Model Train Centre Comes to Lancashire

Traditional store expands into model railways.

Clarks Hardware / The Model Train Centre

In business since 1922, Clarks Hardware started life as a hardware shop / ironmongers / mill furnishers.

Many changes have taken place in those 98 years. Different owners, different premises and now, different products.

Whilst the store still retains that traditional “feel” and is still very much a hardware / ironmongers shop, we have added a vast new and exciting range of model trains, many of which are DCC controlled, a relatively new concept for running trains.

Situated in Nelson centre, the shop has just opened its doors to the people of Lancashire and beyond. The Model Train Centre will become a hub for modellers , showcasing the latest model train technology, but not forgetting the DC modeller.  Currently, the shop offers ‘N’ gauge & ’00’ gauge at every price level, and will soon be stocking ‘0’ gauge in the near future. 

DCC control allows the modeller a wide range of easy to use options, most notably the introduction of authentic sound and lighting within a locomotive.  

One of the questions often posed by existing modellers is whether to make a layout analogue or digital. There is, of course, no right or wrong answer, as both methods are quite capable of making stunning layouts which bring many hours of enjoyment to the modeller. However, there are many considerations which can influence your decision. If you are a new modeller starting a new layout from scratch with no inherited loco’s, track, buildings etc then a digital starter set is a quick cost effective way to get started and will enable the modeller to familiarise yourself with DCC ( digital command control).  

Analogue starter sets provide a cheaper route into model railways, but you quite often find that the controllers provided within the sets are built and supplied to get you started and will require upgrading at a later stage when your model railway expands. The staff here at The Model Train Centre can guide you through that first process with ease and hands on demonstrations.

At The Model Train Centre we have a large range of DCC ready and DC locomotives and coaches which can be seen running prior to purchase. This will give the potential modeller a glimpse into what is available and whether it suits your vision.

New advances in the quality of scenic products and the methods used by the modeller to use them have resulted in extremely realistic looking layouts being obtained. Water features being especially realistic with companies such as Woodland Scenics offering reasonably priced products which obtain fantastic results.

Buildings are another area of railway modelling that suppliers have significantly improved upon, some carry the finest and tiny details enabling the perfect capture of bygone eras or the use of tiny LED light panels within a electric locomotive which can bring a modern layout bang up to date for the present era modeller.

The Model Train centre can provide you, the customer, with all the materials, products and technical expertise to carry you along the journey of building a model railway layout. Our services are quite varied, as well as selling locomotives from any era ( steam through to electric) rolling stock, track, points, controllers, scenery, lighting and everything else needed to complete a layout, we also offer baseboard building, decoder chipping, weathering service and of course product instruction. We also sell a range of die cast vehicles to compliment a layout. From scratch build to plug and play, we have something to suit every train modeller. 

Our new shop area in which The Model Train Centre is situated has opened many customers eyes with the building resembling a Victorian train station and waiting room areas.  The shop is light and airy capturing the atmosphere of railway stations from the past, a must visit destination just to admire.

In the near future we intend to hold demonstration days in conjunction with suppliers to showcase their products and the benefit that they can bring to the railway modeller. New stock is constantly arriving and any modeller who requires anything out of the ordinary will be accommodated wherever possible.