Are You Feeling Hornby?
Frank Hornby patented an invention that he called ‘Improvements in Toy or Educational Devices for Children and Young People’ in 1901. This neat invention went into production as ‘Mechanics Made Easy’, but we all know this fantastic invention as Meccano.
But it wasn’t until 1920 that Hornby started to produce model trains. Originally powered by a wind up clockwork motor these early models were held together with Meccano and quickly became very popular.
It wasn’t until 1925 that Hornby introduced the first electric train, running from a mains supply of between 100 and 250 volts. These less-than-safe models were quickly superseded by new electric models that used a much safer 6 volt supply.
The Hornby name is synonymous with top quality model railways and this tradition continues today. Today’s Hornby products include step-by-step guides to railway modelling on CD rom and sophisticated digital train controllers. There is even a Hornby virtual railway system that allows you to build your own rail network, on your computer, as big or as small as you like.
Clearly the Hornby company continues to move with the times and their products remain as popular as they were nearly 100 years ago.
June 23rd, 2009 at 5:05 pm
I used to love my Hornby train set. I wish I still had it today as it would be worth a few pounds. But todays track and locomotives are fantastic. I just bought a small set for my boy and he is thrilled.