Blechspielwarenfabrik Jos. Kraus & Co.
–

Nürnberg
 

History oft he Collection

It all started with a locomotive tender. When Jens Ehle from Thuringia acquired this train in Bamberg in 1995, he laid the foundation for his collection, which now includes over 350 objects. At the beginning it was his goal to collect enough parts for a complete railway system. But with each new acquisition, the interest in the still relatively unknown company Josef Kraus & Co. and its remarkable development grew. This is how the most extensive collection of railway products of the Fandor company, founded in Nuremberg in 1910, was created over the years.








                                                                                                                                                                   Loktender


From November 2006 to January 2007 the collection was presented to the public for the first time. In the exhibition "Fascination Sheet Metal Railways" it was shown as a Christmas exhibition in the Jena City Museum. After the success of this special exhibition, the idea grew in Jens Ehle  to make his collection accessible to society instead of keeping it hidden in his home.

After an initial contact between Mr. Ehle and the museum director Bernd Hartwich in 2010, the idea gradually developed to present this valuable collection in a specially made room at the Petersberg Museum. The special design of this exhibition should make it possible not only to see the railways, but also to move them, experience them and "play" with them. After several years of renovation, the collection of tin toys Josef Kraus & Co. has been on permanent loan from Jens Ehle to the Petersberg Museum since 2016. 

                                    Jense Ehle in the exhibition of our museum.

You can find a detailed insight into the collection in the gallery.