One of the railway buffs out there!

Hello All,

You will notice that I am not really a very commercial beast and it is rare that I advertise things for sale on here. Generally, I like to preserve the cafe as a peaceful place: somewhere to rest your feet and let the mind flow. A change, however, can be as good as a rest; so here is a small change to the usual fair.

You will notice below a link to an ebay page, where I am currently selling an electric trainset I acquired recently. The set is originally from the 1950s and shows many original features.

Just look at the rugged beauty and elegance of these simple models. You can see why their design inspires collectors today. Just look at the optimism present in the design - a simple belief that even if the detail was not there, children could have hours of fun copying the real world!

These models were made by a company called Tri-ang, who produced models from about 1950-1971. In fact, they actually bought Hornby and for some years, there were models called 'Tri-ang Hornby'. At the time, Tri-ang was the more popular brand because it was significantly cheaper. Hornby was always the prestige brand that people could bought, but which was very expensive for what you got. Eventually, Tri-ang stopped using their name for trading purposes and became simply Hornby Railways.

Now days, its pleasant to look over the lines of these simple early models and marvel at the clarity with which the early modellers saw the world. Small fiddly details did not matter, what mattered was you had a little copy of the world in your own living room. You could even invite friends over and participate in an activity together! We have plenty to learn from the 1950s!

This particular set is an especially early one, from about 1952. This is dateable because the controller is designed for batteries, not electricity from the mains! So, you can see it was an especially early one. The livery on the locomotive is also a give away - it can't be much later than 1958 or so, because the livery changed in 1957. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230596403283&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

I have put a few pictures in, so that you can see what I was talking about after the item sells. However, in the mean time, it can be yours on ebay for just £85 plus postage!

Enjoy...!