| Hornby is a household name and is
famous as the UK brand leader in the model railway hobby. The
company’s founder was Frank Hornby (1863 - 1936) who applied for a
patent in 1901 to protect an invention he called ‘Improvements in
Toy or Educational Devices for Children and Young People’.
Nobody then could have imagined how this product would influence the
model railway hobby that we know today.
Hornby Trains were an instant success and the company was quick
to introduce more engines and accessories.
In 1938, Hornby Dublo (‘00’) was launched.
1965 saw the formation of Tri-ang Hornby. The Tri-ang Hornby
period is best remembered by many for the change to British Rail
blue liveries on diesel locomotives, the introduction of
pre-Nationalisation liveries for steam locomotives and the launch of
Battle Space and Battle Zone. Some of the locomotives produced
during this time included the E3000, Hymek, Class 37, M7, Hall
Class, Coronation Class, Flying Scotsman and Evening Star.
There was a steady flow of new locomotives during the 1970s -
new diesels included the High Speed Train (HST) which became a
popular model instantly.
The Thomas series was launched in 1985.
Now simply called "Hornby", the company justifiably
retains the position it has held for more than 50 years as
Britain’s leading model railway manufacturer.
Hornby - Making Models Real |
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