nhdesigns Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 At least it's good to know it's not gone but it does seem like it's gonna be a long trek to Widnes now. Especially since I'm going to Liverpool on Monday. Luckily I'm staying just outside Liverpool near the M62 so getting there won't be too much of a journey. I do look forward to seeing there new store. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tri-er Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 Yes Darrel, I love the Beatle's connection. Don't forget the Fire Station, although I believe that has closed down now. Train stations are Hunts Cross, Widnes or Hough Green after that it is Runcorn. I have never seen any signs of a bus stop anywhere near there. The main road is the Ford Road or Expressway. Meets up with the continuation of the M57 which is the A5300. About half a mile from that junction on an industrial estate. Car or taxi only real alternatives. You are right, the Fire Station closed last April. had many a happy shift there in the 70's Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
'CHARD Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 I've just realised that Hatton's new site is opposite where Alstom are planning on building a new facility, so perhaps they might get a few new customers from there! http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/local-news/alstom-submits-plans-develop-hbc-10501132 Whoa - well spotted bennyboy, I hadn't put 2 + 2 together, it is just across the tracks from there! Ditton station is looking pretty ropey these days... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennyboy Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 Whoa - well spotted bennyboy, I hadn't put 2 + 2 together, it is just across the tracks from there! Ditton station is looking pretty ropey these days... After I posted that I also realised that the new Hattons is on the site of what used to be Ditton Sleeper Depot, so if you can smell creosote when you visit the shop you'll know why! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CUTLER2579 Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 After I posted that I also realised that the new Hattons is on the site of what used to be Ditton Sleeper Depot, so if you can smell creosote when you visit the shop you'll know why! This dopey old geezer was thinking why would they use Creosote in the repair of Sleeping Cars - Honest. Then the Penny dropped. . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJS1977 Posted January 31, 2016 Share Posted January 31, 2016 I wonder how many people came into the hobby by passing down Smithfield Road and seeing what was in the window, We've all heard the stories of boys who've seen a train set in a shop window and pleaded with Mum and Dad to have it as a Christmas present. Easy enough for a shop in a town centre, not so easy for an industrial unit tucked away on a cul-de-sac out of town. Indicentally,I notice their RMWeb banner add still says "Hatton's of Liverpool"... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kestrel Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 I read somewhere that Hatton's use YODEL parcel carriers. If anyone saw the Dispatches programme last night on Channel 4 http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/on-demand/62079-004 they won't order anything by mail order again if you expect to receive it in one piece. I live near Chester and can be to Hatton's and back in an hour or so by car, going over the Runcorn Bridge. That way I can be sure the item IS in one piece. I was last there either side of Christmas. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kestrel Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 Referring to JohnR's comment on page 3, the Liverpool Echo doesn't pay anyone for photographs. Any they use are regarded as having been 'donated'. They don't even pay out prize money for their sponsored sports events anymore. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Coryton Posted February 2, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 2, 2016 I read somewhere that Hatton's use YODEL parcel carriers. If anyone saw the Dispatches programme last night on Channel 4 http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/on-demand/62079-004 they won't order anything by mail order again if you expect to receive it in one piece. I live near Chester and can be to Hatton's and back in an hour or so by car, going over the Runcorn Bridge. That way I can be sure the item IS in one piece. I was last there either side of Christmas. The good news is that unless things have changed now, Hattons let you choose between Yodel and Royal Mail. However, it seems you don't always get what you ask for. A couple of years ago I ordered something, chose Royal Mail and got Yodel. On the other hand, I ordered on a Sunday and it turned up - in perfect condition - on the Monday, which I wasn't expecting. I wasn't in a rush to get it, but if I had been it would have been nice. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jbqfc Posted February 2, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 2, 2016 The good news is that unless things have changed now, Hattons let you choose between Yodel and Royal Mail. However, it seems you don't always get what you ask for. A couple of years ago I ordered something, chose Royal Mail and got Yodel. On the other hand, I ordered on a Sunday and it turned up - in perfect condition - on the Monday, which I wasn't expecting. I wasn't in a rush to get it, but if I had been it would have been nice. i ask when i got yodel instead of royal mail yodel collect later so they will send by yodel to get it to you sooner since then i have always put when ordering royal mail only and so far that has worked Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
toffee Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 . Train stations are Hopefully not a virus that I will ever see again on a Railway interest website, sob, walks off to lie down in a darkened room. For my two penne'th, having a son in Uni in Liverpool and having already been done by the parking Stazi a few months ago, not a moment to soon. I have driven past the shop a few times but finding nowhere near to park have given up and continued my journey. Now hopefully a few minutes from the M62 and no little Hitlers waiting to pounce I will be able to stop and browse in peace. I guess in a perfect world they would have found somewhere near public transport but I guess it's a win for the majority. John. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob F Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 Hopefully not a virus that I will ever see again on a Railway interest website, sob, walks off to lie down in a darkened room. For my two penne'th, having a son in Uni in Liverpool and having already been done by the parking Stazi a few months ago, not a moment to soon. I have driven past the shop a few times but finding nowhere near to park have given up and continued my journey. Now hopefully a few minutes from the M62 and no little Hitlers waiting to pounce I will be able to stop and browse in peace. I guess in a perfect world they would have found somewhere near public transport but I guess it's a win for the majority. John. References to the Stazi and Hitler in the context of parking are way OTT and rather distasteful, in my opinion. In general ( though mistakes can be made) if you don't park where you shouldn't then you won't get a ticket. Rob Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free At Last Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 Although I am disappointed at their move as I mostly visited the shop using public transport, the few times I went in my car I never failed to find somewhere to park around the corner in Penny Lane. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 I've just realised that Hatton's new site is opposite where Alstom are planning on building a new facility, so perhaps they might get a few new customers from there! http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/local-news/alstom-submits-plans-develop-hbc-10501132 There's a piece on the new Alstom facility in this month's Modern Railways. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Hattons Dave Posted February 18, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 18, 2016 Hi all, Yesterday, I managed to break away from reviewing the final colour layouts for the 14xx's to discuss our new store development with Simon Kohler and Ben Jones. Both Simon and Ben have a wealth of knowledge regarding retailing in both the industry and hobby, we had a very productive afternoon putting pen to paper planning our new store. I'll be keeping you up to date as the store development progresses - we're really keen to make it a 'home' for modellers and the amount of interesting ideas formed yesterday should help make this a reality. Cheers, Dave Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
antrobuscp Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 I look forward to seeing the results of the planning. Also, just to say I never had any real problem parking near either of the shops on Smithdown Road, but then I'm prepared to walk 300 yards rather than 30. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
APOLLO Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 Hi all, Yesterday, I managed to break away from reviewing the final colour layouts for the 14xx's to discuss our new store development with Simon Kohler and Ben Jones. Both Simon and Ben have a wealth of knowledge regarding retailing in both the industry and hobby, we had a very productive afternoon putting pen to paper planning our new store. I'll be keeping you up to date as the store development progresses - we're really keen to make it a 'home' for modellers and the amount of interesting ideas formed yesterday should help make this a reality. Cheers, Dave Hi Dave. I am (was) a regular visitor by car to your old shop, (mail order also) and I always received courteous and quick service from the staff. I will visit your new shop once it is fully set up and running. Will you have a selection of secondhand alongside the new stuff on display in the cabinets as you did latterly in your old shop ?, I found quite a few useful items there. Will you have a similar floor space / number of cabinets as the old shop in your new one ? Brit15 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Hattons Dave Posted February 18, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 18, 2016 Hi Dave. I am (was) a regular visitor by car to your old shop, (mail order also) and I always received courteous and quick service from the staff. I will visit your new shop once it is fully set up and running. Will you have a selection of secondhand alongside the new stuff on display in the cabinets as you did latterly in your old shop ?, I found quite a few useful items there. Will you have a similar floor space / number of cabinets as the old shop in your new one ? Brit15 As per our previous shop, we've got a cabinet in the temporary store dedicated to Pre-Owned items that aren't on the website ( having had a look in on my lunch break there's a very tempting Hornby Class 60 in there currently...) and we're currently looking into how we'll place this in the new store layout. Footprint wise will be about the same as we had at Smithdown Road. Cheers, Dave Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TangerineWizards Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 I'm very pleased to see Hatton's have joined RMWeb and continue to engage about the shop move. Looking at the pictures posted by Hatton's Dave, I hope the display cabinets will return to the rolling stock out of the boxes and displayed on stretches of track. In my experience, it has lead to numerous impulse purchases! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Y Posted February 18, 2016 Author Share Posted February 18, 2016 I hope the display cabinets will return to the rolling stock out of the boxes and displayed on stretches of track. In my experience, it has lead to numerous impulse purchases! On my visit last week most of the locos on display in the cabinets were unboxed, it's probably just a temporary measure that the other rolling stock items were boxed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RANGERS Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 It must have been in a pretty rough area to have had a bouncer on the door? He's why Hattons were so successful, he's draggin them in not keeping them out! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Geeee Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 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. 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: hattons_bus1.png Aerial view: hattons_bus2.jpg Start of walk: hattons_bus4.jpg End of walk: hattons_bus5.jpg Bus timetable: hattons_bus3.png Google Streetview links: https://goo.gl/maps/j4dVZuQ2QS32 https://goo.gl/maps/6Ucqeex3YjM2 Martin. Just catching up with this, Only found out from a magazine last week that Hattons had moved, was my emergency sunday run out whenever I needed some thing on the spur of the moment. Good luck with getting to it on foot from the route pictured in Martins thread, it goes through the middle of the Police dog training centre, WOOF! WOOF! I only live up the road from there. For the past year living in Ditton feels like you are baricaded in with all the roadworks for the new bridge. Trying to get through Widnes from Ditton is a right pain and will be for the next year or so until the join to the new bridge is finished. Good news is the new Hattons is now only 2 minutes away for me, bad news is my wallet could be getting slimmer. But definately for info, no public transport stops near it even though there is a limited stop express bus route from Runcorn to Liverpool that goes up the main expressway it does not stop at the island junction. Update 28/2/2016 - had a reccy today and definately no way through. The dog training centre has taken up all the land and the road through is not there anymore. Went over to Hattons in the car and no way through from that end either , everything at the end of the road on the industrial estate is all fenced off. There is also another new road from the industrial estate that crosses the railway mainline that looks like it will come out onto the road that leads into Halebank but this is not open yet either. View from the main road, everything on the right side of the fence is the dog centre: What replaces the 3 concrete blocks in Martins picture, to the left of this are the gates to the network rail yard which has no access. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Hattons Dave Posted February 23, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 23, 2016 Hi all,We've put a survey together with a few short questions to assist us planning our new store. We're really keen to make sure that the store is built to best suit modellers as well as new starters so this is your perfect chance to let us know what you'd want from our new premises. There's also the chance to win £50 to spend on our website, and a year's subscription to BRM Magazine so it's well worth a go! https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/H5KTF6FCheers,Dave Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theakerr Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 Since I am not too busy at the moment (and feeling a bit lightheaded) I completed, if you can call it that, the survey. All I can say is I hope you don't pay it too much attention. As a survey, it definitely leaves a lot to be desired if you really want valid information. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RANGERS Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 Paid the new place a visit today as I was passing, certainly lacks the character of the old shop but let's see it finished before we pass any judgement. One observation is that the temporary layout lends itself to the staff engaging with customers, more so than being stuck behind the barrier of a counter might encourage. I compared it as being a bit like a car showroom with the sales staff scattered around the showroom. They were of course as pleasant and helpful as ever and I wish them well. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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