Maker record
Röwa
Röwa was a German model railway maker whose products included H0 locomotives, passenger and freight cars, and track, as well as models made for Trix. Founded by Willy Ade, the company began marketing railway models under the Röwa name in 1968 after its Trix collaboration ended. Its range included finely detailed rolling stock and a track system with a molded plastic roadbed. Röwa also developed short couplings for its wagon models and passenger cars in the 1:100 length scale.
- Founded
- 1967
- Final year
- 1976
- Countries
- Germany
- Locations
- Rothenburg, Germany
- Founders
- Paul Rssel
The story of Röwa
Willy Ade founded Röwa in 1959. Before then, he had produced and marketed plastic building kits under the WIAD name. Röwa initially designed and manufactured plastic models for Trix, including freight and passenger cars and locomotives such as the Adler and DB VT 08. The collaboration reached a high point with the Super-Modell series of passenger and freight cars in 1966–68, and ended in 1968 after disagreements with Trix.
From 1968 Röwa sold railway models under its own name, with Rokal as its principal shareholder. The company expanded its H0 range and developed a track system with a molded plastic roadbed. Its products included detailed locomotives and rolling stock, passenger cars in the 1:100 length scale, and the Röwa-Matic short coupling. Röwa’s N-scale production was transferred to Trix in 1972. After Rokal’s bankruptcy in 1974, Röwa also failed; much of its tooling and many of its molds passed to Roco, while other products and the track system went to separate firms.
