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Model Shops in Brussels, Amsterdam and Paris


SNCF stephen
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Hello,

 

I am planning a trip for this Autumn that will be taking in the city's of Brussels (our main base), Amsterdam and Paris. I was wondering if anyone on here can reccommend good model shops in or around the centre of any of these places? I will mainly be looking for French N Gauge.

 

I am aware of one in Brussels called Dream Catcher?

I am also aware of one in Paris called Offa Line 1 (I was told that name verbally hence it is probably not spelt correctly!).

 

Any help you can give would be fantastic.

 

Cheers

 

Stephen

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If no-one beats meto it, I'll dig out the latest copy of Loco-Revue when I get home on Friday. There's quite a few in Paris worth listing, including the aforementioned Rue de Douai cluster.

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Thanks everyone for the speedy replies. I am hoping definitely hoping to go to the 4 shops on the Rue De Douai. They are near to the Gare Du Nord where our train will arrive and also near to the tourist destinations that mean that my other half wont get too offended by me spending loads of time shopping for trains.

 

I am keeping my fingers crossed for some nice Autorails in N gauge!!!

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Thanks everyone for the speedy replies. I am hoping definitely hoping to go to the 4 shops on the Rue De Douai. They are near to the Gare Du Nord where our train will arrive and also near to the tourist destinations that mean that my other half wont get too offended by me spending loads of time shopping for trains.

 

I am keeping my fingers crossed for some nice Autorails in N gauge!!!

They're not that close to Gare Du Nord- though I have walked it (and on to Gare du Lyon). Take Line 4 to Barbes Rochechouart, then Line 2 to Place de Clichy. One of the Douai shops specialises in N-gauge. Be prepared for a heart-attack when you see the prices for French N-gauge...

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Timely question - I'm going to be in Amsterdam next week and am also looking for places to go. I'm pretty sure I've been to a shop off the Vondelpark which was interesting but seemed to be mainly German and Dutch HO. There used to be a range of trains in one of the Intertoys shops off the Kalverstraat - that may have gone now since it was looking quite thin last time I was in there.

 

Thanks, that's a useful list and matches up with one or two places I've been to. Schaal Treinen Huis looks good from their website, and is a bit nearer to the centre than the far end of the Vondelpark - that was quite a hike.

 

If you have more time when you're in the Netherlands, this shop in Heerhugowaard looks well worth visiting: http://www.huider.nl/. I can also recommend Kuijper's Hobbyhuis in Utrecht, which can be combined with a trip to the Spoorwegmuseum.

 

Cheers,

 

Will

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They're not that close to Gare Du Nord- though I have walked it (and on to Gare du Lyon). Take Line 4 to Barbes Rochechouart, then Line 2 to Place de Clichy. One of the Douai shops specialises in N-gauge. Be prepared for a heart-attack when you see the prices for French N-gauge...

 

I realised they were a fair distance away after ooking properly at the maps. And along the way there are about 15 to 20 guitar shops that would make me drool far too much!!!

 

I know the price of French N Gauge is very expensive. I have seen some locomotives sold for over 1000 Euro's and the Trans Europe Express by Lematec (3 carriage motorised train) is about 1100 Euros!!! I have my eye on some of the cheaper models such as the Mabar ABJ Autorail and the Mikadotrain X73500 both of which are below the 200 Euro figure (which even then I consider to be a steep price to pay!!!).

 

I am also going to visit Opher Line 1 (not Offa Line 1 as I spelt it earlier in the thread) which apparently has an excellent range of models.

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I realised they were a fair distance away after ooking properly at the maps. And along the way there are about 15 to 20 guitar shops that would make me drool far too much!!!

 

I know the price of French N Gauge is very expensive. I have seen some locomotives sold for over 1000 Euro's and the Trans Europe Express by Lematec (3 carriage motorised train) is about 1100 Euros!!! I have my eye on some of the cheaper models such as the Mabar ABJ Autorail and the Mikadotrain X73500 both of which are below the 200 Euro figure (which even then I consider to be a steep price to pay!!!).

 

I am also going to visit Opher Line 1 (not Offa Line 1 as I spelt it earlier in the thread) which apparently has an excellent range of models.

Orpheline generally has a lot of second-hand (often including British-outline stuff) at reasonable prices. If you walk to the top of the street (away from the Seine), you get a view of the cutting on the approach to Gare d'Austerlitz, which is the Paris terminus that sees the most loco-hauled movements. The shop is in the same block as the RFF (French version of Network Rail) headquarters, where quite a few former colleagues have ended up.

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Orpheline generally has a lot of second-hand (often including British-outline stuff) at reasonable prices. If you walk to the top of the street (away from the Seine), you get a view of the cutting on the approach to Gare d'Austerlitz, which is the Paris terminus that sees the most loco-hauled movements. The shop is in the same block as the RFF (French version of Network Rail) headquarters, where quite a few former colleagues have ended up.

 

You might know the answer to this quick question - why is it called Orpherline 1? My father in law doesn't know and he is fluent in French so my best guess is that Orpher is something to do with modelling or trains?

 

Thanks for the information on the shop. I think that Transmodia will be getting the lions share of my spending money but this shop could also get some.

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You might know the answer to this quick question - why is it called Orpherline 1? My father in law doesn't know and he is fluent in French so my best guess is that Orpher is something to do with modelling or trains?

 

Thanks for the information on the shop. I think that Transmodia will be getting the lions share of my spending money but this shop could also get some.

No idea why it's called this, but 'orpherline' is a female orphan- there's probably some sort of obscure pun involved.

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.

 

 

Sorry for the late entry into this topic which is of course 'my area of expertise', but have just returned from my summer holiday in Switzerland.

 

I no longer make 'special' trips abroad for French N in shops. Personally, I honestly believe it is now more economical to buy French N gauge on line from France (eg Trains 160), Germany (for the mainstream German made stuff eg Minitrix), Spain or Basar Valira (eg for the Mabar railcars) see Basar Valira in Andorra

 

However, if one is visiting cities for other reasons it is obviously worth a look at the model shops.

 

Transmondia is the 'home' of French N gauge with their own products etc. Back in the days when there were very few French N gauge items (late 70s early 80s) Transmondia was vital to us very few longstanding French N gaugers for their resin kits , but nowadays with 'mainstream' products such as the excellent recent Minitrix and Piko products, they are not necessarily the cheapest option and most of the many many model railway shops in Paris now carry N gauge stuff.

 

 

 

.

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I've had a chance to visit some of the NL shops mentioned above:

 

Schaal Treinen Huis (Amsterdam) - brisk 45 minute walk from Centraal Station. Fair bit of second hand DC stuff, some quite old/ropey and to my mind a bit overpriced. Great selection of scratchbuilding materials.

 

Huider (Heerhugowaard) - right next to the station, glossy, wide range of new H0 and N DC and H0 AC stuff mostly RRP with some decent discounts. Good with kids/family. Lots of RAIL back numbers :)

 

Kuijpers Hobbyhuis (Utrecht) - MinrebroederStraat. I forgot the way but someone helped me out - right in the centre of town. Good range of new H0 and N DC, some good discounts on wagons particularly. Lots of kits and sundries, and it was the one place which stocked KleiNSpoor decals. Across the street they also have a branded Maerklin Store with lots of shiny expensive Trix and Maerklin bits. Happy to swap wheels on wagons.

 

Afraid I didn't see any French N, but it's not my area of expertise so I might not have known it had I seen it :(

 

I'll probably go back to Huider now I've done a bit of research and know more what I want.

 

Cheers,

 

Will

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  • 3 years later...
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Dana

In a word, no.  Although there are a number of stores that have gone into receivership if that is what you meant by like Modelzone. :sungum:

 

If you say where you will be going, a number of us can probably suggest which is the local model store - but local could be a long way away - even by UK standards.

 

I end up buying nearly everything by mail order or at the occasional local show.

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  • 5 years later...

Hi All,

What would people recommend for model railway shops for a trip to Brussels?

We will be centrally based with easy access to the transport network.

As an aside if you are thinking of visiting Train World it is a must. not model railway related  but shows the evolution of Belguim's railway system. It is one stop from Gard Nord at Schaerbeek station and is sign posted so is easily found from the station. 10/10.

Thanks.

Edited by CB Rail
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I am not sure that there is a shop specialising in model railways in Bruxelles as I have never seen any references to one. There is quite a good one in Antwerpen - Verschooten at Eiermarkt 31A - and there is an excellent one in Aachen just over the border in Germany. There are several shops scattered around the Belgian countryside (more in Flanders than in Wallonie).

In addition to Train World at Schaerbeek, the Bruxelles Tram Musée at Woluwe Saint Pierre is well worth a visit with an excellent collection of trams that have served greater Bruxelles over the past century or so.

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On ‎21‎/‎12‎/‎2019 at 09:04, CB Rail said:

Hi All,

What would people recommend for model railway shops for a trip to Brussels?

We will be centrally based with easy access to the transport network.

As an aside if you are thinking of visiting Train World it is a must. not model railway related  but shows the evolution of Belguim's railway system. It is one stop from Gard Nord at Schaerbeek station and is sign posted so is easily found from the station. 10/10.

Thanks.

 

If it's still open, I would recommend Orient-Express in Brussels. The address is 195 Avenue Louise magasin 13, although from memory the entrance to the shopping centre is on Rue de Bailly. Easiest way to get there is by Tram from Louise metro station. They have a facebook page, although not recently updated by the look of it.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 08/09/2010 at 09:17, Will Vale said:

Schaal Treinen Huis (Amsterdam) - brisk 45 minute walk from Centraal Station. Fair bit of second hand DC stuff, some quite old/ropey and to my mind a bit overpriced. Great selection of scratchbuilding materials.

 

 

 

Treinenhuis on the Bilderdijkstraat was gone when I tried to find it when in Amsterdam in 2018.

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