MGR Hooper! Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 Hey, I have a very near and dear friend visiting London and she wants to buy a few Hornby models. She says she is staying in an area known as Westminster Borough. I'd like to know if there's any model train stores that sell Hornby products nearby? I've found Ian Allan and Hamley's online. Anything else? Thanks in advance. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewartingram Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 Nope. London is a wilderness for modelshops. There is Ian Allan at Waterloo, good bookshop, limited range of models. Hamleys is very pricey, think (RRP + %) and toyshop and tourists in the same breath (better make that a deep breath). And you already have those two. The London Transport Museum at Covent Garden has a limited selection upstairs in the shop; usually pricey, BUT I often find items with "reduced" stickers on them. Thing is to ask the staff - often the actual price charged is even less (!), and sometimes discounts also apply to unmarked items too. Wheels of Steel is a tiny market stall in an antique market very close to Bond St tube station, only second hand but large stocks at often decent prices, with a good turnover of stock. Limited opening hours though, not too sure but possibly now Tue-Fri only? Otherwise, out of Central London I'm afraid Janes, just outside Tooting station is the nearest thing to a traditional model shop. An Aladdin's cave of secondhand can be found just to the right outside Northfields tube, again limited opening times. The name I forget, someone else will throw it in no doubt. Also this might help: http://www.ukmodelshops.co.uk/ Stewart Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGR Hooper! Posted May 21, 2016 Author Share Posted May 21, 2016 Thnaks I just found Jane's online right before I logged in...Will see if they are a possibility. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
knitpick Posted May 21, 2016 Share Posted May 21, 2016 I've mentioned this shop before in similar context; there is Invicta models at Sidcup. Still within the London travel card area. I've only used them at exhibitions and by mail order; I've never visited their shop. Trains from Victoria and Charing Cross - both easy to reach from Westminster area. Web site www.invictamodelrail.com. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jjb1970 Posted May 21, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 21, 2016 Ever since the demise of Model Zone and their big shop in central London there really hasn't been much in the way of model railways in London. I used to visit the Model Zone shop regularly as I worked in Farringdon and it was a short detour on my walk up to Euston in the evening, I miss that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold colin penfold Posted May 21, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 21, 2016 On the UK model shops link there is an exhibitions tab. Your friend might be lucky and find a show she can visit and buy her models from. Alternatively a day trip to a preserved line would be easy from westminster. How about the Mid Hants combined with Alton Models? Other people may have other ideas. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
exet1095 Posted May 23, 2016 Share Posted May 23, 2016 Hamley's is not always expensive. There are bargain prices on some items and a very good range of Hornby. Just to be a pedant for a moment... Westminster is not a borough. It is a city. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
knitpick Posted May 23, 2016 Share Posted May 23, 2016 Hamley's is not always expensive. There are bargain prices on some items and a very good range of Hornby. Just to be a pedant for a moment... Westminster is not a borough. It is a city. Being super pedantic - The City of Westminster IS a borough of London - so it's both a city and a borough. And to add to the confusion, The City of London (aka the square mile") is also a borough of London. Other boroughs are available in London that are not cities; I won't bore you with a list. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
exet1095 Posted May 23, 2016 Share Posted May 23, 2016 Being super pedantic - The City of Westminster IS a borough of London - so it's both a city and a borough. And to add to the confusion, The City of London (aka the square mile") is also a borough of London. Other boroughs are available in London that are not cities; I won't bore you with a list. You are incorrect. The City of London is not a borough at all, and has different local government arrangements to those anywhere else. Westminster is a city, and has a City Council, but is governed in the same way as the boroughs that make up Greater London, and as such is a metropolitan borough, but is never referred to as such. Until 1900 it was the Liberty of Westminster. The real distinction is however, that it has a Royal Charter as a city, and has never held a borough charter. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
knitpick Posted May 26, 2016 Share Posted May 26, 2016 You are incorrect. The City of London is not a borough at all, and has different local government arrangements to those anywhere else. Westminster is a city, and has a City Council, but is governed in the same way as the boroughs that make up Greater London, and as such is a metropolitan borough, but is never referred to as such. Until 1900 it was the Liberty of Westminster. The real distinction is however, that it has a Royal Charter as a city, and has never held a borough charter. Thanks for the correction and sorry for misleading people. As you note it was and still is governed the same as all the other constituents of the LCC (London County Council), Inner London, GLC (Greater London Council) and the latest incarnation of a pan Greater London local government. I was assuming that as it has this long history of being treated as a borough, then it probably was one. I didn't think logically that it couldn't really have a City Charter and a Borough Charter. Ooops. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob D2 Posted May 26, 2016 Share Posted May 26, 2016 Who cares, it's still in the middle of a massive dump ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilwell Park Posted May 26, 2016 Share Posted May 26, 2016 Who cares, it's still in the middle of a massive dump ! And you are speaking from Swindon! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted May 26, 2016 Share Posted May 26, 2016 This is all going very well. I bet that our visitor from overseas will be delighted to learn that, not only is our capital city bereft of model shops, but that we are a nation obsessed with small particulars, within which the residents of each town/city/borough/state/village/hamlet/parish/ county (add more according to taste) feel obliged to insult every other town/city/borough etc etc etc. Still, I'm sure that our weather will make up for everything else. K Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium MrSimon Posted May 26, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 26, 2016 If you end up in Shepherd's Bush/White City there is a modelzone in the back of WH Smiths on the ground floor of the Westfield shopping centre. The Hornby selection isn't massive, but much bigger than the 4 items of n gauge they sell. When people say London is good for shopping they're usually not people with trainsets Cheers Simon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob D2 Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 And you are speaking from Swindon! Not a GWR fan then.... And not forgetting we gave the world.............MELINDA MESSENGER.....! Hat, coat, bus pass...etc.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilwell Park Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 Not a GWR fan then.... And not forgetting we gave the world.............MELINDA MESSENGER.....! Hat, coat, bus pass...etc.. To say nothing of the Magic Roundabout! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
metropolitan cammell Posted May 27, 2016 Share Posted May 27, 2016 Not a GWR fan then.... And not forgetting we gave the world.............MELINDA MESSENGER.....! Hat, coat, bus pass...etc.. and diana dors and billie piper. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oakydoke Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 The list is bulging by the minute.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob D2 Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 And that bloke what was Robbie Willian's mate who did YBF for a bit and now has a performing arts academy in swindonia Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willie Whizz Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 By the sound of this, you're all missing a wonderful retailing opportunity. Who wants to go in with me in a joint venture to set-up a traditional style model shop somewhere in Central London? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intercity125 Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 By the sound of this, you're all missing a wonderful retailing opportunity. Who wants to go in with me in a joint venture to set-up a traditional style model shop somewhere in Central London? A great idea Willie but sadly the resale margin and the high rent and rates for central London make this venture prohibitive. In the words of Duncan Bannatyne "It's for that reason I won't be investing in ya". Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold adb968008 Posted June 1, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 1, 2016 By the sound of this, you're all missing a wonderful retailing opportunity. Who wants to go in with me in a joint venture to set-up a traditional style model shop somewhere in Central London?A local model shop is ideally ..local. Not many modellers are local in London, the suburbs, closer to home, is the best chance.However, after 8 hours at work, 3 hours commuting and a 1 hour lunch break, add to that dinner and time with the kids before bed, the average middle age Londoners modellers shop is ebay. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Clearwater Posted June 1, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 1, 2016 A local model shop is ideally ..local. Not many modellers are local in London, the suburbs, closer to home, is the best chance. However, after 8 hours at work, 3 hours commuting and a 1 hour lunch break, add to that dinner and time with the kids before bed, the average middle age Londoners modellers shop is ebay. ...and hattons, kernow, rails and anyone with a good website and with delivery to either office or pick up places, eg post office or better local convenience store open to 11pm allowing easy collection of anything ordered! No point in having stuff delivered to home address when you're likely not there! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willie Whizz Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 A great idea Willie but sadly the resale margin and the high rent and rates for central London make this venture prohibitive. In the words of Duncan Bannatyne "It's for that reason I won't be investing in ya". Sorry, it had been a long day ... I should of course have suffixed my post with to indicate my intended irony - for the precise reasons you suggest. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GNR Dave Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 Getting back to the original post, I was in Ian Allan at Waterloo on Saturday, and was quite surprised by the amount of stock they had on display. I counted over 100 OO gauge locos, and 3 or 4 dozen in N gauge. They also had plenty of code 100 track and a good selection of Woodland Scenics, vehicles (OO & N) and ready to plant buildings. The only area lacking IMHO was rolling stock. Not up to the stock levels of a dedicated model railway retailer, but not bad for a 'book shop' Usual disclaimers................. David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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