Tennessee Jones Posted October 4, 2023 Share Posted October 4, 2023 Hello there, Can someone tell me who made the signal box that can be seen in this photo? I had it as a kid and would like to see if I can find another but I've no idea who made it. All the best, TTJ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
giz Posted October 4, 2023 Share Posted October 4, 2023 (edited) Looks like the Playcraft one to me: http://www.playcraftrailways.com/Buildings1.htm The B326 Bridge Street Edited October 4, 2023 by giz Added the kit number as I noticed they did two signal boxes 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tennessee Jones Posted October 4, 2023 Author Share Posted October 4, 2023 Yes that's it! Thankyou very much! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium rekoboy Posted October 5, 2023 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 5, 2023 Indeed it is the Pola signalbox made for Playcraft in Germany by Pola Quick and sold by them in various guises across Europe! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium kevinlms Posted October 5, 2023 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 5, 2023 42 minutes ago, rekoboy said: Indeed it is the Pola signalbox made for Playcraft in Germany by Pola Quick and sold by them in various guises across Europe! Whereas, I had the Newtown version - in a Playcraft box. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BernardTPM Posted October 5, 2023 Share Posted October 5, 2023 More about the kits Playcraft used here. I think some of the range must have been commisioned by Playcraft, in particular the Bletchley and Macclesfield stations which are loosley based on actual BR(LMR) prototypes. I've got a built one and the doors on it are 4mm scale rather than H0 but they have reduced the overall footprint of the structure by making each element about two-thirds size; quite subtle. Some of these kits were sold by Hornby in the mid.'70s to early '80s. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium rekoboy Posted October 5, 2023 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 5, 2023 I have made use of an ancient Playcraft, really Pola, goods station crane on the coaling stage of my German TT layout which I picked up for a couple of quid with a lot of scrap kit bits. The crane was made by Pola, sold also in Germany by Brawa as a stand-alone, pocket-money layout accessory, and, of course, by Playcraft as part of the goods depot. Truly international! If you want to see more, my layout, Kirchheim, is on this website under the German Railways rubric. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium rekoboy Posted October 5, 2023 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 5, 2023 (edited) If you follow this link to a Brawa leaflet from 1964 on Conrad Antiquario's fantastic, free catalogue archive you will find on P10 and P11 some familiar Playcraft accessories, I think! https://www.conradantiquario.de/content/katalog/brawa-1964-1965.html Pola used to include multi-lingual decorative sheets for their kits. I have acquired a few 1960s unbuilt Pola kits for nostalgic reasons - the decoration sheets give a clear indication that British buyers of purportedly Playcraft products might be needing them! Edited October 5, 2023 by rekoboy More! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hodgson Posted October 5, 2023 Share Posted October 5, 2023 Certainly looks continental rather than British architecture. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Enterprisingwestern Posted October 5, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 5, 2023 18 minutes ago, Michael Hodgson said: Certainly looks continental rather than British architecture. Pre Brexit then? Mike. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BernardTPM Posted October 5, 2023 Share Posted October 5, 2023 I see they put Stafford on that sheet too, though there was never a Stafford Station kit. I wonder if they ever planned for a third variation in the range. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Il Grifone Posted October 6, 2023 Share Posted October 6, 2023 (edited) 22 hours ago, Enterprisingwestern said: Pre Brexit then? Mike. Pre Brentry in fact. 🙂 I have a feeling I have one of these signal boxes stashed away in a junk box somewhere. i'll have a look! Edited October 6, 2023 by Il Grifone Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
roythebus1 Posted October 6, 2023 Share Posted October 6, 2023 One of the best Playcraft kits was their very British semaphore signals. You could make quite a variety of signals and gantries from them and were quite reasonably priced too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BernardTPM Posted October 7, 2023 Share Posted October 7, 2023 The signal kits were made in the UK and, not surprisingly, bear a close resemblance to various kits in the Corgi range. The diecast base was a good idea. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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