hayfield Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 Yesterday (Sunday) I was dragged off to a second hand / antique centre a few miles away SWMBO recently bought some Denby plates to replace some chipped ones in a dinner set, she wanted to see if they had any cups for the set Anyway she allowed me to have a look at things that interested me, I came across a box which had these and some old railway mags I have been wanting to get a Jamieson catalogue for ages, no date on this one, as you can see nine (old) pence was the cost, quite early I guess as only 7 loco kits in it A very early GEM catalogue, no loco kits and most items by other companies Finally a delightful little book about building road vehicles from card and wood, one table in the back is about the old style number plates giving location for the prefix letters AF = Cormwall CW = Burnley FB = Bath Being a very small selection. All for the sum of £3, No prices on them, when I asked a suggestion of £5 was made which I then offered £1 each To be quite honest I would have preferred later editions with more loco kits in the catalogues Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagaguy Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 Good find,here are the Modelcraft kits to go with your book.They are downloadable. http://www.micromodelle.micromodels.de/7.html Ray. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted February 9, 2015 Author Share Posted February 9, 2015 Just looked at Amazon and they start at £6.80 second hand Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNWR lives on Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 The Gem looks to be 1950's,guessing when he was selling mainly other peoples items and a few bits of his own. Is there anything interesting on the inside? David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted February 10, 2015 Author Share Posted February 10, 2015 David Its basically A5 (what ever the imperial size was) sheets stapled to a card sleve. GEM 2 rail track and popular permanent way (set track) Loco drawings, GEM lever frames, GEM signals, Equispring bogies GEM LMS 57' coach body kit & underframe GEM rolling stock parts Merco papers ERG parts S&B parts Bilteezi Gaiety locos X3 motor, Romford wheels GEM turnouts Mostly written with a few drawings, I was really looking for an earlier catalogue with locos in but still interesting. The Jamieson is also an early one as it only has a few locos in Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNWR lives on Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 Hi John, Definitely the 1950's then when he was doing track work and other items and selling other peoples parts. This is a catalougue pre the acquisition of S&B which gave him the chance to cast, and that's where the locos eventually came from By earlier do you mean pre-war when he was producing hand made locos or the white metal kit era? I may have a duplicate of one catalogue in the sixties or seventies, ill have look in the box file David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted February 11, 2015 Author Share Posted February 11, 2015 David I have no idea of the date other than he started selling 2 rail turnouts on the curve, 2 rail diamond crossings. 2 and 3 rail Romford wheels. The GEM equisprung bogies are stated as new Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNWR lives on Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 John, Have had a look at my similar one and the price sheet inside is dated for 1953, so your GEM catalogue is around that period 1950-1955 Interesting to note on the bottom of that sheet is says that they can once again supply a GWR Pannier tank on the Gem mechanism. So GEM did start selling hand built locos again after the war (Pre-war catalogue I have he is selling hand built locos) but as they have disappeared from the later 1950's and 1960's catalogues I assume locos were off the table until he decided to produce the white metal kits which we all know David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Il Grifone Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 977 Was it a hand built model or the Gaiety casting? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LNWR lives on Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 Very good question. The ad States: GWR 0-6-0 Pannier Tank Locomotive 2 or 3 rail. We can now supply these locomotives fitted with our GEM MECHANISM. A Handsome and sturdy locomotive with superb performance. 90/- (Retail) 15/-0 (PT) Listed elsewhere is the Gaiety body at 57/2+9/6 so I yes it would be the gaiety body he was putting the mechanism under and selling So that pretty much reverses my previous statement that he started doing hand built locos again after the war so apologies for that Thank you for pointing it out and making me have a look much deeper. I really ought to start a GEM thread at some point Cheers David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Il Grifone Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 I would have thought that 90/- would have been too little for a hand built body. It represents a wholesale price of 45/- ( mark up was typically 100% and Purchase tax was calculated on wholesale price at 33 1/3% luxury goods rate). It seems a lot, but is less than today's VAT (one of the biggest cons ever perpetrated on the public IMHO), which would have been 18/- at today's rate and is charged on almost everything, even services (which were not subject to purchase tax) and necessities. Enough politics!). A Gem thread would be excellent. I don't have much to start it with - a couple of their yard cranes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagaguy Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 I havn`t got any Gem stuff apart from this passing contact lever frame.I bought it from the Southgate Hobbyshop in about 1960.These of course were in the days before capacitor discharge units & if you wern`t careful,it would burn out point motors with alarming regularity & it did. The other item i have from those days is this Formoway single slip. Ray. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
5050 Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 I've got a couple of those lever frames still boxed. They work well without needing the added complications of motors, wiring, DCC chips etc. I've used them on several layouts in the past and would do again if required. The original sheet metal versions are better than the later cast frame version - and didn't they also make a plastic version as well? I'm sure I've got some parts somewhere! Not sure what other vintage GEM bits I've still got. I think I MIGHT have a point lying around in a drawer perhaps? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Il Grifone Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 869 That reminds me I've got a GEM plastic sleeper point stashed away somewhere. At least the GEM and Formoway track was (approximately) 00 rather than H0. Formoway has the sleepers too close together. I would have thought scale spacing, and hence fewer sleepers, would have used less plastic and made the track cheaper to make. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagaguy Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 That single slip reminds me of the days when dealers were more trusting.I must have preordered it in about 1960 from the Southgate Hobbyshop & then forgot about it.It turned up out of the blue one day with an invoice for the money,i can`t remember how much it was.A postal order was sent & that was that.I can`t see that happening today. Ray. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Il Grifone Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 They could afford to be trusting because the customer would almost certainly have paid! 1079 A Formoway slip was quite expensive at the time (28/- IIRC - £25-30 in today's devalued currency), plus 2/6d for post and packing (taken from a Beatties 1965 advert). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
roythebus Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I've recently uncovered an Anbrico Railbus kit which I go many years ago from an MRC exhibition. there never seems to be any mention of Anbrico kits on here! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted February 23, 2015 Author Share Posted February 23, 2015 I have just bought one made up and fitted on a Lima chassis. sadly the steps were sawn off and the underframe details were missing. Still I now have one and did not pay a Kings ransome for it Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
5050 Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 I've just acquired from the club library (they were thinking of chucking them out!!) a selection of catalogues from mid 50's and some 1969/70. ERG, Slaters, MEC, Wills, BEC, Skinley, Peco, Wrenn Track, Kirdon, H&M and Gamages. Rather than hi-jack Hayfield's thread I'll start a new one! EDIT - not Kirdon but Graham Farish! (already posted on GF thread) Senior moment................................. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted March 3, 2015 Author Share Posted March 3, 2015 5050 No problem adding to the thread, please feel free to post them Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
5050 Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 5050 No problem adding to the thread, please feel free to post them OK then, here's some front covers. BEC c.1970'ish? ERG probably early/mid 50's? Mentions a shortage of cardboard which might help date it more accurately. H&M mid/late 50's? MEC from 1969/70 PECO probably mid 50's'ish? Skinley plans April 1957. Includes 'Humber' range ship and boat plans. A couple of Slaters catalogues, 1965 and 66. Note the change of address for posting. Wills kits c.1970? Wrenn Track mid 50's 'ish. Already posted on the 'Wrenn Layout' thread. If anyone is looking for some specific info then just ask! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayfield Posted March 3, 2015 Author Share Posted March 3, 2015 I remember H&M being in Balmoral Road Watford, went there and bought some panel mounted bits Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagaguy Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 I remember H&M being in Balmoral Road Watford, went there and bought some panel mounted bits I still have & use two Powermasters as 12v & 16vAC as power supplies for my N gauge controllers & coulour light sgnals etc.i also have an H&M 2.5 amp power supply which i bought in the 1970`s for a Scalextric outfit.The racing cars are long gone,(my wife used to beat me hollow)but the power unit soldiers on sometimes being used to power motors for Meccano models. Ray. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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