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Tri Ang history
The brothers George and Joseph Lines made wooden toys in the Victorian age, their company being G & J lines Ltd. Joseph was the active partner while George went into farming. Joseph (or Joe) had four sons. Three of these — William, Walter and Arthur Edwin Lines — formed Lines Bros Ltd soon after World War I. Three Lines make a triangle, hence the Tri-ang. Arthur's son, Richard Lines, was largely responsible for the Tri-ang Railways system.
Rovex Plastics Ltd was founded just after the World War II in 1946 by Alexander Venetzian, who made toys for Marks & Spencer. Venetzian was asked to develop an electric toy train set for Christmas 1950. He delivered the product but although the company had found larger premises in a former Brewery in Richmond, it was constrained financially. Lines Bros were looking to expand into railways and so they purchased Rovex. Their products would be sold under the Tri-ang Railways name from 1951. To give room for development they moved the company now Rovex Scale Models Ltd to a brand new factory built at Margate, in Kent, in 1954.
The success of Tri-ang mean that British competitors Trix and Hornby-Dublo were affected. In 1964, Hornby Dublo, a division of Meccano Ltd, had stopped production and Meccano Ltd invited Lines Bros. Ltd to buy them out. Tri-ang purchased the company including a large amount of stock. The combined toy railways was marketed as Triang-Hornby although the vast majority of the models was all Tri-ang. The Hornby name being more established and recognised, the Tri-ang part was later dropped and it was sold as Hornby Railways.
Tri-ang later made TT gauge models as well as OO/HO gauge. The 3mm Society supports those who still model Tri-ang TT.
