Photos by: 1 - Frank Martin, 2 - Corran Selman, 3 - David Babaian, 4 + 5 - Geoff Griffiths
Join The One:One Collection on its most exciting journey yet, as we bring some of the most iconic and historically important UK railway locomotives and rolling stock to their new home on the Hornby site in Margate, Kent.
In The One:One Collection, the stars of the show aren’t scale models, but the real thing – iconic locomotives, rolling stock, maintenance vehicles and memorabilia – 1:1 scale and up close. The collection’s new home isn’t yet fully open to the public, but now you can get on board, follow its progress, and learn about opportunities to be among the first to see the collection as it arrives.
In November 2019, we were chuffed to be granted planning permission to create a new vehicle entrance to the front of our 130,000 sq foot former warehouse, the first step in creating a new visitor attraction for Kent.
Now we’re delighted to announce The One:One Collection has appointed Haptic Architects, a London-based firm with links to Thanet to work with us on the building’s gradual evolution from storage facility to museum in the making.
Haptic have already come up with some fantastic early ideas and we can’t wait to see what happens over the coming months. They’ll be working closely with us to satisfy Thanet District Council’s Planning requirements so we can realise this exciting development in Margate.
Our first visitors were able to see the growing collection in August 2019, as part of the Hornby Open Weekend. Although fully developing The One:One Collection Museum is expected to take three to four years, subject to construction schedules, we hope to welcome rail enthusiasts to more open days in the meantime.
The One:One Collection currently includes over 20 steam and diesel locomotives, as well as coaches, rolling stock and memorabilia and large-scale models. They’ve been housed all over the UK, stored or undergoing renovation and conservation, with several still out and about on the rail network as part of heritage tours. But until now, they haven’t had a permanent home where they will be seen and enjoyed by members of the public.
Although The One:One Collection’s home is still in development, some of the collection has already moved in, and we’re expecting new arrivals all the time. See what’s on- and off-site.
The One:One Collection is not currently open to the public on a regular basis, although we hope to develop the museum as a visitor attraction in the future. Information about occasional opportunities to view will be posted on this website and on social media, so please connect with us, and bookmark this site.