Modelling Lives

Dave Mylett reveals how he landed his dream job at a certain model railway retailer.

Dave Mylett reveals how he landed his dream job at a certain well-known model railway retailer.

Find a job you love and you will never work another day.” We may not know who first uttered this phrase but I can say, in my case, it’s almost 100% true. Almost! My job at Hatton’s is one that most readers would probably love to do. But how did I manage to get such a good job in an industry that is also my hobby? It started on my fifth birthday, when I was given my first miniature train. Unusually, it wasn’t a train set but a Hornby Pullman Car. The reason behind this unusual gift was that my Uncle was (and still is) managing director of a premium railtour company. The Pullman Car sat on the top shelf of my room for a couple of years, in the ‘look but don’t touch’ area, until I was deemed old enough to have a train set. This arrived one Christmas and, instead of the wagons, the first thing to run behind the little 0-4-0 was my Pullman. One afternoon, my friend suggested we visit a model shop nearby and, as he lived in Allerton, anyone who knows Liverpool’s geography will recognise this as being just a stone’s throw from a well-known retailer’s original premises. I, like countless others, walked through the door of that diminutive shop front to be confronted by wall-to-wall railways; everything a youngster could imagine. The dusty old boxes contained real pocket money treasures and we soon walked out with our prized purchases. This was to be my first experience of Hatton’s, but not my last. During High School, we had to do two weeks of work experience at a local business. In spite of the teachers trying their best to persuade me to go to the local solicitors or primary school, I managed to stand my ground and was elated when I received a letter from Hatton’s, agreeing to take me on. I found myself walking into a muchchanged store, by now a little further up Smithdown Road and with more of an emphasis on the mail order side of the business. I thought I would be helping customers in the shop but, instead, I was tasked with packing parcels. Not exactly what I had expected, but at least I was working with model trains! In the second week a number of staff went on holiday, so I was ‘promoted’ to the tills and I loved it. So much so that, when my 16th birthday approached, I applied for a parttime job. I still remember now, walking through High School and getting a call from Richard Davies on my mobile. Dare I risk answering it when phones were banned in school? Of course I did – this was my dream job and I didn’t want to lose it! Walking back into the store as a paid employee, I knew what I would like to do, but I also knew that the job I had applied for was… packing parcels. After a few weeks of packing – and nagging Richard and Keith – I was trained on the tills. This was it, I was there for good! I spent a good few years helping customers in a shop that never stood still, as it evolved in line with customer and business needs, constantly expanding with more staff, more stock and larger premises. The longer I was there, the more hands-on I became in the running of the business. In 2010, Richard asked if I would like to help with the development of the Class 14 project. This was followed by the LMS 10000/10001 and the Class 28 Co-bo. By the time the LMS Beyer-garratt was mooted, I’d been nominated to lead the development – what a locomotive to have as my first ‘project’. After the Garratt, I was officially recognised as the exclusive commissions manager and this has been my job ever since, leading the projects, working with manufacturers and now our own factories. To be able to hold something and know that you’ve been instrumental in its design and production is something else. It’s also a great opportunity for more ‘first’ experiences and these keep coming. Even as I write this, I’m preparing for my first live online interview about the upcoming Class 66. I’ve been with Hatton’s for 15 years now and I struggle to envision myself anywhere else. I see people changing jobs and sometimes wonder what it would be like but, for the time being, it’s an idle curiosity, because making trains is far too much fun to ever think about trying to work for a living!

Making trains is far too much fun to ever think about trying to work for a living!