slg Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 Lets hope that they do actually make a model shop at the hub and not just a display room. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
APOLLO Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 Couple of years or so when I last visited Harry's. Didn't know it had closed. Brit15 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
olivegreen Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 Totally off-topic but I remember being taken to Harry Ramsden's in Guiseley more years ago than I care to remember. The passing comment above has brought back memories long forgotten! Back to topic - I wish good fortune to Hattons but also to local shops in a highly competitive business. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
petee19 Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 Very much the end of an era,I have known Hattons in Smithdown Road for over 40 years.Alway visited 3 of 4 times a year when in Southport where my inlaw's live.Not too far out of the way so I will still visit although probably not so often.My reasonably local model shop 'Howes of Oxford' did a similar move a few years ago from a small shop to an industrial unit and that has worked fine as far as I know,although that is not on a very frequent bus route,unlike their old shop.I wish Hattons every success in their move and will look forward to visiting the new unit later in the year. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted January 20, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 20, 2016 Slightly closer to London but still too far to travel to I do remember going in the store back in the late 70's when my grandmother still lived in Liverpool. The taxi fare is more than the Royal Mail post charge!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RANGERS Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 Quite a shock and sad news, it was a must do any time I was in Liverpool, cost me a fortune over the years. I wish them well but sympathise with those who rely on public transport and for whom it will be extremely difficult to spend money in the future! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachmann Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 Interesting set of photos there. I didn't spot a skip full of boxes of locos with no chimneys, non-runners, motion falling apart and other high-priced tat that fills the Hattons Hornby and Bachmann columns these days. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hroth Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 Interesting set of photos there. I didn't spot a skip full of boxes of locos with no chimneys, non-runners, motion falling apart and other high-priced tat that fills the Hattons Hornby and Bachmann columns these days. They're probably being kept back as lucky dip prizes for the official re-opening of the shop in April. April.... Not the First, I hope! As for the move itself, its sad to see that they're abandoning Smithdown Road, but given the cramped location of the old shop and less than adequate parking arrangements, I see the move as something positive, looking towards the future. To be honest, Smithdown Road has always been a "special trip" location and if you're buying lots of stuff then public transport isn't ideal for lugging it all back home, so either mail order or the car are pefectly reasonable alternatives. Anyway. Heres to Hattons in their new location and with fond memories of 364 (and prior to that, 180) Smithdown Road, Liverpool 15! (edited to get rid of the doubled quote box. And a bit of light spelin korkshun....) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
antrobuscp Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 Very sad to see the Smithdown Road connection end. I think that although it's further for me to the Hub, it will probably be quicker - no trailing into Liverpool on the M62, Queens Drive, etc., which was always the slowest part of the journey. I'll wait 'til April, though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Delamar Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 I was on my way past yesterday and about to pop in but took another route in the end and never bothered. I often went in for impulse purchases but wont be able to now. Anyway heres a shot of the original shop which holds a lot of childhood memories. 222_23 by liverpolitan., on Flickr Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
class"66" Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 That's were it all started for me and model railways,nice to remember the old shop.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
john flann Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 I used that shop with Norman in his dust coat way back in the late 1950s. Always got what I wanted at a good price, as one still does today from Hatton's. Thanks for the memory. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peach james Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Glad they are moving and not closing- sad that the location which has been iconic even for a yooth like me (now 39) will be closing. I understand granddad bought stuff from them at the old location, way before my time though. (probably as early as when they lived in Birkenhead). James Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffin Road Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 I always enjoyed a visit to both of the smithdown road shops - Very urban . On the plus side the new place looks a little easier to park my truck outside - very rural . Mike b Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free At Last Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 The Smithdown Road premises may have been acquired for conversion to a much needed wine bar with student accommodation above. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted January 21, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 21, 2016 i dont know if its the lack of sleep or too much coffee but all i could think about yesterday when i read about them moving and seeing the pictures of the empty shop was the image of scooby doo and shaggy walking round "the old abandoned model shop" on smithdown road and being scared witless by the 'ball of string monster' who turned out to be old man hatton, who would have "got away with it if it wasn't for you meddling kids" Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium John M Upton Posted January 21, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 21, 2016 You know the high street model railway trade is well and truly screwed when even Hattons chuck the towel in and move out of town!!! Slightly depressing.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddys-blues Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 A sign of the times, who can blame them, as a business they now only have one set of rates to pay, one lot of electric and water rates to pay. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold martin_wynne Posted January 21, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 21, 2016 Not by public transport it isn't easy to get to. In fact, impossible. Don't give up so easily. It's only a 5-minute walk from a bus stop. But perhaps not for the faint-hearted. Admittedly it is the best part of 50 years since I was last in Widnes, so this is all from Google. Bus no. 2 from Widnes every 15 minutes: Aerial view: Start of walk: End of walk: Bus timetable: Google Streetview links: https://goo.gl/maps/j4dVZuQ2QS32 https://goo.gl/maps/6Ucqeex3YjM2 Bus timetable link: http://www3.halton.gov.uk/Pages/publictransport/pdf/BusTimetables/Timetable2.pdf Martin. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mow Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 I was on my way past yesterday and about to pop in but took another route in the end and never bothered. I often went in for impulse purchases but wont be able to now. Anyway heres a shot of the original shop which holds a lot of childhood memories. When did Hattons first open on that part of Smithdown Rd? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free At Last Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 QuoteWhen did Hattons first open on that part of Smithdown Rd? History of Hattons Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railsquid Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Really is the end of an era. I can recall my Dad writing to Smithdown Road to buy stuff for me. Must have been the early 1960s. I can recall badgering my Dad for cheques so I could write off to Smithdown Road for various items unobtainable locally during the mid 1980s. Much time has elapsed since then, but after rediscovering these tiny trains a year or two back I was very happy to find they were still in business and very capable of shipping VAT-free to foreign parts with "user-friendly" customs declarations. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 End of walk:hattons_bus5.jpg 'Til we have built a Hattons Hub, In England's green and grey wasteland. (Apologies to William Blake.) Doesn't anyone care about civic amenity in that locality? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 I was a regular shop customer at Hattons over the six years my daughter lived in Liverpool (one year in Penny Lane itself). Now retired and avoiding using the car for any journey I can make using a bus pass I CAN get to Smithdown Road by bus from her current address in Salford (OK, three buses) but if the new place is off public transport I'll not be visiting any more. Les PS Said daughter doesn't get visited by car- train to Manchester and shiny new busway buses out to 50 yards from her front door. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cromptonnut Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Don't give up so easily. It's only a 5-minute walk from a bus stop. But perhaps not for the faint-hearted. I'm not sure many would survive it - looks like something that Indiana Jones would be more at home in. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.