ROKAL is an
acronym
An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...
for RObert KAhrmann Lobberich, a manufacturer of metal castings that produced a line of
model railway
Railway modelling (UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland) or model railroading (US and Canada) is a hobby in which rail transport systems are modelled at a reduced scale.
The scale models include locomotives, rolling stock, streetcars, t ...
equipment in
TT scale
TT scale is a model railroading scale, whose name stands for ''table top''.
Its 1:120 scale (from a common engineering scale where one inch equals ten feet) and gauge are roughly halfway between HO scale (1:87) and N scale (1:160). Its original ...
from 1947 to 1969, based in
Lobberich
Lobberich is a German village in North Rhine-Westphalia, situated close to the Dutch border at Venlo. It has a population of around 14,000 inhabitants. Since 1970 the town belongs to the municipality of Nettetal. The art historian Heribert Reiner ...
80 km north of
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
,
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 ...
at the Dutch border.
The Rokal product line was sold to
Willy Ade
Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to:
People Given name or nickname
* Willie Aames (born 1960), American actor, television director, and scree ...
of
Röwa. Röwa issued at least one catalog that included items from the Rokal product line, but apparently only sold existing inventory from the Rokal purchase rather than manufacturing these items. Ade later sold his company to
Roco
Roco, based in Salzburg, Austria, is a manufacturer of model railway equipment.
History
The company was founded in 1960 by Ing. Heinz Rössler and started with a plastic Minitanks series of military vehicles. After export to the USA became succ ...
of Salzburg, Austria and the Rokal TT line was not issued again.
The Rokal product line was of slightly different proportions from other TT scale lines. In later years of production, Rokal worked in joint venture with firms located in the former country of East Germany. The products of these companies were offered by Rokal with the Rokal style coupler and offered in their own product line with their proprietary coupler. These companies apparently used the same set of manufacturing tooling, marketing these items under names such as
Zeuke
Tillig (''TILLIG Modellbahnen GmbH & Co. KG'') is a German model railroad manufacturing company based in Sebnitz, Saxony. Tillig is the largest manufacturer of TT scale model railroad products in the world. Previously known as Zeuke (founded i ...
, Zeuke & Wegworth, ''Berliner TT-Bahnen'' (now
Tillig
Tillig (''TILLIG Modellbahnen GmbH & Co. KG'') is a German model railroad manufacturing company based in Sebnitz, Saxony. Tillig is the largest manufacturer of TT scale model railroad products in the world. Previously known as Zeuke (founded i ...
) and possibly others.
External links
webpageby Rokal Friends Lobberich, in
German language
German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...
*
ROKAL enthusiast'swebsite
Model railroad manufacturers
Toy train manufacturers
Model manufacturers of Germany
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