Hornby Thomas And Friends
Hornby Railways produces a series of OO gauge model engines, track, accessories and box sets, based on the characters of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. The track is standard Hornby track, and designed for somewhat older children than most Thomas toys, as young children are likely to find Hornby trains quite fiddly, and the higher price and detail level than cheaper plastic toys make rough handling of the toys by young children unadvisable.
History
Hornby launched its range in its current form in 1985, shortly after the debut of the television series. It mainly utilised modified versions of existing Hornby engines.
List of Engines and Rolling Stock
- Thomas the Tank Engine- made using a modified version of a London, Brighton and South Coast Railway E2 tank engine.
- Percy the Small Engine- This was a brand new moulding utilising the standard Hornby 0-4-0 chassis.
- Annie and Clarabel- Thomas' coaches, produced using Hornby's standard four-wheeled coaches.
- Open Wagon- A five-plank wagon in chocolate brown, with a face printed on the front.
- Closed Van- A ventilated van with a similar paint scheme to the Open Wagon.
- Brake Van- Made using a BR Standard brake van.
- Milk tanker- Used a standard four-wheeled tanker, painted white with the words 'TIDMOUTH MILK' on the side in blue. A batch has also been recorded with these words in red, but these are extremely rare.
Thomas and Percy were also released as clockwork 'Playtrains'. Percy used the same moulding as his electric counterpart, but Thomas had an entirely unique body which ran on an inaccurate 0-4-0 chassis.
In 1986, after the second series of the show had been released, Hornby added two more engines, two coaches and two trucks to the collection.
- Duck the Great Western Engine- Using the old Triang 57xx class tooling.
- Gordon the Big Engine- Using the Triang LNER A1 class tooling, which had been replaced in the regular Hornby range by a more accurate model.
- Gordon's Composite Coach and Brake Coach- This used GWR coaches in a green and cream livery to represent Gordon's express as seen in the television series.
- Cattle truck- A pale brown cattle truck using the Triang moulding. Although cattle trucks were used in the television series, they did not wear this colour scheme. The van also carried the words "TO BE RETURNED TO LEWES". Lewes is not a destination used in the television series, so it is a puzzle why Hornby applied it to the 'Thomas' model. (The same wording was used on the previous model that used this bodyshell, the "SR Sheep Wagon".)
1987 saw the release of Devious Diesel, based on the obsolete Triang diesel shunter mould. The same year also saw the release of the Breakdown Crane. Neither of these were a great success.
A battery-powered set featuring Thomas, Annie, Clarabel and Bertie the Bus was released, which allowed children to recreate the popular story in which Thomas and Bertie have a race. Thomas was unpowered, being pushed along by a motor in Annie.
James the Red Engine was advertised in 1988, but was not actually released until 1989. This was based on a modified Triang LMS 3F. The Reverend W. Awdry made a James this way also.
- The Tar Tanker, using the same tooling as the Milk Tanker, was brought out this year. To accompany James, 1989 saw the release of James' Composite and Brake Coaches, which were similar to Gordon's coaches, but maroon and white in colour.
Following years saw a winding down of the range. Duck, Gordon, Diesel, the Breakdown Crane, the Closed Van, the Cattle Truck, the Tar Tanker, and James' coaches were quietly retired. Annie was modified so that her face carried a surprised expression, rather than the smiling one previously carried.
It was not until 2000 that Hornby revamped their range, bringing Gordon, Duck and the Tar Tanker back into production.
- Toby the Tram Engine using a completely new body tooling.,
- Bill and Ben using again new saddle tank tooling.
- Two new Troublesome Trucks were introduced and the track system was totally redesigned.
- James' Coaches were re-released.
In 2001, Henry the Green Engine joined the range which he had a Stanier Black 5 tooling as he had in the railway series, along with a reintroduced Devious Diesel. Two completely new trucks, the Sodor Fuel Tanker and the Sodor Scrap Co. truck (a blue 7-plank wagon) were also released.
- 'Arry and Bert using the same tooling as Devious Diesel.
- 'The Diesel' who used Hornby's Class 37 tooling.
Another 7-plank wagon joined the range, S. C. Ruffey. This carried a moulded face. The following year, Oliver and Stepney were released.
In 2005, D7101 later D3 Bear and The Flying Scotsman with a face were added. These characters had only featured in the Railway Series books, and never on television. The battery powered Bertie was released as a separate model. A circus train consisting of twelve wagons and three ice cream trucks were brought out. Reworked versions of the Cattle Truck and Breakdown Crane were introduced, as were Toad, Old Slowcoach and a new weathered Brake Van. A new range of resin buildings were released with the adult collector in mind.
- Edward the Blue Engine and Emily were released in 2006. Emily was delayed for a short time but was finally released the 29th January. More buildings and trucks were also made.
- In 2007, Emily at first in Great Western Railway style.
- In 2008 Spencer, Thomas with a supriced face (weathered) (from the Thomas & The Great Discovery set) along with loads new buildings from the movie came out.
- In 2009, 3 sets will come out.
Train Sets
The Hornby range currently includes the following Thomas the Tank Engine-themed sets:
- Thomas Passenger Set 2005
- Percy Circus Set 2005
- James Passenger Set 2005
- Thomas and Bill Set 2005
- Thomas & The Great Discovery Set 2008
- Thomas Train Set 2009
- Thomas Passenger and Goods Train Set 2009
- Thomas and Percy Set 2009
Each is supplied with a paper Trakmat with printer scenery and track layout, enough track to create a basic oval (more track with sets other than Thomas Passenger Set), a train (two with Thomas and Bill) and carriages, a transformer and a power clip. Customers are then encouraged to purchase further Thomas-branded 'track packs' to complete the layout printed on the mat.
In addition, certain 'multi-packs' are included in the range. In addition to 'Thomas, Annie & Clarabel', other sets comprise three trucks.
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