Baby Deltic Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 Last year there was a break in at the building where myself and some friends keep our layout. There was some stock in the building, and the boxed items were stolen. I lost about 15 loco's and my friend lost three. A thread was put on the forum showing pictures of some of the stolen items, crime numbers, etc. These items were subsequently put on Ebay and spotted. The Police were notified, and later raided an address and seized the items, and they were all recovered. All items were held as evidence, but have now been collected. I owe a deep and sincere debt of gratitude to Andy, Dave, Chris, and all the other forum members who offered advice and support (you know who you are, and I respect your right to remain anonymous if you wish to do so). I would also like to thank any members of Essex Police and Staffordshire Police who may be reading this. A very happy and relieved BD. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dilbert Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 Good news - and hopefully justice will be meted out at the appropriate levels... dilbert Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allegheny1600 Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 Wonderful news BD, You must be extremely relieved to get them back, I'm sure. Hopefully, all of us have learnt a lesson here with regard to security and what to do if the worst happens. Lets hope it doesn't happen again though (fingers crossed). Cheers, John E. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Y Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 Behind the scenes this was RMweb at its best. A substantial number of members and even non-members spotted the content on ebay enabling further investigations to be made and handed over to the Police to make an arrest and importantly for BD to retrieve all the goods. A good news story in the end and hopefully there was sufficient evidence to enable a prosecution to be made. Take nothing for granted; there are undesirables out there that could tear your model collection apart without a second thought and dispose of it for peanuts. There have been several quality topics with respect to security, particularly http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php/topic/29121-crime-prevention/ and it's worth examining whether we adequately cover ourselves from an insurance perspective (I'm happy to personally recommend Magnet Insurance for understanding our needs) - the next reader may not be so lucky. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baby Deltic Posted February 5, 2011 Author Share Posted February 5, 2011 The advice I would give everyone is: 1/ Photograph your models on your own layout where the setting gives no dispute of ownership. 2/ If you have the ability to weather your models, do so. It was my weathering that jumped out and identified my loco's amongst any similar items on Ebay. Your weathering technique is like your signature and is very hard to copy. Renumbering is a good technique aswell. 3/ Engrave your models with a mark, but not your entire postcode. (You don't want crooks typing in your postcode on a satnav and turning over your drum). I would suggest your full initials, D.O.B. and the first three letters and numbers of your postcode, so the Police can work out the area in which you live, then use the initials and D.O.B. to trace you. 4/ Get all your loco's and stock on a database and spread copies amongst your close friends and family for safe keeping. Update it immediately when a new item of stock arrives on depot, and get the stock insured separately for any event, any location. This might cost a few bob, but can you really say that your house insurance covers your stock adequately? Mine didn't - I was just very lucky on this occasion. 5/ Get decent locks on your home, including the roof hatch if you have an attic layout, fit an alarm, and don't leave items at any other location unless absolutely necessary, and there are adequate arrangements for security and insurance Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
torkardlane Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 Yeah good news story. Well chuffed for you BD made a rainy day feel so much better. Tom Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailor Charon Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 It's always nice when things end well. (I might not quite agree with Shakespeare, but I digress) So, congrats on getting your stuff back. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveb860 Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 I am really pleased for you on such an outcome,and well done to all who played a part in the recovery of the stolen items. Good news indeed. Steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 Very pleased to hear this good news, at last. Good tips too! More pics of the "chromatic blue" 31! Best, Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coombe Barton Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 Very good news - but you don't need us to tell you that BD. And some sound advice for the rest of us. Thanks to everyone - and I'm going to take action now I know what action to take. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete the Elaner Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 I know that these were recovered some months ago, but it must be nice to finally have them back. See you at Watford??? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baby Deltic Posted February 5, 2011 Author Share Posted February 5, 2011 See you at Watford??? More than likely. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJH584 Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 An excellent result BD. I was about to PM you about this when I found this thread. Glad to hear that everything has been recovered - and hopefully intact. Without naming names, has/have the perpertrator(s) been prosecuted? David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordon s Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 Great news BD! That's made my evening..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baby Deltic Posted February 5, 2011 Author Share Posted February 5, 2011 An excellent result BD. I was about to PM you about this when I found this thread. Glad to hear that everything has been recovered - and hopefully intact. Without naming names, has/have the perpertrator(s) been prosecuted? David I'm not sure whether the case was prosecuted or not. I know they arrested one individual for receiving stolen goods, following the Ebay activity, but I'm not sure what happened after that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Colin Posted February 5, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 5, 2011 I knew you'd got most of the stuff back but it's still nice to read such good news! See you at Leytonstone if not before. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackRat Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 A gentle reminder from Andy there! As some of you have missed it............ http://www.rmweb.co....ime-prevention/ Every little helps! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southall Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Great news to hear that everything is back where it rightfully belongs. It would be hard to imagine an excellent layout like Harford Street without its stock. I remember the original post of the theft, quite heart felt, with little expectation that your possessions would be returned. Good that the police obviously took the theft of ‘toy trains’ seriously and should be thanked. As Andy says RMweb at its best. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baby Deltic Posted February 7, 2011 Author Share Posted February 7, 2011 Great news to hear that everything is back where it rightfully belongs. It would be hard to imagine an excellent layout like Harford Street without its stock. I remember the original post of the theft, quite heart felt, with little expectation that your possessions would be returned. Good that the police obviously took the theft of ‘toy trains’ seriously and should be thanked. As Andy says RMweb at its best. I think a couple of Police Officers were aware of the value of the loco's. I was asked to give an approximate value when I made a statement last year after the loco's were recovered. I don't know much about the case from that point on. When Charlie (L49) went into the Police station to collect the loco's, the Sergeant in charge of property commented that there must be over a grands worth of stock in the big evidence sack he handed over. It turns out he's an 'N' gauge modeller. It was nice seeing Charlie come out of the Police station carting a huge bag containing loads of Bachmann boxes. We kept the Essex Police evidence bag as a souvenir, and a reminder to be careful in future. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doorslammer Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 Fantastic, does give one hope doesn't it? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Trevellan Posted February 8, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 8, 2011 Excellent news. As Andy says, RMweb at its best.With regard to the advice, I have all my stock listed on an Excel spreadsheet. I also file invoices, however old, as proof of purchase. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastfield Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 Really pleased to hear you got your items back. I, too, was burgled last year - sadly my locos weren't recovered. However, an empty 'new-style' Bachmann box was found in a suspect's property during a raid for another burglary - it had my finger prints all over the plastic sleeve inside! (Box was empty and amongst the other stock when stolen) He is now out of circulation for 2.5 years.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold beast66606 Posted February 8, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 8, 2011 Good news and good use of forum skills, Well done to all concerned (including the police of course) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny Emily Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 I'm very glad to hear that it resolved with a happy ending. It has spurred me on to consider that I need to catalogue and record my own collections - I collect several other things as well as model railways, and none are properly catalogued. I'm not one who normally likes using Excel spreadsheets, but I suspect that I am going to become very familiar with them over the next few weeks. It's too easy to amass a massive collection without realising its true combined value. We all do this over a number of years - I shudder to think at the total I spent. It is also apparent to me that some items that were bought new would cost many times that value to replace now given their scarcity, and some could not be replaced at all regardless of money. It's a sobering thought. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coombe Barton Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 So when you've created the Excel spreadsheet back it up ontop a CD and store that in another place. Just in case they nick the PC as well. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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