Popular Post MartinWales Posted March 7, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted March 7, 2019 (edited) The former part owner of Parkside Dundas sadly passed away last night in hospital. Many of us remember him as the genial and helpful owner of the Parkside bit of Parkside Dundas, recently sold to the Peco group, and the model railway hobby owes him a great deal. He will be sadly missed Edited March 8, 2019 by MartinWales 1 14 2 20 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 Very sorry to hear this; I used to 'phone them from time to buy odd sprues, and never received anything but a friendly and cheerful welcome. Brian 1 7 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinWales Posted March 7, 2019 Author Share Posted March 7, 2019 Quite right Brian. Nothing was too much trouble, and purchasing spare sprues, sides and ends were treated in the same way as a large order, with some good old fashioned customer service. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BernardTPM Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 That is sad news. I'd known Richard since the 1980s as I was involved with the N Gauge Society Wagon kits and my own range later and he was always a pleasure to work with. A great talent who's work will live on, but we will miss his friendly voice and good humour. Bernard 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Alder Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 Sad news.. he didn't enjoy a long retirement...The modelling world owes him much gratitude for the work he and Andrew put in to their kit ranges and for the excellent service they provided. 12 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold markjj Posted March 7, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 7, 2019 It's very sad news Richard was also the Chairman of the East Fife 0-gauge Guild. I have known Richard for a few years now since moving here he was always a true gentleman and will be sadly missed. Our hobby owes a great deal to him I'm sure a great many of us cut our teeth on a Parkside kit weather it be in 2mm, 4mm or 7mm scale. Another great loss to our hobby but at least his legacy carries on with Peco and is not lost like many things are. Richard was also quite a font of knowledge on local railway history having spent his early days working on the railway. Deepest sympathy to his wife and family. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Revolution Ben Posted March 7, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 7, 2019 Oh what very sad news. I got to know Richard reasonably well as he tooled many of the N Gauge Soceity's wagon kits; most reacently the KSA timer carrier. His toolmaking was very good; he was always a joy to work with; his genial manner and "can do" attitude much appreciated. RIP. Ben A. (NGS VIce President) 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Kirk Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 Very sad. I have known Richard for a long time. We were at school together then went our separate ways. Met up again with our families at Lochty Private Railway one weekend and socialised for a time which led to Richard giving up his real Railway job and becoming a partner in my business. After a time he left to set up Parkside and what a success he made of it. We continued to collaborate on plastic stocks , machine spares and things like that. I always felt welcome when I dropped into his workshop, sometimes just for a chat. In recent years he became Chairman of the North East Fife O gauge group and I saw him last at the AGM in January. It seems that the cough that troubled him was in fact lung cancer . My thoughts are with his wife and family. Ian 1 1 5 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackRat Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 Had many a chat whilst ordering kits and bits, and always enjoyed a natter about whatever I was doing at the time. Could never do enough for you, a real pleasure to have spoken to and used to chat about my time north of the border. R.I.P. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
duncan Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 a gentleman 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cctransuk Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 I can do no more than echo the above sentiments - perhaps the most helpful and patient model railway business proprietor that I ever spoke to. A sad day indeed. John Isherwood. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Tomlinson Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 As simply a private customer, I was hugely impressed by him both in conversations on the 'phone and in person at shows. Probably the most helpful man I've encountered in the hobby. In practical terms the Parkside range which he developed is invaluable to the "transition" era modeller, and without it we'd all be much poorer. John. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold TheSignalEngineer Posted March 8, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 8, 2019 A gret loss to the hobby. Sadly Richard didn't have his deserved length of retirement. As a modeller of c1960 in an area which had a lot of variety in freight Parkside kits have filled many of the gaps in the RTR ranges for me. There are at least a dozen 'must haves' already in service and several more still in the kit stash. The odd sprues and chassis kits have also been a boon when upgrading RTR offerings. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium MJI Posted March 10, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 10, 2019 All I can say is a great loss. I bothered Parkside for years for some Tube wagons and some 21ton hoppers, and yes I bought quite a few. I reckon a quarter to third of my fleet is Parkside 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenway Park Posted March 10, 2019 Share Posted March 10, 2019 Very sad news that his retirement was so short. Fantastic kits and and they are in safe hands for the future. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Barry O Posted March 11, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 11, 2019 Very sad news. Such a very helpful and nice man to deal with over a number of years. Provided some a load of wagon bits to be used in the demo area at Warley a few years ago as he said .."it will encourage people t go O Gauge" Condolences to his family and friends. He will be missed. Baz 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinWales Posted March 11, 2019 Author Share Posted March 11, 2019 I remember him telling me once when I asked 'What made you move in to kit production?', his answer was 'They have'nt produced models that I would want to see' . Truly the mark of the man! I wonder if this is the right time to suggest 'A History Of Parkside Dundas Kits'? 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RANGERS Posted March 16, 2019 Share Posted March 16, 2019 Just picked up on this thread and something of a shock. A real gent who was a great help when we were looking to source slope sided mineral wagons in the mid-1980s. The subsequent Parkside kit some years later may or may not have been product of that exercise, but his willingness to supply underframe parts and help with some technical info' on the prototypes, inspired a scratch building programme by one of our club members. Tragic that his retirement was so short and thoughts are with his family and friends. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post davefrk Posted March 20, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted March 20, 2019 Attended the funeral of Richard Hollingworth today, a fine turn out at the crematorium in Kirkaldy with some people travelling many miles to show their respect for one of the hobby's gentlemen. The Humanist service was a celebration of Richard, his early life on the Railways working his way up to managerial position, his railway modelling being involved with the building of the Burntisland layout, the building of a kit manufacturing business with Andrew Hastie, Parkside Dundas and of course his family. Many of the hobby's great and good were at the service with club members, fellow traders and former traders from all over Scotland as well as former railway colleagues. Many spoke of Richards help in a particular projects to which he gave his time and advice freely. He was also a great speaker and orator with a sharp wit which could catch some people out, myself included. For me it was the faith he showed in the new cast products I had started to produce and he immediately wanted to sell them from the Parkside stand which took them to a wider audience around the country and without that Lanarkshire Models would have been a lot slower to grow so my thanks and appreciation go to Richard for that. I think everyone would like to send condolences to Kathleen, the family and close friends for their loss and I think they were quite moved by the large gathering for Richards send off. Dave Franks. 12 2 2 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold TheSignalEngineer Posted March 21, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 21, 2019 Thanks for the report Dave. It was Richard's stand, possibly at a Manchester show, that introduced me to Lanarkshire products. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Mallard60022 Posted March 22, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 22, 2019 One of the true gents of modelling. Only met him at some shows and it was as if I was an everyday customer. Same on the phone or by email. I hope he 'knows' how therapeutic his kits are to build. Phil 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium MJI Posted March 23, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 23, 2019 I spent a fortune on his products. They were a pleasure to build and I had chatted at Warley a couple of times, as well as writing to them asking for BR Tube wagons and 21 ton hoppers. Of course I have some of them! Too many dieing too young. RIP Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium kevinlms Posted March 24, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 24, 2019 On 08/03/2019 at 07:56, MartinWales said: The former part owner of Parkside Dundas sadly passed away last night in hospital. Many of us remember him as the genial and helpful owner of the Parkside bit of Parkside Dundas, recently sold to the Peco group, and the model railway hobby owes him a great deal. He will be sadly missed Agreed and thankfully he did sell the Parkside range to a reputable firm, such as Peco, to keep the range going. Far too many product ranges have been lost, for various reasons. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Mark Posted April 3, 2019 Share Posted April 3, 2019 Richard has left us all a great legacy. Condolences to his family Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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