alastairb

Thanks I didnt spot that bit

Update from Rails at https://railsofsheffield.com/blogs/news/Heljan-showcase-oo-class-26-deco-samples Look nice, albeit no update on when delivery is expected

As always there seems to be more Brakes and Firsts than TSOs, but have managed to (separately) buy 3 of the latter at aound £40. Did get a BSO for £12 recently! Returning to topic would love some Accurascale MK2bs but not found photos of any on the Kyle line in blue and grey.

Yes I noticed that too. I am gradually picking up Bachmann Mk2/2a's for my 70s / early 80s Highland layout. A lot more on that auction site recently and now going for circa £40 - as you say a lot less than they have been going for lately.

Complicated doesn't mean the same as impossible!

Not to mention the people who join the queue thinking the Loco is on general sale. I understand people's frustration as the delivery has been dragging on a bit, but as SLW's email says there are logistic issues (including but not limited to transporting and storing locos, checking orders, and afterwards reconciling what has been collected and what needs to be sent out by mail etc) with doing show pickup

Aside from Holyhead as mentioned by @The Stationmaster Kyle of Lochalsh had cattle traffic into the 70s see .

Strong agree. I've returned to British Outline modelling after 20-odd years on the US Outline 'darkside'. Modelling 70/80s standard blue and yellow is harder than it should be, with the seeming obsession for celebrity locos.

Yes they could set up a system to do just that. Practical for kits etc but maybe not for the myriad of lines they carry on their exhibition stand, many of which are not packaged or barcoded, eg switches, nuts and bolts, sheet material etc. Their stand at exhibitions is large and very busy, usually with several people waiting to to pay for items at any one time. Scanning everything through will not be quicker than the staffs impressive mental arithmetic.

Yes it would be great if Squires had an all-singing and dancing website with real time stock levels. However, I am not an e-commerce expert but it looks like it would be a nightmare to integrate this with their exhibition sales stand. Would require either a 100% stock check after each exhibition or for them scan every single thing they sell at each show. The guys are working like one-arm paperhangers as it is.

As with many things, it will be a tendency but not a universal truth. I was a teenage trainspotter from '76 onwards. I recently returned from the dark side (US) back to UK outline and am modelling BR Post TOPS BR blue era. Hence pleased to see Blue Grey TSOs, albeit BGs would have been even better. That 70s era was still similar to the steam era, in the sense of how the railway look, felt and operated. However i have less interest in the rationalised post privatisation system. Each to their own.

Perhaps reflects that 37s ran on some very modellable lines (eg WHL & Kyle), Scotrail 47s maybe less so? 🤔

First time at an exhibition since pre- covid days. Had a great time, very inspired by Penmaenbach. I'll be ordering a SLW Class 24 and 25 after seeing a 24 in the flesh.

Some random thoughts / memories on Hattons: 1. Vaguely recall visiting with my dad in the early 70s ( I would have been 8 or 9) , I suspect some of the Hornby Dublo locos/stock on our garage layout were picked up on this trip. 2. Passed the original shop many times on my bus trip from hall of residence to Liverpool University in the early 80s. Like many this was a time in my life when I temporarily left the hobby for wine, women and song. 3. Returned to the hobby in middle age (sound familiar) modelling US Outline. Bought plenty of Peco track (latterly HO Code 70) from Hattons. Agree with previous posters about their brilliant packaging ie L shaped MDF angle on the flex track box. 4. In the last few months returned to my roots with a 70s BR blue project based on Kyle of Lochalsh (location of several childhood holidays). I've bought plenty of rolling stock recently, but not from Hattons - was a bit mystified why they had no Bachmann / Hornby - this thread explained why. Can't help thinking this was a key factor in their decline. Hard to see how you can be one of the key players in retail if you don't stock the key brands. 5. I found their website a bit chaotic, albeit the ordering process was always good. Hope we don't lose their model directory. A great resource that has been invaluable as I work out what has been produced relevant to my project during my 25 years hiatus from UK modelling. Hope someone takes it on. 6. Bit underwhelmed by their 2nd hand offering, but now I know why reading this thread - all the good stuff was snapped up straightaway to all of you who checked the website several times a day. 7. Respect to the management team for exiting the business in a proactive, professional and dignified manner. In my working life I've seen many businesses keep going hoping something would turn up, but it seldom did. Hopefully it will mean the staff have time to find a new opportunity and also their suppliers will get paid in full. 8. My last Hattons purchase arrived today. A Peco Rannoch Station kit as a stand-in station building for my Kyle layout - a lasting memory of a small but significant part of my model railway journey over 50 odd years.

I recall seeing it heading north through York as a teenage spotter. It was a weekday so probably the October half term ( I was too much of a swot to skive off). Yes I remember seeing lots of people 'testing their eyelids for leaks' in some tatty Mk1s.