Enter a world tracing the evolution of powered transport when the One:One Collection Museum at the former Hornby factory site in Margate rolls open its doors next weekend.
The heritage collection is an amazing array of engineered, scale models, full-size locos and rolling stock ranging from an 1860’s horse-drawn mail coach owned by Broadstairs and St Peter’s Town Council to a decommissioned Eurostar exhibit dating to 1995, railway station name plates, meticulous model layouts and even a former Euston Station departure board with a live link to current travel information.
The 150,000 sq ft property takes in the original 1954 Rovex/Tri-ang site and the 1974 factory addition. The die cast area was flattened in 2022 to make way for a visitor parking at the rear of the new museum.
Inside, the old warehouse contains a main exhibition space at mezzanine level, the main hall at ground floor that is used for the storage of the historic locomotives and exhibition space at lower ground floor level which houses a 35ft long and 12ft wide 0 gauge model railway with five tracks created by Corporate Layouts, based in Cliffsend, a smaller ‘Continental’ layout and a multi-track1958 Hornby Dublo model.
Beautifully conserved stock includes the Atlantic Coast Express and former papermill loco Leader, both of which ran on the mainline and have now ‘retired together to the seaside.’
Alongside the town council mail coach stands a three-quarter scale Invicta loco which would have served along the Canterbury and Whitstable crab winkle line in the mid 1800s and third in the row is a 1940s Rover – marking a journey of some 100 years of transport evolution.
A very special exhibit is the 1937 Coronation, named for the coronation of King George VI, which is a sleek loco with an ‘observation’ car where passenger would have paid one shilling for 20 minutes inside to view the scenery around them. Its interior is Art Deco design with original furniture and fabrics used during its restoration.
On the open day visitors will be able to get themselves a Northdown Brewery beer from inside a loco cab and sit at one of the benches and tables which have been crafted from upcycled railway materials.
There will also be teas/coffees and sandwiches/sausage rolls served up in two railway dining coaches that had at one time been based at Grantown-on-Spey in the Scottish Highlands with plans to make them part of heritage railway park but had actually started life in 1959 operating out of Ramsgate.
Unusual items in the main area also include a 1955 Russian tank and a full-size model of the Bloodhound super sonic car – built to break the world land speed record.
The model was constructed by veterans with the Royal British Legion Industries and is made from an amazing 384,000 pieces of K’Nex rods.
At ground level visitors will be able to see exhibits including the 1964 Winston Churchill funeral carriage, a heritage electric train, the Wickham track repair vehicle, ‘Hogwarts’ loco Raveningham Hall, The Royal Scot and more.
The museum and much of the collection is owned by Jeremy Hosking, of Locomotive Storage, who bought the former Hornby factory and warehouse site in February 2017.
The project has been overseen since 2018 by Locomotive Storage director Frank Martin – who was formerly chief executive of Hornby until 2013 – and he has since been joined by Dan Armstrong.
Frank said: “Jeremy Hosking bought the site in the Spring of 2017 to develop locomotive storage and open the museum. He has been collecting for decades but has never seen it all in one place before.
“The open day is to get a feel for what people think of it and is the first step to opening the museum.”
Mr Martin says the museum houses a ‘unique’ collection demonstrating the transformation of powered transport.
Much of the building and other works have been carried out by local firms including DDS, Woodward and Jones, Saunders Electrical Contractors and Grummant.
The pair will receive support from the Hornby/WonderWorks team on the open weekend event on August 9-10. The event will also feature a Thanet bus which was once used to transport Hornby staff to work from the isle’s towns.
The open weekend takes place on 9–10 August.
There will be morning and afternoon sessions available to explore detailed model railway exhibitions, get hands-on with activities from Hornby Hobbies’ brands – including Airfix, Scalextric, Pocher and Corgi – and soak up the atmosphere with photo opportunities and refreshments. Visitors will also be able to see the One:One collection on a miniature scale with Hornby models of many exhibits.
What to expect:
- A preview of the One:One Collection as the museum continues to take shape
- Access to Hornby Hobbies’ heritage and facilities
- Entry to The WonderWorks, home to exhibits and interactive fun
- Model railway layouts and brand exhibits in the former Hornby factory
- Interactive activities, refreshments (at an additional cost), and much more!
Ticket holders will enjoy entry from 9.30am, with limited parking available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Adults £25.00 | Concessions £20.00 | Children (5–15) £10.00 | Under 5s Free | Family £50.00 (2 adults, up to 3 children)
Booking: Pre-order tickets for your preferred session here.
This looks great! It’s a shame in a way that it’s not in Margate (the Winter Gardens for example), as it could genuinely improve the area.
There’s also a depot open day at Ashford international on Sunday 24th August, they’ve got steam loco clan line there too plus many more , it’s £25 each , also this Wednesday 6th August The steam pulled Kentish belle travels through Thanet twice to and from faversham, stopping at Broadstairs 12.30 and 5pm , plenty for train enthusiasts !
It is in Margate Peter. I think they might have trouble installing a saddle tank,let alone a Deltic in the Winter gardens.
Ironically though, it’s nowhere near a railway station. So those travelling from outside Thanet would have to also jump on a bus.
You have to find a negative for yourself.
Oh its not in margate, oh its not next to a train station.
Personally I think this attraction looks brilliant.
I guess you missed my words “This looks great!”. Read more carefully before commenting.
So you didn’t say “It’s a shame in a way that it’s not in Margate (the Winter Gardens for example)”
Who added that to your first post ?
Of course I did. By it’s very nature, a rail museum works better when near a railway station. But still wish ’em well. The Railway Museum in York is one of my favourite places. You been there?
Ironically Peter there used to be a railway line from Margate to Ramsgate via Westwood a stones throw from Hornby , bits of the track bed are still there with a bridge off Nash rd too.
I know! Wish all the old Thanet lines were still there, I’d then be able to get to Ramsgate seafront without walking from (more or less) St. Lawrence.
That’s not how the Southern railway felt about the situation . Thanet had 4 railway stations 5 if if you include St Lawrence.It was lunacy, caused by the rivalry of two men, Sir Edward Watkin of the South Eastern,and James Staats Forbes of the London Chatham and Dover.This stupidty even extended to London, where Watkin controlled the Metropolitan and Forbes the District.It took years for the what is now called the Circle line to be completed,and all over Kent rival lines and stations were built, needlessly competing with each other.
Ramsgate Harbour was a pain to operate, because it had a severe gradient and was exposed to bad weather.
So,no Peter,we would wouldn’t want all that back again. But it was nearly 100 years ago in 1926, when the Southern spent a small fortune in connecting up Thanet properly, and built a gem of a station at Ramsgate.
Thanet now has 8 railway stations of course. If only they were all properly connected (try getting from Birchington to Minster or Thanet Parkway!).
Yes, 8 if we count Birchington, Westgate,minster,Broadstairs, dumpton park and Thanet parkway, but none of those are termini, which was the case in Margate and Ramsgate.Let’s face it building an expensive, ugly,dysfunctional building like Thanet Parkway. was an act of supreme idiocy,especially as you can only connect to it by car,but that is top down thinking forecourt.It is almost an act of colonialism towards Thanet
Glad they built Thanet Parkway. Its futureproofing passenger services for when Manson Airport opens to the public. The millions of passengers from London would not want to spend £50-100 and 1h20mjn to Ramsgate, to then have to get a shuttle bus (another £5, surely…) and another 20min. It didnt work at Luton Parkway…
Have you tried walking from Thanet Parkway to the Manston Airport terminal entrance? I have, and had to give up as it’s too dangerous. So they’ll still need a shuttle bus.
Um, how eeird as I have done that walking several times without any issue. A shuttle bus from Thanet Parkway to Manson would save several minutes to travellers, in any case. I hope Southeastern adapt their timetables to cater for early and late travel, RyanAir and essyJet are known to have unsocial hours
Can you describe the route? Pavements? Unlit footpaths? Roads without pavements? And… would it be practical if dragging a suitcase? Genuinely curious (and I’m not anti-airport as such, just of the opinion that the station is in the wrong place).
The DCO mandates against departures or scheduled arrivals between 23:00 and 06:00
Yes, its about 45min – 1h, at leisurely pace. I did that recently when taking photographs for a recent piece on the state of the airport. The route is not fit for purpose for travellers, that I agree, without pavements and lighting. But it would be about 5mins on the shuttle. RSP are estimating 1m passengers by year 10, mostly from Thanet so I reckon people from London would only be 400,000. That would be 100 people/day on average. Over the 18h of operation per day, 5 people/hour. A shuttle would cope well.
RSP is developing (??) a cargo hub, because they know that passenger services won’t work.
You claim that by year 10, a million passengers, mostly from Thanet, will use Manston. Given that the population of Thanet is about 150,000, that means that every man, woman and child in Thanet would have to use Manston about 7 times a year.
That’s not going to happen.
And why on Earth would anyone from London treck past at least 3 fully functional airports to get to Manston?
Like Pavlov’s Dog.