"Hornby" 2-rail question...

Jan 03, 2007 2 Replies

Can anyone help me with this. When I was about four years old I visited a friend's house. This was about 1959. He had a new train set. He said it was a "Hornby" but I pointed out that Hornby was 3-rail and not 2-rail. He was adamant it was a "Hornby" which I now know to be at least possible. I



*think* the train set consisted of an airsmoothed Bulleid pacific and green coaches. I remember being startled by the green coaches as we both lived beside a ex-LNWR branchline so had only ever seen maroon ones in real life. Did Hornby ever make such a set? I've checked with various collector's sites and can't find a Hornby set which matches that description. Could it have been another make generically referred to as a Hornby? I may have got the details wrong or indeed imagined the entire event. TIA.

(kim)


Hornby (Dublo) was definitely available in 2-rail in 1959, as my dad bought me a set (R1 tank, UGB yellow open, fitted van and LMS Brake, though I'm not

100% certain on this last)- it was intended to soften me up for the arrival of my little sister. It would have been more effective if he'd let ME play with it... However, there was no Bulleid Pacific, either 'air-smoothed' or not, at the time in the Hornby-Dublo range- 'Barnstaple' and 'Dorchester' were to arrive in 1962, I believe. Triang's 'Winston Churchill' might have been available- certainly it had arrived at the start of the 1960s- whilst Graham Farish had done an unrebuilt Merchant Navy during the 1950s, I believe. Funny how we can remember things like this, and forget to pick up tickets/passports, isn't it? Brian

Graham Farish had

There was certainly an air-smoothed Bulleid pacific around at that time made by Graham Farish: my friend had one which I coveted dearly. Despite some not-very-subtle hints, Father Christmas only brought me a Rovex 'Jinty' instead.

Story of my life in a nutshell, I suppose. :-(

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