Brand record
Swisstoys
Swisstoys was a Swiss maker of model railway rolling stock founded by Romeo Pianezzi and Albert Steiner. Its range included locomotives and freight cars based on Swiss prototypes, produced in N, H0 and 0 gauges. Pianezzi began building models in 1957, and the company developed from his effort to fill gaps in models of Swiss railway equipment. Swisstoys used both commercial components and workshop-made parts: locomotive chassis often came from larger manufacturers, while many bodies were made of brass. N-gauge freight cars were injection-moulded and tampo-printed.
- Founded
- 1952
- Countries
- Switzerland
- Locations
- Switzerland
- Founders
- Romeo Pianezzi · Albert Steiner
The story of Swisstoys
Romeo Pianezzi began building railway models in 1957, working in N, H0 and 0 gauges. He later founded Swisstoys with fellow musician Albert Steiner to address the shortage of models based on Swiss railway prototypes. One early project was an SBB Be 4/6 locomotive. Pianezzi adapted a Märklin drive unit for it; after an initial order for 20, he made a batch of 100. Swisstoys’ product range grew to include freight cars and other locomotives. Between 1964 and 1984, it produced 53 freight-car types for Italian, British and Swiss railways in 0 gauge. Its N-gauge range included Swiss-prototype freight cars, with bodies produced using an injection-moulding machine and marked with a small tampo printer. The H0 Sputnik brake van, developed from a model-building course Pianezzi led in 1962, became another substantial product. Swisstoys models combined commercially available components with workshop-made parts: locomotive chassis often came from larger manufacturers, while many bodies were made of brass. Pianezzi continued to build railway models, later concentrating mainly on 0 gauge.
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