Maker record
LR
LR, also known as Le Rapide, was a French maker of toy trains and other mechanical toys associated with industrialist Louis Roussy. Its main products were O-gauge clockwork and electric trains, including locomotives, rolling stock and railway accessories. The range also included model planes and ships, lead figures, a metal construction set called Standard LR and the Auto-Route racing system. LR trains used patented coupling and motor-control mechanisms; the smaller-than-standard O-gauge models were designed to run on O-gauge track.
The story of LR
Louis Roussy’s LR, or Le Rapide, was producing O-gauge toy trains by 1929. The trains ran on O-gauge track but were smaller than the usual O-gauge scale. Early products included clockwork and electric locomotives, passenger and goods trains, and the Michelin-type Micheline railcar, introduced in the early 1930s. LR developed patented couplings and electric motor controls, including mechanisms for reversing and remote operation.
In the 1930s the range expanded beyond trains. LR produced lead figures and small cars, introduced the Auto-Route racing system in 1936, and sold Standard LR, a metal construction set. The firm used premises in Paris and built a factory at Trappes between 1930 and 1932. During the Second World War, activity declined and the Trappes factory was destroyed. After the war, production continued under new ownership at Romainville. JEP acquired the LR brand in 1961; accounts differ on when LR toy production ended, so its final production year remains uncertain.