Introducting Eastgate Lane

Sometimes its the small thing that you achive that give you the most plesure in this hobby. Like making this sign on the computer.

My first published article

This months Model Rail magazine - No 174 - October - includes my first ever published article in the model railway press. As is the way with these things its been edited down to fit the space. Here is the unabridged version :-

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What to do when your local Model Shop closes.

By David A. Charlesworth

A couple of years ago my local model shop closed down. Having been a fixture in the city for over 25 years the proprietor who was near, if not over, retirement age decided to quit when he faced a significant rent hike. While I perfectly understand his decision to call it a day it did leave my hometown without a dedicated model railway shop.

After getting over the shock that I would be losing my local shop.  I was at first unsure what affect it would have on my modelling.  While I liked to pop in every month or so to pick up bits and pieces and add the odd item of rolling stock. I, like many others, had long been seduced by the competitive prices of the big dealers on-line. Which meant that locomotives and other big-ticket items arrive in the post from Liverpool or Sheffield rather than via the local shop.

I have pondered my own role in the loss of our local shop. I consider myself to be an average, active modeller, fitting in my interest around a busy family life. If I wasn’t really using the local model shop for anything other than bits and pieces then maybe others weren’t either and perhaps he couldn’t survive on selling just track pins and bottles of glue.

I’m not sure that this is the case.  Sure if I pop in mid afternoon on a wet Tuesday in March I was more than likely to be the only customer. But on Saturdays and in the long run up to Christmas the shop seemed busy enough, and by busy enough, I  mean with the type of customer that would leave with big boxes under there arm’s.

I image that many of your reading this who live in more rural locations are perhaps wondering what all the fuss is about. But I live in a fair size city, big enough to have the full range of treats and delights that you find in any modern British city. From a shopping centre full of all the high street brands you want (and some you don’t), through a range bars and clubs to cater for all needs from a light lunch to all night binge drinking, to its own under performing football, team. This is the sort of place that should have Model Shop. No, maybe more than that, isn’t it the sort of place that needs to have one if our hobby is to survive and prosper?

Once it really closed, and I know it did, because I walk passed the shop just to check. I realised I was on my own. Or should I say we the local modelling community were on our own. How would we cope? I was curious to find out what the attitude of some the bigger producers would be. While I understand that they are no more responsible for the spread and location of the shop that sell their goods than any other manufacturer. I was looking for some soliadity.

So at the next Warley show at the NEC I tracked them down one each from Hornby, Peco and Bachmann. In each case I approached an individual on the stand who a least gave the air of been quite senior and knew a bit about there marketing side.

I’m not sure what I was expecting from these convasation, maybe I just wanted them to share in my pain, or at least show some simply and be mildly simpathict and we could of together worry about the loss of a retail outlet.

I have to say that I was underwellemed by there reaction; two didn’t know that the shop had closed down, one was still handing out leaflets with it listed as a stockist and this some 9 months after it closed, and the third just told me to use the internet.

So we were really on our own. After a good session of moaning on various web groups followed by the briefest of flirtation with the idea of opening a shop up myself, but that was only after last orders late, late one evening. I even email Modelzone to tell them what a great business opportunity there was if the stepped in and filled the void. (They didn’t reply) I needed to get a grip and work out how I was going to carry on with my hobby without the aid of a local shop.

Well how have I faired over the last two years? They good news is that I have conitued to be interested in the hobby and work on my current project has moved on. So lose of the shop hasn’t proved faital to my pariciatation in the hobby. I have however found that I have needed to change some of ways I approach the hobby.

My top 5 Tips on how to survive the closure of your local model shop.  

1.    Be organised.  Have more than one thing on the go at at one time

The biggest change is that you have lost your local resource. No longer can you hop on you bike an whizz into town at 3 pm on a Saturday afternoon when you realise halfway through a project the you have run out of ballest or brickpaper. 

Therefore planning projects needs to be more carefully done. May be this is just a reflection on the way I operater. But there is nothing more furustating, and in my expecince, nother mor likely to result in a pile of half finishded projhects than running out of a criticeal part harifway through a project.

Now before I start anything I write a list of all the items I need. Work out what I need to order and from where. And don’t start until I have everything. I also like to have a copulke of projects on the go at one time. In case one hit a snag which requires me to order something else. This way I always have something when the urge takes me to do som modelling.

2.    See what you can find in other local shops

Get to know what other local shops stock items that are of uses to you. Some may be obvious such as my local art shop that carries paint brushes down to 000 size, Humbrol paints and a good range from Evegreen styrene sheets.

In the last 2 years I have managed to pick up useful items in Tesco, Toys R Us, one of thoses discount book shop and local garden centre. I have also found that local indepenedent toy shops are worth a visit and may turn up useful items.

3.    Get to know where other Model shop are across the county

Even thought you local shop has closed. There are still a large number of Model Shops across the UK. Many of them advertise in the model railway press and I have also found the website http://www.ukmodelshops.co.uk/ to have a comprehensive and upto date list.

I have therefore managed to called to model shops in Central London, Brighton, Manchester, Portmaddog, Birmingham, Peterbourgh, Bury St Edmunds, Buckfastleigh and Sheffield as part of family/bussiness trips around the UK.

 I would also advise that if you are after something specific. A quick phone call or email to check if they have it in before is advisable. On balance I have found that most have been helpful most of the time. The one that wasn’t I haven’t gone back to.  QED.

4.     Always have a list on you use exhibitions

I always carry with me a set of

Agin if you are after a specifi item from a specit trade, I have found a quick email to them before the show to cheack they have one for you a useful straergy.  And athe copule of time I have phoned in ioderders to thyen be picked up a exherbistion  a good way of getting what you want and

5.     Get the most out of online shopping

Without wishing to open the whole internet can of worms, which is propable a nother artile in itself usesing the internet

So there you have it. It is possible to carry on railway modelling even if you don’t have a local model shop readerly at hand. You just have to approach it in a slightly different way. However, while I have found it to be no more than an inconvenient I still have this nagging worry that it’s not good for the hobby as a whole to lose good local model railway shops.

David A. Charlesworth

Done in a Day

Done in a Day by Pelle K. Søeborg

Picked up a copy of this at Ely, one of the better local shows that I try and make a point of going to. Have just got round to having a look at it and its very good. I haven't come across Pelle work before but its very impressive. Although all the examples are from US railroad all could also be used on the British scene. And I'll be trying some of them out when I get round to weathering the stock for Gladstone Street Sidings.

I like to keep an eye on the US scene both to nick ideas and to help me develop my own freelance HO shortline which may be the next project after Gladstone Street Sidings.

Displacement Activity

One of the Tramway's steam locomotives. This was the last J70 on the line and hung around until the O4 Diesel had settled down after their arrival in 1952/3.

I have been thinking some more why I am so slow to build layouts . One of the reason may be my spectacular ability to be distracted by other projects. As I have hinted in earlier postings that I have a few sketches, OK a boxfile full, of HO US outline layouts and schemes. But I also have always been interested in the Wisbech and Upwell Tramway. So that's another boxfile of sketches and ideas. And the last few evenings I have spent fiddling with a trackplan for a layout based on this tramway.

Maybe I need to focus on one thing at a time. Is this all displacement activity? But this is a hobby and is meant to be fun. So maybe the judge should be not how quickly I get things done, but just am I enjoying myself.

On that basis I'm having a fab time fiddling with layout plans, which I know will never get built.

Broadsword calling Danny Boy

Its amazing how much I can get done when I have a clear window of a few hours to get on with things. This passed half term has given me such an opportunity with the rest of the family away.

Not only to work on the layout for a couple of evenings uninterrupted but to also to work through the PVR and watch a few things that I had saved up. (It also means I can bring the layout in from the garage!).