Contact Details

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Chairman:

Bill Vyse (chairman AT hrca.net)

Company Secretary:

Chris Davies (cosec AT hrca.net)

Editorial Enquiries:

David Upton (hrcaeditor AT outlook.com)

Web Site Enquiries:

Robin Hair (webmaster AT hrca.net)

HRCA Spares Secretary:

Phil Delnon (spares AT hrca.net)

Membership Secretary:

Joining forms and membership rates are available from the 'Joining us' web page.

Treasurer (HRCA Ltd):

Stephen Packham (treasurer AT hrca.net)

HRCA Auctions & Valuations:

Auction Team (auctions.valuations AT hrca.net)

HRCA Exhibitions and Events:

 David Harrison (exhibitions AT hrca.net) 

Event Diary:

 Rebecca Wheatley (events AT hrca.net)

Some videos featuring our beloved Hornby

Affectional known as ‘Glorious Gaydon’, we held our autumn extravaganza at the home of the British Motor Museum. On Saturday 7th October 2023 the HRCA took over the large exhibition area on the upper level at the British Motor Museum at Gaydon. We featured our full range of vintage Hornby including: O-gauge and Dublo layouts in both Electric and Clockwork plus other displays of Meccano and BayKo. Some 400+ members of the HRCA attended this third national event of the year. The video was taken during the event by member Peter Ingleton. This video is in two parts..

Members of the HRCA created and ran a very large 'O' gauge layout at the London Festival of Railway Modelling over the weekend of 18th and 19th March 2023. The layout featured the simply stunning ‘King’s Coronation’ layout built by Adam Heeley. This memorable display captured all the pageantry of Coronation Day on the Mall, the military procession, the Red Arrows, all complemented by the O gauge locos and rolling stock. The video was taken during the event by member Peter Ingleton. This video is in two parts..

Every 5 years the HRCA holds a large exhibition to celebrate the foundation of our association in 1969.  Our latest extravaganza was held in Loughborough University in April 2014, being our 45th.  

About the HRCA

Hornby Railway Collectors Association

Founded April 1969 by Peter Randall

President: Nicholas Kitchen
Chairman: Bill Vyse

WHO WE ARE: The Hornby Railway Collectors Association was founded for the purpose of stimulating interest among collectors and operators of Hornby Trains and accessories, both '0' Gauge and Dublo, as manufactured by Meccano Ltd. in their British factories up to 1965 and overseas up to 1973.

WHAT WE DO: The Association is a non profit-making origanisation and all officers serve in a voluntary capacity. It does not trade in Hornby Trains or any other product, except for its own publications or authorised copies of original material.

JOURNAL: Our principal activity is the production of a Journal, "The Hornby Railway Collector", which is professionally edited and printed. This relies on members for contributions of both technical and historical interest and provides a platform for exchange of views, ideas and experiences of collecting, operating and restoring Hornby trains.

H.R.C.A. Ltd: In May 2018 the HRCA formed itself into a company limited by guarantee to protect the rights of its members.  H.R.C.A.LTD is a company limited by guarantee, incorporated in England and Wales with registered number 11146345, whose registered office is at Olympus House, Olympus Avenue, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire CV34 6BF.

  

 

Journals and Front Cover Preview

(click on image to display the latest Journal)

The HRCA has published a monthly journal almost every month since May 1969 when the association was formed.  All journals from May 1969 (number 1) onwards are now available on-line to view, print or download.  Special thanks to Australian member Greg Johnston (HRCA 6815, HRCAA 546) who scanned all the journals up to 2011! His efforts made the web publishing task a lot easier.

To view the latest journal click on the image to the right and it will be loaded into a PDF reader.

Thanks to the HRCA Journal editor for providing the on-line version in PDF format.

List of past and current HRCA Journal Editors (as published in Feb 2015 Journal 500) 

Editor	Start	End	Years
Peter Randall (HRCA 2)	May 1969 Journal 1	August 1973 Journal 52	4.3
Alan Brown (HRCA 8)	September 1973 Journal 53	January 1974 Journal 69	0.4
Royston Carss (HRCA ?)	February 1974 Journal 70	April 1975 Journal 72	1.2
John Beadsmoore (HRCA 266)	May 1975 Journal 73	February 1978 Journal 106	2.8
David Nathan (HRCA 380)	March 1978 Journal 107	February 1981 Journal 140	3.0
John Pentney (HRCA 79)	March 1981 Journal 141	April 1984 Journal 169	3.2
John Beadsmoore (HRCA 266)	May 1984 Journal 170	February 2007 Journal 417	22.9
Chris Graebe (HRCA 384)	March 2007 Journal 418	February 2010 Journal 450	3.0
Penny Samuelson (HRCA 9996)	March 2010 Journal 451	February 2014 Journal 490	4.0
Chris Graebe (HRCA 384)	March 2014 Journal 491	February 2015 Journal 500	1.0
David Upton (HRCA 8740)	March 2015 Journal 501	Present day

You can read Chris Graebe's excellent article cellebrating 500 journal issues which includes an editorial history of the publication in: '500 a great number' on page 33 Issue Number 500 February 2015  (just clck the 'blue' link to open it).

Accessing The On-line List Of Journals

The complete list of journals can now be viewed depending on your internet connection speed...

If you have a FAST Internet connection link, you should find the 'Detailed Journal List' page loads reasonably quickly;

alternatively, if you have a SLOW Internet connection link, you'd be better advised to use the 'Simple Journal List' page.  

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some frequently asked questions related to journal access and downloads...

What's the difference between the two pages?	The 'Detailed Journal List' page contains an icon image of the front cover of each journal which can be a useful visual aid, but takes longer to populate; whereas the 'Simple Journal List' is a simplified textual list and should load as quickly as other pages from this website.
Is there any differences between the journals downloaded from either page?	No none.  Both pages access the same set of PDF files which contain our scanned journals.
Why do some of the earlier journals appear to be poor quality scans?	During the early years the journal was produced on a 'duplicator' rather than being printed commercially.  This resulted in lower quality finished pages, which were more difficult to scan.