Brighton Toy and Model Museum

It is the sort of museum that brings back childhood memories from any visitor over the age of 40 and it is an interesting place to show younger children the sort of toys that their parents and grandparents grew up with.

What to see at the Brighton Toy and Model Museum

The main focus of the Brighton Toy and Model Museum is a collection of toys and models produced up until the mid-20th century with most of the collection originating in Europe and the United Kingdom.

The museum has displays that include model railways and displays of models including items from Bing, Bassett-Lowke, Corgi, Dinky, Hornby, Märklin, Meccano and Steiff.

It is free to visit the first part of the museum, which includes the shop as well as the Glamour of Brighton exhibition with Brighton-related models including a Meccano ferris wheel and models of the Volk’s Electric Railway, the old Brighton locomotive works, the Brighton Belle train as well as a quarter-scale model of a traction engine.

The main ticketed area comprises the largest portion of the museum and features model railway layouts in 0 and 00 gauge plus displays of soft toys, puppets and marionettes, building construction sets, model ships, remote-controlled model aircraft and an exhibition of diecast models including models made by Corgi Toys, Dinky Toys, Matchbox and Spot-On.

Visiting the Brighton Toy and Model Museum

The museum is located under the arches that support the main station concourse at Brighton railway station at the northern end of the city centre. From here it is around a 15-minute walk to most points of interest in central Brighton including the Brighton Dome, Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, Royal Pavilion, North Laine and The Lanes and a little farther (around a 20-minute walk) to the SEA LIFE Centre, Brighton Palace Pier, British Airways i360 and the Booth Museum of Natural History.

It is open Tuesday to Saturday. Entry to the shop and the first arch of the museum complex is free of charge but there is a charge to enter the main area of the museum where most of the larger displays are located. Museum admission is £8, which is a bit pricey for a small museum but there are discounts for students, seniors and disabled visitors.

Although it is a small museum that you could quickly see in under an hour, model railway enthusiasts have been known to spend longer than three hours in here.