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FR Jouef Through the Ages
Browse our selection of products, curated just for you into specific time periods.
Travel through history with Jouef.
Epoch I
1848 – 1920 was the definitive period for the birth of the European railway system.
Epoch II
By 1921 – 1948, construction and operating regulations had unified to create more progressive railways and systems than ever before. Electric traction was introduced, culminating in electric locomotives.
Epoch III
With Europe still recovering from the effects of the Second World War, 1949 – 1970 was a period of reinvention.
Epoch IV
By 1971 – 1990, the traction system across Europe was looking very similar to what we use now.
Epoch V
The period of 1991 – 2006 was one of freeing up the railways. Liberalised access to the railway networks was put into action in the early 2000’s across a select few European countries.
Epoch VI
2007 – Present has been a time of building upon all of the progress that has been made over the last century.
European Epoch System
There are six main Epochs for European railways, although as with most time periods, there is no hard and fast rule that every model must belong to a definitive era. Each Epoch is preceeded by a Roman Numeral to split them into six. Again, it’s impossible to truly capture every single nuance as each country developed slightly differently to fit their particular set of circumstances. More information will soon be available, if you are interested in how each country progressed and the impact this had on their railways. We have also included dates on the end of each title to help give you an idea of the time period being referenced, but these will differ country to country. For the time being, this is the standard historical guide to European railways.
We, as manufacturers of model railway materials and accessories, try to ensure with every model and accessory that they are as authentic to either their real life counterpart, or to the time period we have categorised them in. We hope that this easy guide will assist you in creating an authentic European diorama, right at home in the era of your choice.