Maker record
Ditmar
Ditmar was an Austrian toy brand whose postwar range included tinplate 0 gauge model railways. Made by Austria Email in Vienna, the trains included clockwork and electric locomotives, rolling stock and trackside accessories. Ditmar’s railway production began in 1947 or 1948 and ended in 1954 or 1955, when the company stopped making toys.
- Founded
- 1948
- Final year
- 1954
- Locations
- Vienna, Austria
- Founders
- Austria Vereinigte Emaillierwerke, Lampen- und Metallwarenfabriken AG
The story of Ditmar
In the postwar period, Austria Email’s Simmering factory made mechanical and electric toys under the Ditmar name. The railway range, introduced in 1947 or 1948, included clockwork and electric trains in 0 gauge. Other toys included metal construction sets, dolls’ dishes, dolls’ stoves and mechanical toys. A 1952 Ditmar railway catalogue documents the range, and museum collections preserve Ditmar tinplate rolling stock from the 1940s and 1950s.
Ditmar’s trains were positioned as a lower-priced alternative to competing products. Sales fell short of expectations as competitors adopted improved technology and shifted to H0, a gauge buyers increasingly preferred. Austria Email decided to end toy production in 1954 or 1955. The company continued to sell other products under the Ditmar brand, including petroleum stoves, cookers and lamps; the end of toy production did not mark the end of the wider brand.