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SECR Birdcage Coaches


Bill
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I see their website now gives a price. All but £60 each.

Some 'sticker shock' there for some. This might be part of the reason they are taking their time.  

 

Having said that, it's normal to see $79.99 for a detailed US coach. At today's exchange rate this is £57.92. so £59.95 is not outrageous.

 

I imagine they will be very nice and I look forward to having a set.

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I see their website now gives a price. All but £60 each.

I think these will come out a little bit more than that by the time they will take to hit the shops, mind you at £60.00 a coach is a bit steep, when kernew are doing the gated stock at £50.00 a coach.

I have a set on order and will wait to see when they do arrive how much they will be, if they do rise anymore than this and I am not to happy paying £60.00, I will cancel my order.

I would like to get them but I am finding it hard to justify the cost, To get a set of these is going to cost £180 for three coaches and that's if they stay at this price.

Edited by darren01
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I think these will come out a little bit more than that the time they will take to hit the shops, mind you at £60.00 a coach is a bit steep, when kernew are doing the gated stock at £50.00 a coach.

I have a set on order and will wait to see when they do arrive how much they will be, if they do rise anymore than this and I am not to happy paying £60.00, I will cancel my order.

I would like to get them but I am finding it hard to justify the cost, To get a set of these is going to cost £180 for three coaches and that's if they stay at this price.

Try buying stuff when living in Canada. Just blown $430 on the new Hornby Colletts. (That's like you coughing 430 quid)

Ouch !

Edited by lofty1966
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At this rate I'll actually have a layout to run them on by the time they arrive.

 

I wonder if there's a bit of procrastination going on? Keep on putting it off because the birdcage elements look tricky.

 

I have had the same thought: engineering those fine bits for mass (or near-mass) production is certainly a non-trivial exercise, but other manufacturers have achieved good results with similarly challenging items.

 

I really do wish Bachmann well in producing these coaches but the endless delay is not what I would consider ideal for customer relations: such coaches, complex, fairly fragile, limited in geographical area and pretty pricey by current UK standards (though not in comparison with European and North American prices), are surely aimed at the specialist market - of which we here count as a significant proportion - not the toy train buyer. Which, aside from the engineering problem mentioned above, leaves me wondering whether Bachmann are working on the principle that, in the end they will still sell a certain number whatever the price and release date, so production of the Birdcages remains low priority at a time when cash flow (which tends to mean mass sales in the fashion of the original Tesco's 'pile it high, sell it cheap') is critical to the company.

 

Just a thought!

Edited by olivegreen
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  • RMweb Gold

Some 'sticker shock' there for some. This might be part of the reason they are taking their time.  

 

Having said that, it's normal to see $79.99 for a detailed US coach. At today's exchange rate this is £57.92. so £59.95 is not outrageous.

 

I imagine they will be very nice and I look forward to having a set.

It's slightly on the low side of what I was expecting.

 

I suspect that Bachmann have recognised a need to ensure that the 3-set of these comes in significantly under the magic £200 which is probably a psychological cut-off point for those who define "justification" in financial rather than prototypical terms.

 

In my case, 'Rule 1' will have to be invoked to allow me to run these but, given that my total outlay on all the "new" announcements won't much exceed £250 spread over more than a year, a set of Birdcages and a second Ivatt tank are coming under my gaze........... 

 

That said, it appears that Bachmann's most direct competitor is comfortable bringing broadly comparable products to market at roughly two-thirds the price. 

 

John

Edited by Dunsignalling
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That said, it appears that Bachmann's most direct competitor is comfortable bringing broadly comparable products to market at roughly two-thirds the price. 

True, assuming;

  1. They stay in business
  2. When they are restructured (as feels inevitable to meet banking requirements) there are not massive overhauls of their pricing structure
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Just had an email from Hatton's to say the coaches are progressing down the line.  Priced at £50.96 each.

 

Bachmann Branchline  39-610
OO Gauge (1:76 Scale)
SECR 60' Birdcage Composite SECR Dark Lake

 

Bachmann Branchline  39-600
OO Gauge (1:76 Scale)
60' Birdcage brake composite in SE&CR dark lake

 

Bachmann Branchline  39-620
OO Gauge (1:76 Scale)
SECR 60' Birdcage Brake 3rd SECR Dark Lake

Edited by Adams442T
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  • 2 weeks later...

On the subject of the birdcage coaches, the Bluebell Railway's Facebook page in response to a former member here name of Adrian Swain, give you a clue he wasn't speaking about the Birdcage stock.. more Kernow items.. But the Bluebell mentioned in a comment, that Bachmann had been to the Bluebell recently to look again at their coaches in regards to underframe detail ect.. so depending on when that was they certainly could be a while...

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...  Bluebell mentioned in a comment, that Bachmann had been to the Bluebell recently to look again at their coaches in regards to underframe detail ...

Hopefully that represents some progress.

 

There's no question that it's going to be a while.

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How come they are being sold individually in 00 and as a trio in N? I bet some arse comes among and buys all the middle coaches for a "long set".

 

That would not really look 'typical' for these sets to my mind. They were more likely to put 2 or more sets of 3 together. In any case, the price should prevent mass buyers of middle coaches alone coming along.

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Oh I know multiple trios were used together. I'm a Kent coast modeller. But there were "long sets" running around with multiple coaches in the middle. Rightly or wrongly people will mock up their own train formations. If I had a pound for every Golden Arrow modelled with a brake coach at either end...

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Oh I know multiple trios were used together. I'm a Kent coast modeller. But there were "long sets" running around with multiple coaches in the middle. Rightly or wrongly people will mock up their own train formations. If I had a pound for every Golden Arrow modelled with a brake coach at either end...

Indeed that is my point, they were typically multiple trios than just brakes at each end and lots of middle coaches, so I cannot imagine people buying just the none birdcaged centres.

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You're assuming that everyone buying these coaches has a reasonable understanding of SECR set formations. I bet we'll see all sorts of strange non-prototypical formations at exhibitions in the years to come.

 

I suspect people who don,t know birdcages will probably opt for other distantly similar suburban types that are much cheaper. While there might be the odd person adding the extra middle coach, most of those that would do that will probably see Hornby LSWR set as a cheaper alternative or they will go completely awry and buy some Thompsons....

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  • 2 weeks later...
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Oh I know multiple trios were used together. I'm a Kent coast modeller. But there were "long sets" running around with multiple coaches in the middle. Rightly or wrongly people will mock up their own train formations. If I had a pound for every Golden Arrow modelled with a brake coach at either end...

 

Here's a 6-car "long set" - https://mikemorant.smugmug.com/Trains-Railways-British-Isles/SR-and-BRS/SECR-tender-engines/i-Xwvd2Jc/A

 

A pair of 3-car sets - https://mikemorant.smugmug.com/Trains-Railways-British-Isles/SR-and-BRS/SECR-tender-engines/i-Dj9LnR5/A

 

And a typical 3-set with an H tank - https://mikemorant.smugmug.com/Trains-Railways-British-Isles/SR-and-BRS/SECR-tank-engines/i-6WWHvCq/A

Edited by RFS
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