Welcome to Britannia Models, your British model trains destination!

Our business serves a customer base of British railway modellers across North America and, therefore, much of our business is done through online, email and phone orders. In order to respond to those customers in a timely manner, our bricks and mortar store operates on limited opening hours as shown below. We are happy to receive walk-in customers by appointment on the days we are not open and, in this way, they too can receive more immediate and full attention.

Mail or phone orders, are available Tuesday - Saturday, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm pacific time. Our online order system and our fax and voicemail facilities, are of course available 24/7.

A word about the changing model railway industry.

Before the days of the internet, model railway manufacturers produced their products without too much information about what the actual demand would be for a particular product.

After the initial sales (as a result of magazine advertising at the time of product launch), remaining product would still be around on the shelves of the manufacturer, distributor or retailer, sometimes for several years, so items could still be obtained, often at a discounted price.

The internet provides the manufacturer with much more information about potential demand. Model railway forums and internet groups often conduct polls to determine what models the marketplace would like to see. The manufacturer can now determine a much more accurate demand for a new product and is now making enough to fill that demand, and no more!

So, today it is essential that if you want a particular model, in a particular livery, that you place an advance order with a reliable retailer who you know will order the product and have it for you once the model is produced (which these days may be many months away). You may still be able to get a model after the initial post-launch sales, but now, instead of getting a discount as the retailer clears his old stock, you are more likely to pay a premium from some unknown entity on one of the auction sites such as Ebay.

We do have an advance order facility for Hornby, Bachmann, Graham Farish, Ace Trains and Bassett-Lowke and our reputation means that you can pre-order models in the knowledge that you will receive your desired model, once it is released.

We recommend you call or email us with your advance order requirements for 2012 models. No deposits are required except for special orders (special orders are items we do not intend to stock as regular inventory).

We carry a large selection of products including Hornby, Bachmann Branchline, Graham Farish, Dapol, Bassett-Lowke and Ace Trains, locomotives, rolling stock and accessories. Other model railway accessories include Peco, Ratio, Wills, Metcalfe, Woodland Scenics, Superquick, Kestrel. Diecast road vehicles in OO scale from Corgi, Oxford, Base Toys, EFE, Cararama and Classix. British magazines covering railway modeling, the real railway, past, present and preserved. Plastic kits from Airfix, Tamiya, Italeria, Svesda plus paints, glues, brushes and tools.

Interested in plastic kits, wooden ship kits, slot cars or modelling tools and supplies? Check here for information on what is available and how to order.

So enjoy your visit to Britannia Models and try our friendly service. You can check out our history and a little bit more about us, here.

Thank you for stopping by!

Latest News:

October 20th, 2011 - Newly arrived are these two beauties from Bassett-Lowke! Peckett 0-4-0 Saddle Tanks 'Wenman' in maroon and 'Joseph' in green, are O scale (7mm) engines adjustable for 3-rail or 2-rail running. Each model is individually numbered with a brass 'builders' plate.

These latest offerings from Bassett-Lowke are each priced at $415

October 12th, 2011 - Check out the exciting news from Dapol! New N-scale models of the LNER/BR Class A3 and A4 have just been announced and are expected to be available before year end. This includes an up to date model of #4472 'Flying Scotsman'! See all the variants planned for these two classes, as well as all of the Dapol steam locos here.

Yes, the dome looks odd. Remember that these are pre-production samples!

If you model in N-scale you might want one of these beauties! Even if you don't model the LNER/BR(E) you might want one coming through on a special!