Minia, short for “Chemin de fer MINIA-ture” (miniature railway), was an S gauge (22.5 mm) clockwork set, first shown at the April 1947 Geneva trade fair. Apart from being based in Geneva, nothing about the manufacturer is known. The set was a construction kit, consisting of an 0-6-0 diesel-outline locomotive and two bogie coaches, with bodies made of bakelite. The loco and coaches could be assembled without tools. The metal chassis of the locomotive with its clockwork motor was a ready-made unit, while the metal chassis of the coaches with a metal plate to give weight and the bogies could be assembled by two wing nuts. The wheels of the locomotive and of the coaches were all sprung. The roofs of loco and coaches were made of aluminium and were either blank aluminium or black. The set was offered with a circle of track with a diameter of 110 cm and supplied in either a red cardboard box or a wooden box. It was also planned to separately offer track and points, but whether this actually happened is unclear. Although the quality and reliabilty were outstanding, the train suffered from a lack of true-to-type appearance and the choice for S gauge meant it was not compatible with anything else. Sales were abysmal and production was soon ended, making it nowadays a highly sought-after collector’s item.