Brand record
Rivarossi
Rivarossi is an Italian model railway maker founded in Como in 1945 by Alessandro Rossi. Its principal products are model locomotives, passenger coaches, freight cars and railway accessories. The company built an international market in the 1950s, including through its first appearance at the Nuremberg Toy Fair, and exported much of its production to the United States in the 1960s. Rivarossi later became part of Lima S.p.A. and is now a Hornby brand.
- Founded
- 1945
- Final year
- 2002
- Countries
- Italy
- Locations
- Como, Italy · 1945
- Founders
- Alessandro Rossi
The story of Rivarossi
Alessandro Rossi founded Rivarossi in Como toward the end of 1945. Trained at Milan Polytechnic, he turned his interest in railway modelling into a business. Rai News reports that he had acquired a factory making electrical commutators and that Antonio Riva, his business partner, remained in the company name; the name combined Riva and Rossi.
Rivarossi expanded beyond Italy in the 1950s, appearing at the Nuremberg Toy Fair, and in the 1960s exported most of its production to the United States. In the 1990s it acquired the Vicenza-based railway model maker Lima, active since 1955. Acquisitions of German brand Arnold and French brand Jouef in 2000 led to the formation of Lima S.p.A. Hornby acquired the group in 2004–05, and Rivarossi continues as a Hornby model railway brand.
Collectors’ Corner
Posts about this brand
Literature & HistoryIn the digital museum
Explore the museum
Rivarossi Italy H0 gauge assorted goods wagon lot, partly Bakelite, in OBView in the museum
Rivarossi Italy H0 gauge low-loader wagon with two orange Wiking tractors, 1950sView in the museum
Rivarossi N gauge 1:160 lot with passenger cars CIWL cream/brown and Egyptian car in whiteView in the museum
Rivarossi N gauge 1:160 lot of international fast train CIWL passenger cars blue/creamView in the museum 
