Il Grifone Posted December 12, 2022 Share Posted December 12, 2022 (edited) Best known for their (undernourished) 0 gauge trains, I can remember in my younger days late fifties) being intrigued by a 00 Mettoy set in the window of a rather dingy toy shop near my school. It was quite cheap (£1 IIRC), but I didn't purchase. I 've never seen one since*. so I would assume its sales were somewhat restricted. The net came up with this: https://spur00.de/mettoy Does anyone know anything more? * I did see a couple of wagons at a toyfair a few years ago, but the price was distinctly Grifone unfriendly. Edited December 12, 2022 by Il Grifone 1 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul H Vigor Posted December 12, 2022 Share Posted December 12, 2022 47 minutes ago, Il Grifone said: Best known for their (undernourished) 0 gauge trains, I can remember in my younger days late fifties) being intrigued by a 00 Mettoy set in the window of a rather dingy toy shop near my school. It was quite cheap (£1 IIRC), but I didn't purchase. I 've never seen one since*. so I would assume its sales were somewhat restricted. The net came up with this: https://spur00.de/mettoy Does anyone know anything more? * I did see a couple of wagons at a toyfair a few years ago, but the price was distinctly Grifone unfriendly. Copy & paste into Google: 'Mettoy 00 Train Set images' - lots of Mettoy model railway images! https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/inside-swanseas-famous-toy-factory-19502501 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Burnham Posted December 12, 2022 Share Posted December 12, 2022 Thanks. I'd heard of Mettoy but hadn't realised that Corgi was one of their brands. The South Wales article suggests that Playcraft were also part of the group, but I had the impression that Playcraft model trains were from the Jouef stable. Apologies if this is covered in another thread. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sncf231e Posted December 12, 2022 Share Posted December 12, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, Il Grifone said: Does anyone know anything more? In British Toy Trains Book 5 by Michael Foster you can read all. By the way: Why is the thread title Mettoy and Chad Valley? These are completely different toy manufacturers. Regards Fred Edited December 12, 2022 by sncf231e 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyman7 Posted December 12, 2022 Share Posted December 12, 2022 50 minutes ago, Tom Burnham said: Thanks. I'd heard of Mettoy but hadn't realised that Corgi was one of their brands. The South Wales article suggests that Playcraft were also part of the group, but I had the impression that Playcraft model trains were from the Jouef stable. Apologies if this is covered in another thread. 'Mettoy' = metal toy. They wanted a cut of the diecast model car market that Meccano had cornered with the Dinky range - so what better name that that of of small (or 'dinky') Welsh dog? They merged with Playcraft in 1956 to make 'Mettoy Playcraft'. The train range was indeed sourced from Jouef with a few British Outline items but was a later (1960s) venture to try and create a budget range to undercut Triang. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
roythebus1 Posted December 12, 2022 Share Posted December 12, 2022 The Playcraft trains accessory range had a rather nice signal kit which could be made in several variants. about 3/6d a kit IIRC. There was also a model of Macclesfield Station building, one of those featured in the famous issue of Railway modeller where the term "modelling the modern Image" was coined by Cyril Freezer. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BernardTPM Posted December 13, 2022 Share Posted December 13, 2022 The scaling of the Macclesfield/Bletchley kit is interesting. The door height and width is pretty much 4mm scale but whereas each standard element on the real thing had four panels, the model only has three. So it's forshortend 00 rather than H0. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
33C Posted December 13, 2022 Share Posted December 13, 2022 Did Playcraft out source to Ireland? I recall a BR Blue "Warship" which was actually a resprayed DB 220 class diesel manufactured there. Or did i dream it..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Burnham Posted December 13, 2022 Share Posted December 13, 2022 In the early 1960s a school friend had a largish layout in his loft with Wrenn track, and I used to take some stock over to run on it. We had mainly Triang with some HD and I had a couple of the GF suburban carriages that you had to assemble. My friend had a Playcraft D6100 diesel loco that he'd repainted in LNER apple green. Big motor geared to all axles as I recall. Noisy and too fast but it would pull anything we hung behind it. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johann Marsbar Posted December 13, 2022 Share Posted December 13, 2022 12 hours ago, sncf231e said: In British Toy Trains Book 5 by Michael Foster you can read all. By the way: Why is the thread title Mettoy and Chad Valley? These are completely different toy manufacturers. Regards Fred I see where the inspiration for this came from now......😀 ...though the Mettoy one was only an 0-4-0 ! 1 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagaguy Posted December 13, 2022 Share Posted December 13, 2022 Playcraft produced a very nice red brick loco shed very similar to the HD model,i have one in my collection.They also made a very good girder bridge based on the GC one at Rugby. Ray. 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railroadbill Posted December 13, 2022 Share Posted December 13, 2022 This is Playcraft as well. As can be seen. On some track. Daughter's train set when she was very little, somehow it's survived and now her children have enjoyed playing with it although they are now a bit too old and have moved on. The colours of the plastic are the same as a Corgi garage that I found on-line. Playcraft seemed to have brought plastic moulding expertise to compliment Mettoy die casting originally. The loco is battery powered, although it looks like Playcraft made some Brio type pushalong locos as well. The track "gauge" is 1 1/4". The track fits together like Brio. Easy to put down a big layout on the carpet then pack it all away afterwards. Great fun! The loco mechanism was quite heavily engineered for what it was, with a clutch mechanism so it could be pushed along without turning the motor. Anyway, just for fun! 🙂 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johann Marsbar Posted December 13, 2022 Share Posted December 13, 2022 8 minutes ago, railroadbill said: This is Playcraft as well. As can be seen. On some track. Daughter's train set when she was very little, somehow it's survived and now her children have enjoyed playing with it although they are now a bit too old and have moved on. The colours of the plastic are the same as a Corgi garage that I found on-line. Playcraft seemed to have brought plastic moulding expertise to compliment Mettoy die casting originally. The loco is battery powered, although it looks like Playcraft made some Brio type pushalong locos as well. The track "gauge" is 1 1/4". The track fits together like Brio. Easy to put down a big layout on the carpet then pack it all away afterwards. Great fun! The loco mechanism was quite heavily engineered for what it was, with a clutch mechanism so it could be pushed along without turning the motor. Anyway, just for fun! 🙂 One of my friends had a push along train that used track like that, though it was red in colour - would have been mid to late 1960's. Can't really remember much about it now, but the "couplings" were a bar with a T at the end which fitted into a suitable slot on the next item of rolling stock. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold DaveF Posted December 13, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 13, 2022 (edited) The photo below shows my Mettoy 2-4-0 Merchant Navy. I think it was battery powered and I ran it on Dad's 0 gauge layout. In the foreground is a Bassett Lowke live steam 4-4-0. I was about 3 at the time. David Edited December 13, 2022 by DaveF 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
33C Posted December 13, 2022 Share Posted December 13, 2022 18 minutes ago, Johann Marsbar said: One of my friends had a push along train that used track like that, though it was red in colour - would have been mid to late 1960's. Can't really remember much about it now, but the "couplings" were a bar with a T at the end which fitted into a suitable slot on the next item of rolling stock. Yes! I had a lot of that red stuff at my nan's. Loved it, reversible too. She would top it up with bits from the jumble sales. A double slip and the turntable were great additions! 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johann Marsbar Posted December 13, 2022 Share Posted December 13, 2022 26 minutes ago, 33C said: Yes! I had a lot of that red stuff at my nan's. Loved it, reversible too. She would top it up with bits from the jumble sales. A double slip and the turntable were great additions! Looks like it was a Playcraft product as I just found this..... https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/mettoy-playcraft-train-set-red-track-1779403443 If you click on the image displayed on that page, it does expand to give a better view of it all. 2 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted December 13, 2022 Share Posted December 13, 2022 14 hours ago, 33C said: Did Playcraft out source to Ireland? I recall a BR Blue "Warship" which was actually a resprayed DB 220 class diesel manufactured there. Or did i dream it..... I wonder if this was the factory that Jouef were using in the 1990s, given the Playcraft/ Jouef connection? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sncf231e Posted December 13, 2022 Share Posted December 13, 2022 1 hour ago, DaveF said: The photo below shows my Mettoy 2-4-0 Merchant Navy. David In the video a Mettoy 2-4-0 Brittania with correct number/name (Robin Hood, 70038), but that is about all that is correct 😉. Regards Fred 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Il Grifone Posted December 13, 2022 Author Share Posted December 13, 2022 (edited) 22 hours ago, sncf231e said: In British Toy Trains Book 5 by Michael Foster you can read all. By the way: Why is the thread title Mettoy and Chad Valley? These are completely different toy manufacturers. 22 hours ago, sncf231e said: Regards Fred No reason beyond that remembering the Mettoy 00, then recalled its rival Chad Valley (made in Birmingham hence the name). I had a few items of each, but they were not really compatible with my much superior Hornby 0 gauge. I thought that seeing we've overlooked both, a joint thread was in order. One of my cousins had a black plastic battery loco (Allegedly a Britannia and Mettoy IIRC). It took 2 U2s which lasted about 5 minutes. EDIT Running the video. I see it was exactly that one! Edited December 13, 2022 by Il Grifone 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold TheSignalEngineer Posted December 13, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 13, 2022 3 hours ago, Il Grifone said: then recalled its rival Chad Valley (made in Birmingham hence the name). I remember Chad Valley using the old Harborne railway station as a sawmill and packing case workshop when my Dad was based at the fire station situated between the two parts of the toy factory. We used to go up onto the top of the fire station to watch a Johnson 2F or Stanier 3P Tank shunt the goods yard in the days before an 03 shunter took over the trip duty. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Controller Posted December 14, 2022 Share Posted December 14, 2022 12 hours ago, TheSignalEngineer said: I remember Chad Valley using the old Harborne railway station as a sawmill and packing case workshop when my Dad was based at the fire station situated between the two parts of the toy factory. We used to go up onto the top of the fire station to watch a Johnson 2F or Stanier 3P Tank shunt the goods yard in the days before an 03 shunter took over the trip duty. I've seen some photos of this recently; possibly on RM Web. I wonder if it was the only rail-fed toy manufacturer? 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoingUnderground Posted December 14, 2022 Share Posted December 14, 2022 Rather OT I'll admit, the late Kenneth Horne, famous to my generation for being the "straight" man on the BBC Radio comedy series "Beyond our Ken" and "Round the Horne" was the chairman of Chad Valley. 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagaguy Posted December 14, 2022 Share Posted December 14, 2022 A bit of useless information, a"comedian"a few years ago won the best joke in the world,pity that the following day,R4xtra broadcast a round the Horne episode from 1967 containing the very joke told by Kenneth Horne.It just goes to show that there's not a lot new in the world!. Ray. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted December 14, 2022 Share Posted December 14, 2022 10 hours ago, Fat Controller said: I've seen some photos of this recently; possibly on RM Web. I wonder if it was the only rail-fed toy manufacturer? I think Triang’s works would qualify, so I think not. The Merton Abbey Branch was kept going by it IIRC. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railroadbill Posted December 14, 2022 Share Posted December 14, 2022 29 minutes ago, Nearholmer said: I think Triang’s works would qualify, so I think not. The Merton Abbey Branch was kept going by it IIRC. That's really quite an old map, (pre-grouping) as it show LSWR and LBSCR lines also the City and South London tube. As 3 of Joseph Lines's sons formed Tri-ang after the first World War (just looked this up on Wikipedia!) it must have been printed at or close to the start of the company. Not too sure about the half hour commuting time "from any part of London" though. Wonder how long the siding was in use. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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