The TILLIG Model Railway Company in Sebnitz – From a modest corner
supplier to the world’s biggest producer of locomotives, wagons and
equipment of the TT gauge
HISTORY
OF THE TT GAUGE MODEL RAILWAY VEHICLES:
The
model railway vehicles of the TT gauge had been invented in the USA.
The
engineer Harold L. (Hal.) Joyce developed a model railway system in a
scale of 1 : 120 as early as 1941. Due to the fact that the USA had become
involved in the Second World War from the Pearl Harbor attack onwards, it
took Joyce some more years until he could found the firm H. P. PRODUCTS in
order to produce his railway cars. In October 1946 he presented the first
models and started delivering them. Joyce introduced the name
“Table-Top-Trains: TT” for the gauge and the size of the railway cars,
too. So he can be seen as the “father of the TT Gauge”.
As
usual in the USA, the H. P. PRODUCTS were available as building sets
only.
The locomotives could be
delivered in an assembled condition as well,
if that was the customer’s
demand. Although Joyce has had some success with the production of his
model railways at the beginning of his career, the TT type of model
railways has never been as economically successful in his home
country as
in Germany.
THE
HISTORY OF THE TILLIG FIRM:
“The
model railway is a hobby for the whole family, which children can learn a
lot from. Even in the years after the war (Second World War), when there
was a short supply of food only, people built and bought model railways.
And today
the demand is higher than ever”, Liane Tillig says. She must
know the situation because she is something like a “good fairy” for
model-railway people. The firm “TILLIG Modellbahnen GmbH & Co. KG”
from Sebnitz near Saxon Switzerland is responsible for the supply of
locomotives, wagons, tracks, and the large equipment. The development of
this innovative
firm was highly successful and fast.
Ten years ago, Liane and Hans-Jürgen Tillig bought the Sebnitz firm “Pilz Modellgleis” (Pilz Model Tracks) and built the
famous Pilz H0-tracks with 12 employees only. As early as the following
year, they developed the model tracks for the gauge TT and produced them
in series. From then on it was only a small step to the next level of the
development: In 1993, the TILLIG family bought many parts of the
bankrupt’s estate of the firm “Berliner TT-Bahnen Zeuke GmbH”
(Berlin TT Railway Zeuke Ltd.), transported them into their hometown and
started building the whole range of the TT gauge. More than 150
locomotives and driving vehicles as well as more than 200 models of wagons
invite people to the reconstruction of sceneries from the beginning of the
railway age until the present time. The programme offers the most modern
ICE or DB CARGO trains as well as old steam locomotives which can be seen
even in museums only rarely.
No
wonder, that the old buildings for the firm became too small, and the firm
(and their employees) have already moved twice. But today, space is
becoming shorter and shorter again…
small river
Sebnitz has grown to the world’s biggest supplier of TT railways. They
employ 180 people in their production centres Sebnitz and Zittau today.
A steam locomotive consists of up to 100 separate parts, and almost all of
them are being produced within the firm. High production intensity
(“hohe Produktionstiefe”) means that they can work quite independently
from supply firms; however, you need modern production equipment. Thus,
TILLIG is developing and producing their needed special tools itself,
and
the locomotives as well as the wagons get their final form in the moulding
for synthetic materials in the firm.
The
developers of TILLIG model cars work closely together with specialists of
Deutsche Bahn AG (German Railway Company) or suppliers of railway systems
like Siemens or Bombardier in order to have the model railways look as
similar as possible to their original vehicles. During special exhibitions
and fairs, TILLIG gets the rewards of its efforts: The Sales
representatives of the firm return with books full of orders regularly.
You can buy the small railways from Sebnitz in special shops only.
(own translation/TW)