Toy Trains: 1935–1975 (Shire Library) Paperback – June 18, 2019

This book brought back a lot of fond memories, like many boys growing up in the 1950's and 60's my layout was rebuilt and updated many times. I still have my original engines on display and is always a talking point with visitors to my office. I always wandered the fate of the original manufactured and this book gives an excellent coverage.

Chegou bem antes do prazo

In Victorian times, prosperous families were able to commission railway train models directly from craftsmen and engineers and later from toy manufacturers such as Marklin and Bassett-Lowke. These privileged families had large rooms and gardens where the model trains could be easily accommodated. With time, Christmas and birthdays became popular for giving presents to children. Sometimes, playing with these model trains was allowed only on a Sunday, given their delicate construction and high prices. Meccano owned Hornby and Dinky Toys. Through its magazine which had a circulation of about 70,000 in the 1930s Meccano was able to launch Hornby Dublo through its agents, to a captive audience, in 1937. The magazine dealt with all forms of transportation: air, land and sea. Meccano also set up Hornby Clubs in schools.Post war, Ever Ready was keen to produce electronic toys that had use for its batteries. It produced a London Underground set in 1950 that sold well. Enthusiasts still run these trains today, although using new bogies. Airfix produced its first plastic kit in 1949, a Ferguson TE20 tractor. All their kits were sold through toy shops, Woolworths, newsagents and the local post office. Rovex was asked by Marks & Spencer to build what turned out to be a Princess 4-6-2 at Christmas 1950. Despite its price of 59s 6d ( sic ) it sold very well and Marks & Spencer were delighted. Post war, Meccano was left with hundreds of thousands of pre war parts for 0 and 00 gauge trains and Meccano and Dinky toys. Many post war toys included these pre war parts. Meccano never produced an overhead system. Tri-ang purchased Hamleys in 1931 to push its products to the affluent sections of London society and also to the tourist market. Slot cars in the 1960s caused part of the decline of the toy train market. The author states that Tri-ang's Model Land of the early 1960s, a pre-coloured series of plastic kits, was superior to Airfix. These included a church with chimes, supermarkets, pylons, shops, figures and the like. By the late 1960s and early 1970s the UK toy market was hit by huge quantities of cheap and exact copies of British toys from Hong Kong and tin and plastic toys from Japan, apart from the import of large numbers of toys from America. This state of affairs, taken with the condition of Britain's economy which was in turmoil at the time, made it impossible for the Tri-ang company to survive, with its 40 manufacturing plants. It was sold off in 1971 to several eager buyers, one of them being Hornby. Tri-ang had been the dominant manufacturer of toy trains from 1955-75 and was the world's largest toy company at the time.The recipients of train sets in the 1950s and 1960s were generally boys in the age group of 8-15. Today boys of this age are more interested in PlayStation 5. The market for model railways is now adult and consists largely of those same boys of the 1950s and 1960s who have now grown up and still run the trains today. Even the 00 gauge trains of today are digital. 00 gauge is unique to the UK though the track width of 16.5 mm is the same as that of HO ( half 0 ) gauge. The models are mostly made to a scale of 1:72. The author says that the correct scale is 1:87. In 1975 manufacture of 00 gauge trains for the British market moved to Hong Kong where the models emerged in greater detail with lower labour costs, leading to much cheaper prices.Many Matchbox cars of the early 1950s and 1960s were perfect for the 00 gauge. Corgi's Husky range had many 00 gauge compatible models, generally sold by Woolworths.Gamages, a large London store, and Hamleys had vast 00 gauge railways built on their toy train levels, each Christmas in the 1950s.I wish this delightful book was much thicker. It does bring back happy memories.

Gute inhaltliche Darstellung der Blechbahn auf dem englischen Markt. Leider ist das Buch vom Format her sehr klein, sodass man die Details der Bilder zu den Produkten nur schwer erkennen kann. Deshalb nur 4 Sterne! Als Information zu diesem Thema dennoch empfehlenswert!

Bought this item as a present for my brother inlaw made his birthday 5stars all the way

DEVOLVI O PRODUTO (1 LIVRO)QUANDO COMPREI, ENTENDI QUE ESTAVA COMPRANDO UM TOY TRAINS (BRINQUEDO TREM) E NÃO UM BOOK (LIVRO)