About A Boy Hornby

[Amatista Sheeley]

Hellofriends, I know nothing about Hornby trains but my father always speaks of this Flying scotsman train he had during his childhood. He was born in 1961 so I assume he had this train during 1970 or around that time anyway. I want to buy him this train for his birthday as he's since lost it over the past 40 years. does anyone know what kind of train set this was? I know absolutely nothing about Hornby so please be patient with me, I just want to gift my father a piece of his childhood again. thanks in advance,

Tri-ang Hornby (as Hornby was then known) introduced their Flying Scotsman locomotive in 1968 and it remained in production until 1980 when it was replaced by an improved version. It was available in two liveries, the light apple green of the London & North Eastern Railway and the darker Brunswick green of British Railways. Some had features such as a chuff-chuff sound generator or a firebox glow light. Catalogue numbers to look out for are LNER R322, R845 and R855, BR R850 - R855 probably being the one most commonly found.

I've just read up on Hornby Live Steam OO locomotives and whole concept sounds very tempting. Basically it's an HO gauge engine which is propelled by real steam generated by small electrical boiler. Has anyone here tried them, what are your thoughts?

I know they need their own track because of voltage, so I would never integrate one on my layout - but from novelty perspective it looks like it's a great idea running on its own - maybe as a separate loop. Or around Christmas tree. I've never heard about Hornby before, the only European train makers I know are Marklin, Trix and Roco. But it looks like Hornby has an extensive collection of DCC engines also, and their prices are reasonable compared to Marklin.

Hornby is the big name for UK style model trains, they also now own Rivarossi and Arnold trains. I have heard nothing but good comments on thier Live Steam engines, you just have to have a dedicated layout for them, they even have a whistle! I table top xmas layout would be the perfect set up for them, you can use the same track for standard HO, just like running DCC and analog, use a toggle switch to flip from the live steam controler to a standard power pack. Mike

Hornby is a traditional UK brand with an excellent reputation. In recent years they expanded into the continental European market through the acquisition of Lima, Rivarossi and Arnold (N scale), as well as some smaller makers of model railway acessories.

To my knowledge, the live steam loco needs a higher voltage to "fire" the boiler, so you should not operate it with regular DC or DCC equipment at the same time. Also remember that it is not HO scale. OO scale is 1/76, so about 10% larger than HO scale. As UK locos are a little lower in profile, you hardly notice the difference.

Does anyone know the operating voltage? I vaguely recall reading about these engines a few years ago, and my dim recollection is that 24 volts at a few amps are all it takes to boil the water (say, 75 watts?). If so, it could be run with old-school cab control, on a normal HO layout, with dedicated power supply. Track joints would have to be well soldered, and the block selector would have to be able to carry the current.

Steamcraft (based in the UK) produced HO live steamers that worked with more scale cylinders, working valve gear, etc. but I am sure they are gone today. My catalog is from the 1980's. They made a nice looking USRA 2-10-2, with two working cylinders where they were supposed to be.

Hornby has been around forever, where forever is the period of time as long as I can remember. Whereas many Americans got their start with model trains with the Lionel set for Christmas, us Brits tended to start with a Hornby train-set. The quality and detail of Hornby's offering seem to be getting better and better, but sadly, like so many companies in this hobby, their locos are now made in China.

Thanks for responses. I need to read more reviews on these steamers (they only sell 2 at the moment: Flying Scotsman and Mallard) but so far I like it. It doesn't seem like there are lot of US distributors though. The only "ouch" $$ factor is that I'll need to buy separate transformer set. As far as running it on the same HO line as other DCC locos - I'm not sure if I want to trust myself with switching power away from Hornby transformer. Does anyone know if passenger cars that Hornby makes have lighted interior that can handle same power?

British HO equipment by Triang/Hornby is in 1/76 scale except for the wheels, which are in HO gauge, 16.5mm between the rails. So you can indeed run them on HO track. In general, the running voltage is the same (nominal 12 volts DC at full throttle). I don't know anything about the Hornby DCC voltage, or its compatibility with any US-made DCC.

But what I meant was that I've read somewhere that you can run Hornby's OO scale equipment on HO scale track. Is it not true? Hornby's Live Steam engines are only in OO scale as far as I can tell.

Yes, they will run on US HO track. I saw one running at the National Train SHow a few years ago - it was pretty neat. Real steam, real steam whistle in it too. I asked the fellow running it how long it runs on a fillup of water, I believe he said around a half hour. I'd be cautious on a real layout, not because of the power differences, but because of the effects or exhaust steam and steam oil on the scenery.

The problem was the smaller size of UK prototypes meant that they struggled to get the available motors into 3.5mm to the foot models, Tapered boilers were very common in the UK, combined with a narrower design overall than US/European prototypes.

This has become standard for UK models over the years, and whilst the gauge is actually inacurate, it still is today.This is why , although a slightly larger scale, they still operate on standard HO track.

Worth noting, even though the model itself is a larger scale, the actual model of the Mallard A4 for instance, would be smaller than a US outline pacific model in HO, simple bacuse of the size difference of the prototypes.

trainsBuddyI've just read up on Hornby Live Steam OO locomotives and whole concept sounds very tempting. Basically it's an HO gauge engine which is propelled by real steam generated by small electrical boiler. Has anyone here tried them, what are your thoughts?

Hornby 00 (Double 0) has been around in England since I was a kid. (I was born in 1939) For all I know, it may have been around since Methuselah was in diapers. From what I remember, it always had a good reputation back then but after our family came to Canada in 1948, I did not hear to much more about it.

This installment is the third of several articles seeking to explore the ways ecosystems differ between the islands within the Coastal Douglas-fir (CDF) biogeoclimatic zone. Grant Scott, chair of the Hornby Island Conservancy and trustee on the Hornby Island Local Trust Committee, describes how historic land management regimes continue to shape the ways forests are managed on the Gulf Islands today and makes recommendations for maintaining stable CDF forests into the future.

Hornby Island is one of the most northern Gulf Islands within the Islands Trust jurisdiction. Visiting from Vancouver Island requires two ferry rides, the first departing from Buckley Bay near Courtenay, and the second from Gravelly Bay on the south eastern edge of neighboring Denman Island. If one is traveling from the mainland, three ferries are needed. This lack of access has historically set Hornby apart from some other islands. Places like Salt Spring or Bowen Island lend themselves easily to being bedroom communities because of their proximity to major cities, whereas living on or visiting Hornby requires a lot more intention. In the past, this has meant that Hornby has experienced less development than islands to the south. But this is changing. Twenty five years ago, the Hornby community rejected the idea of evening ferry service to maintain remote island character. Ferry access has become a major issue as more people have discovered the beautiful beaches, vistas, and unique Hornby character.

Located at the northern end of Georgia Strait, Hornby is located in the rain shadow created by the Beaufort Range to the west on Vancouver Island. While Henderson Lake on the west coast of Vancouver Island gets 300 inches of rain annually, Hornby gets about 40. This has a major impact on the type of forest cover on Hornby compared to nearby Vancouver Island. In addition, the effect of the rainshadow on each Gulf Island differs, depending on a variety of factors including geology and topography.

The many cliffs, bluffs, and bays around Hornby are attributed to past glacial activity and erosion processes. The steeper topographies characteristic of the southeast of the island around Mount Geoffrey Regional Park are juxtaposed by shallow sandy beaches and gentle slopes in other areas of the island like Grassy Point to the northeast. These changes in altitude result in many distinct microclimates, with higher elevations often receiving winter snow and southerly lowlands receiving more spring sun. Due to the fractured rock foundations and limited standing water on Hornby, freshwater availability is a concern for most islanders.

More than one third of Hornby Island has been protected as provincial or regional parkland, including the 2,872 hectares of Helliwell Provincial Park.1 The bluffs of Helliwell host some of the most notable Garry oak ecosystems on Hornby. While the Coastal Douglas-fir zone (CDF) is the smallest and rarest forest ecosystem in Canada, Garry oak meadows and associated ecosystems are the rarest of the rare. The extent of Garry oak meadows has been at least halved in the last 80 years. Prior to settlement on Hornby, the extent was likely to have been three or four times larger than what can be found on the island today. Douglas-fir can be particularly intrusive, aggressively moving into Garry oak meadows in the absence of cultural burns to keep them at bay. First Nations people burned the grasslands under the oaks to encourage growth of camas roots which are an important food source.

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