Edward Exley founded his firm at Bradford, Yorkshire, United Kingdom in 1922. The first products were made to order live steam, clockwork and electrically powered locomotives, in gauges 0 and 1.
Edward Exley Ltd. was primarily known for manufacturing ready to run model coaches in '00' and '0' gauge. In the early 1930's the company had a full range of locomotive and coach products in stock and available made to order. During this period the company started supplying Bassett-Lowke with models. This included the finely detailed Exley '0' gauge coaches, which Bassett-Lowke marketed as their own ‘scale range’. During this period, Exley formed a business relationship with J S Beeson, Mills Bros., Leeds Model Company and others, to manufacture and market toy train products.
Vivien Boyd-Carpenter joined the company in the late 1930's, and led the design and manufacture of high quality '00' coaching stock.
During World War II, work turned to the war effort and scale model ships for naval recognition use were made. After the war, in 1945 Exley retooled and again produced the railway models. The underframes and bogies of the early post war coaches were improved from those of the pre-war era, and around 1950 the tooling for the coach bodies was also upgraded to the style most commonly found today.
Edward Exley Ltd. also produced industrial models from commissioned orders, which included charabancs, industrial installations, large diesel engines, etc., and continued to supply Bassett-Lowke with ‘scale’ coaches.
In the early post war years the sales department was located in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, with Boyd-Carpenter running this part of the business. The manufacturing plant remained in Bradford. By 1952, however, Edward Exley (Sales) Ltd. had moved to Baslow in Derbyshire. Edward Exley resigned as a Director of the Sales Company in July 1955 after a disagreement. However, Edward continued to manage the works in Bradford. The Exley catalogue carried the statement 'This Company is not now a manufacturing undertaking'. Lists of coaches in '00' and '0' scale were issued by the factory but these were headed 'Exley of Bradford'.
Locomotives were still available after the war, but only as made to order. In the late 1950's Edward Exley sold the locomotive construction part of the business to Stanley Beeson, who had made locos for a number of Exley clients. Coaches were listed until 1962 when there was a fire that destroyed the Bradford factory and most of the tooling. At this point Edward Exley decided to retire.
The company at Baslow continued to offer coaches but discontinued the 00 gauge range as the manufacturing facility was lost in the fire. The 7mm models were listed as available until the death of Boyd-Carpenter in January 1995, but were in fact being made by outside workers to order. It has to be said that quality of the coaches made after 1962, once a hallmark of the company name, was variable, and to the purist no true Exleys were made after the destruction of the Bradford factory.
After the death of Boyd-Carpenter in 1995, Edward Exley Ltd ceased trading at Baslow, and all the shares and remnants of the company were purchased by Quentin and Tricia Lucas from Fife. In the latter half of the 1990s they rebuilt the company, trading in original Exley models, carrying out restorations, and selling modern finescale '0' gauge kits, models and components. Quentin specializes in the '0' gauge Exley market, and Tricia in '00'. They are a familiar sight at model railway exhibitions with an '0' gauge presence, and at selected Train Fairs and Auctions, and operate a mail order service too. In January 1999 they moved the business to near Berwick-upon-Tweed, from where it still operates.
Because of the premium nature of Exley's products, they tend to be well preserved, and many examples survive today. They are highly collectible and good examples of 0 gauge coaches often change hands at auction for many hundreds of pounds.
The company is still in existence, although it is not currently trading. Most recently it has acted as a restoration company for existing Exley models and as a point of contact for technical queries.
Link to Exley Website
