Davo Weldtite Posted September 29, 2020 Share Posted September 29, 2020 I have just inherited my fathers train set, and to the best of my knowledge, it was his as a child. He was born in 1937, in England, and brought it with him when we migrated to australia in 1967. The train set was brought out only a few times when i was quite young to play with it, but dad put it away permanently around 1974 and it has lived in the roof space ever since. I retrieved it only a week ago as my father has now passed away, and i am keen to see if anyone knows when it may have been manufactured along with where i may find spares as the big loco needs some tlc. Any assistance will be greatfully recieved./media/tinymce_upload/3f47c9f6cebc515ae6b8e80d35ec8bde.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/97b1fbc678aba268c82967b9fc2bbde2.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/2d42c04d857415d4989b3967bd4a6767.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/c171007275993124485e7d9c564ff379.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissaf Posted October 2, 2020 Share Posted October 2, 2020 Whilst you wait for a reply, perhaps you would spend a few minutes reviewing the TIPs in the TIP page link below:.TIP: As a newbie poster on the forum, just be aware that the 'Blue Button with the White Arrow' is not a 'Reply to this post' button. If you want to reply to any of the posts, scroll down and write your reply in the reply text box at the bottom of the page and click the Green 'Reply' button..See also – further TIPs on how to get the best user experience from this forum.https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/forum/tips-on-using-the-forum/. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LCDR Posted October 2, 2020 Share Posted October 2, 2020 What you have is a collection of Hornby Gauge O tinplate clockwork models most of which appear to date from before WW2. These were made by Meccano Ltd, of Binns Road, Liverpool. From the photograph it all appears to be in fair conditions apart for the No 2 Special Tank engine (GWR No 2221) which is missing the front and rear bogies, a pair of driving wheels and the rods and valve gear. There are specialist repairers in the UK, and also I believe in Australia who will be able to source spares and may also repair it for you, for a fee of course, and you may be able to locate someone through the Hornby Railway Collector's Association who have branches worldwide. There are many enthusiasts for this type of train set although most of us are 'getting on a bit'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davo Weldtite Posted October 4, 2020 Author Share Posted October 4, 2020 Thank you for this information. I will start to source a repairer and see if i can get the old girl working again. All the track appears to be "banked" as well. I've enjoyed cleaning it all and getting the small engine (a southern E 126 tank loco) running again around the old track.cheers,Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yelrow Posted October 4, 2020 Share Posted October 4, 2020 I have a collection of Hornby Clockwork, as well. Your broken loco, needs quite a bit. Might be worth a look on ebay, as spares come on there from time to time. You will need deep pockets, for a professional repair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LCDR Posted October 4, 2020 Share Posted October 4, 2020 Given the apparent good condition of the No 2 Special tank bodywork, your cheapest option would be probably to look for a complete locomotive with a damaged body and swap the mechanism over. The Great Western ones seem to command higher secondhand prices than say LNER or LMS ones so worth looking for one of those. The black wheels seem to be common to many. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Il Grifone Posted October 4, 2020 Share Posted October 4, 2020 That's a good collection in excellent condition considering its age (1930s) and with the all important boxes. Pre-war track is banked and has cut-outs in the centre of the sleepers for conversion to 3 rail electric. Post-war is all level as they no longer expected the larger locomotives to go around 1' radius curves and lacks the cut-outs. (Electric 0 gauge Hornby trains did not survive the war.) The GWR tank engine has the 'shirt button logo so must date from 1934 to around 1940 when manufacture ceased. The SR tank has the early livery with E (for Eastleigh) prefix to the number. This was phased out around 1930, but I don't know how long Hornby took to catch up. The boxes probably have a date code. The gold lettering, as on the cattle truck, points to early production (Hornby stopped this practice around 1930), but could well have sent out old stock to Australia. The real 2221 looked like this:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GWR_2221_Class Some idea of value can be obtained here:https://www.dutchhrca.nl/priceguide.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Il Grifone Posted October 4, 2020 Share Posted October 4, 2020 I've found a more precise date for theSouthern Railway tank engine 1936 - 41It would appear it was always E126. The real locomotive was an M7 0-4-4T. http://www.binnsroad.co.uk/railways/hornbyuk/locos/m3tank/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davo Weldtite Posted October 6, 2020 Author Share Posted October 6, 2020 Thank you all for the very precise information, especially il Grifone, and i can now have the information i ran out of time to get from my dad. Most satisfying to finally be able to get some history of this much coveted ( by me of course) piece of rail history, as well as being a fun part of my childhood.Cheers from Australia!Dave B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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