A Hornby Boy

My first 'proper' train set was a Hornby Dublo 2 rail setup given to me for Christmas when I was about six or seven. This brought many, many hours of enjoyment to me and was the beginning of the passion I now have for toy trains, and railways in general.  It was preceded by a Lone Star 'Locos' 000 set which I've spoken about before on this blog, and which I still have, but being 'push-along' perhaps did not qualify it to be called a 'proper' train set.  


Hornby trains were proudly Made in England in their Liverpool factory by the Meccano company, founded and run by Frank Hornby.  Alongside the Dublo- obviously a derivation of double-oh, the scale/gauge of the trains- Hornby also made 0 gauge 'tinplate' trains.  It was this size of trains that were Meccano's entry into toy trains in about 1920, and before WW11 they developed an immense range of trains and accessories so that the (lucky) Hornby Boy of the prewar era could build a wonderful model railway.

After the War Hornby 0 gauge was re-introduced, but with a very reduced range, and, except for Australia, only in clockwork, not electric.  They were clearly intended for younger children to 'play' with. It was no longer really possible, or the intention, for it to be built into a proper model railway system.  Dublo, probably quite rightly, had become the system of choice for young train enthusiasts, at least within the Hornby brand, anyway.  Brand sounds such a modern, harsh, term- perhaps Hornby family would better describe what we now call brand-loyalty!  Anyway, to cut a very long story less long, both Hornby 0 gauge and Hornby Dublo effectively ceased to exist in 1964 when the Meccano Empire closed, which is another very long story!!  I was very fortunate to be able to acquire a small collection of Hornby 0 gauge trains and accessories from a genuine 'Hornby Boy' of the 1930's, and it was this small collection that set me on the train collecting path as an adult- a journey which I'm enjoying immensely!!  


Thus 0 gauge trains in most of the world effectively 'died' for many years, except in the USA where Lionel battled on.  Various systems came and went, but these were really nothing like the superb Hornby 'tinplate' trains that had previously existed.  Fortunately, from the early 1990's, tinplate 0 gauge trains have made a determined comeback in the UK and are now available in other parts of the world too, including Australia.  Once again, with the help of some original Hornby items from various dealers or eBay, it is possible to construct the sort of toy-train layout that we adult collectors could only have dreamt about as kids.  In fact some of the layouts that are shown at exhibitions are WAY beyond what any kid could've dreamt of!!


And so it is that I've been looking into what is now available in recent British tinplate 0 gauge trains, and overall I am very impressed with what is being produced, primarily for the adult toy-train hobbyist.  I have dipped my toe in this new pond and have bought a very nice model of a Peckett saddle-tank loco named 'Joseph', produced by one of these resurgent companies called Bassett-Lowke.  This name will of course be familiar to anyone who knows anything about British model trains, as it enjoys a heritage every bit as rich as Hornby's.  Somewhat ironically, the Bassett-Lowke brand is now owned by the current Hornby group of companies.

Anyway, I am very happy indeed with this loco, and look forward very much to running it.  They run on 12 volt DC power, unlike many of the other trains available that run on 20volts DC, but at least this means I can use a controller that I already have.  You will see that it is sitting on 3-rail track- which is a replica of Hornby's steel track of the 1930's- but it will also run on insulated 2-rail track.  It is made of folded and soldered sheet metal (hence the nickname tinplate, although this probably isn't actual tinplated steel) and the standard of finish is very good indeed.  Now, it would look very nice with a short train of tinplate goods wagons.........................