December News Round Up

Hi all, as we head into the festive period there are a number of minor things that we need to update you all on. Opening hours, events, announcements, etc.

Right, starting off with the opening hours. Up until Christmas Eve we will be open as usual, Tuesday to Saturday 10-5(4 on Saturday) with Christmas Eve actually falling on the Saturday, we will be closed Sunday and Monday as usual. However this is where the changes begin:
Holiday Tuesday 27th: CLOSED
Wednesday 28th: 11am-3pm
Thursday 29th: 11am-3pm
Friday 30th: 11am-3pm
Saturday 31st (New Years Eve): 11am-3pm.

Then a return to business as usual from Tuesday January 3rd 2017. We feel the hours between Christmas and New Year will suit both you the customer and us as a business as last year we found it to be a rather quiet week but at the same time offers a chance for those who want to come down the chance to do so. If you are planning to visit on one of those days during the usual opening hours please give us a call and we'll see what we can do with regards to making sure we are there.

On New Year's Day we will be attending Bridgnorth Toy Fair. Bridgnorth Leisure Centre, High Town, Bridgnorth, Shropshire WV16 4ER. 10:30-15:00. Entry price £2.00 (all ages). A chance to blow off the cobwebs at the ever popular Bridgnorth Toy Fair, why not combine the visit with a trip to the Severn Valley Railway and what could quite possibly be the final days of steaming for their popular little 45xx tank 4566 which is 'out of ticket' at the start of 2017.

Announcements

As I'm sure many of you are already aware, at Warley show (which we attended and were very proud to do so) Hornby announced several new products. Including the Modified Duchess as 46256 Sir William A. Stanier FRS, also 46235 City Of Birmingham in BR green with TTS sound and Duchess of Athol in LMS livery. There will also be new tooling class 87 electrics and the new Hitachi class 800 units being delivered for use by GWR. All will be available for pre-order from us, just let us know any requirements.

At the time of going to press we are expecting Peckett 0-4-0 tank engines, LNER (and BR) B12s and original condition SR (and BR) Merchant Navy pacifics in stock by the end of January.

We had a recent meeting with Hornby which outlined their future plans and strategies. Personally I felt the meeting was very positive and Hornby are certainly looking to improve their relationship with the dealers, it has to be said there were a lot of cynical voices in the room and there is clearly a long way to go for Hornby to rebuild their shattered reputation in this industry. I am not going to disclose exactly what was said in that meeting though in public. Let's just say the future looks a lot brighter.

Finally (in case this turns out to be the last blog of 2016) may I take the opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. A massive thank you to everyone who has supported us over the last 12 months and beyond, I couldn't do it without you guys. Keep enjoying your modelling. Tony :)