In the 1930s, Meccano Ltd was one of the largest scale model manufacturers in the UK. Its main areas of interest were constructors (Meccano), scale model cars (Dinky Toys) and miniature railways (Hornby Railways). Below we will talk about the latest brand.
Hornby Railways was founded by English inventor and entrepreneur Frank Hornby, creator of Meccano. The first train was produced in the early 1920s: a locomotive equipped with a clockwork mechanism drove the train along the track on a scale of 1:48. Hornby Railways immediately moved on and designed another novelty - a toy electric train. However, this project was poorly designed, and after a small print run was quickly sold out in France, the failure was quickly forgotten. In 1925, the company developed the next, this time successful model of an electric train.
For safety reasons, electric motors were limited to 4V and 6V, later a 20V limited system was introduced. Although Hornby Railways pleased customers with a more complex and interesting product, the clockwork models sold best. The main production was concentrated in Liverpool, later a factory was built in France, focused on French train models.
In 1938, the world saw the Hornby Dublo train in 1:76 scale, known as 00 (two zeros or the letter combination OO). Cast metal locomotives were equipped with clockwork or electric mechanism. The Hornby Dublo was well received by customers, and 00 scale became the standard for model trains.
The Hornby Railways brand prospered, but the Second World War made adjustments. The plant stopped in 1942 and resumed work only after the war. After stagnation, the company began to develop again, until competitors loomed on the horizon in the 50s. The management made a big mistake: the lineup was not replenished, the old series were only finalized. It all ended with the fact that Hornby Railways was bought out: the brand was completely transferred to the Chinese competitor Tri-ang Railways.
A new name has appeared on the scale model market - Tri-ang Hornby. Hornby Railways' metal trains faded into the background, replaced by cheaper plastic miniatures. The former name returned after the bankruptcy of Tri-ang and with the transition to a new owner - Dunbee-Combex-Marx. In the 1980s, Hornby Railways regained its independence, but only for a while. A few years ago, the company was again overtaken by financial difficulties, and the controlling stake was transferred to Phoenix Asset Management.
Trains under the Hornby Railways brand are still being produced: in 2022, new series of locomotives with rolling stock in 1:120 scale were released.
