Remembering the Rivarossi tram...

Watched this for a few days on eBay - since it went for just over 100 Euros there was no way I was going to place a bid, but it did bring back forgotten memories of the old Roy's Bargain Store, later the Railway and Barter Shop (spot the connection), once son of Roy took over, back in my old home town of Long Eaton back in the 1970s.

When I first discovered it the shop was an unlikely combination of junk, such as dodgy cameras and cassette recorders, and model railways. Initially this was virtually all secondhand, Hornby Dublo or tinplate and the like. As time went by, new stuff gradually took over. By the time I left town in '79, it was pretty much a normal model railway establishment.

For a while, in the centre of the shop was a Rivarossi tram set, trundling around inside a glass case. It was a complete tramway in a box - an oval of roadway and the all important overhead wires were included in the set. At around 2 square feet it was also one of the original micro layouts, way before such things actually existed.

Looking at the eBay pictures, I'd forgotten what a good looking model it was. Considering that it came complete with overhead, working I believe, there's nothing like it available today. Of course, with Rivarossi part of the Hornby International empire now, it's possible it could be relaunched some day, though I doubt it - they seem ken to stick to safe bets, like Union Pacific Big Boys to guarantee a quick return on their investment. Good news for shareholders, less so for niche modellers. In any case, looking at the way prices have shot up since the relaunch there's no way I'd be able to afford the set if it were reintroduced, so perhaps it's better this way.