Hornby Railways Catalogue and Box Art - An Advent Calendar Lookback

[Legend]

These pylons go back further than 1993 Ryan .  I believe they were modelled on real ones outside the factory in Margate . Maybe introduced in the early 60s as part of the model land series . Anyway you can see them here on a layout in the 1969 Tri-ang Hornby book of trains . This is part of the layout that featured in the amalgamation leaflet of 65 .  It is interesting because the narrative tells us that the coach behind the B12 is Maroon but the next one could easily be green or crimson and cream and still authentic , completely ignoring the fact that you really wouldn’t have seen a B12 and blue Class 31 together , never mind a Hymek on a Freightliner . Oh well , it didn’t matter at the time .

 

As others have pointed out the binding on this book is an issue , this is my original 1969 edition which through lots of use is falling to pieces , so apologies for the binding line that goes up the middle of this layout , but I think it still captures the essence . I do have a pristine Book of Trains as well , but I certainly didn’t want to wedge the page open 
 

 

Edited December 19, 2020 by Legend

[BernardTPM]

13 hours ago, RyanN91 said:

1983 Layout and the introduction of the Hornby set of 3 Pylons with a fascinating insight into the national grid!

 

 

3 hours ago, Legend said:

These pylons go back further than 1993 Ryan .  I believe they were modelled on real ones outside the factory in Margate . Maybe introduced in the early 60s as part of the model land series .

 

Yes, they were first shown in the 1964 catalogue. That little yard crane had been made before too, first in that form in 1963. The crane part itself is from the Cowans Sheldon crane introduced by Tri-ang in 1962, but put on that plinth the following year.

Edited December 19, 2020 by BernardTPM

[Nearholmer]

The 1963 range is well worth a look, because that was the point where cut-throat competition for the toy/model train market drove everyone to produce very extensive ranges, not equaled for probably forty or fifty years thereafter.

 

The bible burst somewhere around 1964/5.

 

(In fact, it was the bubble that burst, but that’s such a strange auto-current that I’m going to leave it)

 

 

 

 

Edited December 19, 2020 by Nearholmer

[Hroth]

2 hours ago, Legend said:

As others have pointed out the binding on this book is an issue , this is my original 1969 edition which through lots of use is falling to pieces , so apologies for the binding line that goes up the middle of this layout

 

As previously mentioned, I've also got two TH Book of Trains in a similar condition.  If I can find my hot glue binder machine, I might put the disintegrated one in it to see if it can restore the binding...  Nothing to lose!

[BernardTPM]

Yes, for me growing up the 1963 catalogue was one of the best. My original copy is somewhat battered, but I picked up a better one later. Starts well with the fabulous Cuneo cover:

 

 

Then inside a glimpse of the striking new Rocket (how could they do it so small?) and the interesting, if short-lived tie-up with Lionel Science sets, and the Brit in TT and 00.

 

 

One newcomer destined for a long life was the Grand Victorian suspension bridge (Lord of the Isles is still around too, but that was new in 1961).

 

 

There was, of course, the promise of action. Two interesting sets:

 

 

The Double set is a great starter with plenty of Xmas Day operational appeal while the Railway/Motorways set would be bound to be a favourite with the whole family after a few Sherry Trifles.

 

[caradoc]

I had that catalogue too ! The Railways/Motorways set always looked to my then young eyes to be way bigger than OO scale. 

 

[BernardTPM]

The action carries on too with what was later the kernal of the Battle Space range (though that title came later):

 

 

The Auto Magic control is interesting. There were other, more realistic action sets available too:

 

 

The Bell set was a commercial failure, but highly thought of in the model press at the time. Lastly 1963 was the high tide mark for the TT range with the addition of the Fench Continental items:

 

 

Altogether lots of fun and the detail standards were rising too. The new range of station platforms and buildings to suit the Super 4 geometry, the Transcontinental range, Budd Railcar, Caledonian Single, Blue Pullman...  busy, busy, busy!

Edited December 19, 2020 by BernardTPM

[BernardTPM]

2 minutes ago, caradoc said:

I had that catalogue too ! The Railways/Motorways set always looked to my then young eyes to be way bigger than OO scale.

Most of the cars are at least S scale, but the lorries and buses are about 4mm scale. The Beford TK cab is actually rather nice.

[caradoc]

16 hours ago, Legend said:

Meanwhile back at Triang Hornby here’s a page I stared at incessantly  back from the 71 catalogue . I so wanted Princess Elizabeth which would be my first large steam locos , after my Brush type 2, Jinty, AL1 and diesel Shunter . It duly turned up as a Christmas present that year .  The LMS seem to be well represented at Dundee which would have been a bit of a surprise 

 

I had that catalogue also - IIRC that was the year Triang-Hornby went for pre-nationalisation liveries in a big way. My youngest sister's initials are LM, so she liked to imagine that LMS stood for Lxxx Mxxxxx Society. She was only 8 at the time !

 

 

[RyanN91]

2 hours ago, BernardTPM said:

 

 

Yes, they were first shown in the 1964 catalogue. That little yard crane had been made before too, first in that form in 1963. The crane part itself is from the Cowans Sheldon crane introduced by tri-ang in 1962, but put on that plinth the following year.

Apologies I forgot to add in my original post I knew the pylons were first introduced in the 1960s which was I posted it as I thought it seemed odd to label them as new for 1986 Unless it was because it was for many years until Hornby re-issued them. Which was why I also included it also as it mentioned about how they were becoming a common occurance in 1930s! Although the first ever electricity transmition tower "pylon" in the United Kingdom was built in Edinburgh in Scotland in 1928. That wonderful crane was last issued somewhere between the mid 2000s and early 2010s. it would be nice to see this again aswell! 

[RyanN91]

3 hours ago, Legend said:

Great  series of pics  Ryan .  Yes I reckon I’ve got a 28 year start on you . In my case it was running down stairs to find a Triang Freightmaster set already laid out on dining room table . But no matter the generations , it’s still pure joy . It’s as simple as that . Merry Christmas ! 

Thank you I always find seeing old photos of people with their old Hornby sets amazing I've others on one of the Hornby foums with their Christmas Birthday presents gifts etc receiving Hornby gifts it was really nice to see these captured moments for prosterity and their own personal photographs.  For example Apologies I can't remember who it was now but I saw I think it was on the BR Class 370 APT-P forum another it must have been 1981 (when it was first released) onwards one Christmas looking delighted that they received the Hornby APT-P train pack. Also another one with their new Advanced Passenger Train set of a very happy looking small boy Christmas 1980 set layed out on the living room carpet.

 

Merry Christmas to you all too, stay safe and a happier healthier 2021! 

[No Decorum]

At one stage, Hornby catalogues looked as if they had been compiled by chimpanzees taking a break from trying to type out Hamlet. The illustration is a scan from the 2013 catalogue. Look at the mess the union link and combination lever are in! Anyone can make a mistake but this picture was repeated from the 2012 catalogue and the problem had been pointed out. To me, it represents one of Hornby’s low points.

 

The power of a catalogue is not to be underestimated, though. I popped into my six-year-old grandson’s place after picking up a Hornby catalogue. I let him have a look and he seemed interested enough for me to buy him his own copy. Months later, his mother spotted him lying on his bed, looking through the catalogue. Now he gets Hornby and Bachmann catalogues when they come out, he has a train set* with add-ons and is getting a diesel for Christmas.

 

*Domestic authority carefully consulted first. It takes up a lot of space!

[New Haven Neil]

I also had that '63 catalogue, and wore the pages out!  As I was only 4 going on 5, it must have been bought for big brother, but he had little interest in 'our' train set.  The Lionel science sets fascinated me, they seemed out of reach high tech! I think they were of more interest to bro, as he went to to become a radio officer at sea and a radar technician.

 

It occurs to me that I never had a train set per se, as there was already big bro's set on a board, with a Princess (Acetate - I still have it, banana shaped!) and two of the short coaches and one slightly longer buffet car and some freight wagons.  One Christmas he got a Winston Churchill and I a Nellie, and thus began my modelling career!  It all almost fell in disuse as the power supply was one of those tall black things with two 6v lantern batteries in it, which had a life of minutes.  A controller/transformer for another Christmas re-launched the whole thing, and it all remained in my life forever.

 

I just love those catalogues so much.....flips to e bay.....

[Legend]

Yeah . I’ve got the 62 and 63 catalogues but it’s 65 onwards I remember . Like everyone else they were studied for hours .  A few more images from the Book of Trains 

[Steamport Southport]

5 hours ago, RyanN91 said:

Apologies I forgot to add in my original post I knew the pylons were first introduced in the 1960s which was I posted it as I thought it seemed odd to label them as new for 1986 Unless it was because it was for many years until Hornby re-issued them. Which was why I also included it also as it mentioned about how they were becoming a common occurance in 1930s! Although the first ever electricity transmition tower "pylon" in the United Kingdom was built in Edinburgh in Scotland in 1928. That wonderful crane was last issued somewhere between the mid 2000s and early 2010s. it would be nice to see this again aswell! 

 

Well I can't remember the pylons as they weren't in any of the old catalogues we had which dated from the late 1960s or any of the ones I bought.

 

So mustn't have been available from about 1966 until 1984 when I had more or less given up with Hornby.

 

But "new for 1986" might be clutching at straws a bit...

 

 

 

Jason

[BernardTPM]

Model Land (Real Estate in its early guise) often had it's own catalogue or list. Same with Arkitex, but both would feature in the Tri-ang Hornby catalogue layouts.

[Markn]

Apologies, wrong topic. 

 

Edited December 19, 2020 by Markn

[Butler Henderson]

55 minutes ago, Steamport Southport said:

Well I can't remember the pylons as they weren't in any of the old catalogues we had which dated from the late 1960s or any of the ones I bought.

 

So mustn't have been available from about 1966 until 1984 when I had more or less given up with Hornby.

 

But "new for 1986" might be clutching at straws a bit...

Pat Hammond in The Story of Rovex Vol 2 says production was 5,900 kits in 1966, 2,000 in 1967 and 5,500 in 1968. It took until 1971 for the stored stock to be distributed.  In Vol 3 it is stated about 24,000 were made 1986-1996.

Edited December 19, 2020 by Butler Henderson

[Steamport Southport]

31 minutes ago, Butler Henderson said:

Pat Hammond in The Story of Rovex Vol 2 says production was 5,900 kits in 1966, 2,000 in 1967 and 5,500 in 1968. It took until 1971 for the stored stock to be distributed.  In Vol 3 it is stated about 24,000 were made 1986-1996.

I can't remember seeing them in the shops or advertised anywhere. Wasn't born in the 1960s, but have most of the magazines from the time.

 

 

Out of the buildings shown above the only one of them I remember was the goods depot with crane.

 

Obviously not including the red engine shed and turntable.

 

It was the Mainline Station that I wanted. No idea of it's origins, but looked quite impressive. Also disappeared quite quickly.

 

 

https://www.hattons.co.uk/467090/hornby_r199station_po_mainline_station_kit_pre_owned_sold_as_seen_imperfect_box_parts_loose_in_box_s/stockdetail.aspx

[BernardTPM]

That was a Pola continental kit, added to the Hornby range in the 1970s.

[Nearholmer]

26 minutes ago, BernardTPM said:

That was a Pola continental kit

 

Which bears a stunning resemblance to Portsmouth and Southsea station.

[LNWR18901910]

Day 19

Late again! Sorry isn't good enough...so, let's dive right in.

 

What can I say about the Blue Pullman? It was one of British Rail's modern train services. However, how can you call it Blue Pullman just because BR has gone all blue and yellow? It's like calling a hornet Green Hornet. This motion blur of the countryside during the 1970s, the speed-effect, the big D coupling, everything!

 

As well as giving us the contents of the train set, we have the entire track plan featured as well and the name of the train set over the actual train (in case you forgot). The BR Class 47 locomotive has been in production since 1976 over a decade and a half since the Type 4s entered service. This locomotive was occassionally produced just when Hornby had to keep chugging along (pun intended), but nowadays, we have the Bachmann version which is more detailed, runs great and has working lights (I used to own a model of one, once). If any modeller takes the Bachmann Type 47 any day, you DCC-dukes would.

 

N.B: Thanks to those who liked and agreed with my thoughts, I also agree with yours and special thanks to those who provided enough material and information, please help share more stuff with me I might use, so thanks again and see you tomorrow bang on time!

Edited December 20, 2020 by LNWR18901910

[Ruffnut Thorston]

1 hour ago, Nearholmer said:

 

Which bears a stunning resemblance to Portsmouth and Southsea station.

 

https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/6544479

 

 

[Nearholmer]

4 minutes ago, LNWR18901910 said:

What can I say about the Blue Pullman?

What I can say is that you will probably reveal a generational divide by choosing that set, rather than The Blue Pullman.

[Steamport Southport]

25 minutes ago, LNWR18901910 said:

Day 18

Late again! Sorry isn't good enough...so, let's dive right in.

 

What can I say about the Blue Pullman? It was one of British Rail's modern train services. However, how can you call it Blue Pullman just because BR has gone all blue and yellow? It's like calling a hornet Green Hornet. This motion blur of the countryside during the 1970s, the speed-effect, the big D coupling, everything!

 

As well as giving us the contents of the train set, we have the entire track plan featured as well and the name of the train set over the actual train (in case you forgot). The BR Class 47 locomotive has been in production since 1976 over a decade and a half since the Type 4s entered service. This locomotive was occassionally produced just when Hornby had to keep chugging along (pun intended), but nowadays, we have the Bachmann version which is more detailed, runs great and has working lights (I used to own a model of one, once). If any modeller takes the Bachmann Type 47 any day, you DCC-dukes would.

 

N.B: Thanks to those who liked and agreed with my thoughts, I also agree with yours and special thanks to those who provided enough material and information, please help share more stuff with me I might use, so thanks again and see you tomorrow bang on time!

 

That's the 2000s Blue Pullman. A bit like the Northern Belle and other prestigious trains. Didn't last long. Two Class 47s and a set of BR Mk2s.

 

http://www.class47.co.uk/c47_liveries.php?s_type=3&s_liv=134

 

Here's the coaches.

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hertfordshire_Rail_Tours

 

Jason

Edited December 20, 2020 by Steamport Southport