Well, you know the movie..."The Postman Always Rings Twice" ... well it worked. Today after receiving my Marx Circus set yesterday, I got delivery of another "e-bay" find also clockwork and it has been are real challenge in sorting it out. It was advertised on the bay as "Hornby" which it is in one sense, however when I got it opened and looked at the lithographed logo on both the engine and cars it read..." Fab En France, Mecanno Paris, Serie Hornby" so it is actually French Hornby. As best I can figure, this set is part of the French "Train Express" which was the equivalent to the English MO trains. The loco number on the tender is 3615 while the logo under the cab window is a manufacturing mark. While it likely does not make much difference in value, it is a "new" make for my collection and just a little different from the standard Hornby set. Here are some pictures: Note - I have no idea what might have once been put into the 4 rectangular holes in the cardboard that are just outside of the ends of the straight track. In addition, this set did not come with the box "top" which would likely have yielded more data. It did however come with a complete oval of track including a set of "stop" rails AND THE KEY!! By the way, the motor runs really nicely, smooth and without any gear noises.
Maybe I should have saved this for Front End Friday ... note the smoke lifters which seem to be far more common on continental loco's than on those designated for the UK market.
BY THE WAY ...anyone know what happened to the "Buy / Make anything new for your layout - tinplate version" ? It seems to have disappeared from my listing.
Have a good weekend, Best Regards, stay healthy
Don McErlean
