Hallo!
Hat jemand Lust zum Gedanken-, Foto- und ggf. Teile-Austausch von JEP Mignon?
Diese Bahn wurde in Frankreich von 1926 bis 1934 produziert, in der Spurweite 00. Es existieren zwei Varianten, beide sind elektrisch: Dreileiter-System, Dampflok in "Reichsbahnlackierung", Packwagen/grau, Personenwagen/braun und Personenwagen/orange. Zweileiter-System plus Oberleitung, Trolley, Anhänger wie vor. Hierbei handelt es sich um das ERSTE funktionierende Oberleitungssystem in Spur 00! Als Zubehör gibt es einen hübschen alpenländischen Bahnhof in zwei Varianten, einen Wasserturm in mehreren Varianten, diverse Signale und einen Rheostaten (den besitze ich leider nicht) mit zwei verschiedenen Reduktionsglühbirnen (für 110V und 220V), sowie Anschlußschienen für beide Systeme. Das Schienensystem steht auf kleinen Sockeln, die mit Brückenbögen verbunden werden. Für beide Schienensysteme gibt es auch Weichen. Prellböcke habe ich noch nicht gesehen... Alle Teile sind aus lithographiertem Tinplate - der Zeit entsprechend. Zu den hier in meiner Bildergalerie "Claudias Tischbahnen" zu sehenden Teilen sind mittlerweile noch viele hinzugekommen - besonders die seltenen Weichen und Oberleitungen. Leider komme ich mit dem Fotografieren nicht nach....
Freundliche Grüße von Claudia

Ton Jongen hat mir heute mitgeteilt, dass es auch eine Uhrwerksversion gab, allerdings nur für die Dampflok. Der Trolley war immer elektrisch. Ton hat eine fabelhafte Übersicht erstellt über die verschiedenen Zugpackungen und alle Einzelteile. Bei Interesse bitte direkt nachfragen bei trixexpress@hetnet.nl
Grüße von Claudia

Hello,
Maybe you like this layout...





Regards,
Manuel

Hello, Manuel!
Yes, indeed: I like your layout very much! Some days ago I've luckily been able to buy a large lot of rails - including points (!!!) - of both systems. The heap also included some pylons and wires. So, in winter time when my farmer's life doesn't keep me so busy I will build up a nice JEP MIGNON layout.
Kind regards to Portugal from the unpleasant rainy North of Germany,
yours Claudia

Well, Manuel - there seems to be no interest in this theme... So we can as well keep our "conversation" in English! By chance, do you happen to know whether there exist two different versions of the electric steam loco? Background of my question: I bought a loco last year that follows the BING look - a flat tender attached to the loco's body. Recently I bought an electric loco that also shows an attached tender - but now looking like a little "backpack". Strange, isn't it? I have seen this backpack version on a photo showing the c/w version of a steam loco.
Kind regards, Claudia

Hallo Claudia,

Interesse schon, aber beitragen ist kann ich halt nix ....

Gruß,
Peter

Zitat von cmnhorsebreeder

---

Well, Manuel - there seems to be no interest in this theme... So we can as well keep our "conversation" in English! By chance, do you happen to know whether there exist two different versions of the electric steam loco? Background of my question: I bought a loco last year that follows the BING look - a flat tender attached to the loco's body. Recently I bought an electric loco that also shows an attached tender - but now looking like a little "backpack". Strange, isn't it? I have seen this backpack version on a photo showing the c/w version of a steam loco.
Kind regards, Claudia

---

To my knowledge the steam loco exist with CW and electric motors, but they look the same overall. I have both versions to confirm this and all the published literature on the subject confirms this. But we never know it all, there are always surprises.
Can you show pictures of what you mean?
Regards,
Manuel

Hallo, Peter!
Das ist ja nett, dass Du diesem thread folgst - vielleicht können wir ja einen neuen Fan gewinnen?

Hello, Manuel! I think I could find out about my loco: the one I bought first was incomplete and the second one seems to be complete with that little "backpack". Do you have any folders, leaflets, catalogues or so - for foregoing information about JEP MIGNON? If so, could you help me with some photocopies or scans??
By the way: I tried to reach you by email this morning. The first try failed but the second one must have reached you.

Liebe Grüße - kind regards,
Claudia

Hi Claudia,
Yes, that was my best guess, one of the locos should be incomplete, mystery solved,,,,,
The information I have on Jep Mignon is mostly the one published by Cliva Lamming in his diffrent books on JEP or French Trains.
There is a very nice German site with some information that I guess was taken from these books
http://modellbahnarchiv.de/Modelle/Frank...EP/Mignon.shtml
I have this scans of the suplement to the 1925 Jep catalogue







They are part of a french site with scans of catalogues
http://documents.train-jouet.com/
I think you have to be a member, but just contact the "owner", very friendly person....
I have two sets with very nice pictures ond the lids, and instructions inside (you know this, but maybe it is interesting to other members)










About our private emails, I got your second one but I still did not succed sendidng you one! I have to check with the informatics...
Regards, Grusse,
Manuel
PS: I have already the ticket to Berlin...

Dear Claudia and Manuel

I also checked my files and can only find the one version with the tender.


Greetings
Rainer

Hello Rainer,

your pictures shows this back part of the french loco with the english trade note "Made in France". These notes were required on the american market.

TRIX collectors know the marking "Motor foreign" used on german chassis exported to the UK.

Are there other back parts of these JEP locos without notes or with french notes?

Best wishes, Dieter

Thanks a lot for sending the informative scans, Manuel! I was familiar with some of them but not all. Recently, I've bought a very nice book by Clive Lamming on JEP trains. It also contains brilliant pix and catalogue nos. for different JEP MIGNON items. This little train system is really a charming one! And I am very pleased to collecting it. The first item that came into my hands was the French station. It was thought only to enlarge my BING 00 layout with some historic non-Bing additions... and see where I ended(???) up!
Kind regards, yours Claudia

There is an item that is not listed in the Mignon range, but that fits very well "the scale".
The common version is the grey one

but there is rarer version that I only got recently, in red

It is also intersting to note that the red reservoir is plane, the bricks are white painted whereas in the grey version the briks are embossed in the tinplate.
I am not sure, but I guess the red version is the earlier one.
About Dieter question on the "Made in France" in the backpack, I have never seen on loco without it!
Regards,
Manuel
PS: Claudia, which is the book of Clive you mention?

Leute, man lernt nie aus!
Auch bei den Modellbahnen nicht.
Das ist doch wieder mal eine wunderbare Präsentation französischer Modelle -und teils gar noch mit feiner Landschaft!
Man könnte sich auch als Märklinist neu verlieben...
Danke für diesen feinen Einblick in eine andere Welt!
Schöne Grüße aus Hessen
Blech

Manuel - the water tower also exists in another variety, shown in the books of Clive Lamming: it has one central colummn only, adjusted by two metal constructions left and right. It shows lithographed red bricks and was produced from 1022 to 1931. I've seen it in the French ebay but was too late to buy it...
My layout includes two of the beige towers. The German seller Rolf Naskret had a red brick tower in an ebay auction beginning of this year. Splendid condition but too expensive for me..
Do you know that the French "gare" also exist in two varieties? The early one has a green wooden construction, the other one is brown. The later one has been sold until 1953 under the name "Gare de Campagne".

Hallo, Botho! Es freut mich sehr, dass Dir diese Bahn gefällt. Sie hat nicht so sehr viel an Zubehör zu bieten, dafür ist ihr Material aber unglaublich selten. Selbst in Frankreich zahlt man Wahnsinnspreise dafür. Das macht das Sammeln für eine "Normalsterbliche" wie mich natürlich schwierig... Ich finde immer wieder etwas - kann aber nicht jeden Brocken picken! In der letzten Zeit ist es mir gelungen, Weichen zur JEP MIGNON aufzutreiben - sowohl für den elektrischen als auch für den Uhrwerksbetrieb. Es gibt Sammler, die haben solche Weichen noch nicht einmal GESEHEN...

Kind regards - liebe Grüße
Claudia

Claudia,
Yes, there are two other older versions of a small JEP water tower, with red deposit, one with just a central support and another also with lateral girders, like you mention. They are both pictured in the last Lamming book with orange cover, included in Sets. I have never seen either versions in other collections and don´t remember having seen one them on sale. Those pictured above are similar and the red version is not pictured elsewere to my knowledge, neither it is listed in the books I have.
About the station for JEP Mignon, that in this case is specific for the range, it was included in the sets, I am awere of just one variety, I have never seen a different one! As far as I know, after Mignon was abandoned, it was listed in the catalogues up to 1953, like you say, with a different reference number, but it was exactely the same design and colour? Where have you seen a different one?
One note about the station. Most of them have a missing part that "closes" the chimney, like the one pictured in the just mentioned Lamming book. This one is complete:







About the rare points, it is true that they are less known. Here is a boxed set of points and also with a crossing!




Regards,
Manuel

The crossing is most interesting - I've never seen it before! The aiguillages also belong to my little collection - both the electric version and the c/w one. Do you have a catalogue no. for the crossing? Last year, the mentioned very early chateau d'eau was offered within a lot of JEP parts by the French Ludovic Boullet - known as "frantic" in the French ebay. I was too silly to buy it at once! When I looked it up a bit later, it was gone...
About the two different kinds of wood in the gare I learned from a German collector. He said he had them both. I will ask him about this again.
Kind regards, Claudia

Dear all

Till now I am only aware of Versions with "Made in France" on the back of the tender and at the side of the electric loco.
I have never seen any version without it.
As far as I know this is not only related to export but also to the fact that "Made in Germany" became a quality sign and other countries tried to copy it.

Talking of Trix and as well Karl Bub at that time (later than the JEP trains) "Made in Germany" became "difficult" so Trix as well as Bub both changed to "Foreign" most probably to avoid problems in the foreign countries as now it was not "so popular" any more to be of german origin.
Anyway this is just speculation. Fact is that the export sets of Karl Bub normally do not show any markings "Made in Germany" but always "Foreign".

Coming back to the JEP trains.
I have also somehing to add to the water tower. I bought long ago a water tower. When it arrived I found it had one extra piece being an insert to the water tower which actually you could put real water in.
I have no idea if it is original or if it was made up later by the owner. Have you come across any of these inserts? Or did you find any refernces in the literature?

Unfortunately I have only a quite bad picture (taken long ago at the show in Achern) of it but I think you can clearly see the insert. As soon as I have the possibility I will make a detailed picture.



Greetings
Rainer

Hello, Rainer! I've never seen an inner bassin in the Jep water tower nor have I found one in literature. Sorry...
By the way: if you all don't mind I would suggest to follow this thread in English language due to Manuel. We're all capable to express ourselves in this language - makes it easier..
Kind regards,
yours Claudia

Hello,
Nice to hear from you Rainer (from China I guess, isn't this www the biggest invention of the last years?)
I think I remember having seen this water tower whemn I visited you collection some years ago... time goes fast! And I have never seen another, and my best guess is that it is a home made improvement?
Part number of the crossing Claudia: here are the 4 pages of the suplemment to the 1925 Jep catalogue, where we can see the various versions of the points and crossing. They were not sold individually, but only in sets. The pictures are taken from the photos on Ebay from the seller creususexpress, I try to buy the catalogue just to get good scans of it and then ressell it, but it was too much money (more than 750 euros as far as I remember), so we have to live with this just fair pictures.










Regards,
Manuel

What a smart idea to keep these scans, Manuel. Thank you for this information!
Regards from Claudia

Well, friends - to keep this thread alive, just some news about my Jep Mignon problems from today:
after I finished cleaning "miles" of Mignon track I tried the electric locos. All three of them did not run - due to "black" collectors, missing coal brushes and lack of oil on all axles.... the same old story with all mechanical toys that have slept in the attic for a long time. But after they were kissed alive I found out that none of my transformators was strong enough to make them really run - they moved snail like! With the help of a model railway collegue in the neighborhood (THANK YOU, MICHAEL!!!) I found out that the locos at least need 30 V - better 40 V - on their track. So I really do hope to either lean or buy a strong laboratory transfo until we meet in Berlin next weekend.
Have a nice sunday! Yours Claudia

Hello Manuel and Claudia,

is it possible to present some paperwork to the JEP MIGNON train next sunday ?
- copies of old cataloges
- pictures of train boxes
- describing papers to explain the train

I think, most of the visitors will see this train for the very first time.

Many thanks.

I bring what I have, Dieter! I.e. an originally boxed set "Pacific Mignon", the electric version. The inner lid of the case shows an instruction manual which I have copied and pinned on a board on top of information I found in German language. Then I bring a book by Clive Lamming, that contains the whole Jouet de Paris story including the Mignon railway.
Can you print out the scans that came via Manuel? My printer ran out of ink... And bring some pins? We could add that to my pin board.
Have a nice evening - yours Claudia

Hello Claudia and Dieter,
I can bring the clockwork version of the loco but in fact it would be great if you could print all the photos I posted, it would help me with my baggage!
Do you have also the Electric Trolley loco Claudia? I have the layout and the set also, but impossible to bring to Berlin, photos will have to do it!
Regards,
Manuel