Gone but not forgotten

[Froxfield2012]

Replying to The Stationmaster today.  For some reason "Reply quoting post" doesn't seem to be working for me!

 

We always got on well enough with Ted (I wouldn't want to suggest otherwise) and I still have the Hornby Dublo Castle that EAMES converted from 3 to 2 rail for me.  They also machined down quite few Triang loco wheels for me too.  One of Reading's "wholesale" modellers was a chap called Bill Worrall.  He had a workshop on Christchurch Road.  I remember going up there one day to see the model he had built for London Transport and there contractors for the remodelling of Oxford Circus underground station:  just to prove everything fitted in3-D.  At one time it was on show in the Science Museum, I think.

 

Stan Birch had an extensive O gauge layout in his garden but the real star in this regard for me was in Tilehurst and owned by (Major) Charles "Charlie" Cooper.  That featured a Royal Albert Bridge and cut down Paddington in a green house:  he hand built all his own locos.  It featured in Model Railway News with photos by Maurice Earley.  But then MRN was edited by local man J N Maskelyne!  Off topic I am afraid.

 

Richard

Edited April 22, 2014 by Froxfield2012

[Dava]

One still with us, but old school, is the Railway Barter Shop in Long Eaton, always worth a look,friendly but not much 0 gauge

 

Dava

[andyram]

One still with us, but old school, is the Railway Barter Shop in Long Eaton, always worth a look,friendly but not much 0 gauge

 

Dava

 

I have heard some good things about this place. I have never been as it is shut on a Thursday which is the day I am usually free during my holidays!

[laurenceb]

Golden Gains the only shop I have ever come across that put a sign in the window saying that they dont want any customers!

Laurence

[Fat Controller]

Whilst it saddens me to see the demise of so many model shops, both nationally-known and small local concerns, what I find worrying is the demise of the non-specialist 'toy' or 'sports' shop which stocked a small range of R-T-R models and accessories. Such shops, rather than the more specialised outfits, were where the majority of parents purchased the train sets which provided the introduction to modelling for so many of us. Even in the early 1970s, some were already starting to move out of the business; I recollect picking up Hornby-Dublo wagons and Merit scenic items for a pittance from several of them.

My home town, Llanelli, didn't boast a specialist model shop in the 1960s/70s; however there were three or four shops who stocked a reasonable amount:-

Thomas Brothers sports shop- sold Hornby- Dublo; I don't think they carried on selling models after the demise of Hornby-Dublo.

Frosts - sold Triang, and also Wrenn track, for some reason (I bought his whole stock, but discovered fibre sleepers and galvanised-steel rails were not compatible with S W Wales..)

Ron Hodge- sold Hornby-Dublo, then carried on selling Tri-ang Hornby for a while. 

All had other irons in the fire; the first had a virtual monopoly in school sports kit, and so would be very busy towards the end of August every year..Ron Hodge was primarily a sports shop, whilst Frost (the only one still going) sold toys, newspapers and God knows what else.

I presume this trend wasn't just confined to a small town in Wales?

[andyram]

I have to say I agree with you there. Derby is not great for model outlets now. Modelzone

s demise came at a similar time to the closure of the Derby model shop (used to be C and B models). Now the only specialist shop is Loughborough Model Centre which is short walk from the assembly rooms,but quite a trek from the main Westfield shopping centre. Inside the centre the two toy shops have stopped selling any Hornby products. Hawkins Bizarre has started stocking some Hornby, but it is mainly train sets, track and limited railroad models. Even the two out of town toy superstores, Toys R Us and Smyths, stock no Hornby. It is a sorry situation especially in terms of trying to encourage new blood into the hobby.

[EddieB]

 Chuffs was just around the corner from my workplace in the City of London and it had lots of rather over priced items that would have been of interest if they had been a little bit more reasonable! They had a large number of Eggerbahn 009 loco's which were priced at £5 each when the going rate at most other shops was £3. I went in to buy two of them but found all eight I tried caused a short circuit so told them I did not want them. The guy who was serving me then proceeded to take one of them apart and put it back together to see if he could find the fault but when he put it on the track the short circuit was still there so he offered them to me for £1 each. I suppose I should have told him not to put the wire between the two brushes back but I soon got rid of those wires on the way home and had eight very good locos for my narrow gauge system!

The main shop was in Lisson Grove (not too far from Marylebone), though I can only remember visiting the branch in Bucklersbury (City).  Not particularly welcoming - they didn't seem at all interested in schoolboys spending their pocket money when they had bigger fish to fry.  As Chris say, they did seem to have a lot of over-priced, poor condition secondhand stock.  The main interest appeared to be vintage live steam (e.g. Basset-Lowke and Bing).

 

Their adverts have been mentioned - those in Railway Modeller were somewhat restrained compared to the graphic cartoons that appeared in Model Railways.  The Model Railway Constructor ads always started "Dear Mr S... S.... with a hyphen", referring to the then editor SW Stevens-Stratten.

 

The persistent theme was Count Dracula and the proprietor styled himself as "The Count".  This was taken to excess when they occupied a trade stand at (at least) one exhibition at Westminster Central Hall organised by the magazine Model Railways.

[melmerby]

Frosts - sold Triang, and also Wrenn track, for some reason (I bought his whole stock, but discovered fibre sleepers and galvanised-steel rails were not compatible with S W Wales..)

 

My first foray into non trainset track was with Wrenn - yard lengths and those live frog points where the whole rail swivelled against the frog to make a gap free turnout.

All my track had nickel silver rail, I suppose the stockist I went to sold that instead of the galvanised version.

I hadn't realised there was more than one flavour of Wrenn track until sometime later.

A drawback with the track (normal these days) was that you had to do some wiring up, unlike Tri-ang series 4!

 

Keith

[DIW]

About 15-20 years ago I replied to a local newspaper ad. The guy was a builder who had taken some stock from a shop as there was no money to pay his bill. I went to buy some stuff from him and in his room over the garage he had 2 or 3 old tea chests, fitted out with drawers. Each tea chest was packed solid with boxed items with pre decimal prices. The amount of stuff he had was amazing.

I believe the shop was in Portsmouth and the male shop owner had died.

The shop could have been Tony Collett's of Winter Road. I had heard that the stock had gone to Mainly Trains, Chandler's Ford, although it is certainly feasible that some stock had escaped.

 

Chandler's Ford lost that shop of course when Mainly Trains upped sticks and re-settled in Watchet.

[EddieB]

When I were a lad my local model shop was Page's in Barkingside.  It was a double-fronted shop selling railways, Airfix type kits, balsa wood and suchlike.  The main attraction used to be a "penny in the slot" (1d, not 1p) railway in the window.  I think it had gone by the time I became interested in model railways, and the shop site is now converted into a solicitor's offices.

 

Almost coinciding with a more serious interest, Lea Models in Leyton was started by a (then) young couple, always friendly and having time and advice for a youngster.  Unlike so many local model shops, their focus was almost exclusively model railways.  Never that big, they seemed to able to order just about anything (ISTR W&H acted as wholesalers for them).  Greatly missed!

[Coppercap]

There was a model shop in Whitton Middlesex Hodgsons or some such name, 

 

You are correct on the name. I was a regular customer there in my teens.

[andyram]

Just thought of another Derby based model shop from the past. I can't believe I had forgotten about it as I used to visit there a lot.

 

"Keiths"

 

This was a stall in the old Eagle Centre Market. Keith Bradley started off by trading from a few paste tables before he got his own outlet in the hexagonal maze that was the old market. When the market was overhauled he got a more prominent stall over looking the bus station. Although he mainly dealt in Corgi, Dinky and Matchbox toys as well as t.v related items, he did stock some second hand railway. I remember receiving, as a Christmas gift, a B.R green Bittern from the  "Tees Tyne Pullman" set which was purchased from this stall.

 I believe the gentleman still trades online.

[Dava]

It was Record Store day on Saturday, the aim being to get people to buy vinyl from Indy record shops....if you can find one. Model shops are similar - support the good survivors, like GeeDee in Nottingham, Railway Barter in Long Eaton, the one in Lincoln I go to, otherwise there will be none except traders at shows. I'm off to Canada where you might find one in a million square miles!

 

Dava

[melmerby]

It was Record Store day on Saturday, the aim being to get people to buy vinyl from Indy record shops....if you can find one.

Dava

Swordfish Records & The Diskery in Birmingham centre.

 

Keith

[big jim]

Swordfish Records & The Diskery in Birmingham centre.

 

Keith

there is a record shop downstairs in the oasis on corporation st, he did the vinyl week records the other year

 

back on topic

 

a few old model shops that spring to mind for me are....

 

"lightfoot models" in rhyl, not too much in the way of railways but i remember back in the early 90s saving up my "chore money", i was too old for pocket money so earned it cutting the grass etc and catching a train from holyhead to rhyl especially to get a 2nd hand MTK class 59 i'd spotted there a few weeks previous, i was well chuffed with it, looking back now it was bloody awful, Hornby class 58 mechanism, no glazing and no power!!

 

"the island giftshop" in prestatyn, on the corner next to the station by the park, used to have a fair bit of railway stuff, i remember the day after boxing day 1987 banging on his door to get his attention so i could buy the, then brand new to the shops, Hornby 142 he had in the window with my christmas money, he wasn't due to reopen til the new year but he came down and sold it to us, the owner was a right misirable sod though!

 

 

used to also visit the liliput factory in bala after school some weeks, whatever became of that place?

Edited April 24, 2014 by big jim

[Nimbus]

It was Record Store day on Saturday, the aim being to get people to buy vinyl from Indy record shops....if you can find one. Model shops are similar - support the good survivors, like GeeDee in Nottingham, Railway Barter in Long Eaton, the one in Lincoln I go to, otherwise there will be none except traders at shows. I'm off to Canada where you might find one in a million square miles!

 

Dava

 

A major feature of RSD is the limited manufacture of long-deleted vinyl titles, and even some 'neverwazzas'. 

An equivalent would be a fun prospect for a 'MSD'.

 

The Nim.

[peach james]

 I'm off to Canada where you might find one in a million square miles!

 

Dava

 

 

hmmm

 

-Shaver Shop

-Scotts

-Adventure hobbies

 

All in 12 000 sq miles

 

(There's rather more than that, Charlies, what was Victoria Scale Rail, Railhead as well...)

 

James

[melmerby]

there is a record shop downstairs in the oasis on corporation st, he did the vinyl week records the other year

 

Didn't know that.

Thanks for the tip. (even though I'm not into vinyl, I do still have a half decent record deck!)

Keith

 

Edit back to OP now!

Edited April 24, 2014 by melmerby

[sub39h]

I have to say I agree with you there. Derby is not great for model outlets now. Modelzone

s demise came at a similar time to the closure of the Derby model shop (used to be C and B models). Now the only specialist shop is Loughborough Model Centre which is short walk from the assembly rooms,but quite a trek from the main Westfield shopping centre. Inside the centre the two toy shops have stopped selling any Hornby products. Hawkins Bizarre has started stocking some Hornby, but it is mainly train sets, track and limited railroad models. Even the two out of town toy superstores, Toys R Us and Smyths, stock no Hornby. It is a sorry situation especially in terms of trying to encourage new blood into the hobby.

 

Leeds is in the same situation. There is only one shop which actually has a Leeds postal code, but it is right in the south of the city. Pretty surprising given it's the UK's 3rd largest city. WHS hasn't even opened a ModelZone section yet and the HobbyCraft seems to be thinning out its stock and doesn't look like it intends to replenish it. 

 

I find it hard to believe that Sheffield as the capacity for 4 reasonably stocked model shops and Leeds can barely manage one. 

 

I guess the model shop I remember most fondly would be the Beatties behind the old Schofield Centre in Leeds. I still have some of my stock from there with their Beatties stock stickers and prices. I used to HATE going to town with my mum, but all was forgotten when I went upstairs in that store to the model railways section. I don't live in Leeds anymore as I'm studying a 2nd degree in London. But when I go back and visit and go into town, it does still sadden me slightly when I walk past the old site.  

Edited May 7, 2014 by sub39h

[melmerby]

HobbyCraft seems to be thinning out its stock and doesn't look like it intends to replenish it. 

 

The Hobbycraft in Solihull (Marshall Lake Rd) seems to have stopped selling railway items completely.

More recently they only had Railroad stock. IIRC previously they had some "main range" Hornby as well.

 

Keith

Edited May 7, 2014 by melmerby

[Coach bogie]

The  Sports  Depot  Wilbraham  Road  I remember  them  long  before  their  move  to wilbrham Road,  when  they  were in  Princess  Road  MOSS SIDE !!!  I first  saw Triang  TT there!!

Sports Depot (or train shop as I referred to it as a child) was my first model shop growing up in Manchester. Ken Stimpson worked there for years, on both sites. One of my first presents in the mid 1960's was a Hornby Dublo Bristol Castle. They did not have a two rail version, only a three rail version. 'No problem' says Ken 'Come back in an hour'. An hour later it had been converted to two rail - he even gave me the three rail wheels and tender plunger pick ups for good measure.50 years later it is still running. I always remember their strange pricing system on boxes that used letters rather than numbers -I never did work out the translation.

 

Mike Wiltshire

[andyram]

Leeds is in the same situation. There is only one shop which actually has a Leeds postal code, but it is right in the south of the city. Pretty surprising given it's the UK's 3rd largest city. WHS hasn't even opened a ModelZone section yet and the HobbyCraft seems to be thinning out its stock and doesn't look like it intends to replenish it. 

 

I find it hard to believe that Sheffield as the capacity for 4 reasonably stocked model shops and Leeds can barely manage one. 

 

 

The Hobbycraft in Solihull (Marshall Lake Rd) seems to have stopped selling railway items completely.

More recently they only had Railroad stock. IIRC previously they had some "main range" Hornby as well.

 

Keith

 

The Hobby Craft outlet which opened in Derby a few months ago is also very disappointing. When we first visited there was absolutely nothing in the way of model railway related products on sale. The only things of interest were some Airfix kits and Humbrol paints. On the second visit this had expanded to a couple of Hornby train sets and a decent Woodland Scenics range. More recently the Woodland Scenics stuff has thinned out too. Considering the fact that Hobby Craft opened around the time Modelzone closed they have definitely missed a trick here. I had high hopes for the store as a visit to one in Nottingham a couple of summers ago saw me find a couple of well stocked rows of Hornby Skaledale and Woodland Scenics.

[Bert Cheese]

I spent many happy hours in Dave Cleal's Mainly Trains shop in Chandlers Ford as a youngster, firstly in the original Hursley Road shop before he moved across the road to the Central Precinct....he must be getting on a bit now?

 

Another loss was Trevor Salt's shop in Northam and then Portswood, "Park Trains/The Old Toy Shop" ....I believe he is still trading at shows etc but has no retail premises.

A bit of a character, he had plans to expand the shop into the basement as it was always rammed solid....I went back a month later and it had become a Polish deli shop!

 

I must admit I buy anything I want online these days...there are not many local shops about in the Southampton area and those that are don't really appeal...

[peterfgf]

I found the Southampton area somewhat better than suggested.

 

Have you tried AC Models in Eastleigh High Street? Not too far from Southampton - well stocked and well worth visiting (in my opinion).  Ron Lines in Shirley Road is also well stocked and has lots of second hand models.

[RANGERS]

I spent many happy hours in Dave Cleal's Mainly Trains shop in Chandlers Ford as a youngster, firstly in the original Hursley Road shop before he moved across the road to the Central Precinct....he must be getting on a bit now?

 

Another loss was Trevor Salt's shop in Northam and then Portswood, "Park Trains/The Old Toy Shop" ....I believe he is still trading at shows etc but has no retail premises.

A bit of a character, he had plans to expand the shop into the basement as it was always rammed solid....I went back a month later and it had become a Polish deli shop!

 

I must admit I buy anything I want online these days...there are not many local shops about in the Southampton area and those that are don't really appeal...

I visited Mainly Trains a couple of times after he moved to Watchet, being so far off the track it wasn't somewhere you'd drop into if you were passing but handy to combine with a visit to the W Somerset