Hi Greg,

Is this train set running on 3 rail track?

What sort of controller is being used?

regards
Kimball

The train is running on 3 rail track. The loco has a slider underneath for power pickup. It is definitely HO scale. I'll have to check the controller, however, from memory it was the usual transformer style. It is NOT Hornby-Dublo.

The plot is thickening.

Greg

Any photos, Greg?

Hi Colin,

Thanks for the information. I will try and get some photos, however, I leave tomorrow for 2 weeks holiday. When I get back home I'll arrange for the photos.

Regards
Greg

Ok well I stand to be corrected of course but somewhere along the way I was sure I saw an additional reference being made to the ability also to run two loco's independently (much like Faller did with their AMS slot cars) but using each half-wave of the cycle.

And there is a very distinct image on their packaging certainly appearing like an AC sine-wave...

So it appears the "AC" in ACHO means something other than Alternating Current?, I see also that their Transformers output DC & AC, so perhaps the AC is just for accessories.

Ah the Internet eh, can't always believe everything you read. I'm surprised now in searching further how little detailed info I can find. This site in French offered some hope, but alas, did not clear up the mystery. ie WHAT is Hornby ACHO and why name it thus?

http://fan-de-hornby-ach...acHO_autres-2412741.html

And here is an information sheet for one of the transformers, sadly my high-school French lets me down....

http://www.train-jouet.c...ormateur%20Ref%20643.pdf

Those jolly Frenchmen eh? Perhaps this was just to confound their German friends

I look forward to this mystery being resolved by an expert, which I am happy to say, I am not.

Hi Colin,

Thanks for the photo's.

Ian.

For a full life story on Hornby & all their products, a series of over 15 books was produced over about 10 years from 1980 by New Cavendish Books. When I started collecting the series & the FD saw their price she almost filed for divorce but I consoled her by saying that I may be the only silly young fool in OZ who buys the full series& she started to see the value in years to come Each Book was priced up in the $100 area which for a young bloke with a family was a fortune in those days, They still bring similar prices second hand in shops these days.

Another expensive book I found '"The Trains on Avenue De Rumine " was all about Fulgurex & Count Colluzzi [the owner] Many years ago on our first European trip we were in Lausanne & asked at the Tourist Info centre if they knew if his collection was available for public viewing. They had never heard of the collection but a few phone calls later we had a appointment arranged to visit his Chateau right in the centre of town. On arrival a few days later we are standing outdside a 6 story Chateau overlooking over the city & met at he door by The Count himself who then showed us thru his house which had trains from floor to ceiling in every room on every floor of The Chateau. We were over awed with what we saw & the welcome we received from the Count. We remained in touch for many years after untill about 2005 when we heard that he had passed on. I belive that his collection ended up at the museum in Mendrisio CH.

I have digressed from the original start of this post but it is amazing where a purchase could take you in years to come.

Regards,

Tom in Oz.

As for whether you have 'digressed', we NEVER digress here on the forum.

Quite simply, we boldly go where no man has gone before....

Hi Greg,

Thanks for the excellent photos of that iconic train set. The model represents the engine Sir Nigel Gresley (named after the designer) as running between 1947 and 1949. The coaches represented typical Gresley teak sided coaches used on the main lines of the London and North Eastern Railway at that time. Though the set was manufactured some time after that.

As Bryan has pointed out, the date of manufacture can be revealed more precisely by viewing the type of motor, and perhaps the print dates of the instructions. Sets of this vintage seem to attract the same prices (or less) as does a current model Hornby engine only, available in hobby shops. And of course that new one has a plastic body, not a metal one, as is the case with No. 7. However, the condition of the articles and the box itself can introduce some variations.

Is that a slight disfigurement (coloured white) of the trailing truck under the cab of the loco?

regards
Kimball

Hi Greg,

I agree with Bryan on pricing.

If a keen buyer were to look at this set, he or she would look for, whether present or not:
1. any corrosion on engine and carriages (some evident on engine)
2. state of carriage tinplate (shiny finish, marked, or otherwise tarnished?)
3. state of couplers (bent or broken?)
4. tender bakelite top (warped or misshapen?)
5. tender sides (bent?)
6. wheels (any corrosion or expansion?)
7. box items such as oil bottle and spanner (present?)
8. box inserts, covers, bottom and lid (torn or discolored?)
9. instruction booklets present?
10. controller (working?)

The answer to each of these questions will make a few dollars difference either way.
But as Bryan says, these sets are reasonably common, and mostly show similar condition.

regards
Kimball