Bizarre places you bought model railway equipment

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

 My best was on a charity s/h book/recordings (CD/LP/VHS stall the wife and I ran for over a decade in a previous millenium, before the tidal wave of charity shops arrived and effectively made it not worth operating. At the bottom of a box of donated books from a friend was a Hornby O gauge wagon. I set it aside for a member of the family who is an enthusiast for the stuff, intending to wrestle him to the floor in order to spring a fiver from his wallet. He was generous enough to donate a fair proportion of what this apparently very rare item was worth. (Also went back to the donor, she was very happy about it, source was her father and grandfather and she thought had all been sold off when father died.

A. Oakes in Oldbury must be the classic as it is a school uniform shop that sells model railways...

...they also sell outfits for undertakers.

 Practically cradle to grave with something to keep you properly entertained in between: not many shops give such thought to lifetime provision.

[ellocoloco]

In the late 1980s, I bought 4 Lima SBB 2nds from Muscat Pharmacy in Medina Qaboos, Sultanate of Oman. 

 

They always had a few Lima models alongside Tamiya plastic kits......

[pete_mcfarlane]

A few years back there was a cake shop in Grantham that also sold Hornby. 

[alfsboy]

A Lilliput Zillertal H0e set in a local shop for local people.In Austria in 1968.

[RedGemAlchemist]

I bought one of my locos (a Nellie I converted into a outside cylinder saddle tank) from a stand on the side of the road for £15 while out walking one day.

 

Normal for Norfolk.

Edited September 10, 2018 by RedGemAlchemist

[great central]

A few years back there was a cake shop in Grantham that also sold Hornby.

Kind of, it was an attempt by a swap meet trader to claim he had retail premises, it was his sister's cake accessory shop I believe, she knew nothing about railways.

[Spitfire2865]

A funny little story.  Back in the mid 2000s, my family took a vacation to London & Bath (From the US) and my grandfather had requested only one thing, a lead figurine of a postman with a dog hanging off his ankle for his O gauge layout.

So we took the time to stop by a figurine shop in central London, no luck.  Harrods model department?, nothing, anywhere that could possibly have it?, nothing. 

 

We were all ready to give up the search, but towards the end of our vacation we decided to stop by a post office somewhere around Bath to send a postcard and while wandering around the lobby, there on the wall was a glass case, with none other than one of that very 'postman with ankle biting dog" figurine sitting there!

 

So I asked the clerk and it turned out they had a few in the back.  My grandfather was quite pleased with the story, and the figurine.

 

He has since passed, and while Im trying to pass on his collections to more willing owners, that figurine is something Ill never sell.  

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

A few years back there was a cake shop in Grantham that also sold Hornby. 

 Did they specialise in Toffee Apples, Duffs and Doughnuts?

[John Tomlinson]

Over twenty years ago now, I made my last trip for work to Japan. Whilst I found the people very hospitable and welcoming, the trips had always been rather onerous, as I suffered badly from jet-lag and sitting in an office for over eight hours a day with people who smoked wasn't really fun.

 

So I decided to treat myself. It wasn't that many years before that the real estate value of the central square mile of Tokyo had exceeded that of the State of California, so I didn't expect to find things cheap. I was amazed to walk into a model shop in the Ginza and come out with two lovely Kato N gauge locos, mainline Japanese types, for under £60 in total!

 

John.

Edited September 10, 2018 by John Tomlinson

[Guest teacupteacup]

I used to visit my aunts who lived in Barrhead, near Paisley in the late 70s/early 80s, a small newsagent on the main street sold Mnitrix trainsets!

[Guest teacupteacup]

My work had a 'bring and buy' sale to raise money for charity a couple of years back, whilst browsing the books I spotted a tray with Hornby boxes behind the tables.  I asked if I could have a look at them (knew the woman on the stall) and she said she had them out for ages but no interest and I could take the whole tray for 50 quid.  I picked the tray up, felt the weight and gave her the money.  

 

On inspection (at my desk!) there was Q1, class 60 in army livery, a sound 56, sound A4, a few seacows and a few railroad mk1's along with a stack of the usual railroad wagons!  Most went on eBay for a very healthy profit though I gave the money I sold the 60 for to Help for Heroes

 

I bumped into the woman again a couple of days after and she asked if there was anything of interest in the 'box of trains', I said there was a couple of items.  She said she was just going to bin them at the end of that day!

[kernowtim]

Cats protection charity shop in truro had a quantity of Bachmann and lima once, happened to notice a blue box as i walked past! Bought a lima ews 66 for £3 ,cls 67 and boxed but repainted Bachmann 158 for about £15 each. still got the chassis of the 158 somewhere!

[Colin_McLeod]

Botanic post office across the road from Queens University Belfast in the 1970s. Saturday mornings it became an unofficial model railway club as people turned up to talk trains and buy something for their layouts.

[leopardml2341]

Slightly off topic but back in 1990, I was on honeymoon in Acapulco and spotted, but didn't buy because I already had one, a copy of the then current MRJ.....

 

Rumour has it that it reached there before subs copies in the UK

[Damo666]

Have you ever picked up model railway stuff at unusual locations by chance? ......... charity shops (both very unusual themselves these days)

Less than 2 years ago I was passing by the local charity shop late after work, 8PM, and spotted some locos in the window, a Hornby Plover, some coaches and Virgin HST. Having been an avid model railway enthusiast in my teens I thought I might pop in in the morning when they were open. I hadn't seen my old trains for, oh, 35 years (College, work abroad, married, children etc). By the time I went to bed I was starting to get more anxious to get to the shop as soon as it opened next morning.

 

Morning, and I got delayed getting to the office, it was 9:20 and I was certain I was too late. BUT, shop was still closed. Opens at 9:30. I decided to hang around.

Guy come along to open the shop and I ask to see the model trains in the window. "Which one?" he asks. "Oh, I'm not sure, let me see both please" I replied. As I'm examining them I'm aware two other blokes coming into shop looking for the locos / carriages that 'were' in the window last night.

 

But, holding them in my hands it all came rushing back, the memories and the fun I had. Laying out track; making (crude) cardboard buildings, or Linka buildings; running the trains etc.

So I bought the 2 locos (The Plover was £5 (five, not a misprint), Virgin HST & dummy car £20, Pullman coaches x3 were £5 each and she chucked in a load of straight and curved track for £10.

 

Now, before anyone says I got a bargain, hold on. I've since spent a small fortune on more locos, DCC controller, rolling stock etc, and I don't even have a darn layout to run them on. It would have been far cheaper if I had walked on the opposite side of the road that night.

 

BTW, I've also since retrieved my old BR Blue models from my parent's house and given them a good service. Amazingly they all run, some better than others. Think I will sell them though.

[PatB]

 

Perhaps more at the toy end, but a newsagent in Westover(?) in Bridvwater had possibly the last two new Novo/Big-Big 0 gauge sets in existence on a shelf for years back c1980. There was the Blue Flyer set and the narrow gauge diesel set. Cheap too, IIRC.

[Enterprisingwestern]

Slightly off topic but back in 1990, I was on honeymoon in Acapulco and spotted, but didn't buy because I already had one, a copy of the then current MRJ.....

 

Rumour has it that it reached there before subs copies in the UK

 

Hence the term Going Loco Down In Acapulco!

 

 

Mike.

[acg5324]

A couple of years ago we were on Vancouver island, found a model store in Victoria which had under a layer of dust a couple of brand new Dapol HST packs, power cars and two coaches. They had been reduced to approx £60 each. They came home with me, were tested and sold on for double.

[Philou]

About 5 weeks ago at a french 'vide grenier/brocante', oooh I dunno, about 450 miles from Calais, three Bachmann GW 'shirtbutton' chocolate/cream coaches at a fishing tackle stall for €5 each (about £14 in all) and in quite good condition. I was pleased anyway.

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

[manna]

G'Day Folks

 

Back in 1970, Blackwells of Hawkwell, used to be a sweet shop that sold a few s/h model trains, after a few more years it was a model shop, that sold sweets.

Plus there was a grocers shop in Southend that sold me a couple of GER loco's for a fiver each, a J70 and a J69.

 

manna

[Gwiwer]

I was at the construction stage of the layout and steadily collecting bags of Woodland Scenics and other material for ground cover but had not found anything satisfactory which resembled large boulders or loose rocks.

 

Until SWMBO insisted on visiting the local garden centre to purchase some growing objects for me to insert into the 12”:1’ scale soil. I found a tub of “bonsai medium” which was basically bluestone chippings of the perfect size range and angularity. These were duly used on beaches, hillsides and even trackside in appropriate locations. And what great value for money. The container is about the size of a round butter tub and 15 years later is still only half-used.

 

The price? $4.90. About £3 at the time.

Edited September 22, 2018 by Gwiwer

[ianmacc]

Parish church coffee morning somewhere on the border between Somerset and Dorset about ten years past. The widow of the late owner was actually present and sold me the last remaining item, a Bachmann Pannier in BR black that 'nobody wants'. (His name was Harry, and he was interested in the areas of Bristol where the GW and Midland intersected, I think the location was 'Hotwell' if that makes sense. The reason I remember this is that I punned on 'Harry Hotspur', which his widow laughed at.)

 

Where is this paradise of which you write? On our high street if you enter a shop at random it will either be a coffee or charity outlet. (In fairness a small proportion of both are very enjoyable places to call in.)

Hi. I meant unusual to see stuff in charity shops these days rather than charity shops are rare!

[PhilJ W]

Back in the 70's there was a novelty shop in Romford High Street (Opposite the Salvation Army.) that had a quantity of Egger-Bahn 009 stock in the window at a very cheap price, needless to say it didn't remain in the window for long.

[ianmacc]

Those antique centre type places with all the glass cabinets usually have one with railways and diecast in it. Found one today with a Heljan Clayton dublo trix and Oxford diecast among others. A big box of lone star treble o bits for fifty quid was interesting but the wrong scale.

[ianmacc]

Picked up a nice EFE 1989 G registration (know little about buses) Wallace Arnold coach from the antique centre literally two minutes from my house for 3.50! A few other buses etc similarly priced but wrong era.

Edited September 23, 2018 by ianmacc