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EnglishWhat Is the Dutch HRCA and What Does It Offer Hornby Collectors?
Updated
The Dutch HRCA is the Netherlands-based overseas section of the Hornby Railway Collectors' Association (HRCA), a non-profit organisation founded in 1969 with about 2,500 members worldwide that is devoted to collecting and operating Hornby O-gauge and Hornby Dublo trains. If you collect or run vintage Hornby in the Netherlands or nearby, the Dutch section is the most direct route into that community; if you are simply researching a locomotive's value or looking for like-minded collectors online, much of what the site publishes is useful before you ever join.
Where the Dutch HRCA sits within the HRCA
The HRCA grew out of the Meccano Liverpool tradition, and like that era it has several overseas sections — the Dutch HRCA is one of them. The parent body is non-profit and international; the Dutch section handles local meetings, reports and Dutch-language collector activity. The website at dutchhrca.nl is the section's public face and is dedicated to the club, vintage Hornby O-gauge, Hornby Dublo and vintage model railways in general.
What the site actually gives you
The homepage lists its resources directly, which makes it easy to judge whether it is worth your time:
| Resource | What it contains |
|---|---|
| Meeting reports | Write-ups and pictures of past meetings, often built around a special event or a visit to a member's home |
| Price guide | A guide to Hornby O-gauge locomotive values, generated from a database of thousands of prices from auction results, eBay sales, dealer lists and prices asked at sales shows |
| News page | Train shows, collectors fairs, and events of the (Dutch) HRCA and the Train Collectors Society (TCS), plus direct links to online catalogues of major auctions selling Hornby and Dublo |
| Links page | Hornby-interest links grouped by category, covering O-gauge, Dublo and HRCA-related organisations |
| YouTube channel | Videos of O-gauge Hornby and vintage model trains being run |
| Facebook groups | HRCA Hornby O Gauge Trains, HRCA Hornby Dublo Trains, and the TCS "Any Make Any Age Any Gauge" group |
The site also carries material on the Leeds Model Company (LMC) — locomotive, coach, wagon and catalogue pages, plus non-catalogued items — and a Biller Bahn page, so it is not strictly Hornby-only.
Using the price guide sensibly
The price guide is the single most practical tool here for someone holding an unidentified O-gauge locomotive. Because it is compiled from auction results, eBay sales, dealer lists and asking prices at shows, treat the figures as a range of observed transactions rather than a fixed valuation. Asking prices at shows in particular tend to sit above realised sale prices, so weigh auction and eBay results more heavily when you form your own view. The site notes a 2026 version of the guide, so check that you are reading the current edition.
Getting involved
Two low-commitment steps come first: join one of the Facebook groups to see how collectors discuss identification and running, and watch the Dutch HRCA YouTube channel if you want to see O-gauge Hornby in operation before committing to the gauge. For local participation, the news page is where shows, fairs and Dutch HRCA events are listed, and the meeting reports show what a typical gathering involves. The site does not publish membership fees or a sign-up form on the homepage, so for joining the section itself, make contact through the channels the site links to rather than assuming online registration.
One caution on names: "LMC" on this site refers to the Leeds Model Company, a vintage British maker — not Lees-McRae College. If you arrived here searching for the college, you are on the wrong site.