Sammy the Shunter

[Legend]

Wow that’s a blast from the last . I had a Sammy the Shunter book, but it was the reference to the boarding up to look like a streamline Pacific that really brought the memory to the fore . I had that book and had quite forgotten about it till then . Think I only=y had that one book though . Being a Thomas fan it never felt quite as good as The Rev Awdrys books . 

[RJS1977]

Most of the Reverend's stories were based on events that had happened somewhere, whereas the Sammy stories weren't (I'm sure no fireman has really put fireworks in a firebox to make the loco go faster!). As a result, the Thomas stories had more of an air of believability to them. 

[TerryBewdley]

Remember seeing a Sammy the Shunter at Bingley Hall in Birmingham I was very young but it was great fun.

 

[Il Grifone]

Fireworks in the firebox certainly wouldn't make it go faster (One of the things that made me think they should have stopped with 'Back to the future 2' !*). It shows a lack of knowledge in how a steam locomotive functions and thus inexcusable!

 

* or even 1? Biff would have met with an unfortunate accident if he had kept on winning....

[john new]

On 29/07/2020 at 23:29, Silverfox17 said:

I went to both and the Scarborough one was far bigger than the set up at Brighton, it was a huge disappointment with nothing really recognisable apart from some locos.  The arch location was very small compared to the whole floor above a slot machine arcade. The big station would not fit in, the loco depot would not fit in and no Sammy the shunter or Harold, he had retired and I think kept Sammy as a momento. 

 

Garry 

Also remember going to see the Sammy the Shunter layout as a boy at Scarborough.  IIRC location was an upstairs room opposite the fishing harbour. Possibly used later as a toy museum.

[Steamport Southport]

1 hour ago, RJS1977 said:

Most of the Reverend's stories were based on events that had happened somewhere, whereas the Sammy stories weren't (I'm sure no fireman has really put fireworks in a firebox to make the loco go faster!). As a result, the Thomas stories had more of an air of believability to them. 

 

They were all preachy though. One of the reasons I never really go into them.

 

Sammy The Shunter was fun and rescued Father Christmas. The Fat Controller would brick his engines up in tunnels if they didn't do as they were told. Or sent away for scrap...

 

 

 

Jason

[Silverfox17]

45 minutes ago, john new said:

Also remember going to see the Sammy the Shunter layout as a boy at Scarborough.  IIRC location was an upstairs room opposite the fishing harbour. Possibly used later as a toy museum.

Not quite John, entering the Promenade from the South end it was the first building on the left facing the beach, well before the harbour which was further down on the right.  It was slot machine arcade and through the entrance were the stairs on the left to the railway room and you paid at the top of the stairs.  Once the railway went I don't know if it became a toy museum or not. On my last visit, possibly 1969 but could be 1970, the layout had gone and the room was empty. I was told it had gone to Brighton and I never went to the arcade again. 

 

Garry 

[Silverfox17]

59 minutes ago, Il Grifone said:

Fireworks in the firebox certainly wouldn't make it go faster (One of the things that made me think they should have stopped with 'Back to the future 2' !*). It shows a lack of knowledge in how a steam locomotive functions and thus inexcusable!

 

* or even 1? Biff would have met with an unfortunate accident if he had kept on winning....

It was all in fun for children and nothing to do with how a steam loco really worked David. After all a steam loco cannot hold a book in its buffers to read it and they had untrained monkeys driving Sammy in one story lol. 

 

Garry 

[Il Grifone]

Hi Garry,

 

Yes that's true. I was just being pedantic (as always!).

[john new]

3 hours ago, Silverfox17 said:

Not quite John, entering the Promenade from the South end it was the first building on the left facing the beach, well before the harbour which was further down on the right.  It was slot machine arcade and through the entrance were the stairs on the left to the railway room and you paid at the top of the stairs.  Once the railway went I don't know if it became a toy museum or not. On my last visit, possibly 1969 but could be 1970, the layout had gone and the room was empty. I was told it had gone to Brighton and I never went to the arcade again. 

 

Garry 

So my memory of it as the end of a parade of buildings was sort of correct - I just had the wrong end of the parade!  The toy museum, if my memory is correct (probably from the late 70s early 80s) was that it was up at the other end near the harbour. One vivid memory I have of the model railway building is that at the top of the stairs he had that BR poster of all the locomotives lined up in black livery. One I have liked ever since.

 

Edited August 3, 2020 by john new

[kevinlms]

On 31/07/2020 at 13:00, kevinlms said:

Harold Elliot featured in the 1959 February Railway Modeller in the 'Personality Parade' series, as number 84.

 

My index notes say this.

 

Harold Elliot is the owner of a large O gauge display layout at Scarborough. Famed for having 2 models (1 spare) of 'Sammy the Shunter'. Hero of an Ian Allan book series

 

The 1959 September issue (incorporating August, due to printers strike)

 

Junior Modeller - Holiday Jaunts 1  Railwayland

 

My notes again.

 

A look at the commercial layout in Scarborough. It is in O gauge and it has a model of 'Sammy the Shunter', from the Ian Allan series

An update here.

 

In Model Railway Constructor 1972 September, there is a Newsdesk item on Harold Elliott, where it states that he celebrates 25 years of running 'Railwayland' in that year.

 

At the time of writing, it had been displayed at Lowestoft Pier for 1 year, 6 years at Blackpool Tower Co., 8 years at Scarborough and now 10 years at Brighton.

 

[sagaguy]

On 03/08/2020 at 18:40, john new said:

So my memory of it as the end of a parade of buildings was sort of correct - I just had the wrong end of the parade!  The toy museum, if my memory is correct (probably from the late 70s early 80s) was that it was up at the other end near the harbour. One vivid memory I have of the model railway building is that at the top of the stairs he had that BR poster of all the locomotives lined up in black livery. One I have liked ever since.

 

Is this the poster?

             Ray.

[john new]

2 minutes ago, sagaguy said:

Is this the poster?

             Ray.

 Yep, that is the one. 

[roythebus]

Sammy the Shunter was at Brighton in the mid 1960s in a unit under the seafront arcade.

[Silverfox17]

46 minutes ago, roythebus said:

Sammy the Shunter was at Brighton in the mid 1960s in a unit under the seafront arcade.

In the early and mid 60's he was in Scarborough. Harold Elliot did not retire to Brighton taking Sammy until late 60's and only some of the layout went into the seafront unit. 

Edited December 2, 2020 by Silverfox17

[papagolfjuliet]

On 03/08/2020 at 18:40, john new said:

So my memory of it as the end of a parade of buildings was sort of correct - I just had the wrong end of the parade!  The toy museum, if my memory is correct (probably from the late 70s early 80s) was that it was up at the other end near the harbour. 

 

 

The toy museum was in the former St. Thomas Church on East Sandgate, now the Sea Cadets' drill hall.

[MUTTLEY]

On 02/12/2020 at 22:55, Silverfox17 said:

In the early and mid 60's he was in Scarborough. Harold Elliot did not retire to Brighton taking Sammy until late 60's and only some of the layout went into the seafront unit. 

Harold Elliott and Railwayland were definitely in Brighton by 1963/4. There was a far larger layout there then, than would have been after Harold sold up, around 1972/3. The Hornby three-rail layout was also there, opposite the main layout. Once an hour or so, Harold would move over to the Hornby layout and invite kids to have a go at some Hump Shunting.  I used to go there throughout the 60s and early 70s. Once he sold up, the new owner "asset-stripped" the best locos and much of the layout. It only lasted a year or so before closing altogether.  I remember Harold saying he would like to retire to Rhyl. Whether that's what he did or not, I don't know.

[Holby Railway]

was there ever a proprietary model for sale at all, and if not, does anybody know if one was ever built, i rather fancy the idea of resurrecting Sammy, and what about Chuffalong or Peter Puff a Long ?

[Steamport Southport]

Seeing as it's Christmas....

 

[kevinlms]

On 26/10/2021 at 06:04, MUTTLEY said:

Harold Elliott and Railwayland were definitely in Brighton by 1963/4. There was a far larger layout there then, than would have been after Harold sold up, around 1972/3. The Hornby three-rail layout was also there, opposite the main layout. Once an hour or so, Harold would move over to the Hornby layout and invite kids to have a go at some Hump Shunting.  I used to go there throughout the 60s and early 70s. Once he sold up, the new owner "asset-stripped" the best locos and much of the layout. It only lasted a year or so before closing altogether.  I remember Harold saying he would like to retire to Rhyl. Whether that's what he did or not, I don't know.

Not so sure about 'asset-stripping' the best locos.

 

One layout I came across which was a tourist attraction, had been totally run into the ground and far from asset stripping, the locos needed major work/replacement, which the new owner didn't want to/couldn't afford to/didn't have the skills to and so the layout continued to struggle along with gradual replacement of locos, but virtually nothing done on the rest of the layout.

[RJS1977]

21 hours ago, Holby Railway said:

was there ever a proprietary model for sale at all, and if not, does anybody know if one was ever built, i rather fancy the idea of resurrecting Sammy, and what about Chuffalong or Peter Puff a Long ?

 

From the illustration Steamport has posted, Sammy appears to be along similar lines to a Terrier, however somehwat larger in size.

[Steamport Southport]

Yes. He's a 2-4-2T.

 

In the first book he's dirty black and has been relegated to being a shunter. He want to be streamlined like the bigger engines. Then he does something like rescue a train so gets a new coat of paint.

 

 

 

Jason

[Johann Marsbar]

I've still got a few Sammy the Shunter and Chuffalong books sitting in a box in my loft, along with the two Thomas books, which were certainly in a minority during my childhood.

I think that the Chuffalong ones were actually published by Ian Allan - having discovered that when I last had a repacking of boxes in the loft...

[Steamport Southport]

I don't remember Chuffalong, but Sammy was definitely Ian Allan. Used to get them from preserved railways when I was a kid. Got a full set somewhere.

 

ISTR that WH Smiths used to sell them as well.

 

 

 

Jason

[Johann Marsbar]

1 minute ago, Steamport Southport said:

I don't remember Chuffalong, but Sammy was definitely Ian Allan. Used to get them from preserved railways when I was a kid. Got a full set somewhere.

 

ISTR that WH Smiths used to sell them as well.

 

 

 

Jason

 

Might have got them the wrong way round then...

Mine were more likely to have come from Traction Engine Rally sales stands back in the 1960's as we visited more of them at that time than Preserved lines.  The Festiniog and Talyllyn were the only 2 preserved lines I know I rode on in the 1960's (and there weren't many others back then!)