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VICTORS MODEL SHOP MEMORIES


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VICTORS was more than a model shop in central London - it was a one-off, unique, quirky, a lunchtime club as much as a model shop.

 

For those who don't know about VICTORS, it was a model railway shop that was based in Islington and ran from the 1970's (late 1960's??) until 2000 and didn't stock any British models except PECO track. It was all Roco, Athearn, Walthers, PFM etc.

 

At the recent CMRA show there was a mini-staff reunion with Bernie Victor(centre) Stefan (left) and Dave (right)

 

IMG_20190112_115248.jpg.3767e1f066e7d50be9e3998983144883.jpg

 

Does anyone have any fond memories of the shop I can pass on to Bernie?

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I remember someone in there saying that Bernie was the man who failed to sign the Beatles for a record deal. Now, who could that have been?;)

 

Bernie was a great help to me when I was starting my model business in France getting me direct contact with the folk at Lima/Rivarossi as well as "grey market" Peco, which enabled me to sell masses of the stuff.

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So many delights for us narrow gaugers, Joe Works, Eggerbahn remainders & remakes, cheap Bachmann N gauge chassis, expensive brass to drool over....a model shop in Islington, how quaint that sounds these days! Mail order too.

 

Dava

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Chapel Market was the original shop. The front selling Caribbean music, samples of which were generally playing, natch, while the back was Aladdin's cave of exotic overseas models. Pentonville Road was much more spacious - and lacked the Ska and Reggae.

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There was quite a lot of ribbing of this nitwit who thought it worthwhile to put the centre motor drive of an Athearn PA1 into an Airfix Brush 2 body. Still got the Rivarossi Big Boy I was somehow sold, having just gone in for a peek. (I had been thinking about one of the Nickel Plate Road's lovely Berkshires, but they were sold out.)

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I first visited the back cupboard in Chapel Market around 1970 then followed it through the upstairs shop and on to Pentonville Road. A great source of inspiration and supplies for many years!

 

Tony

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Only went once to Chapel Market but the Pentonville Rd shop being just round the corner from the MRC allowed for fairly regular visits when I was in the country. I did find the later incarnation at Debden once but next time I tried it had vanished.

Rgds

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Those were the days!  I worked on Euston Road so lunchtimes could see visits to Hamblings (re-located from Cecil Court to Euston Road), W&H, Kings Cross Model Shop and Victors - not to mention Collectors' Corner in Eversholt Street.  My memory tells me there was also a model shop in Neal Street, off Shaftsbury Avenue, as well but the name escapes me.

 

Sorry this isn't helping with anecdotes about Victors but the OP set the little grey cells in motion . . .

Stan

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I did manage to get down from Scotland and make a visit when the shop was in Chapel Market.  I can't remember much detail at this remove but I do remember that it was interesting. :-)   My interest in US railroads had started with Bill Eaglesham's shop in Cumbernauld and Bernie Victors was the other source of interesting North American products.  I've still got the Model Railroader Steam Loco Cyclopedia which I bought then and I also remember buying an Athearn caboose and marvelling at the better quality when compared to UK products of the period.   The caboose has long gone. :-) 

 

Jim.

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Two things I can remember were the seeming chaos (More than once I asked about stuff to be told to see if I could find it on the shelves somewhere as they thought they had it but didn't know where) and the window display in which expensive models were seemingly abandoned to be washed out in the sun light. I shudder to think how much stock was rendered spare part fodder after being chosen for window display duty. Terrific shop, I miss it, the walk up Pentonville Road from Euston was the highlight of visiting London for a few years. Along with MacKay Models in Paisley and MG Sharpe in Sheffield Victors was the source of most of my models for quite a few years. He often had some very nice Overland brass diesels to tempt, I first got hooked on US HO brass after seeing a CN Draper taper in his shop.

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20 minutes ago, jjb1970 said:

Two things I can remember were the seeming chaos (More than once I asked about stuff to be told to see if I could find it on the shelves somewhere as they thought they had it but didn't know where) and the window display in which expensive models were seemingly abandoned to be washed out in the sun light. I shudder to think how much stock was rendered spare part fodder after being chosen for window display duty. Terrific shop, I miss it, the walk up Pentonville Road from Euston was the highlight of visiting London for a few years. Along with MacKay Models in Paisley and MG Sharpe in Sheffield Victors was the source of most of my models for quite a few years. He often had some very nice Overland brass diesels to tempt, I first got hooked on US HO brass after seeing a CN Draper taper in his shop.

 

All modl railway shops should be north facing. Bournemouth Model Railway Centre, recently closed, had some very sun-damaged items in the window display.

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I remember Victors well .I painted god knows how many brass locos for them over the year .My daughter thought "out back" was the filthiest place she had ever seen  and the coffee making area disgusting as indeed  it should be in model train shops .Great fun and best regards to Bernie ,Dave Paul etc .

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1 hour ago, friscopete said:

I remember Victors well .I painted god knows how many brass locos for them over the year .My daughter thought "out back" was the filthiest place she had ever seen  and the coffee making area disgusting as indeed  it should be in model train shops .Great fun and best regards to Bernie ,Dave Paul etc .

 

 

Please send me a PM with more details (like your name) and I will pass your message on to Bernie.

 

 

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For several years after I adopted Kadee couplers in 1992/3, I made an annual pilgrimage to Pentonville Road for supplies. Victor's were (I think) the only official UK importer back then. Waterloo Main. over the bridge to Waterloo East, down to London Bridge and a walk up the road from KX Thameslink.

 

The avid conversations about Continental and US prototypes and models among the regulars went right over my head I'm afraid.

 

John

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I was a fairly regular punter in the Pentonville Road shop once I started working 'up the smoke' around 1990. And while it was the Penguin who flogged me my first few US H0 locos and stock, the rest of my early fleet all came from Victors. All those Athearn and Roundhouse freight cars for £2.50 or £1.50 respectively, blue-box locos for around £20 and running so much better than the Hornby/Lima UK equivalents.

 

Always enjoyed listening to the robust banter coming from behind the counter. :D

 

And while I didn't start my continental H0 modelling until long after Victors closed, a couple of ebay buys of Piko (old blue box, DDR/Wende-era production) stock have borne 'Victors' price labels.

 

 

Edited by CloggyDog
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I only managed to visit the shop itself twice whilst it existed - a few years later I often passed there whilst I worked for one particular Company, sometimes twice a week, but even if they'd still been open it would've done me no good as there was nowhere to park an HGV to pop in & browse.

I did nearly give Bernie a heart attack at the Warley Show one year - I was holding up an Athearn BlueBox Switcher & asked him if he had anything cheaper?? :tease: :mosking: To his great credit, once he'd regained his composure, he did!! The switcher I'd found was a new release, about £30, & he found me a very nice SW7 for about £20. :good:

 

I held (but didn't buy :banghead:) my first Atlas O locos on my second visit to Victors. Oh to have a Time Machine :rolleyes:

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I used to visit in the 1980s.  Bought a load of Piko DR coal wagons for an HO layout that I had at my parents house as well as some Rivarossi CIWL coaches.  Wonderful shop to while away the hours browsing the shelves.

 

Cheers

 

Darius

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I think I only visited once or twice, not being into modelling North American outline, most likely after the Pentonville move (though I remember the Chapel Market address). I came away with just a few copies of Extra 2200 South, Victors being the only place to find it in the UK.  However, I did also buy a Floquil weathering set at some time - was that from Victors at an exhibition?

 

Also made a couple of visits when the shop moved to the Bank of England estate in Debden (or “Chigwell Loughton” as the curry house ads now call it).

 

 

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On 25/04/2019 at 20:25, TEAMYAKIMA said:

The 'real' VICTORS ended in 2000 in pentonville road. After that it was fake Victor's 

 

Next, you'll be telling us the supply of "interesting" coloured carrier bags dried up when the Pentonville Rd shop closed ... .

 

Seriously though (along with Howes, W&H and the short-lived ModelMasters in Headington, Oxford), the place certainly opened my eyes to the delights of foreign outline model trains, Kadee couplers and Sommerfeldt pantographs.

 

Once acquired, these tastes never really seem to go away - and why should they?

 

Certainly, UK outline - and OO - never really looked the same to me for quite a while afterwards.

 

 

Huw.

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Soooo many memories.

 

I’ve still got a few Eggerbahn items with ‘Leading Records’ price labels on the boxes.

 

Many many funny stories, and exceedingly, shall we say, blue stories from, well, you know which member of the team.

 

once one of my pals came in with me, wearing the prominent badge of the 7.25” Society ..... no need to say more.

 

And, an occasion when a rather burly chap tried to sell Bernie ‘window insurance’. Whether he paid up or not, I don’t know.

 

One Oh One Nine, Victors!

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