Curiosities from St. Georgen: the Mignon-Bahn and its history!

Curiosities from St. Georgen: the Mignon-Bahn and its history!

St. Georgen, Deutschland - The Phonom Museum in St. Georgen is currently presenting a special exhibition that recognizes the creative achievements of the Gebrüder Staiger and Kundo companies. In the exhibition, the historical production of watches, quartz works, measuring devices and toys is discussed, such as Südkurier reported. The development of children's toys that started after the Second World War is particularly highlighted. An incident in which a French general was looking for a Christmas present for his children inspired the company on this new product line.

The company made electric narrow-gauge model railways as well as the corresponding accessories, including stations and plastic tunnels. The special exhibition can be seen in the German Phonom Museum until November 2025 and is open between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. from Wednesday to Sunday. The Mignon model railways were offered under the name "Mignon" from 1947 and were very well received; Around 10,000 starter packages were made. Metal construction boxes were also produced, which were made from punched bumps.

rarity of the Mignon-Bahn

The Mignon Railway is considered an absolute rarity, since it was an important product from the time of changing the brothers Staiger to fine mechanical and electronic devices, like Black Forest messenger . This model railway was developed in 1947 and was an early step into the future, since plastic became increasingly important as a material. The production of Mignon models was mainly intended for the French occupiers. Architect Martin Rosenfelder presents Mignon toys in the shop window of the association for local history in St. Georgen. In addition to the Mignon model railway, the exhibition also includes a Mignon kit and other historical toys.

The mignon model trains and the associated building boxes are very rare these days. Martin Rosenfelder has compiled various rarities for the exhibition, including the railway lore, the flywheel of a steam engine and toy soldiers from the period before the First World War.

-transmitted by West-East media