BLZ

BLZ was founded around 1943 in Paris by Bourdeaux, Fernand L’Heure and Aldo Zedda; the company name came from the initials of their family names. Its initial products were 0-gauge model trains. The range included two electric locomotives, a four-axle passenger car, a luggage car and several freight wagons. The smaller locomotive had a 1B1 wheel arrangement and a two-part cast body that also formed the motor housing. BLZ called it an “American type” in its catalogues and marketed train sets as New York Central.

H0 models followed in the late 1940s. Around 1950, BLZ sold H0 train sets for department stores under the name Scelle Belle. That year, the 0-gauge trains received the Effel brand after the firm passed into Fernand L’Heure’s sole ownership. The BLZ mark disappeared around 1951.