Hi, Lads!

Earlier this year, with José and a friend of his we drove one hundred odd kilometres south of Buenos Aires to Chascomús (some 35,000 souls, on a beautiful lake, Indian territory of yore) where, for some arcane reason, the local museum held an exhibition of vintage Hornby tin trains, mostly especially liveried for the Argentine market (there is a full 1920's catalogue with the prices in pesos!!!!). We managed to contact the owner, a computer specialist, rather unwealthy, but with a passion for these things. He is 40 years old an started when, on his tenth birthday, his father presented him with his first train - a present from his grandfather to his father in the twenties.

A guide to the liveries: FC (Ferrocarril, i.e. railway) O (Oeste = West), S (Sur = South), CA (Central Argentino)











Notice that the signal box doubles as control!















Alas, I forgot to take a side picture of this stunning Orient Express, with one-foot long gangways connecting the Pullmanns!







Great stuff, huh?

sergio

Hi sergio

Great stuff indeed, that really is some collection:thumbs 

 

 

 



 





I wish I had taken pictures of more pages!

sergio

 

Thats amazing Sergio.......the collection must be worth an absolute fortune. Many thanks for posting

Wonderfull collection Sergio. Thankyou for posting the photos.

Derek

GREAT stuff !!!

I still own some of the Hornby tinplate I was given (or later bought with pocket money) as a young child and it still works as well.  The clockwork mechanisms are pretty robust!

But you seldom see such large collections in such superb condition and notably the track is as close to pristine as I've ever seen.  The track for that stuff tarnished and displayed rust spots pretty quickly just in normal use open to the air.  The collection you show is mint!

I wouldn't want to put a value on that lot but it might be very high indeed.  One of my old wagons which I felt was only fit for scrap went to a second-hand place many years ago now for an amazing £35.  For  a bent, twisted and damaged vehicle with its paintwork seriously chipped and flaked.

Thanks for the pictures.  A very rare and substantial collection there.

As I said, the guy is far from inimally well off, but he has sold a few gems for a fortune, which he has reinvested in full. One such rarity was the ONE extant sepcimen of a certain wagon, which a collector in Britain paid 10,000 (that is ten thousand!) quid for.

sergio

If anyone wants to pay me that sort of money for one of the red or yellow Shell tankers or a cattle wagon (in green rather than blue) as illustrated I might consider parting with a little more of my childhood!!!

A fascinating collection indeed. I bet Hornby would like to see those. I hope the museum is properly safe guarded for his sake.

It was a temporary exhibition. Everything should be stacked in the guy´s closet by now.

sergio

What an amazing collection. The set of locos are stunning. I wonder if the owner ever runs them? Nice to see them nicely displayed, but they should used in my humble opinion.

These tinplate models really have great charme!

Thomas