HAMO

HAMO, short for Alfred Hannemann Modellbau, was founded by Alfred Hannemann in Nürnberg in 1952. Its origins lay in tram models developed by Nürnberg electrical and toy dealer Georg Dörfler and engineer A. Feldgiebel. They presented the designs through FEMO at the 1951 Nürnberg Toy Fair, but the models did not proceed to series production. Hannemann acquired the plans and tools in late 1952, revised the designs and presented them again in 1953. HAMO then produced 00/H0 trams with die-cast zinc bodies and its own plastic track system.

The range expanded between 1954 and 1962 to include several tram types, track and overhead equipment, chassis and parts for scratch-built trams, and an automatic coupling. HAMO also offered H0 models of the V 80 and V 160 diesel locomotives in 1959 and 1960. Tram cars introduced in 1962 and 1963 were the last new models before Hannemann closed his company in October 1963 for personal reasons. Märklin entered as a shareholder and reopened the business in February 1964 as HAMO Modellfahrzeuge GmbH. The revived company continued the tram range and offered a HAMO version of Märklin’s E 44. In February 1966, Märklin began using HAMO for its two-rail DC models and took over direct tram sales. Tram production was already winding down, and the trams disappeared from catalogues after 1967.