Biller around the world the world
 
After WW II German Toys very fast regained, due to quality and robustness, their credit. Biller followed the trend to export and thus stabilize and increase the turnover. Biller exported to all over the world.

Especially America took a reasonable part. Toys were shipped from Germany as presents (to say "Thank you for your help" after WW II), on the other hand many in Germany stationed GI's took the toys bought in Germany back home. Thus Biller is well known to the "older" generation in the US.

There were no country specific catalogues. However mail order companies often offered Biller items in their catalogues and Biller catalogues and leaflet were multilingual e.g. German -English, -French, -Italian, -Dutch and -Spanish.
 
Billerbahn in France France
 
Pictures that reached me at the end of November 2024 from near Paris.
I have a small 0-train layout in a basement room of my house measuring 4 x 5 m. There are 3 parallel tracks that run around and the 4th inner track is occupied by the Billerbahn tracks under construction. In the background the Flèche d'Or train (luxury Paris-Calais train from the 1930s) from AS.
I have 80 locomotives or railcars in 0 and I only have 2 locomotives (diesel+steam) and 25 wagons left from the BILLER BAHN.

But - the last picture shows the "savoir vivre" in a CIWL wagon with a glass of wine
Gauge 0 "Flèche d'Or" Gauge 0 "Flèche d'Or" and Billerbahn Jean-Pierre at Wine Taste
 

See some pictures which came to Germany New year 2006. They show Billerbahn  in France - in- and outdoor. And the last picture represents the owner - sitting together with his wife on a garden bench - watching LGB gauge IIm trains pass through the "Valleys" the Billerbahn has passed in the 50ies and 60ies. The track layout has a length of approx. 100 meters. And beside this hobby, Denis is an active member of the PITHIVIERS Museum in France - and he has drivers license for KDL and Gmeinder locomotives.

Enjoy the excellent aura of these pictures.
 
Daniel Boussac Daniel Boussac Daniel Boussac
Daniel Boussac Daniel Boussac Daniel Boussac
 

Denis presenting a Biller layout on an exhibition in ST MICHEL sur ORGE - 20 KM south of Paris - March 2006
Daniel Boussac Daniel Boussac Daniel Boussac
 
Weihnachten 1954 / Christmas 1954 / Noel 1954 <--- A picture presented by Pierre Crézé. The picture shows him with sisters and brothers playing the Billerbahn on DEC-25-1954. What a nice scene - and memory. Biller sold at Paris enormous prices in 1953
---> And he still preserves the old catalog and price list from May 1953. E.g. the Set 151 is sold at double the price as offered in Germany!!!
 
Biller in Great Britain Great Britain
Please follow the link to see some pictures of a layout which was operated between 1975 and 1980 - mainly in Germany and afterwards in England. The layout was called "Lilienthal Kleinbahn" - very impressive - especially the details. Meanwhile a Biller Open Air Layout was built.
 
Biller in Sweden Sweden
A really nice Biller collection from Lidingö / Sweden. All parts in very good original working condition. Everything is owned for approx. 50 years. Unfortunately Staffan died in DEC 2019

Staffan Sendel
 
Biller in the Netherlands De Nederland
Products produced by Biller were imported and delivered by SWEERING of Amsterdam. Approximately 1978 this concern moved from Amsterdam to Almere, were another Biller collector found some left-over in early 2000, partially originally boxed.

See 5 catalogue pages of Dutch mail order companies
 1961 offer by "van Hilten's Book Store" in Uithoorn / NL Haussemann & Hötte as of 1965 catalogue picture by "Hootsen's" - Veenendaal / NL - 1965/66

van Hilten

catalogue from the Netherlands

Hootsen
 
- unknown - as of  1969 - unknown - as of  1969  
Nederland 1969 Nederland 1969  
 

This is a picture made by my father at the Euro-Model Toy Fare in Bremen Germany - showing the 0-gauge Fleischmann layout of Eric den Hamer from Belgium - presenting some Biller in between. A really cute and professional layout. 
Eric den Hamer auf der Euromodell 2000 Eric den Hamer auf der Euromodell 2000  
 
Billerbahn operated by Niek van Ees

 
Here is another Biller Layout owned and operated by Niek van Ees. The pictures show Niek's individual layout at a convention in Valkenburg / The Netherlands in 2009, where he - together with Hans van Dissel - presents his treasures on a 6 meter table
 

The first 6 pictures show the individual layout from different perspectives...
complete layout seen from the left integrated 1830 blue Giant right side of the layout
 
maintenace and storage facility at the station Maintenance Train
 

... and 3 pictures from the homelike glass case
glass case #1 cute compact scene glass case #2
 
Biller in Switzerland
 
Most probably the Zurich mail order company Franz Carl Weber was the first to present Products in their program. The train sets 100 and 101 were already shown in the 1948 catalogue. I do have FCW-catalogue copies up to 1967 offering Biller Toys. Nowadays Biller in Switzerland is still well known under his pre-war initial "HABI".
 
And finally some pictures from Switzerland: some Biller Toys - and else manufactured toys typical for these "good old times".
 
 
 
Now showing 3 pictures of a Billerbahn incl. accessories which were bought between 1958 and 1965. There are small changes visible - however the plastic steam-cloud of the 1510 still exists!!! All this material was sold in September 2016 in the Greater Zurich / Switzerland.
 
The beginning in 1959 changes until 1967 minor changes in 1960 - and coloured
starting in 1959 changes until 1967 recovered from the attic
 
fixed layout 1964  keine Veränderungen bis 1967 as "recovered from tha attic" in 2010
fixed layout 1964 no changes until 1967 in 2010 recovered from the attic
 
Biller in Australia and New Zealand
 
Biller as well exported to Australia and New Zealand. In the City of Oldham Biller items were offered at a clothing store called "George Courts" and Hans Biller had personal contact to a Biller-Fan, whom he then had sent some Biller toys. The following layouts of Peter Brennan (born 1929) are still in operation. Different colours are a result of own "creativity". Parts of this (meanwhile changed) layout were shown by Hans Biller at the Nuremberg Toy Fare either 1973 or 1974. 

 
another small layout from "down under" - by C. Duthie from New Zealand
presenting a STABO gantry, an ISSMAYER footbridge and a KBN station - all German products of the Biller era
 
Biller in the USA
 
As already mentioned above many Biller Toys came to the US as "Thank you" presents after WW 2 and by returning GI's after having been in Germany. After that - beside "normal" shops e.g. F.A.O. Schwarz - mail order companies as J. J. Newberry sold Biller train sets - using  own lid inscriptions.

See three pictures from Lew Schneider, Waban, MA - Biller together with other Tin Plate Toys. See the Biller delivery tricycle on the 1st picture!!!

Do you want to see more? Here we go!!!
 
I do have knowledge of Biller being sold in Austria, Italy, Canada, Spain and Uruguay. Details to follow (hopefully). And there is at least one Layout in South Africa.
generated: AUG-05-2001 last update: Christmas 2017