Model railway manufacturer Hornby has issued a review of the products that were the highlights of the past year.

2025 began with the launch of a new range to mark 200 years of the modern railway, including a Southeastern Class 395 four-car Train Pack and Coach Pack in a new Railway 200 livery, a London North Eastern Railway (LNER) Azuma Class 801/2 five-car Train Pack, and a Birth of the Railways Train Pack.

April brought a touch of humour when an April Fool’s prank on 1st April introduced the incredible Hornby Shrinking Booth, which gave modellers the ability to shrink themselves down to OO or TT scale to enable them to walk around a layout they created.

The popular Join the Crowd event in July saw the recreation at the railway station at Margate in Kent of Hornby’s hometown in OO form. This was similar to last year, but featured The Libertines performing on the Dreamland stage; it was followed by a competition for tickets to see The Libertines for real at Dreamland. Other prizes included tickets to The WonderWorks, a Southeastern Class 395 four-car Train Pack, and a free Modelu scan.

In August, the One:One Collection hosted an Open Weekend, when visitors could view the collection of historic full-sized locomotives next to the Hornby offices that are not currently on public view.

Hornby Unplugged in September saw the release of Hornby’s latest investigation into hobbies and their effect on mental health, which showed that when people focused on a hobby, they were happier and less stressed.

October celebrated the third anniversary of the launch of the new TT:120 scale, including the launch of a new TT range, a TT:120 Club sale, a blog post, and a Club magazine. Models released during the year included new locomotives, rolling stock, buildings, and accessories.

In no particular order, the most popular sets during the year were

• Santa’s Express Train Set with a rechargeable battery.
• GWR High-Speed Train Set.
• S&DR – 1925 – Locomotion No.1 (Railway 200); the locomotive has sold out, but is still available as part of the Birth of the Railways train pack.
• Flying Scotsman Train Set.
• BR, Stanier 5MT ‘Black 5’ 4-6-0 44726 with a steam generator,
• Greater Anglia Class 755/4 ‘FLIRT’ four-car Train Pack in Pride livery.