Trains4U

It’s called “adding another mouth in the food chain”

I thought it was the Turbot

It’s just a Heljan loco, in a differently coloured Heljan style box. it has Heljan printed on the bogieframes

Exploded diagram for the J94 showing body mounted motor and geared wheels

Sooo The packaging is bright! for any avoidance of doubt as to who owns the tooling... The J94 has been reworked. only the smokebix door is removable, as opposed to the whole front of the DJ model. It needed a bit of coaxing with a blade. the next18 socket replaces the 6 pin version. It has a much beefier motor and runs more like a Bachmann loco. The motor of the DJ model was buzzy and tinny, the EFE version is definitely beefier. I tried to open it up, but it wasn’t giving up its secrets, it seemed like the motor was attached to the chassis, rather than the body, but the diagram indicates otherwise. it still has geared wheelsets, so cogging may be an issue (I don’t have a gradient to test it on) The 17 looks nice next 18 socket in the fuel tank (very easy!) sound fitting would be a challenge! If you can get the body off (I’m not even contemplating it), you could potentially get a sound decoder in the cab (but it would be visible) and a sugarcube in the fuel tank but rather you than me! it runs nicely, comparable with Farish locos. All 4 axles are driven, headcode and tail lights work a nice little engine.

Our stock arrived today.

Yes - though only a small selection, I want to assess quality first, and they aren’t cheap!

Better than that, they’ve arrived in the shops (well, mine at least) we are working to get them online this afternoon the JIA and PBA hoppers have also been delivered

And there’s the rub... that someone has to save, or keep dreaming. I washed god knows how many cars to save up for a second hand Hornby 91 in 1989. new ones were about £39, second hand, £25...

There IS a cheape, entry level range. its called “Second hand” when I was young, in the 80’s, I’d look longingly at the Lima 87s, 60s and 47s in the display cabinets in Beatties, but I always returned to the second hand racks of Fratton Bargain Shop. I saved and bought what I could afford, and if I was lucky, I’d get something new for a birthday or Christmas. 3/4 of my collection was used. and I too dropped out of the hobby from about 13 years old. It wasn’t until I had disposable income that I touched upon it again (at about 25 years of age) But then I went a bit mental the next year and started a shop...

I’ve only just spotted this. we have some T9 bits on eBay auction, including an 8 wheel tender. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/333676509069

Not all of them carried the TOPS plate. it is one of the snags picked up. These will be printed on the PFBs and a selection of the KFAs

The first printed samples arrived with us this morning. There are a few things still to tidy up, but they are coming along nicely. the shade of yellow isn’t quite right, the paint finish on the buffers needs to be addressed, the yellow printing needs sharpening a little and there are a couple of other smaller tweaks to be made. an example of the KFA and PFB are on display at the shop. We are expecting updated samples in a few weeks, better photos will follow once they arrive. brake discs on opposite corners of the bogie, as per prototype The wagons couple together nicely with Kadee #18 couplers, and make use of the close coupling mechanism. I had had a play with weathering on the unprinted sample. whilst I would have loved to supply the decks weathered, we have decided to supply the models with a plain grey deck. the colour closely represents bleached hardwood and acts as a good base for your own weathering, which may differ significantly depending on your vehicle loads (and what muck those vehicles have been driven through) I used a combination of Games Workshop and Ammo paints. washed with GW Agrax earth shade and wiped down, followed by masking the track lines and dry brushing with Matt white, a light wash of GW Nuln oil. Ammo rusty tracks used with a pin to add the plank fixings, then a coat of ultramatt varnish. all in, about 15 minutes work! The production wagons should be with us by us by the end of the year (Covid permitting) we we are taking orders via our website (no payment required until they are ready for shipping) and are priced at £35 each.

We still have DRS half-height nuclear waste packs in stock but be quick, they are going to disappear quickly... http://www.trains4u.com/b/293/Accurascale

They’re here we have quite a few available for immediate dispatch http://www.trains4u.com/p/49960/Hornby-R3810-LandMR-Stephensons-Rocket-Train-Pack

That’s not counting the full Citadel range upstairs! (And another rack behind me)

Finally, we are ready for reopening! Wednesday 23rd June marks the reopening of our doors for browsing. All the rules, guidelines and our current opening times are posted on our website HERE

We’ve just been invoiced. so they should arrive Tomorrow just in time for full reopening!

Well it seems our shields are delayed (again) until Tuesday. This means the counter service will remain in place for Saturday and Tuesday. Hopefully we can open fully for browsing on Wednesday

Thes cost quite a lot of money... it’s not appropriate for many small traders, and they take quite a big cut of income. it seems the smaller you are, the bigger the chunk they take

We still have a few EWS 33s available http://www.trains4u.com/p/50281/Heljan-HJ3456-EWS-Class-33-Diesel-33030

Its not the payment gateway that’s the issue, that is the relatively easy part. its the e-commerce website and stock management. It really is a nightmare.

Our update is here: http://www.trains4u.com/pg/44/Covid-19 It's a pain, but we are currently unable to open fully as the protective equipment we need is delayed. We are hoping to open fully this weekend (Saturday 20th) However, we will have a counter open from 10-4 Tuesday to Saturday, starting tomorrow (16th)

Edit: removing outdated covid information