Model Railway - What's your latest acquisition?

[atom3624]

I can understand that design, personnel, machining, transport, marketing, distribution, storage costs of new items are perennially increasing in price.

I can understand that SOME costs of reallocation - resale of used items - storage and personnel - will be increasing - the others have already been accounted for in original manufacture.

For this reason, some small increment for the same quality, same used item being sold perhaps 10 years later may be acceptable, notwithstanding deterioration of the components / additional servicing required by the end user, not required when it was actually 'NEW'.

Bottom line for me, prices will increase of brand new, ex-factory in the last 3 months items.

Prices of good/used items in distributors - shops / people making a living from said sale - may increase a little cf. what they may have sold for 2 years previously, but should NOT encourage the gross profiteering witnessed by some.

This increase should not be taken advantage of too much by the private punter - I believe. If it's time to move it on, then be fair. Bottom line I suppose is if people are prepared to pay the inflated prices, this will encourage the sale, and the unfair inflation.

Al.

[Stephen in Kerry]

@threelink Any 'specialist' area is potentially ripe for rip off, even if the goods are not high quality, due to the 'captive audience' factor. Also, I think that 'second-hand' goods, generally, are seeing ridiculous price hikes due to TV shows like Bargain Hunt.

[threelink]

@atom 3624 @Stephen in Kerry,

Balanced and well reasoned arguments, both. We will just have to see what transpires. In the meantime I shall continue to dispose of surplus at what I consider reasonable prices

[Brew Man]

Just bought a lovely looking O.R Dean Goods from O.R's eBay site. It will go nicely with other GWR locos I have. Really must stop buying railway stuff for a while.

[atom3624]

It'll never happen!!

I keep telling myself that ... stop buying 'for a while'.

I succeed, but after one month, I'm looking again ... there's a shortlist of 'hits' I'd like, but have a limit I won't go over for each, if able.

Al.

[Jimbo1707820979]

On eBay the bids for LMR locos seem to be going through the roof. Luckily I have just bought "Maj-Gen. Frank R. Ross" and "Maj.-Gen. McMullen" but I feel sorry for anyone now entering the market. I have a suspicion some (concealed) bidders may be from the U.S. as the seller is quoting postage across the drink. I recall the the "Doughboys" from my earliest Hornby days.

[atom3624]

I'd actually noticed the blue (LMR) Austerity 2-8-0 at much more reasonable prices lately, just on £100, whereas used ones were never below £130 previously ... so I would have said the price is coming down.

I reckon certain 'chancers' try it on, and if people bite, it becomes the 'current going rate'.

Al.

[JJ73]

A few days ago I went to W. D. Models to buy the Hornby Dublo: BR, Merchant Navy Class,4-6-2, 35016 'Elders Fyffes' - Era 4 R3970 £291.49

but as it was only a ltd production of 500 - he had sold out 🙁 - but I just happen to noticed behind him that he had a Early BR Merchant Navy Class (Original) 'Ellerman Lines' No. 35029 R3649...

Hornby Price £179.99

WD Models £162.00 (but he let me have it for £160.00 (Just b/c I am a good standing customer!!!))

🙂🚂🚂🚂

Hrnby00

[atom3624]

It's a very nice, smooth performing locomotive - nice purchase.

There are plenty of 'offers' on if you keep looking, but it's always nice to 'pop into a local' so well done for that.

If not familiar with them, be very careful with the brake rods - one 'fault' with my East Asiatic Company 'blue one' - rodding was loose at 2 or 3 points. It is nice that all removes nicely with the bottom 'keeper plate'. I glue my rodding sparingly, but enough to hold firmly.

Al.

[JJ73]

Thank you for that Al 🙂🚂🚂🚂

[Tony57]

My latest buys are

3x R339 BR MK1 sleeper coaches

R923 BR MK1 buffet coach

R592 LMS Brake in Royal Mail Red

Bachmann 39-184 Full Brake also in Royal Mail Red

[flyingfox4475]

J27 x2 Oxford rail

V1/3 Bachmann

[81F]

Just ordered eight more Dapol Type B tank wagon kits to make up a rake of 10 with the tree I have. I know 8+3 = 11 but the extra is to provide a spare as I have already messed up one set of transfers and came close to breaking one of the components irreparably.

[CORKY.]

I had an email from Hornby advising that my pre ordered Railroad Class 66 was in stock, but my specified credit card would not accept payment, I tried 2 other cards with the same result, gave up and ordered from one of my favourite retailers, and saved myself some money too. Forest City arrived in the post this morning, and looks magnificent.

[Rana Temporia]

I just received a Hornby County of Hereford from the famous online auction site. I got it as I have a GBL City of Truro that I wanted to motorise and I have a partially finished chassis that I made years ago for an Airfix version of the same loco with Romford extended axles. If I can fit the tender drive to the GBL version I have no need to motorise the loco, happy days!

It was a lot cheaper to buy the whole thing than just the tender drive….now what to do with the rest of it?

[atom3624]

Are there any loco-powered County locomotives with the 5-pole can motors in?

Al.

[Going Spare]

No, as the County 4-4-0 has been relegated to the Railroad range alongside the original Compound, Hunt and Schools, it is fitted with a 3-pole motor + small flywheel.

[threelink]

@RT "what do I do with the rest of it?"

I suggest finding a non powered tender and stuffing a Lima power bogie into it. I have a number of hybrid locos motorised in this way. It works a treat so long as there is enough room for a decent bit of lead to provide traction weight.

[Tony57]

My latest buy a couple of DVD's on the Class 86 and 87 electric locos and one of Rugby Station area in 1997 which showed Electric Classes 86, 87, 90, 92, and Diesel classes 31, 37, 47, 56, 60 in action

The reason for the purchase is to get on idea of what types of trains and make up of said trains in preparation for my planned modern (1980ish) layout. Living in the south where GWR main line runs I have not got a clue what runs on the West Coast Main line in the modernish era. I did like the look of the Post Office class 325 4 car parcel sets.

[Rana Temporia]

Threelink and Al, I built a chassis for the Airfix COT years ago by modifying a Tri-ang Nellie chassis following an article in one of the modelling magazines. However, it never got finished for various reasons. I have not tried the county tender chassis in the GBL tender yet but using the tender drive stops me having to get the correct Romford gears for the loco chassis. If all else fails, I have a working County that I didn’t have before!

Does anyone know how to get the tender top off? I have been looking at it and tried to prise it off at the gap but it doesn’t want to move. I don’t want to break it in case the motor doesn’t fit as intended.

The GBL static locos have lots of odd plastic in them that would need to be cut out to motorise the loco and it could affect the strength. I think the tender option may be the best one here.

[Going Spare]

The County tender body is held to the chassis frame by two upward-facing lugs on the top of the frame locating in to recesses at the bottom of the body sides, approximately 1/3rd and 2/3rds from either end. It may be possible to spring the body off by squeezing the front and rear causing the sides to bow outwards but if this doesn't work, introduce a blade at one corner between the top of the frame and the bottom of the body and move along the side prizing the body outwards until the clips release.

[Rana Temporia]

Thanks GS, it came off exactly as you described. Unfortunately it’s too wide and tall to fit the COT tender body. I have a Lima Crab one somewhere I can try as an alternative. Other than that it’ll end up back in the long term projects box.

[Going Spare]

Not such a good mechanism but the Dapol/Hornby Dean Goods drive unit may be worth checking out as this is slimmer (but needs all-wheel loco pick-ups as it has plastic wheels throughout), Almost all tender-drive tender bodies have to have a piled-high coal load to conceal the Ringfield units.

[81F]

I just received a Hornby County of Hereford from the famous online auction site. I got it as I have a GBL City of Truro that I wanted to motorise and I have a partially finished chassis that I made years ago for an Airfix version of the same loco with Romford extended axles. If I can fit the tender drive to the GBL version I have no need to motorise the loco, happy days!

It was a lot cheaper to buy the whole thing than just the tender drive….now what to do with the rest of it?

 

 

You might want to take a close look at the GBL smoke box door to see if there is an extra handle on the smoke box door dart. If yes should be a simple matter of scraping off and repainting the door.

[81F]

In addition to the above, the County tender is a larger type than that fitted to the GBL Truro so you will probably not be able to use the GBL tender body. As you would probably have to repaint the County tender body or entire City/County tender to match.

Having broken up a loco powered Railroad county to make a County tank, I fitted one of the tender driven county loco chassis into the railroad body and re-connected the tender to produce an unpowered dummy loco for double heading.

The idea was to re-create a photo I had seen of a Dean Single double heading with a County 4-4-0. The only trouble is the Dean single will hardly pull three coaches around my layout on its own let along with the county on the front!