Euston calling Tycoon's trove of rail history

In a concrete warehouse on an industrial estate outside Margate in Kent, a 22-metre-wide screen flickers, day and night, telling the times of rail services from London to Manchester Piccadilly, Glasgow Central and Tring.

- Esther Addley

This, until recently, was the main departure board at Euston, one of the capital's busiest mainline hubs. And although it now hangs 80 miles away, it is still plugged into the national network and doing its old job, like a retiree unable to let go.

It's a surreal sight in an eccentric place - part storage facility, part private museum - home to a collection in the care of the asset manager, rightwing donor and self-confessed railway nut Jeremy Hosking.

As well as restoring and giving a home to old locomotives, models and memorabilia, Hosking part-owns Crystal Palace football team, a luxury hotel in Sussex and Britain's only private train.

In addition, he has invested more than £100m in fossil fuel interests, was the sole funder of Laurence Fox's Reclaim party, and this week confirmed he is backing a £100m bid to buy the Daily Telegraph. It's quite the investment portfolio.