fordman Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 Hello and greetings from the USA. I am going to be in the UK in September on vacation and was looking for suggestions for model railway specific shops in Edinburgh and London to check out. Thanks in advance for any ideas of places to check out. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium ColinK Posted June 8, 2018 RMweb Premium Share Posted June 8, 2018 Harburn Hobbies in Edinburgh, a very short walk walk from the centre. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunwurken Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 For Edinburgh you cannot beat Harburn Hobbies in Elm Row just a short distance to the north of the city centre on Leith Walk. Bob Baird is the proprietor. They advertise on this forum and have a website, just Google Harburn Hobbies. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbishop Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 Central London is a desert. There are a few shops in the suburbs, for example Kent Garden Railways is near St Mary Cray station. Bill Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 London is a problem! All the model railway shops in the centre of town have closed, because of a combination of ludicrously high property prices and internet and ‘show’ trading. Dependending upon when you will be in London, you might have better luck visiting an exhibition, which always have trade stands, and are interesting anyway. There is a good listing here, but you might need a bit of aid working out which ones are within striking distance if you aren’t familiar with localities. http://www.ukmodelshops.co.uk/events September is a good time for exhibitions, whereas things tend to go quiet in the summer. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marly51 Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 Last time I was in London, a couple of years ago, the only shop I could find, near the centre, was the Ian Allan Bookshop near Waterloo Station - they had a small range of model railway items. Staff were very helpful. My main purchases were books. http://www.ianallanpublishing.com Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Mac Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 Can highly recommend Harburn Hobbies.... Now if your buying a lot of things, then can I suggest the following.... select all your models and tell them you want them posted back to the USA for you.... they will (and have done for me previously) then deduct the 20% vat/gst from the price and you then don’t need to worry about carrying your models around with you whilst on holiday..... 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonhall Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 For London you could make a day out and go to Alton to visit Alton Model Center and the Mid-Hants steam railway, or down to East Grinstead for the Bluebell railway who have their own shop. Jon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Legend Posted June 9, 2018 RMweb Premium Share Posted June 9, 2018 Yep Edinburgh has to be Harburn. Not much in way of discounts, if any at all , but everything well laid out . There is also Wonderland in Lothian Road. A bigger selection of construction kits , but really only a limited range of Hornby for Railways , so not up to the standard of Harburn . Depends where you are in the city as to whether you do Wonderland but Harburn is the must see . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
4railsman Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 or down to East Grinstead for the Bluebell railway who have their own shop. Jon If you are wanting a true model railway shop, then the Bluebell Railway Shop at Sheffield Park Station is not it. They cater for the visiting public and only have very limited range of model railway items and mostly around the full RRP. However, if it's books you want, then they do have a good selection, both on full size and model railways. There is also a good second-hand bookshop on the centre platform run separately by one of the loco preservation groups. The other downside is that you have to buy a Platform Ticket (about £3) in order to get access to the shop (and their Pub) during the "running season" ~ unless you are actually travelling on one of their trains. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordman Posted June 9, 2018 Author Share Posted June 9, 2018 Can highly recommend Harburn Hobbies.... Now if your buying a lot of things, then can I suggest the following.... select all your models and tell them you want them posted back to the USA for you.... they will (and have done for me previously) then deduct the 20% vat/gst from the price and you then don’t need to worry about carrying your models around with you whilst on holiday..... Thanks for the idea of asking to have the vat deducted Andy Mac. 3 or 4 recommendations for Harburn so far. Buying stuff and having it shipped back is what I was thinking of doing. have a decent amount of coaches so far. would mainely be adding to the 5 or 6 wagons I have so far by about 40 or so and another class 66 in freightliner or gbrf. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyman7 Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 Last time I was in London, a couple of years ago, the only shop I could find, near the centre, was the Ian Allan Bookshop near Waterloo Station - they had a small range of model railway items. Staff were very helpful. My main purchases were books. http://www.ianallanpublishing.com The model selection has improved at Ian Allan in Waterloo - there's is quite a wide range of locos and some useful accessories as well as modelling tools. The London Transport Museum in Covent Garden stocks some models (including their exclusive Bachmann S stock Underground trains). FInally, the Hornby outlet in Hamleys survived the cull of concessions and carries a reasonable selection. Moving out of central London, Janes Trains in Tooting could be worth a trip - there's always plenty to rummage through! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dungrange Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 Harburn Hobbies is my local model shop, so its plus one from me on the recommendations front. No idea about London outlets - I've never seen any of my visits to the capital. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinnylinny Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 (edited) Another vote for Harburn Hobbies in Edinburgh. Wonderland has very recently started stocking a very small range of Bachmann and Graham Farish, but you'd probably have to order in if you want anything in particular, and don't expect any discounts. I'd stick with Harburn for model railways. If you're a military modeller, though, Wonderland's a bit of a treasure trove. Edited June 9, 2018 by Skinnylinny Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GordonC Posted June 11, 2018 Share Posted June 11, 2018 Is Invicta models in Sidcup a bit far out of London for you? I gather they have a good range in stock, I've never been personally but have ordered things via mail order with them. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Storey Posted June 11, 2018 Share Posted June 11, 2018 Is Invicta models in Sidcup a bit far out of London for you? I gather they have a good range in stock, I've never been personally but have ordered things via mail order with them. I second that - it is a very easy journey, a two minute walk from the station, and it is chock-full of almost anything you could want, with some good discounts. http://www.invictamodelrail.com/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted June 11, 2018 Share Posted June 11, 2018 You might find these two useful when in London Map of rail services, more than just 'the tube' http://www.projectmapping.co.uk/Reviews/Resources/london-rail-and-tube-servid.pdf Journey planner site https://tfl.gov.uk/plan-a-journey/ The latter is very good, but sometimes for trips to the suburbs seems to come up with convoluted routes involving multiple changes, when 'common sense' would suggest a simpler route ....... I think it's because it is very 'real time' and knows if you will just miss a train on, say, a half-hourly frequency route, so makes strenuous efforts to get you there with only 29 minutes loss of time, when common sense would dictate waiting the full 30 minutes for the next direct service. Not knowing where you come from in the USA, or what your experience of public transport is, one thing to say is that you can travel anywhere in London by train and tube with no worries, and if you have a debit card that is registered to a U.K. Bank, you don't even need a ticket ...... you just wave the card at the sensor when you get on and off, and the system works out the cheapest fare. It even automatically discounts down if you make multiple trips over, say, a week. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redkiterail Posted June 11, 2018 Share Posted June 11, 2018 addlestone models is near addlestone railway station and is worth a visit Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roddy Angus Posted June 11, 2018 Share Posted June 11, 2018 No matter which shops you go to, if there is anything in particular you are after, I would suggest getting in touch with them in advance so that they can either order it up for you or put it aside. Most model shops can't have everything in stock all the time and early notification will save disappointment on both sides. Bets wishes Roddy 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordman Posted June 13, 2018 Author Share Posted June 13, 2018 I second that - it is a very easy journey, a two minute walk from the station, and it is chock-full of almost anything you could want, with some good discounts. http://www.invictamodelrail.com/ Hello Mike. what direction from London is Sidcup? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordman Posted June 13, 2018 Author Share Posted June 13, 2018 You might find these two useful when in London Map of rail services, more than just 'the tube' http://www.projectmapping.co.uk/Reviews/Resources/london-rail-and-tube-servid.pdf Journey planner site https://tfl.gov.uk/plan-a-journey/ The latter is very good, but sometimes for trips to the suburbs seems to come up with convoluted routes involving multiple changes, when 'common sense' would suggest a simpler route ....... I think it's because it is very 'real time' and knows if you will just miss a train on, say, a half-hourly frequency route, so makes strenuous efforts to get you there with only 29 minutes loss of time, when common sense would dictate waiting the full 30 minutes for the next direct service. Not knowing where you come from in the USA, or what your experience of public transport is, one thing to say is that you can travel anywhere in London by train and tube with no worries, and if you have a debit card that is registered to a U.K. Bank, you don't even need a ticket ...... you just wave the card at the sensor when you get on and off, and the system works out the cheapest fare. It even automatically discounts down if you make multiple trips over, say, a week. I was in the UK back in 2013 for 10 days so I do have some experience already with riding the tube in London. I had decided since 2013 was the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who I wanted to see some of the places the classic series was filmed at in person. Then took the train to Cardiff to see some places the new series and Torchwood have been filmed at. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torn-on-the-platform Posted June 13, 2018 Share Posted June 13, 2018 Hello Mike. what direction from London is Sidcup? Sidcup is in the South East towards Kent. St Mary Cray is also in this direction, where, as previously mentioned, you will find Kent Garden Railways. It is quite easy to get a bus between the two! I'm not familiar with Invicta, though have been a customer of KGR for as long as I remember. A great shop with great range and competitive prices. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HonestTom Posted June 13, 2018 Share Posted June 13, 2018 For London, Ian Allen has a pretty decent selection these days. It's primarily a book shop, which means it's also a good place to stock up your library. It's on Lower Marsh, right outside Waterloo Station. I'm a big fan of Jane's Trains, which is in Tooting and about a half hour train ride from Blackfriars, City Thameslink or Elephant and Castle. It's about a minute from the railway station and is great for second-hand stuff. Seconded on Harburn Hobbies, it's an easy walk from the city centre in Edinburgh and has some neat exclusives. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted June 13, 2018 Share Posted June 13, 2018 (edited) If you like the slightly unusual locations, have a look here for dates that might suit you https://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/whats-on/hidden-london As you will see, these sell like hot cakes, so get in quick! Or, interesting but a bit more 'touristy' https://www.postalmuseum.org/discover/attractions/mail-rail-ride/# Edited June 13, 2018 by Nearholmer Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Storey Posted June 13, 2018 Share Posted June 13, 2018 Hello Mike. what direction from London is Sidcup? As Chris said, but Sidcup is still in London! It is just a suburb. Here is a representative timetable for you- Charing Cross is a station right next to Trafalgar Square. http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/pdf/result.pdf?ts=1528889139550 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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