Maker record
Dietzel
Dietzel was a model railway maker based in Leipzig, East Germany. Its products included H0-scale goods wagons, sold as finished models and kits, as well as railway accessories such as semaphore signals. Contemporary coverage in 1964 documented the company’s wagon kits, while surviving product references include covered, open, refrigerated and low-sided wagons. The wagons are distinguished by working doors and covers and finely detailed running gear. Dietzel also supplied wagons for Zeuke’s TT range.
- Founded
- 1927
- Countries
- German Democratic Republic (GDR), Germany
- Locations
- Berlin, Germany · 1927
- Founders
- Werner Dietzel
The story of Dietzel
Günter Dietzel made model railway products in Leipzig, East Germany. By April 1964, the railway magazine Der Modelleisenbahner was documenting Dietzel wagon kits. The H0 range included covered goods wagons, open wagons, low-sided wagons and refrigerated wagons; a specialist collector reference also records wagons with functioning doors and covers. The maker produced some wagons for Zeuke’s TT range, including a covered wagon and an acid-pot wagon.
Dietzel also made railway accessories, including semaphore signals. Around 1980, production and distribution of former Dietzel models passed to Leipzig maker Weigel. Some wagon models continued in the Zeuke and successor catalogues, though surviving reports differ on when individual tooling and products moved. Dietzel’s early founding date and the end of its own production are not established by these records.