Gone but not forgotten

[Enterprisingwestern]

Just started reading this thread. I seem to remember the name Cutrisses but cannot remember where it was. I remember Evans (I bought a lima class 33 there) on Silver street. Also there was Red Gates in Sheffield (I've got one of their branded wagons somewhere).

If I remember rightly one of the chaps from Evans went on to TMC in North Yorkshire.

 

Although still in existance I have fond memories of going to the little shop TAG models had near Doncaster station.

 

A pic of Redgates I found on t' internet

 

I think that's the relocated Redgates, originally they were round the left hand corner of the pic on the RHS of The Moor.

There was a model/toy shop on Bellhouse Road at Firth Park at the bottom end near the tram roundabout, family business, but beggared if I can remember the name.

Edit. A Google reveals Kenyons as the shop.

 

Mike.

Edited April 5, 2017 by Enterprisingwestern

[didcot]

There used to be a few in Didcot during my early years.

Mr Miles at the top of Haydon Road did Airfix kits and railway items. He was also a proper corner shop, so it was a toss up between moondust or an Airfix kit.

Centre News did Hornby for a while, as did a shop on the Wantage Road. Got my Star Wars figures from there.

 

I remember Howes when they where in Oxford, alas only Railmatch paint and sound chips now.

 

Motor books at the Headington Roundabout, alas gone!

 

Osbournes in Abingdon have gone to Bideford, which is now our holiday destination!

 

My grandparents lived in Westbury, so there was Macy's, then Barnes then the Gas Cupboard before they moved. Bought many a kit and my Mamod steam roller from Mr Macy/Mr Barnes. Also Junior Fayre (I think) got my 3 1/2 inch Rocket and OO Rocket set from there. They used to have a club where they reserved an item and you paid your pocket money in until you matched the price.

 

Happy Days

 

Matt

[Stevelewis]

RailMail  of  Watford..... ANYONE  REMEMBER  THEM?

 

They  advertised  low  prices  in  Railway Modeller  with  usually  2 page  spreads,    early  80s I think,  they  lasted  for  a  few  years  then  disappeared,  not  sure  if  they  had  an  actual  retail  shop,

 

I bought  quite  a  few  things  from them as   the  prices  were probably  the  cheapest,  but  I recall  several  delivery  mistakes,  sometimes  they  would  send  N items  instead of  00  and  vice  versa!  Once  I  got  an  unordered  WRENN  Castle  Class  delivered!!

[pete_mcfarlane]

I remember ordering a few things from RailMail. You'd order from the Watford address and the parcel came from Scotland (no bad thing as a 10 year old who also collected stamps, as it was a good way of obtaining Scottish ones...). 

 

One day, I got some slightly odd junk mail from them promoting some kind of discount club that I could pay money to join, and they'd advertise stuff through there rather than in the Railway Modeller. Shortly afterwards they vanished from the pages of the RM.

[Stevelewis]

I remember ordering a few things from RailMail. You'd order from the Watford address and the parcel came from Scotland (no bad thing as a 10 year old who also collected stamps, as it was a good way of obtaining Scottish ones...). 

 

One day, I got some slightly odd junk mail from them promoting some kind of discount club that I could pay money to join, and they'd advertise stuff through there rather than in the Railway Modeller. Shortly afterwards they vanished from the pages of the RM.

 

I  think  they  ceased  trading  completely  after  their  adverts ceased  in  RM

[paulbb]

Thanks  Paul  Tyldesley  &  Holbrook  it  was  and  I  remember  the  Anbricio  DMUs  introduced  just  about  the  time  the  real  things appeared  in  Manchester on the  Buxton & Macclesfield  routes.

 

I seem to recall Anbrico  did 10000/10001

The one on Hyde Road in Gorton you mentioned earlier Steve used to sell the entire range of Triang TT circa 1964.

The Sports Depot on Princess Rd in Moss Side, sold loads of Trix too, including the famous Conveyor set that costs 2 weeks wages back then. 

What choices we had!

[Coppercap]

RailMail  of  Watford..... ANYONE  REMEMBER  THEM?

 

They  advertised  low  prices  in  Railway Modeller  with  usually  2 page  spreads,    early  80s I think,  they  lasted  for  a  few  years  then  disappeared,  not  sure  if  they  had  an  actual  retail  shop,

 

I bought  quite  a  few  things  from them as   the  prices  were probably  the  cheapest,  but  I recall  several  delivery  mistakes,  sometimes  they  would  send  N items  instead of  00  and  vice  versa!  Once  I  got  an  unordered  WRENN  Castle  Class  delivered!!

Yes, they did actually have a retail shop, it was in Vicarage Road. It wasn't very big, and on the few occasions I went there, there wasn't much actually on display, just piles of boxes. I seem to remember hearing that, like you say, incorrect scale items to those ordered were often sent out, not that it happened to me. A friend had a widely-available Hornby loco on order with them for what seemed forever - if he wanted to pay full price he could get one anywhere, but to a 15-year old in 1975, something like £1 (maybe 10%?) discount was well worth the wait!

[RANGERS]

I remember ordering a few things from RailMail. You'd order from the Watford address and the parcel came from Scotland (no bad thing as a 10 year old who also collected stamps, as it was a good way of obtaining Scottish ones...). 

 

One day, I got some slightly odd junk mail from them promoting some kind of discount club that I could pay money to join, and they'd advertise stuff through there rather than in the Railway Modeller. Shortly afterwards they vanished from the pages of the RM.

 

The shop in Glasgow (Parnie St I think it was, off Saltmarket) outlasted the Watford shop by a wide margin. I visited often when I was in Glasgow regularly in the 80s, I seem to remember it was still there around 1987 although the DPS ads in the RM had ceased by that time.

[Stevelewis]

The one on Hyde Road in Gorton you mentioned earlier Steve used to sell the entire range of Triang TT circa 1964.

The Sports Depot on Princess Rd in Moss Side, sold loads of Trix too, including the famous Conveyor set that costs 2 weeks wages back then. 

What choices we had!

 

I forgot  about  the  Sports Depot  in  Moss  Side  we  lived  in a  Manchester  Corporation  Pre Fab  for  a  couple  of  years on  Princess  Road   A big  estate of  pre fabs  just  by  the  Manchester  Central line, ( My Mum  &  Dad  were  working  their  way  back to    their  original  home  town  Levenshulme, by  getting  council  exchanges for  houses)  So   I was  pretty  convenient  for  the   sports  depot,  my  dad took me  there  one  evening just  after  Traing TT  was  launched  they  had  a  Penny in  the  slot layout  in  the  window, soon  after  I  got  some!!

I remember  Trix well  my  friend  had  a  load  of  it  including  the  3  car  Meteor  Diesel,  and  whistling  signal box  & colour  light  signals very  impressive.

 

Memories  Memories!!

[Poggy1165]

The one on Hyde Road in Gorton you mentioned earlier Steve used to sell the entire range of Triang TT circa 1964.

The Sports Depot on Princess Rd in Moss Side, sold loads of Trix too, including the famous Conveyor set that costs 2 weeks wages back then. 

What choices we had!

 

I think the one on Hyde Road might have been Donaldson's. When I were but a lad in Gorton they were my main suppliers and - given that they were only in a suburb and not a particularly prosperous one - they had a very good stock. You could get practically any Airfix or Kitmaster kit from there and I often did. I remember being ill and my mother brought me home a Kitmaster German 2-6-2 from there thinking it might buck me up! 

[sub39h]

For me the biggest loss has been RBS in Long Eaton after the owner sadly passed a couple of years ago. I don't think it had been that long before that that I'd been in the shop chatting to him. I'm not even local to the area, but with the lack of any model shops anywhere near me in north Leeds and with me travelling a lot at the time I used to pop in whenever I passed by on the M1.

Edited April 9, 2017 by sub39h

[CKPR]

As far as model railway shops go, the ones I remember from growing up in Cumbria in the 1970s were Minitrains in Kendal (before they went 16mm live steam and decamped to Wales) and The Locomotive Model Shop in Workington near to the railway station and owned by the Jenkins family. LMS was unbelievably cluttered and untidy but always very friendly and you could spend hours in there (I did !) rummaging though boxes of stuff - how they ever made a living from that shop is beyond me ! Minitrains, on the one hand, was a lot more serious and pricey but stocked all of the fine-scale items I'd only ever read about in the Railway Modeller - I also recall exchanging a nearly new Hornby Black Five for an old Tri-ang B12 - they definitely got the better of that deal ! 

Edited September 19, 2019 by CKPR

[SGP]

 

 

Intercity Models at Sandiacre anyone? Almost opposite the entrance to Toton depot. Started up in the eighties, lots of stock plus bits and pieces. Always worth a look when I was in the area. Unfortunately didn't last too long. Nothing to do with the business as such I believe. The guys wife didn't take to living over the shop and having railways everywhere as I understand it. Unless anyone else knows otherwise of course?

Tragic story with Steve's Inter City Models. Prior to opening the shop he had been a survivor of the Herald of Free Enterprise incident. He lost his wife and the compensation helped to start up the model shop. He eventually remarried and his new wife was apparently annoyed at the customers taking up too much of his time. She eventually left and the shop had to close although he still lived above in the flat. He started driving for a short time with Trent-Barton but had to finish due to ill health. He went downhill rapidly with MS and died from complications. Many say this was all brought on from the traumas he suffered. A nice bloke, always had time for his customers.

[SGP]

Who can forget Taylor & McKenna chain of model shops? Many were taken over by Beatties. 

 

In Leicester I have fond memories of NorCol Models under the GC spans at the end of Narborough Road / Braunstone Gate. 

In Leicester town centre there was ABC Models that disappeared beneath the new bus station. There was also a model shop on Melton Road which I forget the name of. 

Also in Leicester, Dominoes folded quite recently.

 

In Atherstone we had Pickering's and Cook & Ryder's. 

 

Hinckley had Punctillio's which is a recent casualty and long gone is Whiteman's. 

 

In Long Eaton we had RBS which closed recently when the owner died. AFAIK, Bob Denny still operates from home.

 

In Nottingham, we have another model shop that may soon close .... Gee Dee's.

Edited April 14, 2017 by SGP

[andyram]

Gee Dee's to close???

[RANGERS]

Who can forget Taylor & McKenna chain of model shops? Many were taken over by Beatties. 

 

In Leicester I have fond memories of NorCol Models under the GC spans at the end of Narborough Road / Braunstone Gate. 

In Leicester town centre there was ABC Models that disappeared beneath the new bus station. There was also a model shop on Melton Road which I forget the name of. 

Also in Leicester, Dominoes folded quite recently.

 

In Atherstone we had Pickering's and Cook & Ryder's. 

 

Hinckley had Punctillio's which is a recent casualty and long gone is Whiteman's. 

 

In Long Eaton we had RBS which closed recently when the owner died. AFAIK, Bob Denny still operates from home.

 

In Nottingham, we have another model shop that may soon close .... Gee Dee's.

 

Leicester was good for modellers in the past. Norcol was a real goldmine for secondhand stuff, when I worked regularly in Leicester I'd call in once or twice a week and the stock was ever changing. I can remember the shop at the end of Charles St, next to the Haymarket roundabout, but I'm pretty sure that was Apex Craft, ABC doesn't ring any bells as the name of it. Elsewhere in Leicester, The Signal Box started in an arcade in Wigston before moving to Oadby. A second shop opened in Ibstock I think it was before both closed when the business consolidated on one site in Anstey, I think they're still there?

 

On the East and South sides of the county, there was Mill St Models in Oakham; a shop in Church St in Melton Mowbray lasted only a short time and another on the corner of Abbey St and High St in Market Harborough moved to Coventry Rd before succumbing in the late 1990s.

 

Though not really shops, Centre Models had a small workshop near Leicester station for a short period in the 1970s, they produced their industrial and narrow gauge kits there. Cherry Scale models sold paints and tools, based in Langham, near Oakham, and Prototype Models were in Market Harborough before moving to the Slaters base in Matlock Bath and of course Skytrex having passed through various owners are still around in Loughborough having started nearby in Wymeswold.

 

In Nottingham area, Millholme Models had a retail shop in Woodborough which launched their kit range, a half hour ride on a Barton bus from Broad Marsh, I went there just twice but came away on both occasions with something interesting, a nicely detailed secondhand Hornby 31 with scale wheels and an MTK class 120 DMU.

[Stevelewis]

As far as model railway shops go, the ones I remember from growing up in Cumbria were Minitrains in Kendal (before they went 16mm live steam and decamped to Wales) and The Locomotive Model Shop in Workington near to the railway station and owned by the Jenkins family. LMS was unbelievably cluttered and untidy but always very friendly and you could spend hours in there (I did !) rummaging though boxes of stuff - how they ever made a living from that shop is beyond me ! Minitrains, on the one hand, was a lot more serious and pricey but stocked all of the fine-scale items I'd only ever read about in the Railway Modeller - I also recall exchanging a nearly new Hornby Black Five for an old Tri-ang B12 - they definitely got the better of that deal ! 

 

I remember  Minitrains  in  Kendal,  and  TOM  Cooper  quite  a  character,  I  P/xed  a  Hornby  Zero one  system  for  Some  LGB  in  the  Kendal  shop  and  tom  showed  me  his  MERLIN  live   steam  locos in  his  back  garden  behind  the  shop,  that  got  me  into  Live  steam 16mm  which  lasted  many  years,

 

Tom  moved  to  Llanfair  Caerinion  ( terminus  of  the  Welshpool  &  Llanfair)   and  opened  Merlin  Locomotive  works  there, from  where  I  bought  several  locos over the years  Happy  Days

[slg]

The Train shop, Morecambe. Very well stocked, reasonably priced and Richard knew what he was taking about.

[andyram]

I certainly miss C & B Models in Derby. The loss of that shop and Trainlines has much reduced the options in the city.

[Stevelewis]

Anyone remember  a   Newsagent  on  the  Main Street  in New Mills  in Derbyshire  that  also  sold  Model  Railways?

 

I used  to  be  a  frequent visitor  there  usually   on  Sunday ,  got  many  a  bargain as  well.

[DugaldDalgetty]

I certainly miss C & B Models in Derby. The loss of that shop and Trainlines has much reduced the options in the city.

Far too recent for me! - Syd Sharrocks on Cockpit Hill was the place - pretty sure I got a couple of Jamieson kits there in the 1960's.

[andytrains]

Anyone remember  a   Newsagent  on  the  Main Street  in New Mills  in Derbyshire  that  also  sold  Model  Railways?

 

I used  to  be  a  frequent visitor  there  usually   on  Sunday ,  got  many  a  bargain as  well.

A lot of newsagents/toy shops sold, mainly, Triang / Triang Hornby and mostly trainsets, although some sold other items.

I worked as a teenager doing a paper round for a Dillons shops in Kingshurst, Birmingham and my tips at Christmas paid for a trainset.

It was not bought from Dillons, though, another newsagents in the precinct.

[andytrains]

Far too recent for me! - Syd Sharrocks on Cockpit Hill was the place - pretty sure I got a couple of Jamieson kits there in the 1960's.

Jamiesons Kits?

More like a scratch-building aid!

[boxerbayrailway]

  Interesting thread.   Well for me,  a large reason I model in 7mm and have any interest in English Steam,  indeed even trains overall,  is due to a hobby shop from my youth.    I'm 32,  and our yearly Summer family vacations took us to Beautiful British Columbia,  chasing SD40-2 diesels through the Thompson canyon,  followed by a visit to Vancouver. 

 

Always a must visit for Dad & I was a special little shop called "Railway World",  in Gastown.   Owner & Proprietor was Mr. Arthur Darlington, who was from Cardiff.  That Hobby Shop (1973-2004)  was where I was introduced to a whole new world,  looking through all the British magazines including Steam Days,  Back Track,  Railway Modeller,  Railway Bylines, Continental Modeller,  to name a few.   Display cases filled with Hornby Dublo,  and Arthur with his stories of the "Good Old'ays !"  of GWR steam,  while he was living in Newton Abbot.    Who needed the Internet !    Sadly Arthur was forced to close his shop in '04,  as the city wanted a parking lot !   I stayed close friends with Arthur until his passing last year.    So sad to think that shops such as these are almost completely extinct  (from N. America anyways),  and future generations will never know the joys of visiting them,  just click click click and that's it.

[Stevelewis]

A lot of newsagents/toy shops sold, mainly, Triang / Triang Hornby and mostly trainsets, although some sold other items.

I worked as a teenager doing a paper round for a Dillons shops in Kingshurst, Birmingham and my tips at Christmas paid for a trainset.

It was not bought from Dillons, though, another newsagents in the precinct.

 

Interestingly  When  I  did  a  proper  job  for  a  well known  Health  Care  Company, who  once  had  a   tall building on  the  Great  West  Road  Nr  the  Chiswick  Flyover,  one  of  the  calls  in  the  Midlands  was  a  Pharmacy  who   also  sold  model  Railways  in  many  scales  it was  areal  Aladdins  Cave,  This business   ( the Model  side)  actually  still exists  and  is  very  well  known............TENNENTS  TRAINS,

 

Those   who  have  watched  the  prog  on  BBC4  about  railways  will have  seen  John  Tennent  on  there  in a small clip  about  his  models.