Hornby value? Help me! Collectible items?

[Alices94]

Hi 

My dad has recently found old Horby Train sets in my grandads loft and wondered if they are collectible items or worth anything - is there anyone on here that can help or anyone know anywhere that can specialise is the valuing? 

they aren't in the greatest of conditions they are every old. My grandad was well into his 90s. some modles below and I have other various carriages. 

Hornby Dublo the Bristolian W34881
Hornby Dublo the Bristolian W15862

M26133

E42759 E

Bristol Castle 7013

Silver king 60016

British airways 69567

 

 

[Bulleidboy]

I think the Bristolian Set (R3401) was around in 1959 - so would be 3-rail. Your best bet would be to do a search on ebay, and see what prices are being asked for. Very few Hornby Dublo models attract very high prices - if you had a loco or a set, unused and still as bought, there might be a premium, but I'm afraid Hornby models are not works of art. Sorry it's all bit negative, but your question is regularly asked on the forum. BB

 

PS: Have a look at this site - type Bristolian in the search box. There are some sets shown together with idividual items (coaches).

http://www.hornbyguide.com/search_item_results.asp

[LCDR]

Condition is most important, these items I can confirm what BB has said are Hornby Dublo Three Rail from the 1950s . It also helps if they are in their original boxes. 

 

The carriages and much of the locomotives was made of tinplated steel which can go rusty if stored in cold and damp condition. The locomotive bodies are however diecast Mazak, as too are some wagon underframes, this can corrode in damp too. 

 

Selling can be problematic, a dealer or a second hand shop will offer you bare minimum, or you could offer them on Ebay, and try your luck. It might help if you can confirm whether they work. It is possible to test them with a PP3 9 volt battery by touching the pick up spoons underneath with one terminal and a driving wheel with the other. The wheels should turn. The Bristol Castle may be more difficult because the pick ups are under the tender. 

If the trains still have the original metal wheels they will not work on modern train sets, and need the special rails with a centre conductor rail. 

 

There are Toy Fairs about the country where small dealers who buy and sell trains will trade*, you could take these and see if they want to buy. You could also seek out a local model railway club.

 

As a rule of thumb working locomotives can fetch between £20 and £90 depending on whether it is in good condition or not and if the original box is present. Coaches between £5 and £20, and goods wagons £2 and £10 under the same conditions. Badly rusted or damaged items are worthless, although they may render up a source of spare parts.

 

 

(* there is one at York Knavesmire on Sunday flooding permitted)

[Puffed Out]

Have a look on Ebay at Hornby Job Lots('Buy it Now').......and you could possibly gauge their worth.  

..

[Rana Temporia]

I wouldn't use the buy it now as a guide, most are vastly inflated to the point of being ridiculous. Find something the same on eBay and see what it actually sells for, you can watch it and once it's sold you can see the final bid. Most people have an inflated idea of what things are 'worth'' and are very disappointed. A dealer will give you around half (or less) of what they think they will get for them. They need premises, a mark up to make it worthwhile and possibly a table at model fairs plus fuel which all have to come out of the profit they make. 

 

They will be worth whatever someone is prepared to pay for them on the day. Sometimes it's more than you think, usually less. They are nice models if in good condition though!

[RDS]

There are exceptions of course but most times, this type of search ends in disappointment.  However, if you have the original boxes, that can make a big difference to the value. 

[ColinB]

I agree with everybody else. I recently sold a few of my old Ringfield based Hornby locos, the ones I didn't want to convert to DCC. I went onto the famous auction site and saw what the Dealers "Buy it now" prices were and also looked at what similar ones sold for, then adjusted my price to what I thought was reasonable. Ignore the recommended prices, they were way too low same again with the postage. Again it all depends on condition and whether it has a decent box. 3 rail Hornby Dublo fetch a lot less than 2 rail, which in turn fetch a lot less than Wrenns, funny as a 2 rail Hornby Dublo, is virtually the same as a Wrenn. Even with Wrenns it has to be the right one to fetch a high price, Battle of Britain or Royal Scots fetch the most. In the case of my locos, I either got what I wanted for them or more, I did get a couple of jokers that offered less than my minimum but sadly you will always get a chancer. The thing is, if they failed to sell, I would have lowered the price, but not until the auction was over.  

[96RAF]

In your own words...

...they aren't in the greatest of conditions they are every old....

 

Condition is everything and you also need the boxes in good condition as they are worth more than the contents.

 

In the end it boils down to you offerring them for sale and some mug being willing to pay over the odds for them.

[LCDR]

The other thing to bear in mind is that Hornby Dublo 3 rail is a world away from modern Hornby, and the people who use it are a very small group of enthusiasts. And a group whose number is dwindling as time passes. 

 

Hornby Dublo was robust and very well engineered but at the expense of fine detail, and so it can look out of place to some people on a modern layout, even if it has been converted to run on 2 rail track.  The detail of  tinplate wagons and carriages are printed onto a smooth surface whereas modern plastic moulded rolling stock has raised handrails and incised planking.

 

It does have a following but the real HD collectors will be looking for perfection. There are a few items which routinely fetch a high price, but these tend to be those which were either made before 1939, or after 1964, at the very beginning aznd end of Hornby Dublo's existence. 

 

Locomotives such as No 7  Sir Nigel Gresley, 6231 Duchess of Athol, 60016 Silver King, 46232 Duchess of Montrose, 7013 Bristol Castle 69567, 80054, 48158, D8000, are all quite common, and therefore will be cheaper than others. But a 4498 Sir Nigel Gresley which was only made between 1938 and 1941 will command a much higer price, as too will 46247 City of Liverpool made between 1961 and 1965.

 

I happen to have a HRCA auction catalogue in my hand. and a Duchess of Montrose in average to poor condition has a guide price of between £30 and £40. A City of Liverpool on the other hand in slightly better condition is listed as £280 to £350. 

 

Trains which have been ';interfered with' for example repainted in a amaturish manner, are considerably devalued.

 

[Rana Temporia]

I forgot to mention, if you do go for eBay remember that both eBay and Paypal will take their 10% or so including whatever you put on as postage, so if you are sending 2nd class recorded to protect yourself from some of the less honest people who use eBay you'll need to add 20% to the postage cost of £4 if you don't want to pay it yourself. EBay still thinks it's £3.90 so be careful. EBay will als0default to  accepting offers, take the option off or you will be bombarded by people offering silly low offers. 

 

Don't forget for every £10 you get by selling on eBay you lose up to £2, having said that you do get access to a very large market so you will probably get more than some of the other sites. 

[Ruffnut Thorston]

In the "advanced search" function on eBay, it is possible to search for "sold" items...

 

An easier way to see what things actually have sold for...

[Il Grifone]

As a very rough estimate, the common Dublo locomotives, in average, working condition, will make around £30 and the coaches around a fiver. Better condition should make more and damaged/incomplete will make less. These are all common items needed to complete a collection, but most will have them already. From this, as stated already, eBay and Paypal will take their cut of the selling price including postage. It might be an advantage to offer free postage which makes the item more attractive and avoid discounts for multiple sales. Don't underestimate the postage. It is expensive!

Dealers are unlikely to be interested and will offer very little (typically 30-40% of what they expect it to sell for - they have overheads and don't want stock hanging around too long!).

Bristol Castle dates from 1957-60 as do her 'Bristolian' coaches. I assume these have the wretched self adhesive destination boards - Don't attempt to remove them as they will likely damage the finish.

Silver King is 1953-58 (53/4 if gloss finish). 69567 (the marking should be 'British Railways') first appeared in 1953 and lasted until 1964, but went through several variations. A late example (with nickel plated wheels and the later crest) would be worth a bit more, but it is the commonest model of all and worth least. Apart from the nickel wheels, none of the variations affect the value.

[LCDR]

The N2 69567 comes with the bunker empty and with a dummy coal load after 1961, that will increase the value slightly.

[Puffed Out]

There are some sellers who don't quote a postage price.(Not sure how they manage that) for the UK.  I contacted the seller and asked for a quote for postage. For the same item from another seller it was £10.25 international.

The seller I contacted, quoted me £7.25. I bought his item, and received in 4 days..  There was also correspondence within the packaging, about his outrage of the costs involved with selling on 'Fleabay', and was trying his best to keep his prices down.

£3 is a saving, and he got my custom.