In 1859 the tinsmith Theodor Friedrich Wilhelm Märklin and his wife Caroline started up their toy company in the town of Goppingen in Württemberg, Germany. When Theodor died in 1886, Caroline continued running the business until 1888 when their sons, Eugen and Karl began managing the company under the name Gebruder Märklin. From 1907 the company changed name to Gebruder Märklin & Co under the leadership of Eugen Märklin and Emil Fritz. Märklin continued the production of model steam engines until the mid 1950s.