Welcome to the first
web format Newsletter the new year. The January issue needed to go out
at a certain time as it had announcements regarding delivery of engines
and it coincided with my web server having allsorts of problems so it
was sent in the old style format.
A
lot has happened since the last issue. The 0 scale K27's have come, and
mostly gone. We have a few left as detailed below. We'll start promoting
the next release shortly. we've done two shows, well one show and an
open day and are preparing for our next show whilst finally trying to
make some progress with custom sound installations we have in the queue.
All of this isn't helped by my having torn the ligaments in the right
leg which means I have a proper limp at the moment.
We have some new items for you here, some items we have had for awhile
have finally made it to the web site and there are some disappointments
to announce.
Validities of Offers
Offers in this newsletter are good to the end of February or
whilst stocks last whichever happens first
Some Newsletter Admin - Are You Bouncing?
The
newsletter service that you subscribed to that distributes the
notification of a new newsletter records what happens to newsletters
that are sent out. One of the statistics is "bounced" e-mails. These are
ones that the system thinks it has failed to deliver. By far the
majority of these are the result of people who have changed their e-mail
address but some peoples firewall systems can appear to refuse an e-mail
but still deliver it and so show up on these statistics.
The
time has come for a bit of a clear out. When I sent the last newsletter
out I made a note of the bounced addresses and the number of times its
happened. Now you have seen this newsletter I will have a new set of
statistics and I will be clear out all the bounced addresses that have
increased by one.
If you
get this newsletter but think your system is sending bounce returns
[it'll usually tell you] this will be the last one you receive unless
you do something about it such as add the e-mail address the newsletter
comes from to your white list.
This
has the makings of a "put your hands up if you're not here" but I
thought I should make some attempt at issuing a warning.
INDEX
you can now find an index to
all the web format newsletters at this location
To Order use the buttons, where provided
{on normal price items only}, or E-Mail us with your requirements
{for special price items} and we'll confirm availability and price
in a return e-mail, you send a cheque, we send the goodies
Remember, offers in this issue are good until
stocks run out or the 28th February - whichever comes first
Do please let
us know what you think of this way of doing the newsletter.
Wheels, Trucks and Couplers
We've added a separate section section to the website and will concentrate all
the wheels, trucks and couplers previously distributed around the site in
this one place. This is a prelude to adding some new products in the not too
distant future.
Have a look now, there are already some new wheelsets on their but it is
still a work in progress
After some time & effort we have been appointed dealers for this
excellent range of motor and sound decoders.
Initially we'll be
stocking the standard ESU products and loading sounds onto the chips to
your orders but our longer term aim is to work with South West Digital
to record our own custom sounds on to decoders concentrating on Narrow
Gauge Sounds.
Rather than repeat it all here I would suggest that you have a look
at the Loksound page on the main website. [the
page is blank as this is sent out but it will be getting the details
added shortly]
BACHMANN NEWS
Bachmann's prices went up on the first of the month and the new prices
will be making their way on to the main website in the next few days.
However, if you order from this newsletter you'll get the prices quoted
here until the end of the month
Not long in
from Bachmann
Camp Cars
Item No.: 26998 Bunk Car
Item No.: 26996 Dining Car
Item No.: 26997 Kitchen Car
Item No.: 26995 Maintenance-of-Way
Car
Item No.: 26994 Saw Filer's Car
SPECIAL OFFER- One of Each Camp Car -
that's a fiver less than on the main
web site
Baggage Car Bonanza
26423 Colorado &
Southern
26418 Denver & Rio
Grande Western
26414 Pennsylvania
26499 Painted Unlettered
(green)
WEB OFFER - Any two for £38 on a
card
You can
state your preference in the special conditions box on the order
form and I will try to match it but ultimately the choice is at
my discretion.
CASH OFFER
- single cars £19 or two for £30
e-mail to check availability then send a
cheque to EDM Models
In Stock From Bachmann
2-8-0 Consolidation
Not a special offer,
just that its so rare to have both of these undecorated versions
in stock and the price is about to go up.
25799 Painted
Black Unlettered
25798 Painted
Black Unlettered with red and white trim.
Now in from Bachmann
Bachmann's newest model is the
0n30 Forney which is being offered as both an inside and outside
frame, decorated and undecorated and with or without Soundtraxx
sound.
The sound fitted ones are here with no word yet on the arrival
of the silent ones. The prices have already gone up but they're
being held hear on the newsletter at least until the end of the
month. They're £195 here £200 on the main website.
These run and sound superb and I have run
them on 18" curves. They look a bit odd on the tight curves but
run fine.
NEW From Bachmann
HO Scale Road/Rail Car
Ok it may be HO but right from the outset these were conceived
as motor blocks for 0n30 models. This one is the first of three
due for release around now. Each has a 5 pole motor which drives
both axles and pickup is split frame from all wheels.
The body just unclips.
Look at the chassis its very low, it doesn't come up to the
windows in the car. The extra road rail guide wheels if left on
contribute to the pick up but they are easy to remove as they
just clip around the main axles.
It doesn't have a DCC socket and fitting DCC takes a little
while but i have done it to one already and it took about an
hour.
#46207 - 1950'S 4 X 4 with Highrailers
We don't have many of our initial
delivery left but we are after getting some more as fast as we
can.
The other Bachmann HO models
we stock to provide chassis can be found here
Clearance Bargains
Railway Design Associates
Lawndale 2-8-0 MDC
conversion Kit
We have a small number of these kits available
complete with the donor MDC chassis.
Loco Kit & MDC donor loco @ £90
Get these whilst you can as the man behind RDA passed away earlier this year and its not clear if these
will remain available
Two lucky customers
already have their Blackstone K27's as there was an advanced
limited delivery of three of the silent versions
The rest of the
versions are expected into the USA at the end of this month and
will then make their way to us here in the UK via an
intermediary as they cant be shipped directly
We're still taking order for these engines click on the
Blackstone banner to go there.
Micro Trains -
New Models
We've received three new items from
Micro Trains on HOn3. These are:-
Ready to Run Log car, with Log
load @ £22.60
Ventilated Box Car kit @ £24.50
Arch Bar Trucks [as used on the
log car] @ £6.00
We've also had a restock of the
original Bettendorf Trucks arrive this week. Ordering details
can be found on the Micro Trains page. < Click on the Logo to Go
there>
HOn3 Brass Engines
We don't
often have brass HOn3 engines in stock as we only dabble in the
second hand brass market and then tend to stick with the O scale
models. At the moment we have these two on offer: -
C25 , manufactured by Nakamuru Seimitsu Co Ltd in
Japan for Westside Model Co.
K36, manufactured by Nakamuru
Seimitsu Co Ltd in Japan for Westside Model Co. Fitted with
a silent drive coreless motor drive.
Click on the pictures to go to the
entry on the Brass Models page. If you are interested and want
to haggle then please get in touch we can usually work up a deal
in used notes or with part exchange.
Rolling
Roads for HOn3
Not got round to building a
layout yet? Want to test your engines? Want a DCC programming
track/
Then you need one of our HOn3 rolling roads seen here being
demonstrated by the C25. You can order one here
We have rolling roads for other gauges - see
the rolling road pages from the home page
Large Scale 3
Truck Shay
I have an undecorated 3 truck Shay in large
scale for sale. I've not even taken it out of the box. I am keen to move
this along so I am open to discussing very favourable terms for anyone
interested.
I'm not going to give a price here where everyone can see it but if
anyone is interested then please drop me an e-mail and we can discuss
this one off deal.
There may be some other large scale stuff at special prices coming up
soon so keep an eye on future newsletters
On3 and On30 D&RGW K-27
(Inboard
Cylinder)
BEEN and mostly GONE
£410
On30 Models
Part No
Description
Order
D&RGW K-27 2-8-2,inboard
cylinder, painted with green boiler, D&RGW Herald
DC1051-2
As
above, painted #456.
DC1052-4
As
above, painted #461.
D&RGW K-27 2-8-2,inboard
cylinder, painted with green boiler, flying D&RGW Herald
DC1053-2
As
above, painted #458.
Enquire
D&RGW K-27 2-8-2, inboard
cylinder, painted black and graphite, flying D&RGW Herald
DC1057-1
As
above, painted#454.
DC1057-2
As
above, painted #456.
Enquire
DC1057-4
As
above, painted #461
Enquire
DC1057-5
As
above, painted black and graphite, no lettering.
Ask about the "enquire" models,
I don't have them here but they are with a colleague and
I'll have ask if he has sold them.
On3 Models
Part No
Description
Order
D&RGW K-27 2-8-2, inboard
cylinder, painted with green boiler, D&RGW Herald
DC1041-1
As above, painted #454.
DC1041-2
As above, painted #456.
DC1042-3
As above, painted #458.
D&RGW K-27 2-8-2, inboard
cylinder, painted with green boiler, flying D&RGW Herald
DC1043-1
As above, painted
#454.
D&RGW K-27 2-8-2, inboard
cylinder, painted black and graphite,
D&RGW Herald
DC1045-1
As above, painted #454.
DC1045-2
As above, painted #461.
D&RGW K-27 2-8-2, inboard
cylinder, painted black and graphite, flying D&RGW Herald
DC1047-1
As above, painted #454.
DC1047-2
As above, painted #456.
DC1047-3
As above, painted #458.
DC1047-5
As above, painted black and
graphite, no lettering.
RGS K-27 2-8-2, inboard cylinder,
painted black and graphite, RGS Herald
DC1049-1
As above, painted #461.
See the MMI Page on the main
website for more info
Stock
Situation
Stocks of some
lines are at an all time low at the moment. Three things are
causing this and they are, in no particular order, cash flow at
this end due to items that should have arrived in stages over
the last six months all coming in January [which is the worst
month by far without Bachmann and MMI putting the boot in], a
general need to cut down on the amount of stock held, suppliers
being ill and suppliers being too busy. Below is the latest news
on certain lines: -
Chivers
Finelines
Roger and his wife have been unwell for
most of the last couple of months and Roger has been unable to
do much moulding. As a result our stocks are low [a euphemism
for none] of many of the popular items such as the short cupola
caboose, the UK stock and the newer 20 foot cars. He has a
priority order list from me for the items I need most urgently
and will deal with them when he can.
For this reason I have not added the new
20 foot cars to the website as stocks went as result of the
earlier newsletter entry and sales at shows. Its also worth
pointing out that some of the models seen reviewed in Narrow
Lines are acquired by personal visit to Roger and are obtained
long before us dealers ever see them
Boulder
Valley Models
Stocks of BVM items are at an all time low
with sales having outstripped the ability to restock. Add to
this BVM bringing out a new loco that proves so popular that
they cant be made fast enough and problems start to arise.
I have a load of stuff on order with BVM
and as its not going to arrive all at once I now have an
arrangement with Dallas at BVM where I place an order and it has
red list and ordinary items. Red list items are items sold at
this end but don't have any stock off and BVM will do these
first and ship as a priority.
There is an order in the mail at the
moment which contains the last red list items and a few bits on
the ordinary list. This should fill all back orders placed up to
about two weeks ago. Orders received since then will be on the
next red list the production of which is the next job after
getting this newsletter out.
Its not an ideal situation but it is what
happens when a one man band makes a growing and successful range
of models
Raggs to
Riches
I own up here, I cocked up! Having
lugged boxes of their larger kits to shows such as the coal
towers and the depots I failed to notice that we had run out of
the smaller stuff such as the saloon, baths and hotel.
I am about to order more but best guess is
they are about a month away from being here yet. Can I ask
that if anyone thinks they are going to want and item from this
range in the near future they let me know in the next few days
so I can ensure that its included in the order.
Evergreen Hill
If you want a trestle your luck is in!
We've got loads of them but we are out of everything else in the
range. The last straw being that we sold the last of the water
tanks at Stafford Show.
When buying in this range we have to buy a
minimum quantity [which is quite high] to get a decent dealer
discount on them. This tends to push towards damn nigh running
out before ordering more which is what has happened now. I've
ordered more but again with shipping times they are probably a
month away from being here.
Thanks for bearing with us here.
Keeping a stock is a bad enough balancing act just with the
variations in sales but then when you try to add new items, cope
with problems of supply, different dealer terms and the cash
flow it doesn't take much to swing from having too much stock to
having none of the popular items.
The
Pulpit
My chance to inform or just have a whinge
and moan!
This issues
sermon - American Turnouts and Radius
We've not had any ramblings
from the pulpit for a couple of issues so I thought I'd better do
something about that in this issue so we'll do a few FAQ's for this
issue.
What radius are Litco #4 turnouts
They don't have a radius!
US turnouts [and real ones in the UK] are
denoted by the angle at which the diverging route departs the
main. Also US turnouts don't have the diverging route as a
curve, its straight from the common crossing [not the Frog,
that's another bit of model drivel].
A #4 turnout has the diverging route set
at and angle of 1 in 4 so that 4cm from the common crossing the
diverging rail will be 1cm from the main route.
If you insist on comparing them to radii
then they are very roughly 4,5 & 6 being equivalent to small
medium and large radius but they don't match exactly and if you
keep thinking like that it'll end in tears.
What's a DCC friendly turnout
DCC unfriendly turnouts – there’s no
such
thing! There are DCC unfriendly wheels!
The issue is
this. In an allegedly unfriendly point both of the blades
assume the polarity of the blade that is “closed” i.e.
against the stock rail. This means that the “open” blade is
of the opposite polarity to its adjacent stock rail. The
issue that causes the point to be damned as DCC unfriendly
is that if a wheelset passes through and whilst riding on
the stock rail the back of the wheels flange touches the
“open” blade there will be a short circuit and your DCC
system will isolate itself.
Now this is
neither a DCC problem nor a turnout problem it’s a back to
back of your wheel problem.
The same problem
occurs on DC. The difference is that the standard DC
controller is relatively crude, doesn’t notice the short and
momentum moves the wheel on. Because a DCC system can supply
a lot of energy into a short they are all equipped with fast
acting cut outs so they will see the short and they will
isolate the short. As momentum still works the wheel will
probably have moved off the short by the time it stopped so
your system will reset and you’ll be scratching your head
for why it tripped, This is not a DCC fault, its what its
meant to do and has to do to be safe.
I
say again its not a turnout problem. Providing the open
blade is opening further than the distance between the stock
and check rails the turnout cannot be at fault.
Providing the
blade is opening enough the most likely problem is a
wheelset at the wrong back to back measurement. If the B2B
is OK it should be impossible for the wheel passing the open
blade to get far enough across to touch it if the other
wheel is on the track. The chances are that the same
wheelset that can cause a short will also bounce over the
crossing nose and the check rail as it would have to be out
of gauge to have been able to touch the open blade.
Check the wheels
every time before blaming any turnout or DCC system. My 0n3
layout here at home has all its turnouts [except the stubs]
as “DCC unfriendly” and I don’t have any problems
These are the exhibitions we will be
attending in the near future.
First Some Bad News
Chiltern NG Show is Cancelled
I have just been informed that due to a diminishing membership
the Dunstable Model Railway Club has decided to wind itself up
and shut up shop.
So what, you may ask?
They organised the annual Chiltern Narrow Gauge Show in July
and that event is now cancelled.
NEXT SHOWS
Saturday 17th February 2007
Small & Delightful -
Shepton Mallet
Whitstone School,
Charlton Road,
SHEPTON MALLET,
Somerset BA4
5PF.
Small & Delightful -
Shepton Mallet
This splendid one day
show shouldn't be missed. Its a splendid day out.
If you want to order stuff in advance for collection at this
show the order deadline is 7pm on the Wednesday before hand. Any
later and it wont get done.
10th & 11th March 2007
Narrow Gauge North
Benton Park School,
Harrogate Road,
Rawdon,
Leeds
Saturday - 10.30 to 17.00
Sunday
- 10.30 to 16.30
Narrow Gauge North
Another great show
and well worth a visit. The order deadline for this one is 8pm
on the Thursday before the event
20th January was the date of this years
TVG open day.
We had 60 people show up and we all had
a great day. There is a full report and pictures on the website
Next Years Open Day
is 12th January
Put it in your diary now
Any Other
Business
Well that went on for a
lot longer than I had originally planned!
Do please let me have
feedback on the contents and if anyone one is looking for a CNC lathe
let me know. Mine rarely gets used and is in the way of my new injection
moulding machine
If you would like to
revisit the previous newsletters use the link to the index at the top of
the page but remember any
offers in them are no longer valid
OK that really is it. Do contact us by e-mail or phone
We've added a separate section section to the website and will concentrate all
the wheels, trucks and couplers previously distributed around the site in
this one place. This is a prelude to adding some new products in the not too
distant future.
Rolling
Roads for HOn3
The
Pulpit
