-lane, 4-lane).
Before the war, two ship models made of sheet metal, a racing boat and a passenger steamer were offered in addition to various Morse code devices ( radio troop A, B, and C device ). Both were based on the same hull and could be driven with the TRIX electric motor from the metal construction kit. There was also a chemistry kit (Chemie-Trix) and a physics kit (Experi-Trix). For the very young Trix friends, a small additional box was offered to the metal construction kit for playing in the sandpit (Trix Motosand).
Cooperation with other model railway manufacturers
Cooperation with Rüco
The Rückert company from Coburg built filigree accessories for model railways such as lamps, signals and overhead lines in the 1950s. These signals and lamps were offered in the TRIX catalogs from 1951 to 1958. However, they were significantly more expensive than the older, rather robust TRIX accessories and were therefore not sold in the expected number. Today these pieces are very popular with collectors.
Cooperation with Willy Ade
The cooperation between TRIX and the well-known model railway designer Willy Ade between 1959 and 1968 represents a special chapter. The reason was the rapid emergence of the new plastic technology, which had already found its way into the competition on a larger scale. It made it possible to manufacture vehicle bodies much more filigree, but still cheaper than before. TRIX with its models in classic sheet metal and cast construction had fallen behind, there was an urgent need for action. Since there had been contacts with Willy Ade before, this cooperation was an obvious choice. For a few years he had produced and marketed detailed plastic building kits under the brand name WIAD . This company was sold after two partners died unexpectedly.
In 1959 Willy Ade founded Röwa together with another partner and produced plastic parts for companies such as Kibri , Herpa , Noch and the concrete industry, but also for TRIX. The first joint project was the plastic housing for the four-axle ore car in 1959. Other well-known models that were created during this collaboration include, in addition to the express train passenger cars in plastic construction with a length of 1: 110, the Adler , the VT 08 of the DB or, based on the Dutch model, the electric local rail car ELD of the Nederlandse Spoorwegen .
Collaboration with the “super model series” reached its peak between 1967 and 1968. During this time, very detailed, filigree freight car models and the T3 steam locomotive were developed. Ades further plans provided for the production of TRIX-Express to be phased out in the long term and mainly to offer models for the two-wire direct current system. But that was not to come because the cooperation between TRIX and Willy Ade ended after internal disagreements in 1968. From autumn 1968 Willy Ade marketed his H0 gauge models under the brand name Röwa . The super model series disappeared from the TRIX catalogs.
A further project was realized by Willy Ade a little later with the construction of full-length express train passenger cars of the 26.4 m series, which again set new standards and have now been marketed under the brand name Ade .
Collaboration with Rivarossi
In the early 1960s , TRIX cooperated with the Italian manufacturer Rivarossi . Rivarossi already had many models in its range in a detailed plastic version and had experience in fine printing of vehicle numbers, labels and advertising images. At that time, TRIX was still working with raised lettering for locomotives and wagons, which were set off in color using a dabbing technique.
During this time, TRIX offered various Rivarossi models based on Italian and US models in variants for TRIX Express. In return, selected TRIX Express models in the two-rail, two-wire variant were sold by Rivarossi. These included u. a. the class 42 steam locomotive and the class V 36 diesel locomotive.
The collaboration ended when TRIX launched its Trix International product line for the international two-wire system in 1964 .
Cooperation with Fleischmann
When TRIX announced the discontinuation of TRIX Express in the 1990s, the company was left without a suitable two-rail track. Therefore, from 1995, the professional track from Fleischmann was taken over as a cooperation product . At the same time, TRIX offered corresponding starter sets with this track system, but with its own vehicle material.
However, this collaboration was only a very brief interlude; it ended with the takeover by Märklin in 1997.
TRIX in the export market
Even at the beginning of the 1930s, the TRIX products were a great success abroad. Both the metal construction kit and the model railway were very popular in European countries, especially in Great Britain.
England
Under the name TTR (Trix Twin Railway), the TRIX Express model railway was also available in England from the end of 1935. First, locomotives made in Germany were repainted in England. Since 1936 the locomotive bogies, which were still supplied from Germany, have been equipped with housings in the English style. A TRIX subsidiary in England had existed since the early 1930s and was initially responsible for selling the metal construction kit. The English model range was further expanded after the German company founder Stephan Bing was driven out of Germany by the Nazis in 1938.
At the end of the 1950s, the production of plastic models began; the three-wire system was able to last there until 1967, when the international two-wire system was switched to. The company then changed hands several times and at times also operated as Trix Trains and British Trix . TTR's legacy came to Liliput's UK subsidiary in the 1970s .
Even today, TRIX model trains have a large group of British collectors. This is not limited to the British Isles, but extends as far as Australia and New Zealand. Similar to Germany, the UK also organizes specialized model railway exchanges where only TRIX products are offered.
United States
Before the Second World War, the TRIX Express and Trix Twin model railways were imported to New York by the well-known toy retailer FAO Schwarz and advertised in their own catalogs. Special models were also offered for the American market. This includes B. an Americanized version of the TRIX Express Pacific express train locomotive 20/57 without smoke deflectors, with black wheels and a white decorative line, which is very rare today and achieves very high prices at auctions.
In the USA, Minitrix in particular was and is still a great success, with a wide range of American models available.
France
In France in 1938 a TRIX train, which is also very rare today, was built by a partner company. On the drive frame of the German B locomotive, a brown painted 2 'B locomotive was built based on the model of the French Nord locomotive. There were also green four-axle express train passenger cars with a cast housing on the chassis of the TTR express train passenger cars. The same manufacturer produced the French-style Clairbourg station for these vehicles, which is also very rare.
Netherlands and Switzerland
After the war there was a dark blue color version of the small TRIX electric locomotive 20/55 for the Dutch market. For a number of years in Switzerland, customers of the Coop stores had collective brands that could be exchanged for a TRIX Express train set when they reached a certain number of points. For this purpose, a green direct current version of the TRIX E-Lok 20/55 was initially produced, a little later there were two plastic housing variants for Swiss E-Locomotives on the chassis of the TRIX V 36 for the Coop packs.
literature
- Peter Berg: Trix Express - The Pre-War Period 1935–1940. (= Table railways. Volume 2). 2005, ISBN 3-933899-25-7 .
- J. Franzke (ed.), Hans Zschaler (texts): TRIX - United toy factories. Part 1: From the beginning to the sixties. (= Schuco, Bing & Co. Volume 4). Nuremberg 2000, ISBN 3-921590-67-1 .
- Tony Matthewman: The history of TRIX - H0 / 00 model railways in Britain. 1994, ISBN 0-904568-76-8 .
- Editing of the Trix list (ed.): Mikado 1988/89 - Trix Express / International . Handbook for model railroad collectors, 1988.
- Hans-Peter Otto: Electric miniature railways - Otto's illustrated primer, 16.5 mm gauge . Otto's Fibel-Verlag (self-published), Berlin 1982, DNB 830151133 .
- Carlernst Baecker, Dieter Haas, Christian Väterlein (eds.): Ernst Paul Lehmann, Ullmann & Engelmann, TRIX Vereinigte Spielwarenfabriken GmbH. (= The other Nuremberg residents . Volume 6). Frankfurt am Main 1981, ISBN 3-86549-130-9 , pp. 2621-2780.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ www.trixstadt.de: The founding of the United Toy Factory Nuremberg , accessed on March 19, 2015.
- ↑ www.trixstadt.de: Presentation of the TRIX Express model railway at the Leipzig spring fair in 1935 , accessed on August 6, 2012.
- ↑ www.trixstadt.de: The new TRIX Express model series 1937 , accessed on August 4, 2012.
- ↑ www.trixstadt.de: 1938 - New Items and Forced Sales , accessed on August 4, 2012.
- ↑ Märklin files for insolvency ( Memento from June 2, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 21 kB)
- ↑ TRIX Express and TRIX catalogs from 1972 - 2017
- ↑ www.trixstadt.de: Link list of the TRIX Express groups , accessed on April 22, 2017
- ↑ www.trixstadt.de: Calendar of the current TRIX-Express meetings and archive of past events , accessed on April 22, 2017
- ↑ www.trixstadt.de: Spare parts and tools for TRIX Express , accessed on April 22, 2017
- ↑ www.trixstadt.de: Program of the historical model railway exhibition in October 2015 , accessed on April 22, 2017
- ^ Gebr. Märklin & Cie GmbH: Trix - About Trix. November 21, 2018, accessed November 27, 2018 .
- ↑ EMS introduction. Retrieved January 20, 2020 .
Web links
- Interest group of TRIX Express collectors
- TRIX sub-forum in the forum old model railways
- Homepage of the TRIX Express Euregio Stammtisch from Aachen
- Homepage of the TRIX Express Friends Berlin with information on old AC technology, a large list of links and an extensive calendar
- Homepage of TRIX Stammtisch N ürnberg He long feet rth
- TRIX Express database, conversions to TRIX Express, signal images, by Klaus - Dieter Frohn
- Illustrated list of TRIX Express models and remodeling instructions Fleischmann turntable 6652 for TRIX Express