GEM

Francesco Biaggi registered the GEM name in 1945. The initials stood for Giocattoli Elettro Meccanici, or Electro Mechanical Toys. GEM developed O gauge tinplate trains, and added OO/HO scale trains in 1947. Biaggi designed locomotives, rolling stock and catalogue layouts. The range included Italian prototypes alongside locomotives and passenger cars decorated for French, German and Swiss railways. Catalogues also showed model boats, track, turnouts, buildings and other railway accessories.

GEM’s early OO/HO trains used a four-rail track system known as the Biaggi System: the two inner rails supplied power and the outer rails provided ground. The maker later changed to three-rail track. Its locomotive models included cast zamak bodies and manual direction controls; the A5 was equipped with an electronic reversing mechanism. The range expanded rapidly after strong initial demand, but demand for new products had weakened by about 1950. The GEM brand disappeared by 1955. Biaggi subsequently produced train models under his own name, including replicas inspired by Märklin products.