A technical manual on the repair, restoration of Hornby-Dublo trains made by Meccano Ltd from 1938-1965.

This classic work is now reissued with an additional 16-page colour section showing much pre- and post-war equipment arranged in working layouts.

The name Hornby means different things to different people. To some, it is the large 0 gauge metal trains mainly of the interwar period. To others, it is the 00 scale Hornby Dublo trains which were at their peak in the 1950s. This is an account of the fortunes, successes and occasional failures of the Hornby model railway brand.

Now available in paperback, this is the first academic book to study railway enthusiasts in Britain. Far from a trivial topic, the post-war train spotting craze swept most boys and some girls into a passion for railways, and for many, ignited a lifetime’s interest. British railway enthusiasm traces this post-war cohort, and those which followed, as they invigorated different sectors in the world of railway enthusiasm – train spotting, railway modelling, collecting railway relics – and then, in response to the demise of main line steam traction, Britain’s now-huge preserved railway industry. Today this industry finds itself riven by tensions between preserving a loved past which ever fewer people can remember and earning money from tourist visitors. The widespread and enduring significance of railway enthusiasm will ensure that this groundbreaking text remains a key work in transport studies, and will appeal to enthusiasts as much as to students and scholars of transport and cultural history.

Tells the story of Hornby railways from the inception of the Gauge O system as an extension of the mighty Meccano empire, through the market dominance of the famous Hornby-Dublo range, to its take-over by Tri-ang and the re-emergence of the Hornby name, once again associated with the market leader in model railways.

The 00 gauge train set was the ultimate 'boy's toy' of the 1950s and '60s. Electric 00 gauge trains were introduced by Trix and Hornby Dublo in the mid-1930s, but the Second World War quickly halted production. However, they burst back onto the post-war scene with great success, and 00 quickly became the dominant scale in Britain, and was taken up by other large manufacturers including Tri-ang. Whilst the components of the sets themselves were often basic, they could be transformed into astonishing landscapes in the hands of imaginative builders. The sheer number of box sets, locomotives, rolling stock, buildings and accessories gave everyone the ability to form a bespoke layout. This beautifully illustrated introduction to the heyday of clockwork and electric 00 gauge trains tells their story up until 1975, when finer detailing and changing trends led to them becoming enthusiasts' models rather than children's toys.