Prices of model train stuff
Posted
Full Member
I've allowed for inflation Alan - in my day they were 1/11p - wrapped in a free newspaper …………. :thumbs
I'm talking cod & chips - none of your fancy haddock. ;-)
'Petermac
Posted
Site staff
Regards
Alan
Born beside the mighty GWR.
Alan
Born beside the mighty GWR.
Posted
Full Member
'Petermac
Posted
Full Member
Since then the cost of raw materials and manufacturing cost in China have both risen and the pound has strengthened (although, weakened again thanks to Brexit to 57p.)
Posted
Full Member
I too am on a pension with limited funds and have had to make some compromises. I have found however that the loco's and rolling stock are the items where the price seems to have soared. Track, points and point motors and scenic items, dare I say, seem reasonably priced.
Gary
__________________________________________________
I am no expert but I do what I can, when I can, with what I can.
__________________________________________________
I am no expert but I do what I can, when I can, with what I can.
Posted
Full Member
Oh, Dr Beeching what have you done?
There once were lots of trains to catch, but soon there will be none.
I'll have to buy a bike, 'cos I can't afford a car.
Oh, Dr Beeching what a naughty man you are!
There once were lots of trains to catch, but soon there will be none.
I'll have to buy a bike, 'cos I can't afford a car.
Oh, Dr Beeching what a naughty man you are!
Posted
Full Member
I am aware that some are more collectors and will buy what they like, so I guess the prices mean more to them. I probably take an interest in about 1 in 10 new releases and even then (Oxford Rail N7) will often pass as I have no need for the loco type. On this basis, prices are OK for me because my purchasing is limited. I also model analogue and am prepared to look at the Hornby Railroad range or older 1st-generation Bachmann Branchline offerings which I know will need a service before they go into traffic. I recently bought a Hornby/China D49 4-4-0 and dare say, with a bit of weathering, it will fit in just right. I have an old Hornby/Margate D49 with the awful tender drive and the new Railroad one is certainly a few steps up and starts to question the need for ultra-fine-super-detail-£150-a-go models.
Anyone coming into the hobby new will, naturally, be encouraged down the DCC route and ultimately to DCC+sound. In 10 years, analogue will be as obsolete as 3-rail is now so this is the right advice. However, by selecting this route, new/junior modellers are being asked to fork out, perhaps, £150 for a DCC+sound tank engine and then another shed load of cash for the control gear and gizmos to make the points and signals work.
The net effect of this will be a further move towards smaller home layouts and shunting planks where stock requirements are low but this makes the proportional costs of the control gear very high.
However, this could be good news for the Model Railway Clubs where combined loco/stock fleets will be able to run on larger layouts.
The shame will be that types of layout will be driven by the locomotive requirements rather than the interests of the modellers. Do you remember when every other layout in the Railway Modeller was GWR? It was because the vast majority of RTR locos of the time were GWR types whilst the LNER and SR were, basically, ignored. Yes kits were available for a vast range of prototypes but we did not have the skills to build them yet.
I would support a move to reign back on the super-detail in exchange for lower/stable prices for a while. There would not appear to be a reason why the major manufacturers could not produce a model on a par with the Railroad range and then offer a "detailing kit", or they could just leave that to the cottage industries who still fill the pages of the mags with blister packs of replacement parts we can all use if we are so inclined.
Hey, its like the old days - buy a decent body on a :chicken chassis and then mod the do-dahs out of it to make a half-decent model. Happy days.
Shed dweller, Softie Southerner and Meglomaniac
Posted
Full Member
Apart from the two On30 4-4-0 locomotives I got recently at fire-sale prices I haven't bought new in at least 6 or 7 years.
Nigel
©Nigel C. Phillips
Posted
Full Member
Barry said, " In 10 years, analogue will be as obsolete as 3-rail is now"
I doubt it. Not everyone in the hobby is in love with DCC. Even if manufacturers cease making DC controllers (unlikely in my opinion), a number of modellers will still hang on to their DC controllers. How many of you still have your trusty old Hammant & Morgan (H&M) Safety Minor or Clipper?
Terry
Posted
Full Member
Having set up a couple of layouts with DCC, I too think that DC will carry on for years.
One thing which DC control does, is give you a chance to learn skills - DCC does not have a "hands on" feeling.
Another point is that home-built DC controllers are quite easy to build - another skill to develop.
Cheers
Roy Low :cheers
Posted
Inactive Member
(Once Sol showed me how to do it).
It's a really handy 5 Amp regulated power supply for all sorts of jobs.
I don't think that DC will ever die.
For example, with DCC there is no need for a flywheel - yet locos are still being made with flywheels.
Max
Port Elderley
Port Elderley
Posted
Full Member
DCC certainly offers many things that DC doesn't but DC is cheaper, fairly simple and far more universally accepted than DCC.
Most of the better DC controllers are made by "specialists" and, from what I gather, very good they are too. I doubt they'll stop making them. Locos are easily manufactured for either system and commercially, it makes more sense to offer a chip as an "add on" rather than as standard equipment. In future, all locomotives will come with a blanked off socket and normal "DC only" locos will not be offered - maybe that's the case now but I'm not sure.
'Petermac
Posted
Full Member
You don't need to be a specialist. I built controllers using Veroboard, and Darlington transistors, plus a couple of resistors and small capacitors.
In the UK you have several component shops, and get better quality parts. Here we get rather dodgy Chinese components.
The speed control is a simple "volume" control and knob.
The expensive part is the transformer, but for small layouts, a 1 amp. 12 volt DC "bubble" unit works well, which are much cheaper.
Oddly, finding a suitable box for the project can be a problem.
:cool:
Last edit: by Roy Low
Posted
Full Member
IMO, DC will be a very minor control system in a few years. Rare is the DC layout over here. "DCC ready" means blanking plugs already in place. With a lot of Bachmann products over here they come with DCC installed, often on the pcb light board, just runs on DC or DCC.
Flywheels-depends on the motor design and size, not the control system. Straight cut windings need them, biased ones do not (clagging). Small ones with 3 poles do, big ones with 5 or 7 do not. Again, DC or DCC can both control momentum.
Nigel
©Nigel C. Phillips
Posted
Legacy Member
Once model railways were built out of kids pocket money. Now you need a very amicable bank manager.
Allan
Posted
Inactive Member
only if you were a wealthy kid, I could never afford a carriage until i worked, I just about got a couple of bits of track…
Once model railways were built out of kids pocket money. Now you need a very amicable bank manager.
Allan
Now I've finally started a model railway…I've inherited another…
Posted
Full Member
And they're as rare as hen's teeth !!!………………………………………. Now you need a very amicable bank manager.
Allan
'Petermac
Posted
Full Member
Never built a controller - I am impressed by those who can and do!!
I've heard/read mixed reviews on the Oxford Rail offerings - all DC I understand - are they any good because I think they are cheaper than the "Big 2"??? I've got some of their wagons and I like them but the locos……??????
Last edit: by Barry Miltenburg
Shed dweller, Softie Southerner and Meglomaniac
Posted
Full Member
I have the Oxford Rail Adams radial tank. Like the other manufacturers' offerings, it comes 'DCC Ready' (will run on DC straight out of the box, add a decoder for DCC). It looks good and runs very smoothly. Being one of the original batch, I suspect they made the wheel flanges a tad too deep as it makes a clicking noise as the wheel flanges strike the tops of the chairs on my code 75 track. However, it retailed at over £20 cheaper than the Hornby version and I would not hesitate to buy another if I had the need for it.
Terry
Posted
Inactive Member
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