User:Trident13/Hornby
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| Hornby Group plc | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Type | Public (LSE: HRN) |
| Founded | 1901 |
| Headquarters |  Margate, Kent |
| Key people | Frank Hornby, founder |
| Industry | Collector Models |
| Revenue | £46.91 million (2007) |
| Operating income | £8.24 million (2007) |
| Net income | £7.66 million (2007) |
| Employees | 196 (2007) |
| Website | www.hornby.com |
Hornby Group plc is a leading brand of model railway in the United Kingdom. Its roots date back to 1901, when founder Frank Hornby received a patent for his Meccano construction toy.
Contents |
[edit] Foundation
Frank Hornby founded his model business with Meccano Ltd, based in Liverpool. The company initially made a series of boxes of parts, but developed the concept after World War 1 into packages of parts to make specific models. The initial Meccano trains of 1920 were O guage in scale, powered by a clockwork motor, and like all other Meccano products made of flat metal pressings, held together by Meccano nuts and bolts.
[edit] Hornby trains
As the railway models developed, they gained their own brand - Hornby Trains. In 1925 the first Hornby electric train was developed, running on a high voltage (220-240V) AC. But safety concerns saw it quickly replaced, initially by low voltage 4V and then 6V motors, followed by a reliable 20V AC system in the early 1930s. However, clockwork remained the mainstay of the Hornby 0 gauge trains until 1937, and became the only power available in Liverpool-made 0 gauge trains from 1949.
Although the company exported to Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and Scandinavia; other bespoke factories were set-up in France and the United States. The American factory, set-up in 1927 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, failed to penetrate the market with its inferior clockwork powered tin-pressed models, and was sold in 1929 after the start of the Wall Street Crash to the A. C. Gilbert Company.
[edit] Hornby Dublo
In light of the size of space required to set up a reasonable run of O guage track, in 1938 Hornby introduced 00 gauge models under the Hornby Dublo brand. Using die-cast bodies for the locomotives (giving them both detail and tractive weight), the carriages and wagons were made of tinplate like their O gauge conterparts. As the well planned range covered trains from all of the Big Four contemporary railway companies, it successfully consolidated 12 V DC as the standard for 00 gauge - but like O gauge, it used a three rail powered system.
[edit] Post WW2
After shutting down all model production from 1942, thanks to the success of the Hornby Dublo range post World War Two, the company expanded through until the mid-1950's like counterparts Bassett-Lowke and Exley in the UK, and Lionel and American Flyer in the USA.
However, the management had been slow to react to the new competitors (particularly Triang-Rovex), new production materials such as plastics - as the new toy markets created by space exploration. In 1959 Hornby introduced an inferior two-rail track system for both ranges, having agreed to the complete retooling of much of the O gauge range instead of taking the opportunity to discontinue it, indicative of major failings at management level.
[edit] Merger with Tri-ang
In 1964, Lines Bros Ltd., the parent company of rival Tri-ang Railways purchased Meccano Ltd., and merged Hornby and Tri-ang into Tri-ang Hornby. The former Hornby line was discontinued in favour of Tri-ang's less costly plastic designs. The Hornby Dublo tooling was sold to G & R Wrenn, which continued to make most of the loco range and 'superdetail' rolling stock. Remaining stocks of 0 gauge were either scrapped or sold to the local retailer Hattons. In 1967 Hornby was merged internally into Rovex Industries, which by 1969 was Rovex Tri-ang Ltd.
The Tri-ang group was disbanded in 1971 when Meccano Ltd's owner Lines Bros. filed for bankruptcy. The former Tri-ang Hornby was sold to Dunbee-Combex-Marx, becoming Hornby Railways in 1972. By 1976 Hornby was facing challenges from Palitoy and Airfix, both of which were producing high quality detailed models. Detail on the models was upgraded to make the product line more attractive to adult hobbyists.
A multiple train control system named Zero 1 was introduced in the mid 1970s. This digital system was a forerunner to the Digital Command Control (DCC) system, an NMRA open standard, which appeared in the 1990s.
By 1980 the market was extremely tough and Dunbee-Combex-Marx was liquidated, placing Rovex in receivership.
[edit] Hornby Hobbies
In 1980 Hornby became Hornby Hobbies and in 1981 a management buyout saw the company back on a sound footing. It went public in 1986.
By the early 1990s Hornby again faced competition from newcomers like Dapol and established foreign manufacturers, including Lima and Bachmann Industries. Manufacturing was moved to Guangdong province in China in 1995, completed by 1999, cutting costs and improving quality, according to the company. As part of the process Hornby also bought in some of Dapol's products and also some of the old Airfix moulds (by then owned by Dapol). Train sets associated with The Railway Children (that was released in time for Christmas orders when the film came out), Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends and Harry Potter (the "Hogwarts Express") have been particularly profitable ventures. In September 2003 Hornby released its first steam-powered 00 gauge locomotive, a model of the record-breaking Mallard. Several other "Live Steam" locomotives have now been produced.
Since then Hornby has bought Lima, an Italian model railway equipment manufacturer that had previously acquired Jouef, a French manufacturer. Some of the ex-Lima models appear in the main Hornby products list. This range is known as Hornby International. This acquisition also included the Rivarossi line of HO-scale products, also originally from Italy, and the Arnold brand of N-scale products.
With competition mainly from Bachmann, Hornby Railways now (in 2007) produce a large range of detailed British steam and diesel locomotives, such as the BR 9F, SR Merchant Navy, Class 60, Class 50, Class 31 and Class 08.
In November 2006, Hornby Hobbies acquired Airfix and Humbrol paints for the sum of £2.6 million. The parent company went into administration earlier that year after cashflow problems.
Airfix fans had been concerned that it could be the end of the brand, but thankfully it has been saved, all of these companies are still a successful business.
In May 2008, Hornby announced the acquisition of Corgi Classics Limited, one of the world's oldest makers of collectible die-cast models of trucks, buses, cars and aeroplanes, from Corgi International Limited for £7.5million.[1][2]
[edit] Input
Frank Hornby was granted his patent for a construction kit in the early 1900s and he soon put the invention into production under the name Mechanics Made Easy. This led to the establishment of Meccano Ltd in 1907. Such was the success of the company, Frank Hornby had to regularly move his factory to new and larger premises. Meccano was to become one of the classic toys of all time.
Meccano production continued during the First World War and Hornby took the opportunity to introduce toy trains in 1920. Hornby Trains were powered by a high quality clockwork motor, made of metal pressings held together by Meccano nuts and bolts and ?0? gauge scale.
Hornby Trains were an instant success and the company was quick to introduce more engines and accessories. In 1925 the first Hornby electric train was produced, operating from a mains supply of 100-250 volts. By 1929, Hornby had evolved a much safer system and electric models worked from a six volt DC source.
Hornby Dublo
In 1938, Hornby Dublo (00) was launched. This was approximately half the size of the 0 gauge system except that the locomotives had cast metal bodies, not pressed metal, and the buildings were made of wood. Both clockwork and electric sets were available before the Second World War, although these were limited to Sir Nigel Gresley, an LNER A4 Class Pacific, and an LNER Class N2 tank locomotive in the liveries of the ?Big Four? companies of the time (GWR, LMS, LNER and SR).
Production stopped during the Second World War (1939 - 1945) but Hornby Dublo soon reappeared once the war was over, although without a clockwork range.
Post war chronology 1947: The four tank 0-6-2 goods sets reappear just in time for Christmas trade, with the new "Peco" coupling. 1948: The loco "Duchess of Atholl" with LMS coaches appear, in boxed sets only, having been advertised in 1939 but never produced. "Sir Nigel Gresley" returned, again only in boxed sets, revised to post-war appearance without valances over the driving wheels and numbered 7 instead of 4498. 1950: Improved, heavier, loco chassis introduced, with powerful new "Alnico" magnet replacing the Horseshoe type, and radio interference suppressor fitted. 1953: Long-awaited announcement of Dublo stock in British Railways colours. The four private companies were represented previously, although from 1952 only LMS tank locos and goods sets were available. 1954: BR Standard 2-6-4 tank introduced along with suburban coaches. and some new all-diecast wagons. 1957: Acceleration of new introductions, in the face of competition from other systems. First authentic Great Western loco, "Bristol Castle" introduced in October. 1957: Plastic wheels and axles start to appear on rolling stock, as a prelude to introduction of a 2-rail system. 1958: First "super-detail" SD goods wagon (bulk grain) with moulded plastic body. Tinplate-bodied wagons phased out, except for tank wagons. 1959: 2-rail system officially announced, though full supplies were not available until Autumn. A new system of 4-figure catalogue numbers introduced previous reference numbers were changed at least 3 times, and only printed in a public catalogue the previous year. The familiar blue boxes also changed to red for all items associated with 2-rail operation. The "Hornby-Dublo Book of Trains" announced, by far the most lavish publication on the subject of Meccano Ltd. It is revealed that although 3-rail components will continue to be available, boxed 3-rail sets are discontinued. 1959: First plastic kit-form accessory (engine shed). Stations suitable for lower 2-rail track height followed in 1960. 1960: New ring-field motor for "Castle" and class 8F 2-8-0 locos, but not applied to any earlier models. 1960: Super-detail coaches, nearer to scale length than previous models, with plastic roof and body ends but retaining printed tinplate sides and steel underframes. Well-received by serious modellers. Plastic couplings first appeared on these models. 1961: The 3-rail steam loco models are re-vamped with some improvements and mainly new identities. In view of subsequent Company history, production was small, hence these models are scarce and relatively valuable. A new model of "West Country" 4-6-2 locos "Barnstaple" for 2-rail and "Dorchester" for 3-rail, is destined to be the last steam engine in the main system. 1962: Many new wagons and coaches and an electric multiple unit. 1963: Meccano Ltd. is now in serious financial difficulty, only 3 new models for this year. As an effort to increase business, a low quality "starter" set is introduced, with non-standard contents, marketed as a new range. A belated attempt is also made to simplify wiring for 2-rail points - the "Simplec type with insulated frog. 1964: Meccano Ltd. sold to to rival toymakers Lines Brothers, whose subsidiary Rovex Ltd. make Tri-ang. The new owners announce the end of the 3-rail system, but allow some 2-rail manufacture to continue, including a new model of the A.C. electric loco E3002. December 1964: Actual end of Hornby-Dublo production, with the infamous track-cleaning wagon, believed to be the smallest production run in Hornby-Dublo. 1965: Official announcement of the amalgamation of Hornby-Dublo with Tri-ang railways. In reality only the names "Hornby" survived. Production of Hornby Dublo ceased in 1964 and some of the tooling was purchased by G&R Wrenn Ltd (another division of Lines Bros.) to launch Tri-ang Wrenn in 1967. From the Hornby Hobbies site and elsewhere Bibliography
The History of Hornby Dublo Trains, 1938-1964: The Story of the Perfect Table Railway (Hornby Companion) (Hardcover) by Michael Foster (Author) published by New Cavendish Hornby Dublo Postwar 3 Rail Collectors' Guide (Paperback) by T. Oakes (Author) Also see Lickey Incline Resources.
Rovex Triang Hornby
(Based on material by Pat Hammond.) Rovex Plastics Ltd was founded in 1946 by Alexander Venetzian who made toys for Marks & Spencer. Venetzian was asked to produce an electric train set based on the LMS express locomotive 'Princess Elizabeth'. The train set was delivered in time for Christmas 1950 but financial limitations prevented further development.
Meanwhile, the toy manufacturer Lines Bros. Ltd, that traded under the name 'Tri-ang', wanted to get into model railway market and in 1951 bought Rovex Plastics Ltd. The trains were marketed as Tri-ang Railways and the Company renamed Rovex Scale Models Ltd. A brand new factory was built at Margate, in Kent, and production moved there in 1954.
Demand for the new models was so great that in 1951 Rovex bought the tools of a goods train set made by Pyramid Toys Ltd. which was selling under the name Trackmaster and this provided an 0-6-2 tank engine and two wagons.
The range gradually expanded with the LMS Jinty 0-6-0 tank engine, a range of station buildings and a guards van and other wagons by 1953. In 1954 the company introduced a range for the export market called Transcontinental'
Tri-ang expanded quickly and 1955 saw the first real Tri-ang Railways retail catalogue. By 1956 there were 10 locomotives available and a good range of rolling stock and lineside buildings and other trackside items. In 1957 Rovex were pressed by Lines Bros. to start a TT gauge (12 mm gauge) model railway system. A completely new 00 track system called Series 3 was also introduced that year.
Lines Bros. Ltd. were also expanding toy production overseas and Tri-ang Railways was soon being made in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand; in each case for local markets.
1962 was a high water mark in the development of Tri-ang Railways. That year another new track system called Super 4 was introduced and along with it an extensive new series of station buildings.
There were now 25 locomotives in the range and an extensive range of British and Transcontinental rolling stock. New scale length coaches were added; there was an overhead catenary system, locomotives had Magnadhesion and smoke and the famous railway artist, Terence Cuneo, was engaged to show how you could 'weather' your Tri-ang models as well s paintings for the catalogue front covers.
Much of this growth was at the expense of other manufacturers including and the two main rival systems, Trix and Hornby-Dublo.. The former had already changed hands twice and in 1964, Meccano Ltd, the manufacturers of Hornby-Dublo invited Lines Bros. Ltd to buy them out and Meccano Ltd. joined the Lines Bros. Group.
By this time, production of Hornby-Dublo had already ceased but there were large stocks to clear. Under public pressure it was agreed to retain the Hornby name by renaming Tri-ang Railways, 'Tri-ang Hornby'.
This was presented at the time as an amalgamation of the two systems but the only additions this brought to the Tri-ang system were the E3000 Electric Locomotive (after extensive modification) and, for a brief period, the terminus station kit.
Another subsidiary of Lines Bros., G&R Wrenn Ltd., put in a bid for the Hornby-Dublo tools and these were used to launch Tri-ang Wrenn in 1967. They also took over remaining stocks of Hornby-Dublo and Tri-ang Railways TT. Lines Bros. Ltd were under pressure to get into N gauge but chose instead to import the Lima system which they marketed through G&R Wrenn Ltd.
By 1967, Rovex Scale Models Ltd. had become the core of Rovex Industries Ltd. which was called the 'model division' and included Minic Ltd., Minimodels Ltd., Spot-On Ltd., Pedigree Dolls Ltd. and IMA Ltd. (Frog). It also had under its wing G&R Wrenn Ltd. The division was renamed Rovex Tri-ang Ltd. in 1969.
However, losses overseas saw the giant Lines Bros. Group in trouble and in 1971 the directors of Lines Bros. Ltd called in the Receiver. The Group was broken up and sold off. The profitable Rovex Tri-ang Ltd was for a brief period called Pocket Money Toys Ltd and then sold as Rovex Ltd, with its factories at Margate and Canterbury, to Dunbee Combex Marx Ltd. (DCM). At this point, George Wrenn bought out G&R Wrenn Ltd and renamed its system Wrenn Railways. The name Tri-ang had been sold with one of the other companies and so a new name was required for the Tri-ang Hornby system. Hornby Railways was chosen and this took effect from January 1972.
The 1970s saw new challenges come from Airfix and Palitoy who both launched model railway systems that offered finer scale models. This and pressure from Lima forced Rovex Ltd to raise its standards. There was steady development of new locomotives over 20 in all.
In 1980 DCM were in trouble and Hornby Hobbies Ltd., as it was now called, became an independent company through a management buyout, with the help of venture capital. In October 1986, Hornby Group plc was floated on the Unlisted Securities Market and became a public company. By now both the GMR (Airfix) and Mainline (Palitoy) systems had ceased to be produced and this led to a new player, Dapol, entering the field and Lima getting a stronger toehold.
Changes taking place on British Railways brought new liveries thus offering more subjects to model. The demand for higher standards of modelling lead to a number of models being retooled and a search for ways to improve printing on models. In 1996, Hornby Hobbies purchased a number of tools from Dapol including several formerly used for the Airfix GMR system.
Hornby Hobbies now has its models made by Sanda Kan in China and has substantially upgraded its range. Competition comes from Bachmann, using upgraded Mainline tools as well as new quality tooling, and from Lima who have concentrated on the lucrative modern image market. Hornby Hobbies recognises the important collectors' market and has established the Hornby Collectors Club and a chain of Collectors Centres.
Now called just 'Hornby'. The Company justifiably retains the position it has held for the last 40 years as Britain's leading model railway system.[3]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
ORF Reporter. (2008). [mediasrv.kabsi.at/noe_heute_archiv/noeheute_2008-04-21.wmv] ORF Amstetten Appeal - 03:10 to 06:30, in German [TV]. Austria: ORF.
- Foster, Michael (1980) Hornby Dublo Trains: 1938-1964: The story of the perfect table railway, Hornby Companion Series, vol. 3, New Cavendish Books, ISBN 0-904568-18-0
- Hornby PLC (2004) Hornby OO Scale Model Railways: Fiftieth Edition, Product catalogue: R8108, Limited anniversary edition, EAN 501-0-9634810-8-7
- Schneider, Lewis (May 2000) Hornby's made-in-USA trains, Classic Toy Trains, vol. 13, p. 84
- The Rovex Story by Pat Hammond. published by New Cavendish Books. 'Volume 1 - Tri-ang Railways' (ISBN 0 904568 57 1), covers the story from 1950 to 1965
- 'Volume 2 - Tri-ang Hornby' (ISBN 1 872727 58 1) covers the period 1965 to 1971
- 'Volume 3 - Hornby Railways' takes the story from 1972 until 1996
[edit] Notes
- ^ Hornby to buy Corgi. Reuters (2008-05-01). Retrieved on 2008-05-01.
- ^ Hornby to buy Corgi in £7.5m deal. BBC News (2008-05-01). Retrieved on 2008-05-01.
- ^ http://www.lickeyincline.co.uk/model-railway/model-railway-company.htm#hornby
- ^ "[[[mediasrv.kabsi.at/noe_heute_archiv/noeheute_2008-04-21.wmv]] Amstetten Appeal]", ORF, 2008-04-21. Retrieved on 2008-05-02.
