Playcraft

Please note: Display items are part of my personal collection and are not for sale.

Playcraft Railways entered the toy train market in the early 1960s as a direct attempt to capture some of the market from Triang and Hornby Dublo. Part of the Mettoy Group, the trains were made by Jouef of France and sold cheaply in toy shops, especially F.W. Woolworths, a high street shop in most towns of the time. The aim was to produce cheap toys not scale models! The range only lasted until the late 60s due to a number of reasons, but including the fact that the chosen HO scale was not as per the usual British OO and the decision to produce French outline stock with British names. 

Some of the range continued into the 70s under the Jouef name and you could never be sure which box items will turn up in – some Playcraft items can be found in Jouef boxes, sometimes with Playcraft numbers, sometimes not! An interesting range to collect, it is still easily available at sensible prices, but you do get some strange looks when you admit to collecting it!