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Whatever happened to the Hornby toy shop/demonstrator layouts?


Ben B
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Something that occurred to me earlier, my local toy shop here in Keighley used to have a demonstration layout in the window, a Hornby set-up (and I assume official, and provided by the company as it had loads of branding all over it, and exclusively Hornby products).  These layouts were fairly common at one time, and I remember seeing a few in other toys shops over the years, and at least one at the National Railway Museum too.  Then a few years back, when Hornby went through that slightly odd phase of thinking they were a model railway company that didn't need to sell model railways anywhere physically, the layouts disappeared along with the trains.

 

Hornby products have reappeared in the toy shop in the last 12 months, but the layout -which I assume was supplied on loan from Hornby- did not.  I just wondered whether there was a glut of layouts donated to clubs or charities, or sold off, or more likely a large skip somewhere in Margate was filled with them (along with all those 'useless' things like molds for old collectable models, etc) by the previous management.

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Hi,

 

I have no idea about 'official' Hornby layouts, but I have known of clubs that have built layouts for local model shops.  The one that immediately springs to mind used Hornby products for stock, track, and for as much of the scenics that Hornby manufactured at the time (early-mid 80s).  I also seem to remember that the club wasn't supposed to let on that they had built it.  No idea what happened to the layout once the shop closed.

 

Regards,


Alex.

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Are you thinking of the demo layouts built from the track mats at the concession outlets? I remember there being one at Pringles in Llanfair PG and one at Toys R Us(I think) in/near Cheshire Oaks. In like a red Hornby-branded cabinet with a perspex greenhouse on top. 

 

I believe the one in PG was sold off to a customer around the time Hornby stopped concessions(if not a little before as the shop suffered fire damage and I cant remember if the layout was there when it re-opened) . The models(mostly Railroad and a few train sets, quite a poor selection in all fairness) have re-appeared along with Oxford stuff, and no layout. 

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As far as I'm aware the last shop layouts dated from the late 70s and pre-date the concessions, although many were used until the 2000s and the odd one may still luk in store. They were I believe sold to the shops (part of the range of shop fitting and promotional equipment that many manufacturers of consumer goods included on dealer order forms). A lot have I suspect been skipped over the years but they do sometimes come up at auction. They are not massively valuable simply because they are not particularly easy to store!0

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If the OP also means the old 'penny-in-the-slot' variety, I know of one owned by a member of ERFG. We (the Group) refurbished it back to full running order, including the coin operating mech, and it is intended to be placed in a model shop one day.

 

steve

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1 hour ago, steve1 said:

If the OP also means the old 'penny-in-the-slot' variety, I know of one owned by a member of ERFG. We (the Group) refurbished it back to full running order, including the coin operating mech, and it is intended to be placed in a model shop one day.

 

steve

 

Were those the two level ones with lots of Hornby products placed on them 

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Are you thinking of the demo layouts built from the track mats at the concession outlets? I remember there being one at Pringles in Llanfair PG and one at Toys R Us(I think) in/near Cheshire Oaks. In like a red Hornby-branded cabinet with a perspex greenhouse on top. 

 

Yes those were the sorts of layouts I was thinking about- with all the branding, I'd assumed they were created by Hornby.

 

Quote

If the OP also means the old 'penny-in-the-slot' variety, I know of one owned by a member of ERFG. We (the Group) refurbished it back to full running order, including the coin operating mech, and it is intended to be placed in a model shop one day.

 

It wasn't the sort I'd been thinking of, but I do really like those kinds of layouts- our kids like the N gauge one in the museum in Betws-y-coed.

 

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If you read Hornby's latest financial statements, that is coming back. Hornby makes more money* by selling stuff directly from its website than sales through shops.

 

*The profit margin is higher.

 

That's a shame, but I suppose understandable in the current climate... probably not a lot of sales through shops with the virus, and when it's all over, people will be doing more online shopping as the new normal anyway.  A pity for the nostalgic types like me who used to like buying the odd bit from a toy shop when I was younger, but with the market now being targeted at middle-aged and older collectors, probably sensible... as long as they don't abandon model shops.

 

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The last one I saw was in Frizinghall Models before they moved premises a couple of years ago. You could drop them an email. 

 

They're my local model shop- I don't think I ever saw that layout operating in the old premises, but I remember it, just in the foyer as you went in.  My old local model shop in Dudley when I was a kid had an even bigger layout, but in 15 years of regular visits I don't remember ever seeing it functional :)

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Lord and Butler of Cardiff have two, one is a circular one, fully landscaped to show what can be done - and it works as they demonstrated my Crosti-boilered 9F on it, there is also Ranelagh which is used as a demonstrator. There is also a very small diorama type to test clients' locos at the time of purchase.

 

Here are couple of thumbnails:

 

2022487337_LB5.jpg.cce30f55c00e86c7736000a1807b6149.jpg

 

1212616224_LB13.jpg.f19c0105c85a76c531b61c4751507cc5.jpg

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

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Monk Bar Models in York have a sort of layout in the window with, during shop hours, trains running.

 

The NRM had, for a while, both Hornby and Bachy display layouts a few years ago. I seem to remember they went to Shildon but whether they are working I know not.

 

steve

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1 hour ago, Ben B said:

 

They're my local model shop- I don't think I ever saw that layout operating in the old premises, but I remember it, just in the foyer as you went in. 

Now you mention it I don't think I ever saw it working either ! The massive Meccano ship plonked on top of it was quite impressive too. 

 

The one in Monk Bar Models was definitely built in house.

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Still one in Model Junction, Bury St Edmunds.

 

image.png.a3d92db8b356e0c0a2ed53c6e177ba5b.png

 

Sorry for the rubbish image.  I'll get a better one next time I'm in there.

Still fully operational.

There was one in Bressingham last time I visited there

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10 minutes ago, 34101 said:

Still one in Model Junction, Bury St Edmunds.

 

image.png.a3d92db8b356e0c0a2ed53c6e177ba5b.png

 

Sorry for the rubbish image.  I'll get a better one next time I'm in there.

Still fully operational.

There was one in Bressingham last time I visited there

 

That's the type I was thinking of. Been in that shop a few times but forgot about that layout 

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Fenwicks, in Newcastle upon Tyne, whom I've spoken of before, included a Toymaster concession which stocked Horby stuff. When Toymaster went west Fenwicks took the railway stuff in-house and after a while got some Bachmann and Oxford. Then, late last year something strange happened, with Hornby taking some kind of direct  presence. I don't know the gory details as Bachmann are still stocked, but the point of this rambling introduction is that when Hornby came back in they brought a model railway - Hogwarts Express themed - in a big perspex case

Edited by Caledonian
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On 26/06/2020 at 11:42, steve1 said:

Monk Bar Models in York have a sort of layout in the window with, during shop hours, trains running.

 

The NRM had, for a while, both Hornby and Bachy display layouts a few years ago. I seem to remember they went to Shildon but whether they are working I know not.

 

steve

Monk Bar Models have a new layout in the window...first change in 8 years......it made the local newspaper. The new one is double track has working signalling and several motorised cameos.......and more importantly the pigs are back.

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I remember a penny in the slot Tri-ang layout at the Children's shop in Orpington High Street in the 1950s, There was a transcontintal diesel switcher on the outer loop with grey standard track and a TT gauge jinty with a couple of coaches on brown track on the inner loop.

 

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12 minutes ago, Brit70053 said:

The layout at Locomotion Shildon was still in place and operational  with at least one of the budget 0-4-0 tanks running, the last time I was able to visit before lockdown. 

 

Did you happen to notice if the Bachy one was still running?

 

Thanks

 

steve

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Sorry, to the best of my recollection I didn't notice a Bachmann demo layout, just their items for sale displayed in glass cabinets.

 

Regards, 

 

                John

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Hamleys Glasgow have one , based on the trackmat type layouts with Perspex cover . Never seen it run though . There usually something derailed and off the track

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On 26/06/2020 at 14:13, Caledonian said:

Fenwicks, in Newcastle upon Tyne, whom I've spoken of before, included a Toymaster concession which stocked Horby stuff. When Toymaster went west Fenwicks took the railway stuff in-house and after a while got some Bachmann and Oxford. Then, late last year something strange happened, with Hornby taking some kind of direct  presence. I don't know the gory details as Bachmann are still stocked, but the point of this rambling introduction is that when Hornby came back in they brought a model railway - Hogwarts Express themed - in a big perspex case

I was in Fenwicks on Saturday. The display case is still there.  They have plenty of Hornby stock and some Bachmann. I picked up Woodland Scenics ballast, PECO rail joiners and Humbrol paints. 

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