A recent visit to the British Motor Museum has reminded Peter of one of the few childhood toys he still has.
► Were you a ‘Meccano Boy?’ I was, and my Meccano set is one of the very few childhood toys which I still possess. I also suspect that an awful lot of us who are now ‘of a certain age’ and who have always been interested in matters mechanical might just have been inspired by Frank Hornby’s fantastic construction kits.
If that’s you, then you aren’t alone. Many of the most influential car design engineers also used Meccano as a means of trialling new ideas and producing working models. When Alex Issigonis retired from BL in November 1971, his present from the company was one of the iconic Number 10 sets (plus a steam engine), and Lord Nuffield also had one which was frequently put to good use during his well-known periods of insomnia.
Meccano was, of course, all about making working models – even the simplest kits contained pulleys and axles, gears were included from Set 6 upwards, and from Set 8 you got chain and sprocket sets. You could also buy all the parts as individual items, and there were A sets which converted a set into the next one – Set 5 plus 5A became Set 6 for example.
My set was a Number 6, but the same time, Dad bought me a 6A conversion kit, the various parts from which formed Christmas and birthday presents for the next couple of years, meaning I ended up with a Number 7. Plus, of course, numerous other spare parts – girders, worm gears, universal joints, toothed rods, single and triple ‘throw’ eccentrics and a clockwork motor.
A half-decent kit allowed all manner of mechanical mechanisms to be created; gearboxes, steering systems, differentials (including a fully operational limited-slip diff) and intermittent action turntables.
With bigger kits, even things like working clocks were possible. Meccano cranes were, of course, legendary, and other working models in the books included a transporter bridge, cable car, funicular railway, and a working ‘spirograph’ type machine. The ultimate Meccano model was a huge block-setting crane which for many years was a Meccano trademark.
Back in the day, Meccano really was all-embracing – at least as well-known as Lego is today. It spawned local clubs (called Guilds, and often run by the local vicar) and even a monthly Meccano Magazine.
Though Meccano was invented before WW1, its heyday was from 1930 to the early 1970s, meaning it often embraced two generations. In 1964, Meccano Ltd was rescued from liquidation by Tri-ang, and the red and green colour scheme was replaced by a more contemporary silver and yellow. This was chosen as it matched the typical colours of large construction vehicles.
