London Bridge Station 60 years ago, remember?

[petercharlesfagg]

Friends,

Last night in my sleep my brain took a nostalgia trip!

I was a young boy on my annual birthday treat to London where my father would indulge my whims and fantasies for the day.  (BTW we lived outside London on the line to Dover at a place called Chelsfield)

Anyway, if I remember correctly as you left the station and walked under the railway there was a railway modelling shop under there that was always my first stop and the owner probably had to remove my finger marks and where my nose was pressed to the glass window when we left!

As a small boy I was an avid player, I won't say collector I didn't know the word, of Tri-ang trains. 

Inside the shop was a veritable Aladdin's cave of goodies that enthralled my young mind!

No doubt tears erupted upon leaving!  (Next stop Hamleys!)

Is it still there?

Regards, Peter.

[Bealman]

You were into the Triang rubber stuff too, then. 

[Greybeema]

Friends,

Last night in my sleep my brain took a nostalgia trip!

I was a young boy on my annual birthday treat to London where my father would indulge my whims and fantasies for the day.  (BTW we lived outside London on the line to Dover at a place called Chelsfield)

Anyway, if I remember correctly as you left the station and walked under the railway there was a railway modelling shop under there that was always my first stop and the owner probably had to remove my finger marks and where my nose was pressed to the glass window when we left!

As a small boy I was an avid player, I won't say collector I didn't know the word, of Tri-ang trains. 

Inside the shop was a veritable Aladdin's cave of goodies that enthralled my young mind!

No doubt tears erupted upon leaving!  (Next stop Hamleys!)

Is it still there?

Regards, Peter.

I would have used London Bridge regularly in the 80's and 90's and regularly used the George in Borough High Street.  The front of the Station has been significantly re-modelled.  I don't remember a model shop around there then.  There was a good one opposite Liverpool Street Station.  Not sure if that is still there..

[railsquid]

Is it still there?

Highly unlikely, I attempted to locate all the remaining model shops in London for my trip last year and in the central area it boils down to the Ian Allan bookshop at Waterloo, the guy with the 2nd hand shoplet in the antiques market just off Oxford Street and a model shop south of the river in the general vicinity of Brixton/Vauxhall or somewhere in that direction.

[GrahamB]

I grew up in Bermondsey and could frequently be found hanging around the station. The shop was on Station Approach. It was more of a book shop towards the end and closed in the 1970's if I remember correctly.

London Bridge Station was a lot different then.

Lots of model shops came and went. Other local shops were;
WS Stamps in the Old Kent Road almost opposite the Thomas A Becket pub. Run by a lovely Polish couple and
Chuffs in the city. That was one weird shop!

[Pengi]

There is a great modelling shop near Tower Hill called 4 D. Not specifically for trains but they have lots of materials. Visited the shop last year and left with some very nice model trees.

[Kipper]

As a kid in the 50s, I always wanted to go into the cartoon cinema on Waterloo station. Parents would not let me, with the excuse "we have got a train to catch"!

[Hailstone]

The shop was called Allan Brett Cannon, my father had my 3 Hornby Dublo loco's converted from 3 rail to 2 rail and bought me some Triang super 4 track there about 1965 as a Christmas present.

Regards,

Alex

[GrahamB]

The shop was called Allan Brett Cannon, my father had my 3 Hornby Dublo loco's converted from 3 rail to 2 rail and bought me some Triang super 4 track there about 1965 as a Christmas present.

Regards,

Alex

That's the name.