Stevelewis

Kernow bargain 1 variant of the 2 BIL only £60.00

The price point may seem to be well judged from the point of view of gaining sales BUT, is there enough there to ensure that construction in the factory is not 'rushed' so to speak ( ie is there enough left to pay the workers)

As a matter of interest Heljan list a 4-6-2 SJ Loco Litra F1271 ref 10045331 Priced at DKK3195 ( danish Crowns) which is around £340.00 Naturally it would most likely be poss. to purchase somewhere at discount!

I wonder if it is too cheap? There are some who would dispute this, but in view of the Garratt's more limited appeal due to its real life regional limitations, it will not generate high volume sales, and considering that the Garratt is in effect almost 2 locos for £199, when the price is compared with other locos, it is exceptionally cheap, Compare the listed discount price for Heljan's 'Tango' 2-8-0 for example. ( £148 Hattons)

It does seem that there have been rather more problems with the Garratts, than I would have expected, particularly as this will be a low volume item ( in terms of numbers sold) and Heljan's usually good quality products in UK 0 & oo and Continental H0.

was there not some discussion years ago re the facing of the Lion on the BR Crests? Something to do with the Heraldic rules which only allowed in theory one crest ie left facing? Must admit I did not take much notice at the tiime, but maybe someone can throw some light on this?

I beleive some retialers quoting QTR 4 2014 Some good prices offered also lowest so far £146. See also my other post re PECO 00-9/H0e setrack.!! re info.

Heljan New releases: Hattons have added pre order prices for the Tango 04 ( £148) and for the 00-9 L&B 2-6-2T (£146)

Hattons announce their price £146.00 quite reasonable when you compare that a ROCO H0e 0-8-0 will set you back £250.00 ish 3 variants listed as well so that will set me back £438

I note that HATTONS have listed the price for the 04 at £148.00 which I think its quite reasonable

Disapointing but thinking back over the years, at some of the 'BIG NEW' releases, very few actually arrived on schedual. I am waiting for some Bachmann 0n30 Whitcombe Diesels, initially announced for Oct 2013 delivery, and since that date has been put back several times now due around July apparently, Coversley the 0n30 2-4-4-2 Mallet was released a couple of years back, was announced and on sale within 3 months!

The Sports Depot Wilbraham Road I remember them long before their move to wilbrham Road, when they were in Princess Road MOSS SIDE !!! I first saw Triang TT there!!

Many years ago I drove past a cycle shop in Ashton under Lyne, in those days many such shops also sold Model Railways, the timing was after the Hornby Closure and as such many shops were seling off thier stocks!! I noticed in the window a Hornby Dublo 2 car EMU set Priced about £5.00 so although £5.00 meant more then than it does now I went in and bought it I allso got 3 additional centre cars! It got sold off a few years later I made a small profit, but now wish I had kept it!! I remember the EMU being a very good performer despite it only having 1 powered axle it would pull a lot more than it neded to. I also note Hattons are now listing 3D printers!

I have used several HATTONS Decoders in quite a few loco types ( 0-6-0, 4-6-0, 2-8-0, 0-4-4) + diesels & EMU/DMU The performance is equal and in some aspects better than decoders costing twice as much+ more! Remember as with a lot of products which we purchase, (not just Model Railways) Expensive does not always mean better!

Having been in N gauge for longer than I care to remember ( even before Graham farish started to munufacture n gauge!) I can agree that one has to be careful with 2nd hand purchases, although Ii have bought a number of n items from Hattons, which were like new, I would add that should you ever receive a faulty or damaged item then Hattons will deal with it satisfactorily.

Another Model shop which sends personalized notes on his till/creditcard/ order detail sheets is Arcadia Models Shaw Nr Oldham, for a small business this shop always has a tremendous range of products available at keen prices UK and European outline.

Re HATTONS 2nd hand listings: Just to report, that although most of my purchases for model railways are new items, having learned the pitfalls of some (but not all) S/H items over many years! I have recently bought some items from HATTONS, with which i have been very pleased, When they quote 'LIKE NEW' it means just that one item I bought was £45 less than the equivalent price for the new item ( had the new item not sold out!!)

As a mostly 0n30 modeller I noted recently a whole bunch of American 7mm structures ( buildings) in kit form this seller was selling, at rather to say the least, inflated BIN prices, most of them could be imported for a lot less. I am not sure if his 10 watchers for the 150 are tempted, I reckon they are just curious! I have had items on eBay recently that attracted many watchers but NO sales and my prices were not inflated ones ( a sign of the times?)

Rails sent newsletter today The Sound version reduced in price ( £196) and a £10 ONP voucher! ( ONP off next purchase) l

I have some 0n30 Mallets, now I know the 2 sets of cylinders are closer to each other than the Garratts, AND the sound speakers are in the tenders! But the Tsunamni sound does sound OK,, I have never heard a Mallet so I cannot say if it is correct, but it does sound acceptable. As an aside the Tsunami sound decoders are very versatile, and can easily be altered sound wise, to improve the sound required regarding chuffs per wheel rev etc, I So in my opinion if I do decide to go ahead and buy a garratt and if I decide I want sound in it so long as it sound reasonable ..... that will do me!!

David 69 Take a look at my posts earlier ro the sound loco, mine runs perfectly now,, as i noted there was also an occasional sound break,, this has been corrected, be aware connection to the speaker is not hard wired but via 2 spring contacts from the roof mounted speaker / fan assembly to the PCB this method relies on GOOD contact and cleanliness, so ensre that there is no oil in that area it could occur if the loco has been stored upside down, also ensure the 8 body screws are tight to ensure good pressure on the contacts. WE had 2 of these locos, the first runs fine as mentioned in my posts, No2s sound decoder has been transferred to another loco and works perfectly I would not consider having the sound decoder re blown it shouldnt be nescessary.

Reading the reprts so far on the Garratt, and I appreciate that it is very likely that there are far more perfectly acceptable locos which have been delivered, as it is a fact that we are much more likely to hear about the ones with issues. I am waiting the arrival of BR vesrsions, but must admit that I have considered, after reading of some of the issues whether I really need one! I appreciate that it is a woderful looking loco and definately at a Bargain price, if its price is compared , with other European manufacturers steam loco prices.

And Bachmann's Cl 37 ( and poss 10000 not tried it yet!) A friend got his Bachmann 4f pulling 60, but ran out of space & wagons apparently