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Kings Cross Model Shop


roythebus
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No-one seems to have noted the history of this famous shop which used to be at 14 York Way, opposite the station.

 

From what I remember, it was opened by Keith Dann and others in about 1966 when Keith moved his OOScale models business from Biggleswade to there. Keith used to work in the shop, along with an ebullient ex naval man, A.G.Thomas, who used to tell tales about his days in Iceland in the war.

 

AGThomas, known as Tommy, used to run a the Model Arcade in Exeter at some time, and for a while worked in City models in Bishopsgate.

 

Keith Dann was tragically killed in a car crash and after that the business was taken over by the model Railway Supply Co. Lt., known as MRAS. The shareholders of that were Peter Beeston, AMS Pickering, AG Thomas and Viscount Garnock. I started work in the shop in early 1968. Upstairs was the workshop, where simon Kelly would build coaches; Mike Sheppard and Geoff Packham built locos to order.

 

In the basement was the "production line" where whoever was available would make track components using a huge fly press which would make the Kings Cross track components from brass strip. This would punch out the chairs in the first and second stages, while the resulting ladder strip would be used as either signal ladder or further punches as fishplates. On the middle floor was a room where Simon would pack their pre-glued ballast.

 

The famous wooden coach kits were produced on the same flypress as the track, and were stamped out of wood, which was then laminated and formed to shape on a band sander. It was all very labour intensive.

There was also the etched brass nameplate range; these were etched by a firm in Biggleswade and sent to the shop for spraying. Mr Pickering would then take them home to inspect them, all a bit daft really as they would de-form as the modeller cut them to shape and the paint would fall off!

 

The shop was under-funded and had difficulty getting sufficient stock. I left their employ in about September 1968 and went elsewhere. the shop was eventually taken over by EAMES of Reading.

 

The models made by Mike and Geoff were superb; Mike made a very nice Austin Seven from brass in about 1:25 scale for a client. He later went on to produce the first patterns for my range of GS Models Bus kits and Sutherland Models buses.

 

Painting of locos was usually contracted to Alan Brackenborough who lived somewhere in the Cotswolds, and he done a superb job. Of course he used the kings Cross dry print transfers; he also done the artwork for those transfers.

 

I don't know what happened to the staff from there. I know AG Thomas died many years ago, but not before he'd written several books on private owner wagons. I last saw Geoff Packham at a wedding in about 1975, and I believe Mike sheppard went to carry on model building in Scotland. Viscount Garnock, whom I never met, went on to buy the Gret Marquess.

 

A couple of fascinating facts was that the York Way curve passed under the back of the shop. The shop next door was used by "ladies of ill repute"!!

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A favourite haunt of mine too (and much missed). One Day I'll finish the 70 foot toplight kit I bought there! (Some decent ends and a new roof to replace the warped original are the main remaining things to do.

 

Which reminds me I bought a pair of coach ends at a toyfair recently. I must see if they'll fit. (When I remember where I've put them!)

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I remember the shop well and often tried to drop by there whenever I was passing - late 70s/early 80s. Brian Kirby of this parish used to work there too.

I bought some Western plates for my Trix body based model and one of the AC electric style lion plates. I didn't try cutting them out, instead I used my brother's pcb etching kit with Humbrol gloss paint as the etch inhibitor - worked a treat!

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Fondly remembered and sadly missed. It was a regular haunt when arriving at St Pancras for a days bashing around the London termini. I still have a couple of sets of those plates and probably several kits acquired from there, a Westward Bristol MW bus springs to mind.

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Yes Brian Kirby worked there long after I left there, probably mid 1980's.

 

While I was there I managed to sell a collection of Hornby O gauge that someone gave me, that produced funds to help buy my first bus!

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Only visited once, back in 25/10/1972, having a one week "All Line" railrover ticket. Bought 5 Tri-ang Shell Bogie Tanks and a Wrenn LNER N2 (still have em). Why I bought these I can't remember. Just took my fancy I suppose. Yong and daft back then !!

 

Then a dash across the road & onto the Flying Scotsman to Edinburgh (9013 "Black Watch"), Double headed BRCW's 5404 & 5410 to Glasgow, Hoover 448 down to Preston & Brush 4 1636 home to Wigan. (for a few hours sleep in my own bed before the next marathon to Penzance !!). Those were the days !!

 

Brit15

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I remember it well.I used to go to the shop in the 70`s when i lived in Tottenham,driving up Holloway rd,along York way & finding my way round the one way system at Kings cross so that i could enter the street where the shop was in the right direction.I bought my Comet coach kits from there.

Whilst on the subject of memories,does anyone remember W&H`s shop in Paddington St,tiny little shop with a big stock.I remember buying a K`s 63xx kit in about 1962 not realising it wouldn`t go round 2` radius curves!!!.However,i used to enjoy my Thursday 1/2 day jaunts on the Undergound to Baker St.Happy days!!!!.

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I remember it well.I used to go to the shop in the 70`s when i lived in Tottenham,driving up Holloway rd,along York way & finding my way round the one way system at Kings cross so that i could enter the street where the shop was in the right direction.I bought my Comet coach kits from there.

Whilst on the subject of memories,does anyone remember W&H`s shop in Paddington St,tiny little shop with a big stock.I remember buying a K`s 63xx kit in about 1962 not realising it wouldn`t go round 2` radius curves!!!.However,i used to enjoy my Thursday 1/2 day jaunts on the Undergound to Baker St.Happy days!!!!.

 

Another stop on my tours of London. Also Beatties in Holborn and Southgate - you didn't need a mortgage to travel on LT back then (around 1970). (Two stops on the bus for 4p and the Underground was similar.)

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Ahh!!,Beatties of Holborn,used to be Basset Lowkes showrooms,I wonder what happened to the set of semaphore signals that adorned the shop front.When i moved to Northampton,I regularly walked past Basset Lowkes factory although it was used as a kitchen furniture emporium then but the logo was still on the end wall of the building. I also used to buy my models from the Southgate Hobbyshop in Winchmore Hill rd,Southgate when they had the tiny corner shop next to a hairdressers.More happy days.

 

Ray.

 

 

PS.Just checked out on Google street view & BL`s factory is no more,Great block of offices on the site now :nono:

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I remember the W&H shop. visited when i was a lot younger in the 60s. Also visited Beaties at Southgate on a regular basis then as well. Used to cycle from my home in Edmonton. Happy days.

P.S also a shop in Lordship Lane, Tottenham, Dimmocks i think it was called. Sold my first train set there for 30 shillings, i was robbed.

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  • RMweb Gold

I had a summer job there in 1978, what an amazing place to work. It was owned by the Morris's at that stage, who also owned Eames, as mentioned earlier in this thread. There were some very talented modelmakers on the staff, including one gent who was a brilliant loco builder. Unfortunately I can't remember his name, but many loco kits built by him graced their display cabinet. I spent the whole summer building a Cotswold M&SWJR 2-4-0 tender loco and they agreed to put it in the show case when it was finished. I also recall that Tony (? surname?) - the shop manager, was the brains behind Kemilway and a part-owner. It was there that I first came across their brilliant 76XXX 2-6-0 chassis, one of which I bought and eventually assembled a few years later. Their Walschaerts valve gear in 4mm scale has still not been bettered, IMO.

 

Upstairs were the stock rooms and admin offices, also the mail order room. The higher you went in the building, the more Dickensian it all became, with views of rooftops and chimneys from the dusty upper floor windows. I returned to visit regularly for several years, but sadly lost touch eventually and then they had closed.

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Hi Everyone,

Another member has brought this thread to my attention, as Roy and Bernie mentioned, i worked there full time from 1976 to 1986 and before that as a saturday boy for a few years, who needs university when you could work here! I'm currently racking my brains, to work out who Captain Kernow was, i vaguely remember a 1334 loco being built. As Roy has probably already said, by my time, most of the production had been switched to sister company Eames of Reading, which was another Aladdin's Cave, sadly now demolished.

Eames bought "OO Scale Models" of York Way and it became MRM Co.Ltd. (which stood for: Model Railway Manufacturing Co.Ltd). Bob Treacher, now owner of Alton Models (or AMRC)used to work at EAMES and famously he once had a customer claiming a discount "because he was a member of the Eames family". Sadly, the customer didn't realize that EAMES stood for "Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Supplies".

For the record, Tony was Tony Dyer, the directors were Ted Morris, John Gauld and Ted's son, David. Alan Brackenborough was based in Stroud, although we later gave more and more work to a young Larry Goddard of this parish. RMweb's "PMP"- Paul Marshall-Potter was also full-time for a few years. There are loads of funny stories to tell.

Cheers, Brian.

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I remember the W&H shop. visited when i was a lot younger in the 60s. Also visited Beaties at Southgate on a regular basis then as well. Used to cycle from my home in Edmonton. Happy days.

P.S also a shop in Lordship Lane, Tottenham, Dimmocks i think it was called. Sold my first train set there for 30 shillings, i was robbed.

 

I remember it was called Howell Dimmock,Dudley Dimmock was the co owner of the shop,he came from Graham Farish i believe & the next time i saw him after the shop closed ,he was the manager of Basset Lowkes shop in Holborn.

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Hamblings?

And while we are doing the rounds of lost London model shops, let's not forget Chuffs!

Best wishes

Eric

 

I acquired quite a few items in my collection there!

 

There were many small shops in London's suburbs, that are no more. There were two near me in Chiswick around 1970. Further afield one closed in Torquay just after we moved there and apparently there was one here in Tilbury, once upon a time.

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