Inserts and Foldouts | BRIO® Wooden Railway Guide

Foldouts are the single-sheet brochures that fold up into compact booklets which are then inserted into retail boxes. A typical BRIO foldout shows the complete line of BRIO products for the year in which it was printed, but because of space constraints does not provide product names: only product photos and catalog numbers are given. While there were a few Wooden Railway-specific foldouts printed in the 1980’s, the BRIO foldout as it is seen today first appeared in 1991. Foldouts have been produced almost every year since then.

Foldouts are undated, and the vast majority do not even have a printing or copyright date on them. Determining the catalog year of historical BRIO foldouts is educated guesswork based on the product lineup in the brochure. It’s also not uncommon to find labeling or photo errors inside, so it’s always a good idea to double-check product numbering and images against other sources.

Because foldouts tend to be very long strips, only the panels that have wooden railway products on them are included here and the cover image has been grafted on where necessary.

Vintage Inserts

Late-1950’s (estimated)
Catalog sheet from the late 1950’s, possibly very early 1960’s, showing accessories for the BRIO Miniature Railway #31405. Catalog sheet image courtesy of BRIO collector Tyme. JPEG, 472 KB.

Mid-1960’s (estimated)
Catalog sheet from the mid 1960’s, probably after 1964, showing accessories for the BRIO Miniature Railway #31405. Many of the 70’s accessories, and even some of the early 80’s ones, are descendants of these early designs. Catalog sheet image courtesy of eBay user andyt6674.

Late 1960’s or eary 1970’s
Probably from around 1970 based on the product lineup. Note that the harbor set is the original, unpainted version and trains with hook-and-eye couplers are still shown. Catalog sheet image courtesy of BRIO collector Tyme. JPEG, 500 KB.

Mid-1970’s
Probably from 1976 or close to it, based on the product lineup from the 1978-79 dealer catalog. JPEG, 457 KB.

1981-82 (estimated)
A trifold catalog sheet from the very early 80’s, most likely around 1982. Note that the transition to black wheel bases has begun, but curved switch tracks have not yet appeared. This brochure was provided by Dave Pecota. JPEG, 272 KB.

1983
Large foldout poster printed on heavy paper. Shows the original, rimless wheel styling, and the older product codes. Only one side is shown as the flip side just shows various layouts and my copy is heavily marked up. JPEG, 1.25 MB.

1987
A miniature version of the 1987 wooden railway booklet. JPEG, 1.09 MB.

Modern Foldouts

1991
One of the few foldout sheets that has a date printed on it. Also contains a couple of mislabeled product images, something that’s not uncommon with these inserts. JPEG, 922 KB.

1993 (estimated)
Introduces the rare Activity Train, #33510, which was made for the Early Learning Centre. One of the rarer foldout sheets. Scanned by Dave Pecota. JPEG, 258 KB

1994
Starting this year, these foldouts were produced annually (with only a couple of exceptions). JPEG, 745 KB.

1995
This is arguably the most prevalent of the foldouts from the 1990’s, as 1995 was a major year for new products in the wooden railway system. JPEG, 614 KB.

1996
Catalog scan courtesy of BRIO collector artheathen. JPEG, 873 KB.

1997
This was the first foldout to show double track. JPEG, 722 KB.

1998
Includes the rare and hard to find Water Tower and Windmill accessories, as well as the Middle Straight track. JPEG 899 KB.

1999
The transition to the 2000 product lineup begins. JPEG, 446 KB.

2000
Double track has disappeared. JPEG, 928 KB.

2001
The colored engine series appears, as do the Busytown, Curious George, and Bob the Builder themes. JPEG, 435 KB.

2002
One of the rarer foldouts. JPEG, 1.04 MB.

2003
One of the few foldout sheets with a copyright date on it. Includes Sky Train, Egypt, Pirates, Space, Curious George, and Bob the Builder themes. JPEG, 975 KB.