Gone but not forgotten

[great central]

49 minutes ago, Northmoor said:

It shouldn't be that surprising, it's a very specialist business, not like a coffee shop or a newsagents where a high proportion of the local population might use it and can see the level of demand.

 

When the model shop owner retires, the odds of there being someone who (a) wants to run a model shop and (b) wants to run one in that location or even the same town, are pretty small.

 

Not to mention the price to pay for the business which is mostly goodwill created by the retiring owner.

Then there's the stock to buy, if someone needs a business loan to pay for it the repayments will be rather a lot. I did hear of one which closed not so long ago. Stock valuation somewhere around half a million I believe!!

[ianmacc]

4 hours ago, rob D2 said:

It would be a sobering experience to , say, get a 1990 railway  modeller And determine what % of shops are still with us .

 

Sadly the rise of internet shopping, not to mention the current madness certainly hasn’t helped 

I’ve done that. Percentage wise it’s about 10. It wasn’t unheard of to have more than one shop in towns as recently as the 80s. 

[ianmacc]

This is as recently as 2006. Chosen at random. Happy to take requests on Counties if anyone interested! 

[rob D2]

3/7 still going in the Midlands ?

[602Squadron]

3 hours ago, Talltim said:

Were you a member of WGC MRC? I was, but only at the end (I wasn't born in 1972!). My dad was a member for many years, I'm not sure when he joined but it would have been after 1977 when we moved to Hatfield  @corneliuslundie

 

Yes, I joined the Junior Section in 1968. Brockswood was still the club layout; it featured in the October 1967 Model Railway Constructor, where there are couple of photos including club members of that time, none of whom I can name now. Maybe your dad is one of them?

 

The Junior layout was a spectacular 4-track continuous run featuring practically every product ever made by Triang-Hornby and Minic Motorways, largely financed by Leonard Willesdon, the club President, whose loft in Brockswood Lane housed a huge 3-rail 0-gauge layout, again seemingly featuring examples of everything made by Basset-Lowke. I often wonder what happened to it.

 

In 1970, the decision was made to scrap Brockswood and replace it with a multi-gauge circular test track. That left the club with no exhibition layout other than the Junior one, and I'm afraid also resulted in friction between various groups with different ideas about where the club should go next. Unfortunately, I got identified with the wrong faction, and eventually left the club in 1972.

 

When did the club finish? The old clubhouse at 13 Peartee Farm is still there.

 

All this is, of course, off topic for this thread, but if there are other ex-WGC members out there who'd like to share some memories we could start a new thread in the appropriate section.

 

Bernard Hulland

Edited October 12, 2020 by 602Squadron
Spelling

[Dave47549]

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Edited October 4, 2021 by Dave47549
Removed pointless guff

[fezza]

5 hours ago, TEAMYAKIMA said:

 

TBH it's always surprised me somewhat that so many model shops close rather than get taken over when the owner retires. 

 

Often the seller massively over values the business when trying to sell - most are worth almost nothing - but its hard to pursuade a retiring owner of that fact when they have put their life into it. 

 

 

[G-DIMB]

7 minutes ago, fezza said:

 

Often the seller massively over values the business when trying to sell - most are worth almost nothing - but its hard to pursuade a retiring owner of that fact when they have put their life into it. 

 

 

I would agree with this statement. The only thing of tangible value is the stock itself. And even then at what cost. Current trade rates, trade rates when the stock was bought in or a much lower figure based on there being alot of slow selling stuff someone buying might not want. Most of the time the stock doesnt sell and then gets sent to auction for virtually nothing compared to what they would have got had they been more realistic with pricing. The goodwill aspect is virtually impossible to value as there is no guarantee that customers will transfer over to a new owner.

 

Mike Bravo

[Talltim]

2 hours ago, great central said:

 

Not to mention the price to pay for the business which is mostly goodwill created by the retiring owner.

Then there's the stock to buy, if someone needs a business loan to pay for it the repayments will be rather a lot. I did hear of one which closed not so long ago. Stock valuation somewhere around half a million I believe!!

The other thing to consider it that a long established business will have built up a lot of stock that doesn't sell or have become obscolete or replaced by newer versions. Like with small suppliers, the valuation of the potential new business owner may not meet that of the retiree. If I was to run a model shop I think I would want to start from a clean slate, with new stock of my choosing.

[figworthy]

11 hours ago, rob D2 said:

It would be a sobering experience to , say, get a 1990 railway  modeller And determine what % of shops are still with us .

 

Sadly the rise of internet shopping, not to mention the current madness certainly hasn’t helped 

 

I suspect that the same statement could be made of several other special interest magazines.

 

Adrian

[rob D2]

To be fair, respect for anyone taking in a model shop. It’s right in second place to “ start an airline “ under my list of things not to do to myself 

[ianmacc]

15 hours ago, rob D2 said:

To be fair, respect for anyone taking in a model shop. It’s right in second place to “ start an airline “ under my list of things not to do to myself 

Starting an airline is a sure fire way to end up with a small fortune.

 

As long as you start with a large one.

 

(Industry joke)

[rob D2]

Truth.

I’m in it.....all the three  passenger airlines I’ve worked for no longer exist....and the current one looks very shaky thanks to covid 

[Enterprisingwestern]

56 minutes ago, rob D2 said:

Truth.

I’m in it.....all the three  passenger airlines I’ve worked for no longer exist....and the current one looks very shaky thanks to covid 

 

Doesn't that tell you something?!!

 

Mike.

[ba14eagle]

1 hour ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

Doesn't that tell you something?!!

 

Mike.

We need to reopen the Somerset & Dorset so we can holiday in Bournemouth, by train?

[Northmoor]

2 hours ago, rob D2 said:

Truth.

I’m in it.....all the three  passenger airlines I’ve worked for no longer exist....and the current one looks very shaky thanks to covid 

Don't take it personally.........  I've been made redundant only once, but on three occasions some former colleagues have been laid off less than a year after I left.  I did wonder if others saw my departure as a bad omen; I did have a habit of "seeing which way the wind was blowing".  Even when I was laid off, I had already arranged an external interview the next day.  My own track record of employment locations:

1. Business closed and site demolished
2. Still trading at same location
3. Business relocated, site sold for conversion to flats
4. Business relocated, site closed and mostly demolished
5. Business relocated, site closed and mostly demolished
6. And up to 11 (several locations for the same employer) all still as they were, except everyone's probably working from home this year.

[ianmacc]

16 hours ago, ba14eagle said:

We need to reopen the Somerset & Dorset so we can holiday in Bournemouth, by train?

And all the other lost coastal branches 

[rob D2]

On 13/10/2020 at 18:51, Enterprisingwestern said:

 

Doesn't that tell you something?!!

 

Mike.

Damn Mike, is it me ?

[reddo]

On 29/03/2013 at 21:58, RANGERS said:

I remember this place well. I found a stash of Airfix mineral wagon kits there in the eighties when they were like rockin horse manure.

A casual Google search for Arkwright Models brought me to this thread which has been a nice trip down memory lane. I bought a Mainline J72 from him at a Train Fair around late 90's for £20 in lovely condition and have dug it out to compare to the new ones from Bachmann which I just placed an order for the LNER Lined Black version. The Mainline one is a lovely looking loco IMO and I need to give it a servicee and a run. The crazy prices for new items now are pulling the older stock and a similar J72 is on Ebay for £48 with a buffer missing albeit in VGC

 

I would never have thought my time amassing parts and transfers at train fairs from the mid 90's onwards would pay off. All the Airfix kits I was picking up at a £1 each for cattle wagons, minerals and the like.

 

Does anyone remember King Charles Models in King Charles Street Leeds, at the back of Schofields? Upstairs was the classic MR room with new and s/h stock in brown boxes to have a rummage through. Downstairs was all the lovely Tamiya kits which I could only dream of (but did buy when I started earning some money). It was taken over by Beatties, as many were, but it still kept an air of modelling. It was ironically a sad time when Beatties closed; I visited the Harrogate store and picked up a large Scalextric set (Le man 24hr with Porsche 962 IIRC) in the closing sale with my father for old times sake; he passed away later that year so it sits in my model room with great memories.

 

Cheers

[sagaguy]

Beatties used to have a shop which closed years ago in the Grosvenor Centre in Northampton,i was talking to one of the assisistants who was bemoaning the fact that it used to be a real railway modellers shop selling white metal kits,wheels etc,now it`s just another toy shop.I remember the Southgate Hobbyshop  when it was a half shop next to a shoe repairer at Southgate Broadway near the tube station.

 

                              Ray.

[coastalview]

20 minutes ago, sagaguy said:

Beatties used to have a shop which closed years ago in the Grosvenor Centre in Northampton,i was talking to one of the assisistants who was bemoaning the fact that it used to be a real railway modellers shop selling white metal kits,wheels etc,now it`s just another toy shop.I remember the Southgate Hobbyshop  when it was a half shop next to a shoe repairer at Southgate Broadway near the tube station.

 

                              Ray.

I had a Saturday job for about 3 or 4 years at the end of the 1960s at Beatties in High Holborn, which used to be the Bassett Lowke shop in days past. 

 

It was my first job and really good fun plus it provided modelling tokens every week lol.

 

I remember the first thing I bought was a Dublo EMU, I wish I still had it.

[sagaguy]

37 minutes ago, coastalview said:

I had a Saturday job for about 3 or 4 years at the end of the 1960s at Beatties in High Holborn, which used to be the Bassett Lowke shop in days past. 

 

It was my first job and really good fun plus it provided modelling tokens every week lol.

 

I remember the first thing I bought was a Dublo EMU, I wish I still had it.

I believe that Dudley Dimmock was the manager about that time!.

 

                          Ray.

[coastalview]

23 minutes ago, sagaguy said:

I believe that Dudley Dimmock was the manager about that time!.

 

                          Ray.

Hi Ray

 

The branch manager when I joined 1968 I think as I was about 15 was Colin Sparrow, his younger brother worked their as well. 

 

Chris

Edited February 28, 2021 by coastalview

[Halvarras]

On 12/10/2020 at 12:43, ianmacc said:

This is as recently as 2006. Chosen at random. Happy to take requests on Counties if anyone interested! 

 

Duck's Toy Shop right at the bottom of this list was in Marlborough. I bought my H&M Walkabout controller in there for £19.99 on 17th April 1982 (I have reason to remember the date, and I still have the controller with the price tag on the box!)

 

Back in the late 60s/early 70s I could buy Tri-ang-Hornby stuff from three different outlets in Truro. More recently it was just a Toymaster store - now I'm not sure there is one at all, although on my last visit it looked like Toymaster is now embedded in a hardware store (where my aunt worked for many years). Given an opportunity I'll have to check out whether Cornwall's only city actually has a model shop these days.......

Edited February 28, 2021 by Neil Phillips
Got the shop name confused with a certain supplier of transfers and etched plates.....

[SGP]

Pulling out an old LGB catalogue of 1981 vintage, I notice it has a price sticker on the cover .... Stanton King of Oxford. Were they a model shop or just a general store? Their address, 100 St Aldgates, Oxford, OX1 1BT looks to be a tattoo parlour these days. 1981 was sixteen years before I set foot into G scale and my first ever LGB model was bought not far away from a small model railway outlet in the village of Charlebury.