This toy railway cement wagon, made between 1949 and 1957, is one of the items of goods rolling stock built by Meccano Ltd for their 0-gauge range of Hornby toy trains. The Hornby toy trains and accessories are a microcosm of railway social and technological history in Britain during the first half of the twentieth century.

Trains were the first form of modern transport to be reproduced as toys. Wooden pull-along trains were available in Britain from the 1840s, not long after the commercial introduction of full-size railways. By the 1870s the wooden toy train was replaced with tin-plate locomotives, hauling carriages, which were often powered by clockwork or steam. The German toy manufacturers dominated the world market at this time. The First World War broke this monopoly and the rise of patriotism in Britain saw an emphasis on local toy production there.

The scene was set for the English inventor of Meccano, Frank Hornby, to market his 0-gauge trains in 1920. Hornby trains became the most comprehensive ever produced. The series developed into finely-detailed locomotives, as well as commercial vans, wagons and tankers together with a range of accessories including stations, goods sheds, signals, crossings, water tanks and signal boxes. They were exported from the Liverpool factory to many countries including Australia, Canada, Egypt, New Zealand, Rhodesia and South Africa. In Australia, Hornby trains of the four major British railway companies became as familiar to boys as Australian rolling stock.

Two years after Frank Hornby's death in 1936 Meccano Ltd introduced the smaller Hornby Dublo (00-gauge) table top trains which were more affordable and convenient than the 0-gauge. This gauge became the most popular type of toy trains for the next 50 years. From the late 1950s no further effort was devoted to 0-gauge trains and by the 1960s their popularity had diminished. Today model railway production is aimed at adult collectors and is increasingly removed from the traditional children's toy trains. Many of the original collectors have kept and added to their interwar childhood 0-gauge toy train layouts with stations, tunnels, landscapes and rolling stock forming a historical diorama of twentieth century land transport.

Marsh, Hugo, "Miller's Toys & Games Antiques Checklist", Reed International Books Limited, London, 1995

Margaret Simpson
Curator, Science and Industry
January 2008

Hornby's first cement wagon appeared in 1922 in a tab and slot construction rather than the Meccano-style nut and bolt design which was commonly used for rolling stock at the time. The body was grey and the roof black with 'Cement' in large white lettering. From 1923 the white letters were replaced with gold ones. Railway company initials, 'LMS' or 'LNER', were added to one side of the base in 1924 and a GW version added in 1926. The colour of the cement wagon changed from grey to red in 1927, company letters were discontinued from 1930 and a lighter shade of red was used from 1933.

The Blue Circle Portland Cement Wagon replaced the red cement wagon in 1937 in a yellow livery with a blue and white transfer on the flap. The base changed to a matt black in 1939 and production continued until 1941. After the Second World War, production resumed in 1949 and the sole plate was changed from black to yellow. The cement wagon was replaced in the Hornby catalogue by the No.50 Saxa Salt wagon in 1957.

Graebe, Chris and Julie, "The Hornby Gauge 0 System", New Cavendish Books, London, 2002

This toy railway cement wagon is part of a large collection purchased by the Museum in 1985 from the tin toy collector, Ken Finlayson. As a boy, Finlayson admired steam trains but never owned a train set. As an adult he began collecting Hornby model trains, and his interest spread to other toy trains and tin toys. He increased his collection at auctions, swap meets and market stalls, and through his connections with toy dealers and other serious collectors. Some toys were simply found sitting neglected on the shelves of remote country newsagencies, brand new and never opened.

Finlayson's knowledge and love of toys brought him a collection of nearly 2000 items, including highly collectable tin-plate toys manufactured by respected names such as Carette, Bing, Marklin and Lehmann, as well as a variety of other German, English and Japanese makers. The Finlayson collection contains every type of transport toy - cars, trucks, tractors, fire engines, buses, motorcycles, aeroplanes, ships and trains, as well as novelty toys, robots, kitchen toys and Meccano sets. It represents the type of toys that were available in Australia throughout most of the twentieth century, including ones made here by Boomaroo, Wyn-toy, Cyclops, Ferris and Robilt. These Australian toys were usually built from heavy-gauge pressed steel rather than thin tin plate, making them sturdy enough for rough treatment in Australian backyards and sandpits.

Toy railway wagon, Hornby cement wagon 'Portland Blue Circle Cement', 0-gauge, metal, made by Meccano Ltd, Liverpool, England, 1949-1957

This four-wheel tin-plate cement wagon comprises an enclosed wagon with a slopping roof and hinged flap. The wagon sides are embossed to represent planking. It is finished in yellow enamel with a white and blue transfer on the roof lid 'Portland Blue Circle Cement'. The sole bar is yellow and the base is glossy black.

Made: 1949 - 1957

85/2585-46

1949 - 1957

80 mm

60 mm

175 mm