built by Derek Lawrence
The origins of my Hornby Dublo fascination began when my father bought a set for my brother (and I suspect, him too) in 1948. As a young child I watched as my brother built upon this base unit with a set of his own until in 1956, the time came for us to design the family layout, and ‘my’ engine, stock and track was added to complete this project. All three of the family locos, all the stock and much more of that 50’s collection is running on this exhibition layout.
I have collected more Hornby Dublo from the 40s, 50s and early 60s over the years but did not have the time or space to create the layout it all deserved. All that was to change with retirement and a move to Jersey. Now I can present a Hornby Dublo Table-top railway that has on it most of the output of the famous Liverpool Hornby factory from that era.
It is in three main parts:
- A typical oval circuit (on a ‘retired’ table tennis table) with plenty of sidings for shunting activities;
- A seven-platform terminus station set up in such a way that any train from any direction off the circuit can reach any platform, and conversely any train from any platform can reach the two loops;
- A ‘villagey’ circuit that is connected to platform 7 of the terminus via a fly-over and to the circuit by a simple branch.
It is truly a testament to the quality of the engineering that was a major factor in the success of the Hornby name and a lasting legacy for Frank Hornby, its creator.
