Model railway retail in surprising places

[Legend]

Much is made of Model Railways Shops disappearing from our High Street , so imagine my surprise when wondering along Tobermorey shore to come across Browns Ironmongers selling model railway equipment .  Would never have expected that in Mull .  Its ironic , because with the retirement of Pastimes , Glasgow  doesn't really  have a model shop(although I need to investigate Uddingston Model Center) , and yet in Mull here is a shop selling N gauge Dapol and Peco Streamline!  Its still a delight when you stumble across a shop like that .

 

It was a bit of an odd selection . The German HO Pacific in the front window first caught my attention . There seemed to be some Faller and Metcalfe , and on going in  ( I really had to) there seemed to be a lot of N gauge , mainly Dapol I think, but there were also Hornby Flying Scotsman, Pendelino and 0-4-0 starter sets.  My suspicion would be that the proprietor is an enthusiast because I can't imagine demand in Mull would substantiate keeping stock .  It was only a small  part of a much larger Ironmongers  He also had a reasonable selection of the smaller airfix kits , which I can imagine holidaymakers buying .  Good on him .  I would have bought a wagon or something as a keepsake and to offer support, but he really didn't have much suitable .

 

Just wondering where else you have found surprising model railway shops.

[ScRSG]

When did/is Pastimes closing? I had not heard of this before.

[Scottish Modeller]

41 minutes ago, ScRSG said:

When did/is Pastimes closing? I had not heard of this before.

Hi all,

 

Pastimes has closed because the landord increased the rent by 300%.

 

This makes the retail shop unviable, yet to hear if they are going to 'work from home'.

 

Thanks

Phil H

[Dave John]

Sad to see pastimes close, but on the other hand I wish Anne and Gordon a long and happy retirement, they have worked hard to keep it all going for many years. 

This is their website, I understand the extensive second hand railway items will be offered on ebay, but I'd bookmark this as a starting point;

 

https://www.dinkydoll.co.uk

 

[ScRSG]

Are they already closed?

[brianusa]

Most unusual today, but was the norm years ago.  Meccano products could be found in the most unlikely of places and ironmongers were prime candidates as also were bicycle shops and newsagents.  These were also likely shops for fireworks in the Autumn.

     Brian.

[Alex TM]

Hi everyone,

 

Gordon and Anne retired their shop on 27th April, after over 40 years trading.  As pointed out earlier they plan to clear stock, and do some other bits'n'pieces via their eBay shop.  Remember that, alongside the shop on Maryhill road, they also attended swapmeets and model railway shows.  This means that it's a well deserved retirement and rest for them both.

 

Aside from Uddingston Model Centre, there are still at least two traditional model shops in Glasgow; one is down near Glasgow Cross, while the other is in Partick.  Static Games are also beginning to stock some military models (mostly 1/48 at the moment).

 

Regards,

 

Alex.

[APOLLO]

The famous and absolutely HUGE Chatuchak market in Bangkok has a small model railway shop in the market hall (multi storey) section. Mostly European and American N & HO gauge, prices are high - I found a couple of interesting bits n bobs though.

 

Brit15

Edited May 15, 2019 by APOLLO

[pH]

1 hour ago, brianusa said:

Most unusual today, but was the norm years ago.  Meccano products could be found in the most unlikely of places and ironmongers were prime candidates as also were bicycle shops and newsagents. 

 

I've always thought that this was an unusual combination:

 

https://www.bcshaver.com/

 

I see they're retiring, too.

[Legend]

12 hours ago, ScRSG said:

Are they already closed?

 

Yes I think they closed end April . I understood they were simply retiring , hadn't heard about rent increase. I think they are simply selling off existing stock on their email site.

 

Best wishes on their retirement

 

PS In Glasgow there is Wildcat models in Dumbarton Road (Partick) . I was there last year and while it had some model railway equipment it seemed mainly construction kits , but may have another run out sometime . I'm also told there is Uddingston Model Center in Uddingston (duh!) but that is definitely a car ride away.

[Legend]

9 hours ago, pH said:

 

I've always thought that this was an unusual combination:

 

https://www.bcshaver.com/

 

I see they're retiring, too.

 

I do remember a very good model shop in Victoria. Maybe that was it .  Its great stumbling across these places

[Bill_J]

I have managed to find three model railway shops in Athens. On previous visits I've visited two of them (on Ippocratous St) located opposite each other. They both stock mostly european models. One has a website https://www.modellingcentre.gr/en/ and the guy there converts and repaints stock to many types used in Greece (OSE). If you're ever there on holiday, its worth a visit, As ever, Greeks are very friendly people.

[Steamport Southport]

Funniest place I found model railways was in a sports clothing shop in Huyton (suburban Liverpool) in the early 1980s.

 

Went in for a pair of trainers and came out with a Hornby LBSC E2!

 

 

 

Jason

[D9020 Nimbus]

In the north-east, back in the 1970s B & R Cameras in Newcastle sold European N gauge—mostly Arnold and Fleischmann I think. The shop is long gone—it's now a restaurant. More recently in the 1990s North American Models in Whitley Bay was in the back room of a newsagents. (The owner sold the stock and goodwill to C&G of Darlington, now themselves several years gone.)

[ianmacc]

There’s a garden centre near Beverley in East Yorkshire that has a model railway section. Only small though. 

[caradoc]

On 15/05/2019 at 22:33, Alex TM said:

Hi everyone,

 

Gordon and Anne retired their shop on 27th April, after over 40 years trading.  As pointed out earlier they plan to clear stock, and do some other bits'n'pieces via their eBay shop.  Remember that, alongside the shop on Maryhill road, they also attended swapmeets and model railway shows.  This means that it's a well deserved retirement and rest for them both.

 

Aside from Uddingston Model Centre, there are still at least two traditional model shops in Glasgow; one is down near Glasgow Cross, while the other is in Partick.  Static Games are also beginning to stock some military models (mostly 1/48 at the moment).

 

Regards,

 

Alex.

 

What is the shop near Glasgow Cross Alex ? The only one I know if in that area was D&F, which became Waddell's Models, but is now closed. 

 

[steve1]

43 minutes ago, ianmacc said:

There’s a garden centre near Beverley in East Yorkshire that has a model railway section. Only small though. 

If it's the one I think you mean, it's only s/h equipment though.

 

steve

[Legend]

41 minutes ago, caradoc said:

 

What is the shop near Glasgow Cross Alex ? The only one I know if in that area was D&F, which became Waddell's Models, but is now closed. 

 

 

‘I think it may be Scott’s Models . However as far as I know he only stocks construction kits although he joked he had more paint than B&Q ,which was certainly true !

[ianmacc]

11 hours ago, steve1 said:

If it's the one I think you mean, it's only s/h equipment though.

 

steve

It was on the Hull via Dunswell road there are two close by and I can’t recall which it was? This was new stuff.

 

Where is the one with used stuff I never found it when I lived there please? 

 

Also there is a garden centre in Poynton near Macclesfield that has a full model shop in its complex that is well stocked. 

[rob D2]

Isle of Mull ? American tourists ?

 

i remember stumbling across barby model rail, implanted in the garden centre there in about 2005, normsllyhave a good handle on model shops but that one I knew nothing about 

[298]

3 minutes ago, rob D2 said:

Isle of Mull ? American tourists ?

 

i remember stumbling across barby model rail, implanted in the garden centre there in about 2005, normsllyhave a good handle on model shops but that one I knew nothing about 

 

Now at its own premises at Hillmorton Locks, nr Rugby.

 

I found this in the window of an Emporium on Margate High St. last month, the shop was being wound down but looked to have been a jack of all trades toy/hobby/art/photographic/ironmongery/chemist establishment. It had probably been in stock for 35 years, but I didn't go in to offer the owner the then trade price for it.

[Fat Controller]

20 hours ago, Steamport Southport said:

Funniest place I found model railways was in a sports clothing shop in Huyton (suburban Liverpool) in the early 1980s.

 

Went in for a pair of trainers and came out with a Hornby LBSC E2!

 

 

 

Jason

In the 1960s, one of Llanelli's three vendors of model trains was Thomas's sports shop, another was Ron Hodges' cycle shop, and the third, a toy shop in the market, that also sold wool..

[russ p]

There used to be a sun bed  shop first in Redcar then in Middleborough that sold model railways and he used to price match too. That was back in the 80s 

I spent a fortune in there on Lima diesels 

[Alex TM]

19 hours ago, caradoc said:

 

What is the shop near Glasgow Cross Alex ? The only one I know if in that area was D&F, which became Waddell's Models, but is now closed. 

 

Hi again,

 

I think Legend is correct in suggesting Scott's Models.  He's a military modeller by hobby, and tends to stock what he knows.  The shop doesn't carry a large range, though he will order things in.  Ian also used to work for Jamieson models until that shop closed due to retirement.

 

Slightly nearer the Cross is Static Games.  They cater mainly for the wargaming and role playing community however they are beginning to stock a wider range, of mostly 1/48, military kits.  Don't waste your time looking at the website as it lists very little of what they stock.

 

Hope that's of help.

 

Regards,

 

Alex.

[RLBH]

2 hours ago, Alex TM said:

Slightly nearer the Cross is Static Games

For what it's worth, also the best shop in Glasgow for board games. There's probably as much board gaming as wargaming or roleplaying stuff in the shop – if not more!