Maker record
Les Ateliers Cropsy
Établissements Alerion, trading as Ateliers Cropsy, made French railway buildings and other layout structures in wood and cardboard. The models were designed for H0 layouts and reproduced regional French architecture, alongside railway stations, signal boxes, engine sheds and related structures. Their construction combined cut wood panels with printed or paper details, including transparent Rhodoïd for doors and windows. Cropsy’s buildings were produced in Paris from 1947.
- Founded
- 1948
- Final year
- 1962
- Countries
- France
- Locations
- Paris
- Founders
- Alerion
The story of Les Ateliers Cropsy
Établissements Alerion began producing Ateliers Cropsy buildings in Paris in 1947. The range reproduced French regional architecture at 1/86 scale for model railway layouts. It included passenger and goods stations, engine sheds, signal boxes, platforms and other railway structures, as well as houses, hotels, churches and shops. Later models included the Rue Battant series of urban buildings.
The buildings were assembled from wood and cardboard, with cut wood panels used for walls. From 1954, Cropsy also used an agglomerated wood material. Roof coverings were represented with paper or cardboard, and doors and windows were printed on transparent Rhodoïd. A 1954 advertisement listed railway buildings and layout decoration models at 1/86 scale and gave the workshop address as 74 rue de la Fédération, Paris XV. A 1955 advertisement repeated the address and product description.