How a giant in miniature trains made Thanet its home

British model railway brand Hornby moved to Kent in the 1950s and now also owns Airfix, Humbrol, Scalextric and Corgi from its base in Thanet.

The leading toy company has been around since 1901, and originally began with selling toys aimed at children before the market shifted to adults.

Although it has now moved its manufacturing to China, Hornby's headquarters is on the corner of an industrial estate and next to the busy A254 in Margate.

According to Hornby brand managing director, Martyn Weaver, the company picked the Margate location for its ease of access to workforce and transport, and potentially near the coast for export as well.

"The main reason and belief was that, at the time anyway, it was a very modern kind of factory," Weaver said.

At its peak in the 60s, there were about 2,000 people working at the factory at any one time and possibly over three shifts, especially on the run up to Christmas, with many of them women.

"Everyone knew, or was related to someone who worked at Hornby at that time," Weaver said.

"We've still got some employees now whose parents worked here."

The building was originally single story, and had its factory at the back, as well as a shutter door at each side "like a kind of a giant garage", Weaver said, where the goods would come in and out.

Because of the level of business rates, Hornby eventually had to build a second floor.

Their models, originally designed for children, slowly over time started to be enjoyed by an adult audience as well.

"A big part of our kind of market now are actually adults which you may argue never grew up and they're still playing with their toys, but in a much more sophisticated and structured way," Weaver said.

While manufacturing no longer takes place at the Margate headquarters following Hornby and Sky Electric's manufacturing move to China in the early 2000s, the firm started to acquire other brands, including Airfix and Humbrol in 2006, and later Corgi.

"All the design work and development work is done here in the UK," Weaver said.

"Pretty much every element of it, apart from the warehouses and making the stuff is here."

Today, the headquarters has a visitor's centre which is popular with people of all ages.

"Margate is still a massive part of it, this is where the main part of it goes on," Weaver says.

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