Riviera Blue trainset (Hornby 1926)
| Star Exhibit |
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Riviera Blue trainset (Hornby 1926)
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| Arch Four , Area 37 Hornby Wall (display) |
Riviera Blue clockwork trainset, made by Hornby in ~1926.
The model
The Riviera Blue Train appeared in the Hornby Book of Trains in 1926, and was notable not just because it depicted a famous foreign train, but because the Riviera locomotive in the set was arguably only the second Hornby loco closely designed around a specific original (the first being the Metropolitan loco introduced in 1925).
The basic Hornby "Riviera" 4-4-2 loco design was later used with small modifications, as the basis of a range of 4-4-0 No.2 special locos. The Number 2 Specials were again based on specific locomotives, and the No.2 specials in different colours for different railway companies had physical differences to fine-tune the basic design to the target locos, rather than just beign given different paintwork. The idea that this new emphasis on trying to accurately reflect the shape of the original locos started (for steam locos) with the Riviera Blue set gives enthusiasts another reason to have fond feelings towards the set.
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The original "Blue Train"
The "Blue Train" was a luxury service that linked northern and southern France. The Calais-Mediterranée Express (later, simply Le Train Bleu) operated from 1886-2003, and was built by the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits (CIWL) as an immediate followup to their Orient Express luxury train service. Both trains were patronised by rich international travellers, and Agatha Christie set a "Hercule Poirot" book on each (Murder on the Orient Express (1934) / The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928))
The Blue Train was a useful choice for Hornby not just because the train was famous and glamorous, and would appeal strongly to the French model railway market, but because the train's peak period was during the winter months as wealthy Britons took a ferry to Calais and then used the train to flee from the British winter to the sunny coastline of the French Riviera. At least some moneyed Britons who were a target market for the purchase of expensive trainsets would not only know the Blue Train, but they and their children would have happy memories of travelling on it for their holidays.
External Links
- An advert for the original train (ebay.com)
- "0 Gauge History", Hornby Railway Collectors Association (hrca.net)
- Auction site (tennants.netconstruct-preview.co.uk)
