Kennel

thanks all, for taking the trouble to respond.

Hi Hayfield, yes, I think you're right. However I felt so relieved to get the kit back at all, the appetite for further engagement was just not there. I do though have no hesitation in identifying the 'trader' as thelocoworks.co.uk - not to be confused with Locoworks, who are splendid and have been in business for years. Stay well clear

Dear all, as a sign-off to this affair, I have now received the part-built kit back from the builder: the chimney is on upside down, and it has the wrong size tender wheels. Luckily, have made contact with the original designer of the kit, who also builds. He is going to rebuild/ complete it for me. A harsh lesson learnt.

Latest in my soap opera, for your entertainment. This from the 'builder' after I did not respond in one day, following my suggestion that they should deal with my solicitor now: "In Light of no further response from you. This kit will be packaged up as incomplete and posted back to you. No further payments necessary and as a small business this will be written off." There's no sense of anything wrong with the way business has been conducted. That message was 12th January - no kit yet

Thanks all, I certainly was under the impression that discussions and looking at work on this individual's website, with a listing on this site, did represent me doing 'due diligence' on my part before proceeding. Hence the title of my posting. I hope that this is just me being unlucky

Dear colleagues, Can anyone share experience with being treated badly by a loco builder? I do not possess the confidence to build a metal loco kit, so in 2021 I embarked on the process to find someone to build me one from an available kit. The first supplier could never offer me availability of their product, so I focussed on the second. I then sought a builder, only for the first to retire before commencing my job before a settled on a second. The kit suppliers both have examples on this site, and the builder advertisers in the small suppliers forum. Deposits were paid, kit secured and after some delay the build commenced in September 2022, with progress shots displayed on the builder's website. The entire process has now stalled, with the builder claiming the kit is poor and was incomplete when supplied. The last mail "I'll mail you in a couple of weeks" was in October. I have requested that we settle up and that I receive the build 'as is'. I know I am not dealing with a large company. I refrain from mentioning any names at this stage, but would be interested in hearing from any other Member who has had a similar experience and how they responded. Late Happy New Year to all

after a loooong gap - this is the other side of the room, where I am looking th have a two-level 'dog'bone' plus the opportunity to have a round and round run. What I do need to add a staging area somewhere as I'd like to store a minimum of four long trains to circulate while a yard or depot area is operated seaparately

Model Railroad space plan.xlsx bad at this social media - but I have been busy. This is what I'm building. I've decided I want a combination of long trains passing through and a secondary feeder line. So the long trains will circulate and have access to a staging yard, while the three main scenic areas will give local operational interest and generate more varied short trains. I'm still focussed on some desert scenery, but what industries/towns to put in the scenis areas? All suggestions welcome - the available dimensions are in the attached Excel doc.Model Railroad space plan.xlsx

advancing the idea. I'm going to have an 82' running line to allow those big streamliners and long freight consists to stetch out: but it won't all be scenic. I will have perhaps 4 scenarios and the first is an 84" x 14" board representing the industrial parts of a south western city. Sould be ready to post some pictures of construction soon. Getting acquainted with DCC bus wiring. "nothing could be finer - dinner on a diner............."

dear friends - well I did introduce myself with a warning! To clarify then. as I'm going Kato-US-based I guess I'm 1:150 (?) Thanks Dave 1905 for those great tips. What do folks think of non-specific locations then? If I'm honest, I think I'd like to invoke the spirit of the post war era < late 1950's rather than be the Prisoner of Reality. Realistic modelling, but it looks like I'll starting be 'somewhere in Southern California' and then via a 'portal' into Kansas City. Onwards and upwards Ken L

Hi railroaders, I'm plunging into the world of us railroading out of the blue, as I've always loved our dear old steam days Britiish Railways but................ I'm going to model approx 1954 in 2mm with long passenger and freight trains on a resticted width shelf but giving me a 20-25m continuous run by cutting through walls and having scenic and non-scenic sections: because I can. I want to focus on Union Pacific and Santa Fe sytems and plan to model a desert section, and urban 'street running' section, a Pacific Fruit icehouse depot and one through station. I'm going to go for DCC and full sound. Phew! I've decided to use Kato unitrack, though I'll almost certainly ballast cosmetically. I'm a slow modeller, so don't expect rapid progress. Your comments and encouragement (along with dire warnings) will be most welcome