| Industry | Hobbies |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1945 |
| Headquarters | United Kingdom |
| Products | Model Railways |
| Parent | Hornby plc |
| Website | https://uk.rivarossi.com |
Rivarossi is an Italian manufacturer of model railways. In 2004 it was acquired by Hornby Railways.
Rivarossi was founded in 1945 by Alessandro Rossi and Antonio Riva. [1] In the 1990s Rivarossi acquired Lima (1992), Jouef and Arnold (1997). In 2003 Rivarossi went into receivership.
In 2004 Hornby Railways plc acquired assets from Rivarossi, in particular the brands Arnold, Jouef, Rivarossi and Lima. Since 2006 products are sold again under these brand names. The production has been moved to China.
From 1957 Rivarossi HO models were licensed and sold by Lionel as Lionel HO. The cooperation with Lionel broke down over financial issues after only a year. From 1958 Rivarossi products were sold through Athearn. After Athearn, just about all Rivarossi products, and its sister company Pocher, were distributed through AHM (Associated Hobby Manufacturers). [2]
Railway modelling or model railroading is a hobby in which rail transport systems are modelled at a reduced scale.
OO gauge or OO scale is the most popular standard gauge model railway standard in the United Kingdom, outside of which it is virtually unknown. OO gauge is one of several 4 mm-scale standards, and the only one to be marketed by major manufacturers. The OO track gauge of 16.5 mm corresponds to prototypical gauge of 4 ft 1+1⁄2 in, rather than 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in standard gauge. However, since the 1960s, other gauges in the same scale have arisen—18.2 mm (EM) and 18.83 mm (Scalefour)—to reflect the desire of some modellers for greater scale accuracy.
Lionel, LLC is an American designer and importer of toy trains and model railroads that is headquartered in Concord, North Carolina. Its roots lie in the 1969 purchase of the Lionel product line from the Lionel Corporation by cereal conglomerate General Mills and subsequent purchase in 1986 by businessman Richard P. Kughn forming Lionel Trains, Inc. in 1986. The Martin Davis Investment Group (Wellspring) bought Lionel Trains, Inc. in 1995 and renamed it Lionel, LLC.
O scale is a scale commonly used for toy trains and rail transport modelling. Introduced by German toy manufacturer Märklin around 1900, by the 1930s three-rail alternating current O gauge was the most common model railroad scale in the United States and remained so until the early 1960s. In Europe, its popularity declined before World War II due to the introduction of smaller scales.
HO or H0 is a rail transport modelling scale using a 1:87 scale. It is the most popular scale of model railway in the world. The rails are spaced 16.5 millimetres (0.650 in) apart for modelling 1,435 mm standard gauge tracks and trains in HO.
TT scale is a model railroading scale at 1:120 scale with a Track gauge of 12 mm between the rails. It is placed between HO scale (1:87) and N scale (1:160). Its original purpose, as the name suggests, was to make a train set small enough to assemble and operate on a tabletop.
Hornby Hobbies Limited is a British-owned scale model manufacturing company which has been focused on model railways. Its roots date back to 1901 in Liverpool, when founder Frank Hornby received a patent for his Meccano construction toy. The first clockwork train was produced in 1920. In 1938, Hornby launched its first OO gauge train. In 1964, Hornby and Meccano were bought by their competitor, Tri-ang Railways, and sold when Tri-ang went into receivership. Hornby Railways became independent again in the 1980s, and became listed on the London Stock Exchange, but due to financial troubles reported in June 2017, became majority owned by British turnaround specialist Phoenix Asset Management.
MTH Electric Trains is an American toy train and model railroad designer, importer, and manufacturer. A privately held company based in Columbia, Maryland, MTH is known as Mike's Train House.
Jouef is a French brand and former manufacturing company specialized in scale model railroads. The brand name is currently owned by Hornby.
Tri-ang Railways was a British manufacturer of toy trains, one of the elements of the Lines Bros Ltd company who traded using the brands Tri-ang, Minic, Pedigree, and Frog. The Tri-ang Railways name was dropped a few years after Lines Bros took over the Hornby name although the majority of the trains were still the original Tri-ang models.
Heller Hobby GmbH is a French manufacturing company established in 1957 in Paris. Currently headquartered in Radevormwald, Germany, Heller produces plastic scale model kits of cars, aircraft, ships, and military vehicles.
Roco, based in Salzburg, Austria, is a manufacturer of model railway equipment.
Athearn is a United States manufacturer of model railroad equipment, produced and distributed by American hobby manufacturer Horizon Hobby, Inc. of Champaign, Illinois.
Lines Bros Ltd was a British toy manufacturer of the 20th century, operating under the Tri-ang Toys brand name.
Founded in 1906 by Karl Arnold in Nürnberg, K. Arnold & Co. began its life producing tin toys and related items. They produced an extensive line of model ships, doll house items and other toys. In 1935, K. Arnold & Co. hired Max Ernst as their managing director. Ernst, not to be confused with the German realist artist of the same name, was a significant factor in the future of Arnold.
Lima S.p.A. is an Italian brand and former manufacturing company of model railways. The company was headquartered in Vicenza for almost 50 years, from the early 1950s until the company ceased trading in 2004. Lima was a popular, affordable brand of 00 gauge and N gauge model railway material in the UK, more detailed H0 and N gauge models in France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and the United States as well as South Africa, Scandinavia and Australia. Lima also produced a small range of 0 gauge models. Lima partnered with various distributors and manufacturers, selling under brands such as A.H.M., Model Power, and Minitrain. Market pressures from superior Far Eastern produce in the mid-1990s led to Lima merging with Rivarossi, Arnold, and Jouef. Ultimately, these consolidations failed and operations ceased in 2004.
Atlas Model Railroad Company, Inc. makes scale models in N scale, HO scale, and O scale. The company is based in Hillside, New Jersey, United States. They produce a wide variety of locomotives, rolling stock, and vehicles. Atlas is well known for their flex track and codes 55, 80, 83 and 100 track. Atlas also produces a line of compatible structures and bridges.
Mehano is a Slovenian toy company from Izola, founded in 1952 as Mehanotehnika. It produces a large range of both traditional and electronic toys, as well as model railroad equipment. The company has borne its current name of Mehano since 1990. Mehano applied to restructure in November 2008, following reported economic difficulties during the preceding ten years; production in Slovenia ended. In 2010, Mehano was relaunched with production in China and new branding.
Pocher, is an Italian toy car brand and former manufacturing company of scale model cars. The company, established by Arnaldo Pocher, was active from 1966 to 2000, and since 2013 the brand name "Pocher" has been owned and operated by Hornby.
Mettoy was a British manufacturing company founded in 1933 by German émigré Philip Ullmann, who was later joined by South African-born German Arthur Katz who had previously worked for Ullmann at his toy company Tipp and Co of Nuremberg. The firm made a variety of lithographed metal wind-up toys. Both Jewish, they moved to Britain following Hitler's rise to power in 1933.
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