THE LOCOSHED

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All you need to know

Family Business Established in 2008 

A brief insight to how this all came about

The Locoshed is owned and Run by life long Railway enthusiasts both real size and Models

I am the Owner Jim who Started School in 1967 and our School was right at the side of the Manchester / Wigan to Liverpool Exchange Railway Line (One of the last regular Steam Routes until Aug 1968) so each day i would see numerous Steam engines working hard on both passenger and freight workings, it was then i was hooked,  A year or so later the Steam engines had gone , The Blue Diesels had taken their place and thats what i grew up with Class 24s/ 25s my beloved Class 40s /47s and the Shiney new 50s all stable traction in the Northwest at that time.  37s were a rare beast around here in those days .

Having many happy years spotting all over the UK and meeting many splendid people on the way Trains are in my Blood.

You never forget your First Depot visit .for me it was 8F Wigan Springs Branch Depot sneaking around trying to fill your Book without getting caught, the smells of oil , diesel and trip hazards , The deafening noise of numerous locos ticking over all make for great memories as do my first cab ride aged about 10 in a Class 40014 Antonia as I recall from Springs Branch Junction down for a loco run a round at Wigan Wallgate Douglas Bank  PW Sidings ( Long Gone)  and then right into the Metal Box Factory (Long Gone) at Westhoughton, about 6 miles away  what a memory , would give anything to do it all over again. That Noise of the EE Power Unit opened right up on the incline out of Wallgate  with 6 Sliding door vans each with 3 Rolled Steel Coils  at about 400 Tons “wow” it  makes the hairs stand up on my neck just thinking of that.

I inherited a Collection of Hornby Dublo 3 Rail during the late 1970s and that got me going onto Model Railways proper but could never take to that and soon swapped it for the Tri-ang/  Hornby 2 Rail range which i loved and still do. 

One Christmas I got a shiny new LMS 6201  Princess Elizabeth with Smoke which I still cherish to this day and back then for a 7 year old it was like winning the lottery!

Regular Trips with my  Dad  to the old Hattons Shop in Smithdown Road  Liverpool to meet Norman  and a shop crammed from floor to ceiling was a magical experience for a young fan. 

HOW THE SHOP CAMEABOUT

The Shop as it is now was just around the corner from where i lived in Whitefield which was then a gift and candle shop , i said to my Good lady Wife Liz  (God Bless her she has put up with a lot of late nights, weekends and mess from me over the years ) if that shop ever comes up i would love to try it as a Model Shop, Well a year later and with 3 young kids in tow and entering the 2008 recession it came up , so with great excitement and lots of sleepless nights we managed to get it off the ground and survive , when i look back now i have no idea how ,as the costs are mind blowing just to keep the door open,  anyway a long way down the road we are still here  , attending the many Swapmeets and Model Railway Exhibitions does help a lot , and even survived 3 Covid lockdowns so i think its pretty much established now, like a Fine red wine, it takes a long time to mature and gain peoples trust , and an old saying in retail from my Petrol retailing Industry career look after your customers and they will look after you, need i say  More yes we do look after our customers,  although can’t make em all happy!  and in return they give us great support from all parts of the UK and then World including some quite famous TV and Sports personalities who have their identity respected.   

A word on my friends who have helped get this project going and kept going , Chris Smith , Peter Burgess, Barry Nichols, Mr T Tony , Roger the Doger Singleton and Paul Lowe Mr Energy ball  and Gordon Holmes our N Gauge man all retired  some of them Ex BR satff and love to help out at the shop the odd day   , i could not have done it without their valuable imput , repair skills  , joinery skills and knowledge. 

A Very special mention to some of our suppliers who have ,and still continue to support small independant retailers rather than the web only boys  , they are Gaugemaster in Arundel , Javis Manufacturing in Stockport and Hornby / Bachmann toot toot cheers  

Welcome to our website,where we hope you will see many items of interest.

As so much of the current catalogue stock from Hornby and Bachmann is widely available all over the country from the Big Boys or not in stock due to supply issues in China  we feel the need to concentrate on items that are harder to find and so you will see many interesting and rare items here, although in reality we have thousands of other models both new and quality pre-owned waiting to be uploaded to the site which could take a considerable time.

Please Note many of the smaller accessories such as paints , Metcalfe and plastic kits are not listed due to time restraints, they are all just a phone call away if you need anything

If you are hoping to find a particular model and cannot find it here please get in touch via the phone or via e-mail as we may well have it sitting in a box waiting to be put on the site.

A handy tip is keep an eye on the Latest News Page which is down near the bottom of the information column on this home page, as i try and give a brief description of any new stock as and when it comes in, normally three times a week.

Please note if you are travelling a long distance i urge you to call ahead just to make sure we are open as usual 

Any item you see on the following pages of our Website physically exist and are available to buy live right now!  The whats new items mentioned above are not yet live on the website and are in the shop until i get around to uploading them. I monitor the site each day and remove any item we have sold so it is always upto date unlike many other websites. Generally unless i mention in the description we will only have 1 item of any particular model for sale as they or most of them are long obsolete, collectable and hard to find.

I try and give an honest detailed description of each models condition. All models are tested and serviced if needed prior to despatch.  If you are in any doubt just e-mail or give me a call for more information or further photographs.

If you want to inspect any item in person prior to purchase please contact us 24hrs in advance as the website stock is not kept at the shop due to storage issues. 

Condition codes i always try and code the stock honestly. If i say an item is say 3/ 10 it will be very poor and in need of major restoration. a 6/10 model will generally be fine  with a few minor handling marks which will be mentioned in the description. A 9/10 is really as brand new and untouched or unused, you will not find a better example. its pretty rare i grade a 10/10 unless the model has never even been removed from its original packaging as it came form the factory. If you are ever in doubt just give me a shout. All model are sold with a full  No Quibble money back guarantee.

Payment for any items on the site are directly via Paypal  but we do have full credit card facilities at the shop so if you see an item of interest please give us a call  on 0161 772 0103 and we will process the credit. debit card payment at the shop over the phone. Alteratively we are happy to be paid by cheque payable to “The Locoshed ” dont forget to add P&P fees or send cash securely.  

The Locoshed is North Manchesters friendly modellers and collectors centre. We are authorised dealers for Hornby, Bachmann, Farish, Dapol, Heljan, Peco, Gaugemaster, Metcalfe , Airfix, Javis, Humbrol Paints , Railmatch Paints , Slaters Plasticard, Oxford Diecast , EFE Buses,  and many others. We offer a full service DCC fitting and advice and repairs facility to all manner of model railway items in O , OO, TT and N gauge.

The Locoshed Model shop is now in its 14th year and we are still going strong despite many doom mongers. The introduction of DCC (Digital Command Control) has brought many ex modellers back into the hobby and we still get a good footfall of our analogue customers.Thank you all very much!! 

We keep the shop interesting by re-investing our turnover at every opportunity, with  stock changing weekly,

We offer  good old fashioned courtious service and by treating customers from all backgrounds with respect ,we also like a laugh .

This is a model shop that stocks  Model Railways, Aircraft and Transport related collectables of all descriptions both new and pre-owned. We always have something unusual in stock at competative prices.

We Buy sell and take part exchanges and are happy to swap against  any item. The shop has a Friendly, welcoming atmosphere and children are most welcome.

We are situated 500yds JCT 17 of the M60. 200yds from Besses Metro station, First Bus Express service from Manchester Piccadilly gardens to Bury Service No  135/137  pass the door every 10mins during normal shop hours. We have free on-site parking for 4 cars and at the side road in front of the shop, this can sometimes be busy when the other shops near us are open. Alternative parking also in adjacent side street Derby Road 50yds away.

If you need help with any modelling issue advice is free 

If its DCC advise you need or help with repairs to any of your models no matter how old get in touch.

We have Chris Smith is an Ex train driver who has a fond interest in the older and unusual stock such as Tri-ang, Hornby Dublo,Trix and kitbuilt, he certainly knows his stuff and loves to mend engines as he says especially the older ones that parts are still available for. Call him for a  chat via the shop on Thursdays on 0161 772 0103 after 10am or on 07886 359417. He will be glad to assist. Chris is a first rate railway historian ask him any question and you will get a very thorough answer, he knows everything it seems!!. even i learn something new every week

We also have a superbly knowledgable DCC fitter and repair man Tony or as Mr T as he has become fondly known by all the regulars and he  knows his onions!! He has fitted numerous de-coders to all manner of locos plug and play or hardwire, he also has a very good knowledge of DCC layout operation and advice is free. We can arrange home visits to assist with layout construction and wiring if required. Give him a box of bits and some tools and he’s happy! Tel 07413 583769 for a chat

Mr T likes the later Hornby / Bachmann models and is happy to service and repair any item. It it is not worth fixing we will tell you then its your call! If we we cannot fix it and its very rare as we don’t like being beaten there is no charge for his services.

Gordon Holmes is our N Gauge repair Guy and is a smashing fellow. very knowledgable and highly skilled to work on these tiny models , he does general repairs to all British outline Models , some continental makes are very hard to source parts but he will have a go and he does N gauge DCC fitting and hard wiring jobs and aslo layout construction and wiring help

Thanks for reading all this info but now you know all about us.

If there is anything i might have missed please get in touch 

Thanks. Jim Horton Owner