Rivarossi

Rivarossi has been a model railway brand name since 2004 , which is now owned by the British company Hornby . Model railroad vehicles and accessories in nominal size H0, based mainly on American, German, Italian, Austrian, Dutch and Swiss models, are sold under this trademark .

history

The company was founded in Italy in 1945 by Alessandro Rossi . The part “Riva” in the brand name is the surname of a partner from the time it was founded, who only stayed with the company for a short time. Rivarossi produced railroad models for gauge 0, H0 and N. Among other things, the Western locomotive GENOA (e.g. as a locomotive for the "Western & Atlantic Rail Road") on a scale of 1:87 for the H0 gauge produced.

It also produced models of tram vehicles and track elements in nominal size H0 . The vehicles were models (railcars and sidecars) of the so-called 2-axle Edison type from Milan. The track elements with rails embedded in the pavement had a grid dimension of 20 cm × 20 cm , i.e. H. the curve radius was 10 cm. Straight and curved tracks as well as switches (right and left) and an intersection were offered, each with green plastic catenary masts and relatively thick contact wires. In Germany, the tram was also offered by TRIX .

In 1963 Rivarossi acquired shares in Pocher . In the mid-1970s, Rivarossi took over the Pocher company entirely.

In the 1990s, Rivarossi took over the Lima (1992), Jouef and Arnold (1997) brands . Rivarossi went bankrupt in 2003.

In 2004 Hornby Railways Plc. Parts of Rivarossi, specifically the brand names Arnold, Jouef, Rivarossi and Lima. Since 2006 model railway products have been available in stores under the names Arnold, Jouef, Rivarossi and Lima.

The models were initially developed in England and Italy, since 2009 in Spain and partly in Italy and Germany. In addition to existing models that are being launched on the market in revised form, completely new H0 gauge models have been developed every year since the brand was restarted.

The sales of models of the Rivarossi brand are concentrated in Italy, Germany, Austria and the USA. Models for distribution in the Netherlands and Eastern Europe are also manufactured.