In 1931 Meccano Ltd issued a series of railway and trackside accessories to compliment their O scale Hornby Railways model train sets. Six model cars were produced alongside model track workers, passengers, station staff and other trackside accessories. By 1934 Frank Hornby, who owned Meccano Ltd, had expanded the range to include die-cast model ships and aeroplanes, and the range was christened 'Meccano Dinky Toys', the first set of 'Dinky Cars' being released in 1934. During the war production was suspended but continued on a massive scale afterwards. However from 1960 onwards serious competition in the form of Matchbox, Corgi, Triang and Hot Wheels took their toll and the famous Binns Road factory in Liverpool finally closed its doors in November 1979.
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