Gone but not forgotten

[geoffers]

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

 

Pretty sure Dudley Dimmock had a shop in Charminster in Bournemouth. Not sure how long he was there. It was an elderly gentleman who served me a Mainline 4-6-0. Charminster Models?

 

I used to lurk in Geoff Barlow Models in Poole right next to Poole Station. After redevelopment of the area Geoff moved down to the old town very close to Setchfields.

 

Edited April 26, 2021 by geoffers
extra info

[John M Upton]

I received an Ebay lot this morning of some parts and look at the bag it came in:

I have not seen a Beatties bag for the thick end of twenty years!

[Enterprisingwestern]

7 hours ago, John M Upton said:

I received an Ebay lot this morning of some parts and look at the bag it came in:

I have not seen a Beatties bag for the thick end of twenty years!

 

The bag is probably worth more than the contents to some collectors!

 

Mike.

[John M Upton]

26 minutes ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

The bag is probably worth more than the contents to some collectors!

 

I have kept it!

[johnd]

"Bassett Lowke" now there's a long gone name from the past that was swallowed up by the Beatties empire.  I remember well the Manchester shop on Corporation street the site of which is now under the so called shopping centre. 

 

Not a model shop of note left in Central Manchester much like most Cities/Towns of note. 

[steve22]

On 14/05/2021 at 06:39, John M Upton said:

 

I have kept it!

I worked at the Newcastle branch of Beatties through most of the 1980s so I handled thousands of the bags of all sizes and never thought anything of it at the time.  I do still have one though, I keep my Peco point templates in it.  I think I may also have one similar to the above photo with a few bits and bobs in it, somewhere in the shed.

Steve.

 

[Simon Lee]

On 28/02/2021 at 09:43, reddo said:

 

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

Yes, I remember King Charles Models, early 70s we started going to Leeds from Hull for shopping a few times a year. My mum would head off to the department stores , whilst dad and l would visit Turntable books and relics just off the Headrow, Beatties and then King Charles Models. 

Iirc they had big wood framed glass cabinets crammed full of second hand stuff as well as the boxes on the floor.

My first purchase there was a Hornby Dublo Deltic. 

 

Happy days.

[waggy]

I seem to recall a model shop in Leeds in the 70's in one of the Arcades , Empire Arcade ?

[Hibelroad]

Macclesfield in the late 60s/early 70s had Broughs, a strange model and fishing tackle shop in a prefabricated shed like building on Gas Road, all gone now including most of Gas road. Broughs was a very early stockist of plasticard. Then there was Baileys, a toy shop on Mill Lane which stocked some Peco stuff. Later Whitings on Chestergate started selling modelling materials, I think this was mostly instigated by Ken Ball who worked there part time for a while. Since the recent demise of Cheshire Models I don't think there is any shop left in Macclesfield to interest the modeller, though there is an excellent model engineering supplier which is a source of metal bar and nuts and bolts for those who like to get involved in a bit of metalwork.

 

[ianmacc]

On 25/05/2021 at 09:26, Hibelroad said:

Macclesfield in the late 60s/early 70s had Broughs, a strange model and fishing tackle shop in a prefabricated shed like building on Gas Road, all gone now including most of Gas road. Broughs was a very early stockist of plasticard. Then there was Baileys, a toy shop on Mill Lane which stocked some Peco stuff. Later Whitings on Chestergate started selling modelling materials, I think this was mostly instigated by Ken Ball who worked there part time for a while. Since the recent demise of Cheshire Models I don't think there is any shop left in Macclesfield to interest the modeller, though there is an excellent model engineering supplier which is a source of metal bar and nuts and bolts for those who like to get involved in a bit of metalwork.

 

There was also Macclesfield Model Railway shop a couple of doors down from Cheshire Models for a while in the 90s. 
 

I recall a model shop in a parade of shops part way up Buxton Road on the left near where the rally spares garage was. It was there into the late 80s. And a shop on Chestergate. Last shop on the right before you cross Churchill Way. It closed around 1986.

[Hibelroad]

14 hours ago, ianmacc said:

There was also Macclesfield Model Railway shop a couple of doors down from Cheshire Models for a while in the 90s. 
 

I recall a model shop in a parade of shops part way up Buxton Road on the left near where the rally spares garage was. It was there into the late 80s. And a shop on Chestergate. Last shop on the right before you cross Churchill Way. It closed around 1986.

I left Macc in the 70s so don’t know about the later shops, however I think the shop before Churchill way would have been Whitings, street view now shows it as a restaurant. 

[BrianFH]

In Spalding there was Bratleys, a hardware shop that sold Triang/triang-Hornby, and Charles Pask, who ran a toy shop that sold Wrenn and T/H. Always got the impression he didn’t like school kids, which I was when I bought my first Wrenn wagons. Also remember Orton Models in Peterborough, and The Model Shop on Lincoln Road. The first owner, John Fowler, was the president of Spalding Model Railway club when I was a member while at school. He gave me a discount on my first 8F and some Wrenn Presfloes. Don’t get that often nowadays.

[33C]

Owen and Wallis, Guy Norris, Berman's, Blackwells and Rickatrack. All gone from my local area. Even the local Toymaster has stopped selling model railways, ("no call for them"!) 

[Guest Jack Benson]

On 20/02/2022 at 00:22, 33C said:

Owen and Wallis, Guy Norris, Berman's, Blackwells and Rickatrack. All gone from my local area. Even the local Toymaster has stopped selling model railways, ("no call for them"!) 

Has Blackwells of Hawkwell ceased trading?

 

Thank you

 

StaySafe

[33C]

24 minutes ago, Jack Benson said:

Has Blackwells of Hawkwell ceased trading?

 

Thank you

 

StaySafe

I'm afraid so, it was latterly a doll shop.

[Trains4U]

I understand that the old Fratton Bargain Shop (latterly St. Petrocks models?) Has finally closed down.

 

It used to be my local. Always filled me with wonder, and was my inspiration for wanting a model shop of my own.

But even by the time I left Portsmouth in 1994 it had seemed to have declined quite significantly from its heyday in the mid 80s.

[RANGERS]

2 hours ago, Trains4U said:

I understand that the old Fratton Bargain Shop (latterly St. Petrocks models?) Has finally closed down.

 

It used to be my local. Always filled me with wonder, and was my inspiration for wanting a model shop of my own.

But even by the time I left Portsmouth in 1994 it had seemed to have declined quite significantly from its heyday in the mid 80s.

I remember the RM ads for them in the 1970s, one of the early pioneers of the “box shifters” along with “Railmail” and one or two others.

[33C]

Guy Norris had in its windows, just before it closed, a Rivarossi Big Boy, Hornby pannier tank, Playcraft Night Riviera set, Lima 0 gauge stock, the top ten singles and Iron Maiden posters and T.shirts. Proper shop!?

[Colin_McLeod]

Remember Fratton Bargain Shop and many years ago buying Mainline coaches from them.

[ba14eagle]

On 07/07/2022 at 21:43, RANGERS said:

I remember the RM ads for them in the 1970s, one of the early pioneers of the “box shifters” along with “Railmail” and one or two others.

Happy memories of trying to get my late Father to buy me just a couple more Lima PGA's / Mk1's etc etc.

If its the shop im thinking of - on the main road 5 minutes from Fratton station (10 minutes to the other model shop)? - I went 4 or 5 years ago and was very impressed with the huge stock of secondhand items and other models.

[melmerby]

On 07/07/2022 at 19:32, Trains4U said:

I understand that the old Fratton Bargain Shop (latterly St. Petrocks models?) Has finally closed down.

 

 

Online only now, by the look of it.

http://www.frattonmodelcentre.co.uk/shop/

[adb968008]

I drove past Farnworth Rail and Model Centre the other day.

 

it closed c1999, and it’s never changed a moment since.. inside it’s largely empty but some elements of a model shop remain.

 

China made models, the Internet, the IPhone have all passed this shop by .. Lima was still the big thing, Hornby manufactured in the UK, and Mainline models were still residual new in Dapol boxes when the shutters were last up, yet which it still looks like it’s closed on a Sunday to ready to reopen on a Monday…

 

 

 

as a school kid I used to tie my bike up to that drain pipe by the door, and gaze at this weeks selection of newly acquired second hand.. I bought one of my very first models, 45691 Orion from here, cost me about £16 new.

 

i wonder if I lifted the letter box, if it would still smell of a mixture of that dog, dust and burnt solder ? If the cellar is still full of railwayana and if the carpet and floor has finally given way (it was a big springy)..

 

The Hornby rep used to be scared of coming here, one local customer used to block the doorway and give him 5 minutes of his thoughts about Hornbys range every time he came… somethings never change

 

but one thing was for sure, I  never left empty handed.. I still have a part converted 78xxx from a Hornby Ivatt to complete from here.

 

I wonder why it’s never moved on ?

Edited July 11, 2022 by adb968008

[PJT]

12 hours ago, ba14eagle said:

If its the shop im thinking of - on the main road 5 minutes from Fratton station (10 minutes to the other model shop)? - I went 4 or 5 years ago and was very impressed with the huge stock of secondhand items and other models.

By 'the other model shop', do you mean Robin Thwaites, in Arundel Street, near Landports department store?  We used to go there as youngsters because he had the full range of the new and fascinating Grafar N Gauge in there - exotic stuff.  But I suppose we thought all the Fleischmann stuff in Fratton Bargain Shop was exotic, too, for lads brought up on Margate Triang and Hornby.  Both Fratton Bargain Shop and Robin Thwaites were regular haunts after school and the most common excuse for me missing my train home.  They were also model shops, rather than model railway shops, stocking plastic kits and radio control models etc. alongside their considerable model railway ranges.

 

A little further to walk was the 'serious' model railway shop, Tony Collett's in Winter Road, Southsea.  He had all the loco kits, motors, wheels and scratchbuilding components (as a kid, I'd never seen boxes full of domes and chimneys before).  All my early loco kits came either from him or by mail order from Holts in Swansea.  Tony was a lovely chap to deal with, too.  He'd also sold records in his shop, but that was before my time.  Or, at least, I can't remember them in there. 

 

I found out some years ago that, in the late 1960s, Robin Thwaites also bought the then very down at heel model village at Godshill on the Isle of Wight, owning it for many years and painstakingly restoring it to be the wonderful tourist attraction it's still kept as today.

 

Edit:  Ah no, sorry, I've just realised the 'other shop' you're talking about is in an era well after mine - as are one or two other Portsmouth model shops, some of which have come and gone again since I was in the city every day.  Never mind; gave me a rather pleasant few minutes thinking about the model shops that got me going all those years ago.

 

Pete T.

 

Edited July 12, 2022 by PJT
factual correction

[St Enodoc]

2 hours ago, PJT said:

Tony Collett's in Winter Road, Southsea. 

I've got a couple of sheets of printed card china-clay wagon sides that he produced.

[PJT]

7 minutes ago, St Enodoc said:

I've got a couple of sheets of printed card china-clay wagon sides that he produced.

 

Likewise!  I've also still got one or two other printed card wagon body sheets of his.  Made a change from the Peco Wonderful Wagon printed card designs - and Tony did a number of sheets in the liveries of local Portsmouth/Fareham/Havant traders, too.

 

Pete T.