Trix (construction sets)
Encyclopedia
Trix model construction sets were originally produced in 1931 by a Nuremberg company, Andreas Förtner (Anfoe). The German patent for the basic Trix pieces had been granted the previous year, in 1930.
The origin of the name Trix is uncertain; it has been suggested (by Adrie Wind) that it could have referred to the triple-hole configuration of the basic pieces.
A friendship between Stephan Bing
, owner of Anfoe, and the English toy manufacturer W J Bassett-Lowke
led to the founding of the London company Trix Ltd in 1932. In the United Kingdom
, Trix sets challenged the British-invented Meccano
model construction sets.
(See Trix (company)
for details of the model electric trains that the German company also began producing in 1935).
The origin of the name Trix is uncertain; it has been suggested (by Adrie Wind) that it could have referred to the triple-hole configuration of the basic pieces.
A friendship between Stephan Bing
Bing (company)
Bing or Gebrüder Bing was a German toy company founded in 1863 in Nuremberg, Germany by two brothers, Ignaz and Adolf Bing, originally producing metal kitchen utensils.-History:...
, owner of Anfoe, and the English toy manufacturer W J Bassett-Lowke
Bassett-Lowke
Bassett-Lowke was a toy company in Northampton, England, founded by Wenman Joseph Bassett-Lowke in 1898 or 1899, that specialized in model railways, boats and ships, and construction sets...
led to the founding of the London company Trix Ltd in 1932. In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Trix sets challenged the British-invented Meccano
Meccano
Meccano is a model construction system comprising re-usable metal strips, plates, angle girders, wheels, axles and gears, with nuts and bolts to connect the pieces. It enables the building of working models and mechanical devices....
model construction sets.
(See Trix (company)
Trix (company)
Trix is a German company that originally made Trix metal construction sets. In 1935 it began producing the electrically powered model trains that it became famous for, under the Trix Express label...
for details of the model electric trains that the German company also began producing in 1935).
External links
- Trix construction sets website created by Adrie Wind; contains scans of most Trix manuals and brochures, mainly in Dutch, with some in German and some in English