FLEISCHMANN SPUR 0 / ECHELLE 0 - 1949-1959

Today, we will leave quiet the adjacent HO carpet layout, to operate another temporary layout in 0 gauge. It has two concentric ovals, to show the 2 main technical standards available in that 1/45 scale : the inner one is DC, 14 V, two rails track. The train set is by Fleischmann, a German firm which ventured shortly (1949-59) on this market firmly occupied by leading toy manufacturers such as Märklin or Bing.
The external oval is a 3 rails circuit using tracks made by JEP of France. It is electrically fed by 14-20 V, AC, current provided by a Märklin transformer. On this circuit I can run tinplate trains made by the many firms of the 1930-1960 era, such as Hornby (here, a train set by Hornby French branch), JEP, Bing, Märklin etc.
I believe that Fleiscmann had only a limited success in their attempt to introduce a new set of standards for the 0 gauge at a time (1949) when the new , less space-consuming 00 / HO gauge models were quickly replacing the "old" 1 and 0 gauges in domestic households.
Nevertheless, these Fleischmann products are very well made and represent a technological step forward, which they applied shortly thereafter to a fantastic range of HO models, competing head-to-head with Märklin and Trix which remained focused on the 3-rails, AC system.