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Friday 23 Jun 2023

Return of the plaque: missing model railway inventor tribute reinstated

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A long-lost commemorative plaque marking the birthplace of famous engineer and toy inventor Frank Hornby has been found and reinstated at Liverpool Lime Street station.

The businessman, engineer and politician invented three of the 20^th century’s most successful toy brands based on engineering principles – Meccano, Dinky cars and the eponymous Hornby Model Railway.

He was born on 15 May 1863 at 77 Copperas Hill, which was later cleared for neighbouring Liverpool Lime Street station to be expanded.

To mark where the site once stood, in 1994 a plaque was installed on the station concourse.

But during station renovations in 1999, the tribute was taken down and mysteriously never seen inside Lime Street again – until today - nearly quarter of a century later.

Thanks to detective work between Network Rail and the Railway Heritage Trust, at 10:30am this morning (Friday 23 June) the plaque was unveiled (for a second time) in the station.

It was found after the trust contacted the Hornby Railway Collectors’ Association (HRCA) to see if there were photos of the original plaque so a reproduction could be made.

The HRCA then published a short article in their newsletter about the search, and purely by chance one of its readers contacted them saying he could do better than a photo – and in fact he was in possession of the real thing.

Tim Hedley-Jones, director of the Railway Heritage Trust, said: “We fully expected the original plaque to be long lost, so it was beyond all our hopes to find the real thing when we set about researching about how we were going to reproduce it.

“When we contacted the new owner he told us he had purchased the plaque at an auction a decade ago unaware that it had been removed from the station without permission. Thankfully he’s delighted to see the plaque returned to the station, which is a great outcome for everyone”

Peter, Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill and Network Rail chair, said: “Frank Hornby’s toys have enthralled and inspired millions of children and adults across the globe, and the plaque celebrating him and his achievements, was put up in 1994 so people would know that Liverpool Lime Street station was where it all started.

“Despite not being on display in the recent past, it’s great that the original plaque has now been found so this fascinating piece of history can once again be on display and enjoyed by present and future generations."

Today the original plaque has been returned to its rightful place in the station and unveiled by Network Rail Chair Lord Peter Hendy, with Tim Hedley-Jones from the Railway Heritage Trust and members of the HRCA and Network Rail teams also present.

For more on how Network Rail works to protect the railway's heritage and the conservation work it carries out you can follow this link:  www.networkrail.co.uk/working-with-railway-heritage.