Noch GmbH & Co. KG, from Wangen im Allgäu (written ''NOCH'' by the company) is a manufacturer and importer of accessories for model trains, especially for building landscapes. It makes products for all common sizes of model trains.

History

The company was founded in 1911 by Oswald Noch in

Glauchau Glauchau (; hsb, Hłuchow) is a town in the German federal state of Saxony, on the right bank of the Mulde, 7 miles north of Zwickau and 17 miles west of Chemnitz by rail ( its train station is on the Dresden–Werdau line). It is part of the ...

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Because of the political reprisals and the nationalisation of the

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

government at the time, the son of the company's founder, Erich Noch, saw no chance to expand his workshop. In 1957, he risked the move to the West. Leaving all of his assets and property behind, he began first in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

and then in 1961 in Allgäu, to set up a new business. Supported by his family, the company grew very quickly in the 1960s and 1970s. Soon, his son, Peter Noch, took over management of production and father and son together led the company to success. In 1978, the private company was converted to a '' GmbH & Co. KG'' (limited partnership company). After the death of the senior manager, Erich Noch, in October 1989, Peter Noch lead the company as the sole business manager. Dr. Rainer Noch, the son of Peter Noch and thus the fourth generation of the Noch family, has worked in the company since 1994. Father and son lead the company together until the death of Peter Noch in September 1997. 2016 Nuernberger Spielwarenmesse - Noch - by 2eight - 8SC2715

2016 Nuernberger Spielwarenmesse - Noch - by 2eight - 8SC2715

Product Range

Noch is the German distributor for

Athearn Athearn is a United States manufacturer of model railroad equipment, produced and distributed by American hobby manufacturer Horizon Hobby, Inc. of Champaign, Illinois. History In 1938 Irvin Athearn built a detailed O scale model railroad layout ...

and Kato products. Noch is well known for a large range of materials for building landscapes, ready-made terrain of synthetic materials. Many Noch products are designed for use with

Märklin Gebr. Märklin & Cie. GmbH or Märklin (MÄRKLIN or MAERKLIN in capital letters) is a German toy company. The company was founded in 1859 and is based at Göppingen in Baden-Württemberg. Although it originally specialised in doll house accesso ...

Fleischmann (model railroads) Fleischmann is a German manufacturer of model railway products. Fleischmann was founded in Nuremberg in 1887 by Jean Fleischmann, as a toy company. Their first model train, in O scale, was produced in 1938. Their first H0 scale products were ...

, Kato and Trix trains. Noch offers over 1000 products for the model railway hobby including landscaping materials and accessories. ZITERDES is a Noch line that offers dedicated

gamers A gamer is a proactive hobbyist who plays interactive games, especially video games, tabletop role-playing games, and skill-based card games, and who plays for usually long periods of time. Some gamers are competitive, meaning they routinely ...

the tools and terrain pieces to create their

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miniature environments: hybrid scenery; urban ruins with war-torn buildings; gaming table formats for alien war games; gaming forests and catacombs for ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (TS ...

'' miniatures; or a

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

theme. ZITERDES modular gaming tables (MGTs) can be detailed with scenic elements and combined with additional MGTs to develop the battlefield for

Warhammer 40,000 ''Warhammer 40,000'' is a miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop. It is the most popular miniature wargame in the world, and is particularly popular in the United Kingdom. The first edition of the rulebook was published in September 1987, ...

alien gaming or wargame miniatures battlefield, for Urban Mammoth example. Another product Noch is known for is plastic model railway figures. Model railroad manufacturers Toy train manufacturers Model manufacturers of Germany {{model-rail-stub