jasond

I've been thru' all my Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young LPs with a black felt pen cos' if it wasn't for Neil Young, Lionel might have faded away years ago, leaving just 2-rail on the market.  Oh OK they had another bad episode in the noughties.  Can't find my black marker, back to real life ... O-scale 2-rail ... brou-ha-ha-haaaa!!

Jason

Here's the Trader list for the Virtual Event on Saturday - YES, online this Saturday 12th from 09.30.

Jason

List of Traders 09 12 2020.doc

Here's the current Trader list for the Event.  The .pdf file is 3 pages and still growing

List of Traders 09 12 2020.pdf

Hi All, just a reminder!  Details of this Saturday's event are in the Exhibitions threads:

Urgent news!! There's a virtual O-gauge trade event on the weekend after next. On the 12th December, go to www.gaugeoguild.com  (yes, the Gauge O Guild's Home page, (no you don't have to be a member, yes it's free, no you don't have to login or anything) just press the Christmas Virtual Trade Event button.  

Here's our Events Director, Jackie Kneeshaw and two posters (in .pdf and .jpg format) to forward to your own clubs and groups:

We are pleased to announce the Gauge O Guild One Day Christmas O Gauge Virtual Trade Show. Saturday 12th December 2020

One of the requests after the GOG October virtual show was to explore the possibility of a one-day O gauge Christmas Virtual Trade Event. The Reading Trade Show, which we all enjoy, has had to be cancelled and there is interest from traders and members to have something in its place Guildford O Gauge Group who run the Reading Trade Show have no problem with us doing this so long as it is a one off. We are obviously promoting their 2021 date for them.

An ideal place to find those much needed gifts for modellers.
See you there

Jackie Kneeshaw

Christmas Virtual Show ad.pdf

Are you planning to build your own track?  Atlas is code 148, quite heavy for a switching pike and shipping from the US is a bit of a punishment.  Marcway in Sheffield do flat-bottom code 124 and 148 with Nth Am tie spacing, in copper clad/soldered construction,  which isn't everyone's favourite.  Unless it's hard-worked industrial-area trackage!   If money's no prob then Right-O-Way from Jay Criswell in California is recommended

4 or 5 40ft cars is plenty for a shortline in O and those hoppers, cov'd hoppers and tank cars are often shorter than 40ft boxcars.

Cracking scale, pics as you go please! 

Jason

Phil, v minor point, there's no duty, just VAT on the declared product cost and shipping cost added together.  Still painful.

Jason

C'mon Jordan, this evening (home?) slice the ends off both, take one of the cupolas off, stick what remains together and you'll have the start of a nice end cupola bogie caboose, bit like an SP prototype.

Yeah, yeah, you'll need to fill that hole in the roof, redo the underframe, get some trucks, but you'll end up with some spare ends for your next kitbash, a pair of Kadees and 4 axles of good Peartree wheels.

Aaaah, O-scale!!

Jason 

The wheels are nickel-silver(?) plated whitemetal and as they wear, the w/m gets a covering of track-grime easily, so clean them regularly.  NorthWest Short Line do replacements for the Roco/Atlas F-units (40" wheels), but I haven't seen any for the Plymouths (36").

Way back I read an article where the writer thought all the thick grease was used by the factory to stop the gears suffering from being banged around in shipping.  Jordan's reminder to clean it all out and replace with fresh oil is what I do, usually after I've put it off for too long.

Jason

Hi Paul, did you follow this up on other sites?

Jason

My apologies to Sir Douglas, he started this thread for non-GOG members views, it's just that some of the comments are irrelevant to today's recent financial puzzles.  Anybody else tried swapping software at the same time as changing the real world's application requirements?

Today's O-gauge scene, apart from the supposed Guild battle: are potential O-gaugers 'modern image' or 'steam' modellers (BTW I think the answer's Yes ) is which online environment do you prefer:  Fb - ask a specific question - try the suggestion - didn't work - reword the question - etc, or a forum - I'm thinking of doing this, can anybody tell me how they did it.  Guild members can do both and I enjoyed an obvious top tip - testing your DCC chip installation after soldering the wires on ... put it in a small polybag to stop shorting horrors - which was in a forum thread discussing Class 37s.

Anyway, with the right people, the Gauge O Guild can be made the focal point for the best scale.  I'll shut up now.

Jason

So was I

Well please tell me how you check(ed) the real facts.

Thanks 

Jason

1 hour ago, Barry O said:

No it wasn't. The ASLRM was formed by 3  O Gauge (and above) modellers of which 2 have since died. But some of the big hitter O Gauge manufacturers of the time were (and some still are)  involved in the set up. 

Baz

 

 

 

 

Barry, my understanding as a regular GOG member has always been that the ALSRM start-up was triggered by a row  in the Guild higher ranks and then the broader scale interests followed on.  Certainly one of the big names discontinued Guild members' sales discounts at the same time.

Jason

Choice is an honorary 4-letter word.  To choose which domestic shipper to use in the USA is ...er ...impossible?  OK, you're right, spin the knife!

DHL is one of the trans-Atlantic methods offered, they don't appear to do person-to-person shipping (like USPS for example):

https://www.dhl.com/us-en/home/ship/parcel-and-document-shipping.html

Look for the X

Jason

Bah, Rio Grande Airslide sold, now I'll have to try another import using ... um ... er...

BTW Parcelforce do indeed send you a letter when the goods have arrived.  Charges can be paid online and a front door delivery date agreed, as well as going to collect.  I'm still in my importing days frame of mind, the more you can get in at one time, the smaller the import charge adds to the 'unit cost' ... well 'slightly smaller'.

Selling the Rio Grande Airslide has to happen before I try anything else! 

Jason

ICG car sold, the Rio Grande Airslide is only one left 45!!

Rio Grande Airslide still available ... er ... oh, I'll risk it ... £45 plus P&P

Santa Fe and L&N cars gone

Jason

O-scalers ... oh and everyone else,

I haven't imported anything in bulk recently, so I've been out of touch with the cost since USPS put their prices up to pay for their pension shortfall and Pforce put their handling charge up to £12.

Anyway, I couldn't resist looking at Norm's sale (normsoscale.com), good supplier and gave him a call (2.5p/min on 18185.co.uk) and ordered 8 frt cars.

Have 4 spare Atlas asst'd cov'd hoppers all boxed, as new, available to Group members for my cost, yes cost just want to see what demand may be like these days, plus postage:
7354-1        ATSF Airslide covered hopper
7353-2        D&RGW Airslide covered hopper
2002555-1  L&N PS-2 3-bay covered hopper
2001654-1  ICG PS4750cu ft covered hopper

So, prices this time are my cost(!) to see whether it's worth importing again, oh, rmweb ... msg me for prices and postage will be extra. 

Maybe I should try Shipito et al or DHL, UPS ... a whole new world.  What shall I order next, hmmm ....

Jason

I used to import O-scale regularly in the noughties then tailed off.   Thought I should get up to speed on how much it can cost these days.  So last month I saw Norms O-Scale in Maine were having a sale.  I know Norm and gave him a call  (2.5p/min last time I looked, with 18185.co.uk).  Selected 8 Atlas O-scale frt cars and chose USPS shipping.  He sent them around 25/7 and Parcelforce's import, etc bill arrived in the post 11/8, my choice for delivery was yesterday, so actual transit time was as good as I'd hoped.

The 8 frt cars cost $355 and my total cost - TOTAL (USPS postage $111.44, VAT and Pforce clearance £12 meant each dollar cost me £1.22.  I used to use 90p as my average cost factor back in the noughties when estimating cost to quote price to customers.  So, yes it's got more expensive!  

Next I should try Shipito or similar.  Have never tried UPS, maybe I should.  Fedex screwed me up in the mid-noughties when a seller asked to use them and the covering documentation with the shipment said that was it US-door to UK-door.  Priced and sold all the shipment THEN got another import cost invoice from them.

Got together with a mate this time, 2 cars for him and 2 for me, but still got 4 Atlas coverered hoppers (ATSF, DRGW Airslides, L&N PS-2 3-bay and IC 4750) boxed, as new.  

Jeepers, I must sort my Doctor Who biscuit tin out sometime bits, bits and more bits....

Jason

jools1959's recent thread had many current HO trader links, including Contikits, who also have a selection of O-scale freight cars available:

http://www.contikits.com/O Scale.htm

Good prices

Jason

Hi Mick, when you get around to fitting one, let us know the usual: how easily it fitted, serial number, voltage it works 'best' at, amps, etc.

Jason

Mal, thanks for the numbers, does that include UK VAT?  

Jason