The History of Hornby O Gauge

Bursting on to the market in the years after the First World War, the first Hornby tinplate train set was made to utilise ‘O’ gauge track, a standard that had already been set by expensive imported German train sets. The first locomotive, a simple four wheel freelance design with a tender, could be purchased in three different liveries, green, red and black and lettered as a Great Northern, Midland or London & North Western Railway engine. To complement it was a range of fourwheel carriages and wagons, which could also be bought separately – for those who wished to expand their collection of rolling stock. They were manufactured in a new extension to Meccano’s Binns Road, Liverpool, factory.

The success of these simple clockwork trains was nothing short of spectacular, as they were the first to fall within the potential buying power of the average family. Production at Hornby’s Binns Road headquarters had to be stepped up to cope with demand and additional manufacturing facilities were added as sales rocketed.

Such was the success of the original engine and carriages that in 1921 a further locomotive was added to the range. This was a 4-4-0 tender design which was released at the same time as a series of bogie carriages. The new engine was marketed as ‘The Hornby No. 2 Train’ while the original 0-4-0 became the ‘No. 1’. Improved track and clockwork mechanisms arrived the same year, as did the first of what was to become a comprehensive range of accessories. The new release was available in the same colours as the original but with the addition of a blue Caledonian Railway version, with this livery then also being made available on the No 1.

Booming production and sales enabled Hornby to rapidly expand the range of rolling stock available, with tank wagons, cement wagons and covered vans soon being added to the catalogue. A four-wheel timber wagon at only two shillings (10p) proved to be a particularly popular addition and quickly sold in its thousands.

The Grouping of the British railway companies in 1923 saw changes to the nation’s railways and in the tinplate range there were also changes mirroring those in real life. The No. 1 and No. 2 sets were soon produced with their engines in the new liveries of London Midland & Scottish Railway (LMS) and London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) while Great Western Railway (GWR) colours were added three years later and Southern (SR) two years after that. The range of wagons and particularly accessories continued to proliferate and another first for UK railways even extended to smaller items such as loading gauges and telegraph poles.

Although clockwork mechanisms were always the principal means of propulsion, 1925 saw the introduction of Hornby’s first electric train, with the choice of prototype being rather unusually an electric locomotive of the Metropolitan line. This was notable as being the first attempt at modelling an actual locomotive, rather than a freelance design, and it came about as a result of research carried out in the USA by Frank Hornby himself. Although popular, the new set cost £5-10s which put it out of the reach of many, ensuring that the clockwork motor continued to dominate for many years to come.

Throughout the 1920s the range expanded with the introduction of tank locomotives in both the No. 1 and the No. 2 ranges, along with rolling stock which was normally produced in the colours of all four of the main line railways. Accessories had by now expanded to include buildings while at the top of the range there was a model of a French sleeping car train, marketed as the ‘Riviera Blue Train’. Many of the locomotives could now be obtained with electric motors but the high-voltage version of these had to be withdrawn and was soon replaced with one running at a less shocking four volts. A Pullman train set introduced in 1927 became a very popular choice while eager collectors snapped up items such as the signalbox and the newly-introduced palisade fencing.

1929 proved to be a very significant year as Hornby introduced a range of No. 2 special locomotives which were, for the first time, representations of actual prototypes rather than freelance designs merely produced in different liveries. A 4-4-0 tender engine was produced as a very passable representation of a Midland Compound. There was also a ‘D49’ of the LNER, a Great Western ‘County’ and a Southern ‘L1’. There were also new versions of the No. 1 and No. 2 tank locomotives with bigger mechanisms, which involved fitting bigger ‘boilers’. More electric trains were also added, this time working at six volts, while the range of rolling stock and accessories continued to expand.

The 1930s were the golden years of Hornby’s tinplate railway system. The range was now so large that items were produced to satisfy everyone’s needs, from the child receiving its first trainset to the avid collector of nearlyscale models. Collectors could not only buy locomotives and rolling stock but also buildings, signals, scenic features and even miniature passengers. While clockwork power continued to dominate, the number of electric trains sold rose rapidly, and in 1934 Hornby had 28 in its catalogue compared to only five the year before. Most of these were versions of the clockwork models, which continued to be popular.

An exciting development for the younger enthusiast was a representation of the famous ‘Silver Jubilee’ train of the LNER. Although based on an 0-4-0 chassis, the tinplate body was a fair representation of this famous train, especially when paired with the matching coaches. Far more important to the scale modeller was the 1937 introduction of a ‘Pacific’ in the form of the LMS’ Princess Elizabeth, which was as near to the prototype as it was possible to get given the confines of the tinplate method of construction.

By the end of the decade Hornby had stopped bringing out new products for ‘O’ gauge because the newly-introduced ‘Dublo’ range had been an instant smash hit and it became obvious that the days of the tinplate range were numbered.

Production of model railways was suspended by Government order during the Second World War but recommenced after the hostilities ended; nevertheless tinplate production would never be at anything like the levels formerly enjoyed. Prices rose sharply in 1950 due to a shortage of materials and this continued into the following years with some changes having to be made to products due to shortages of lead and nickel. Plastic wheels first made an appearance at this time.

As the 1950s ended sales of tinplate trains were falling off in favour of the newer, smaller and more detailed Dublo models and the range was run down, finally ending production around 1962. Sets continued to be available for some time as stocks were disposed of and then that was the end of what had been a massive step forward in the world of model railways.

Hornby’s tinplate ‘O’ gauge range was a revolution in toy making which brought model railways to the masses in a way that had never been seen before and which laid the foundation for the interest which was to follow in subsequent Hornby products.