Model - Hornby O Gauge Passenger Coach, GWR

Production date
1931
Country
England
State/Province
Merseyside
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Object detail

Description
An O gauge tinplate passenger coach with 4 wheels. The body of the coach is coloured brown and cream. The roof is painted grey. The frame is painted black.
Classification
TRANSPORT Railways model
Maker
Production date
1931
Measurements
L200 x H85 x W55mm
Media/Materials description
Tin
Paint
Signature/Marks
FIRST GWR FIRST
HORNBY SERIES/ MANFD BY/ MECCANO LTD L'POOL
History and use
This O Gauge Passenger Coach was produced by Meccano Ltd in the 1930s as part of their Hornby brand of toy trains. It is manufactured from tin sheeting folded and pressed into shape. It is from the collection of O Gauge Tinplate Trains owned by Clive McTaggart.

Hornby O gauge Trains were produced by Meccano Ltd between 1920 and the mid-1960s. Capitalising on anti-German sentiment and a demand for British made products in the aftermath of the First World War; Frank Hornby expanded his Meccano factory in Liverpool England to produce toy trains. Named after their creator, the Hornby range developed into a comprehensive model railway system that included locomotives, rolling stock, track, signals, buildings, figures and scenery. The range developed over the 1920s and 1930s but production halted during World War Two as the factory’s resources were directed to war work. The line was revived after the war but with a significantly reduced range. Production ceased in the mid-1960s. Hornby trains were exported to countries around the world, including Australia.

Clive McTaggart was born in Brisbane on the 16th of February, 1921. A pilot with the RAAF during World War II he worked ferrying aircraft between America and Australia, as well as flying combat and air/sea rescue missions. After the war he pursued his keen interest in model railways, organising displays and exhibitions, as well as operating one of Australia’s first dedicated model railway stores Austral Modelcraft out of his home in Ekibin. Whilst Clive had little spare time to build a model railway of his own he did collect O gauge tinplate trains produced between the 1920s and 1960s. Hornby products make up the bulk of this collection, but it also includes locomotives and rolling stock produced by Australian and German manufacturers.

Clive passed away on 29 May 1989. His business, Austral Modelcraft was sold to his friends Ray and Eileen Nunn who continued the business from a shopfront in Brisbane suburb Mount Gravatt East.
Associated person
Registration number
R6678

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