Hornby Trains
Hornby trains are the U.K.’s foremost brand of model trains. They are to the U.K what Lionel is to the U.S.
The Early Days
It all began back in 1901 when Frank Hornby applied for a patent for his “Mechanics Made Easy” construction toy. It was an erector set type of toy that became extremely popular and was later renamed “Meccano”. Its great success led to the founding of Meccano Ltd. in 1907.
Hornby trains were built using Meccano technology and the first train set was released in 1920. These clockwork trains were built to the O gauge standard (1:48) and were unique in that they could be taken apart and reassembled. They became a huge success which naturally led to additional locomotives and accessories being produced.
Although electric trains had been produced
in America and Germany since the 1900s, Hornby introduced their very popular electric train set in 1925 which operated on 220-240V AC current. There were safety concerns about these high voltage trains so Hornby would later develop much safer 4, 6 and 20 volt motors to use in their train sets.
In 1927, Hornby tried to enter the U.S. market by building a factory in Elizabeth, NJ to produce American style train sets, but that didn’t last very long. The Great Depression, strong competition from U.S. train companies and the fact that their New Jersey plant only produced clockwork trains led to the closing of this factory in 1929.
Setting the Standard
Although electric trains were the wave of the future, clockwork trains still made up the bulk of the Hornby line and that would continue through 1937. Two years after Frank Hornby’s death in 1936, Hornby (now run by Frank’s son Roland) introduced their OO gauge line called “Hornby Dublo”. (Get it? Dublo was short for Double O or OO).
These Hornby trains were almost half the size of O scale (1:76) and were available in both electric and clockwork models with the electric version running on 12V DC current and a 3 rail track. These realistic looking trains sets had locomotives with die-cast metal bodies and cars that were usually made of tinplate. Hornby trains set the standard for OO gauge which has been the favorite in the U.K. ever since.
All train production ceased during the war years but started back up again when the war concluded except that clockworks were no longer being made in OO gauge. As it was for most model train manufacturers, business was robust during the first half of the 1950s but the late ‘50s were another story.
Looking Ahead
Hornby was slow to realize the potential threat from other train manufacturers, especially Tri-ang Railways who used less expensive plastic for their rolling stock. As a “Hail Mary” of sorts, in 1959 Hornby dropped their 3-rail system in favor of the more conventional 2-rail track and introduced plastic railroad cars for the first time.
These moves created even more financial problems because now, in addition to their 2-rail track, they also continued to make their 3-rail variety in order to appease their old customers. To make matters worse, their new plastic train sets did not do well as they were not on par with those of other manufacturers.
In 1964 Tri-ang’s parent company Lines Bros Ltd. bought Meccano and combined the two companies to form Tri-ang Hornby, although most of the trains produced were actually Tri-ang models. This company only lasted until 1971 when Lines Bros itself went bankrupt and sold off its railway unit to Dunbee-Combex-Marx where it was renamed Hornby Railways.
Believe it or not, in 1980 Dunbee-Combex-Marx was liquidated. Hornby Railways becomes an independent company, is renamed Hornby Hobbies and in 1986 Hornby goes public. Today it is simply known as Hornby and has regained the position as the leading model train manufacturer in Britain. Hornby trains had a bumpy road but they appear to be on solid footing again as they themselves acquired a number of other model train manufacturers.