My Mother's was 2217. In the 50s I was often sent to the Co-op in Burbage (Leics) so it's always stuck in my memory.

Bit of a smudge down the bottom. Finger, maybe? Better crack open the AI   

Quote from: LASteve on December 11, 2025, 10:27:27 PMOurs began with a "2" but I can't remember the rest. We had a Co-op a couple of streets away in residential Winchester. It looks like it's a residential property now from Google streetview.

Across the street was little hardware shop in a terraced house that was run out of the owner's front room and had one of everything; ladies stockings, milk jugs, replacement kettle elements (and fork handles!). When it closed they took the window display and put it in the City Museum; it was that well-known locally. That's gone back to being a residential property too.

We have our very own Fork Handles hardware store in Teignmouth selling just about everything, much of it on the pavement outside,including a small range of second hand model railway stuff - sadly virtually all 00 gauge though.

Yeah, I remember those I think Binns in Sunderland or Newcastle had em.

My main memory of our local Co-Op is not the divi number, but having to give your money to the counter staff who then put it into an overhead wire-powered container which "shot" it by spring power to the cashier sealed inside an office. You then waited for your change and receipt to be sent back.
Later, a large department store (Fairfax House) was opened in central Bristol which used pneumatic tubes to send the money instead.

Hmmmm... here in the Land of Wa they started pumping the music out immediately teh shops were doen with Halloween. This year it is a bit mad - so far I there are 3 of those "cookie cutter" German style Christmas Markets set up just here in Yokohama that are open all month. I guess most will of seen things - rows of large gareden sheds with opening fronts and counters pushing everything from nutcracker soldiers to marshmallow hot chocolate with German style Christmas foods. At least they do also sell beer. Its the latest trend imported from overseas however the gut does not somehow seem sustainable to me... 

Colin

Hmm - I cannot remember the number right now. I do clearly remember being given the task at a young age of sticking Co-op stamps in a book ( just like we did with the Greenshield stamp book ).

Of course its all gone very modern now.... noting that when Mam & Dad moved back up North to live in Sedgefield about 20 years back the divvy was still collected but using a plastic card issued to members - and now Mam is living back up in Corbridge, the Co-op there also uses a card however it seems to give instant discount to members rather than accumulating the divvy.

BTW - the Co-op movement is alive and well here in Japan. They are many and have a national federation - I have met some of their  people over the years. They had been to the UK for training with many of the different Co-ops being affiliated to the International Cooperative Alliance.

Colin 

Really looking forward to purchasing these models.

In my teens I made a model of the driving brake third based on a GRAFAR suburban coach following inspiration by an article in Railway Modeller (May 1977, page 144). Unfortunately it got lost along the way, somewhere in all the moves of the last nearly 50 years since its creation. As such I had, only fairly recently, purchased upon Fleabay a sacrificial suburban with an intent to carry out a similar act of butchery ( with apologies for such a sacriligous act to SPAM, to be passed on via John @Train Waiting ). Now it seems that that example of the classic Poole suburban will be saved from the knife, thanks to @Stevie DC and all at Dapol for providing the new DBT,

Cheers,

Colin.     

Quote from: EtchedPixels on December 11, 2025, 09:35:39 PMIt's a nice little loco though - I have a couple of old white metal kit ones of it.

@EtchedPixels

I am not aware that anyone made a white metal kit of an LNER J72.  Do you have any more details?

Ian

Quote from: zwilnik on December 11, 2025, 10:00:49 PMJust got my new-tool Dapol M7. It's definitely better than the old one. It can now (just, with a ton of wheel slip) pull TWO whole 4 wheel coaches on the flat instead of just one. It needs help to get started with three.

Hmmmmm....That does not seem very good haulage for a Mk 2 Dapol M7.  When I received mine in 2023, it would easily pull six GF Mk 1 coaches around Peco third radius curves.

Full report in Post #279 here:

https://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=27140.270

Ian