Nickles and Dimes and Thriftshop Finds. A shifting of Focus.

[MisterBeasley]

The one thing that is alluding me though is the 4X8 sheets of styrene....One thing I need to find a less expensive source for is model paints.

I ordered big sheets of styrene from U.S. Plastics, the Rubbermaid people.  I think it's www.usplastic.com but the site seems to be down right now.

I use cheap acrylic paints from Michaels or A.C. Moore (art supply places) or Wal-Mart.  For large areas, I thin them with water.  Our local Moore's has the small containers for a quarter most of the time.

[tomikawaTT]

In recent years, my biggest source of items to kitbash or horsetrade has been yard sales - my sister is a big yard sale trader and I seem to end up with every rail-related item she finds.

I have also learned to hand-lay turnouts and specialwork from raw rail, partially to get exactly what I want in the way of track configuration, partially to save $$.  I can assemble a whole yard throat for the price of one pre-assembled crossover.  Lately, the raw rail has come from damaged flex track bought at a discount.  Ties (and sometimes roadbed) started life as sheet balsa purchased at the local craft shop.

In the same vein, my manual point throw mechanisms are built up from such exotic materials as paper clips, straightened wire coat hangers, round head wood screws and el cheapo DPDT slide switches.  I used to use expended ball pen cartridges for 1/8" brass tube, but now they're made of soft plastic (not a suitable substitute.)  Powered points are the same, except for the addition of a motor (mine are ancient, and were bought for very little.  I'd hate to have to replace them!)

I have bought something from every LHS that I've ever visited, but usually the something was an under-track magnet or a pack of Kadee #6 couplers (best size to use on TER 4-wheel freight cars.).

As a character in a book set in the early 20th century said, "I pinch every penny until the Indian screams in pain."

Incidentally, I checked Mr Beasley's styrene site.  The prices quoted for 40 x 70 sheets of high-impact polystyrene are very reasonable.  Thank you, sir!

Chuck  (AKA Ebenezer Scrooge)

[grayfox1119]

JAMES: Internet Trains has a nice sale going on right now, check it out. Car for $7.50 to $13.50, sounds like the old days to me. Also, Diesel locos at very reasonable sale prices as well as some steam. $499 list now at $109, how does that fit your budget?

[BRAKIE]

James,Its not all doom and gloom and WOW! I can afford the hobby..The BEST price Buster you have is your computer.There are deals to be found IF you know where to look.

On line shops such as First Hobby M.B. Kliens,First Place hobbies,Toy Train Heaven,Train World/Train Land and  Wholesale trains has price busting prices.

There are other options then paying near or full price from your local shop.

 Is it doom and gloom or shop smartly pay low prices ? Its YOUR CALL..

[DrummingTrainfan]

I know if the LHS's near me had a good selection of used stuff I'd buy much of my stuff from there, but they don't. I also don't like when there is a consignment section but all that it contains are a bunch of $400+ brass locomotives. I would love it if an LHS near me would get a good consignment area, hopefully they could craft it so it'd be profitable.

[swknox]

James,Its not all doom and gloom and WOW! I can afford the hobby..The BEST price Buster you have is your computer.There are deals to be found IF you know where to look.

On line shops such as First Hobby M.B. Kliens,First Place hobbies,Toy Train Heaven,Train World/Train Land and  Wholesale trains has price busting prices.

There are other options then paying near or full price from your local shop.

 Is it doom and gloom or shop smartly pay low prices ? Its YOUR CALL..

I agree with Brakie 100%. i go to online shops all the time and find great deals on products that MSRP at the LHS can't touch. IF you check in with these sites once a week there is usally a sale going on or an item thats on discount because they only have a few left. Now that i said that though about a year and a half ago my LHS told me that RTR was all they could get - no more blue boxes. But about 6 months ago they told me that Blue boxes were back and in full force. True to thier word they now have a shelf dedicated to blue box cars and locos and a seperate shelf for the higher RTR w/ sound and DCC locos and cars. The best of both worlds. My LHS also throws me discounts on my purchases no matter what i purchase and when I order the high dollar RTR loco that prices for 250 it might cost me only 200 to 210. I'm still building blue boxes to this day and if a LHS says they can't get them its because they don't want to not that they can't order them.  

[Master of Big Sky Blue]

Wow, take some time off to attend a family reunion and your whole thread takes off on you.

Well after many months of working with sketchy numbers, I finally measured my train room. Was a wee bit dissapointed. It measures 10' 5" X 11' 5" (I still have to double check. But It seems my mountain climbing layout I had envisioned is off the table for the time being. I don;t have eneugh room to do what I want and maintain the grades I want to have. So instead of focusing on the mountain, Im going to focus on the branch line that I had exiting the layout and make that the primary modeling focus for now. Considering that I already have half of what I want to do built. Sounds like a good way to do all the things that this thread is about. I will end up with a 6' 6" X 11' 5" T shaped layout. Based on Atlas Plan HO-30 the "Morgan Valley Railway". Incidently I couldn't think of a better name so its going to be called the "Morgan Valley Branch" under my GN scheme. What I plan will involve construction of a 2' X 4' section, and a 2'X 3'5" section. These will connect to the main 4' X 6'6" section to create the T shaped layout. These two sections will in later phases (As in I finally build me a house with a dedicated basement for the trains) be the transitions from where the branch line comes off the main line, and goes to a Milw Interchange in the town of "Bedford" 25-30 miles hense. (I havn't quite decided yet, I will when I cross over that bridge) and where the Morgan Valley Branches off of this branch. The next segment east of what I will model will be the 8' X 8' Layout shown in the Book "Ho Layout: From Set to Scenery" That will Most likely be Phase III. The next segment West of what I will model will be the 8X12 L shaped mountain climbing layout I had been hoping to build but can't due to the 7" short of length I need to build this layout. This will most likely be Phase II.

Also in keeping of pinching pennies. I decided with the massive roster that I have. That I can not afford to convert over to DCC. I already have a fully capable DC control system waiting to be assembled, and I can not justify expensive high tech gismo and gadgetry that costs lots and lots of money to just even get used. I would need an additional $500 or so in extra components just to even Install the DCC hardware, and I havn't even gotten to the cost of converting over 100 locomotives. With DC, I already have all the wiring components on hand, avialable, and paid for. No locomotive conversion necessary, and just like my modeling freind Dan says. You flip the toggle switch, crack the throttle, and the train moves. Good eneugh for me. So I have decided to sell what DCC components I have to a freind and use the proceeds to improve my financial situation. (Read Pay on Credit Card that got maxed out while I looked for work for 6 months)

Another just purely to reduce the cost of storing it measure I might impliment is take all my model train magazines. Convert them into HTML and store them on CDs. Then sell my train magazines off to raise more funds and make more room. 

I am also looking into other areas where I can make room, and raise money at the same time. But the search is still on going at this time.

Well I hope you all have had a nice week while I have been away and am glad to be back.

James

[Anonymous]

...and so the "Patronize-Your-Local-Hobby-Shop/Look-For-Bargains-on-the-Internet" topic-pendulum swings to the "..Bargains.."extreme.

[MisterBeasley]

 ....and goes to a Milw Interchange in the town of "Bedford" 25-30 miles ...   James

Cool.  I live in Bedford, and most of my motive power is Milwaukee.  I guess I'll have to put in that interchange track a bit earlier than I had planned.  By the way, James, my town ships coal and, in keeping with the generally Scottish nature of this thread, haggis.

[Master of Big Sky Blue]

 ....and goes to a Milw Interchange in the town of "Bedford" 25-30 miles ...   James

Cool.  I live in Bedford, and most of my motive power is Milwaukee.  I guess I'll have to put in that interchange track a bit earlier than I had planned.  By the way, James, my town ships coal and, in keeping with the generally Scottish nature of this thread, haggis.

Exellent, there is a power station on my branch that is going to need 210 tons (3 70 ton Hopper loads) of coal delivered 3 times a week.  Would be more than  happy to set up an interchange routing and schedule with you, I will send you a roster of my hopper cars so we can work out a rotation. However what is Haggis?

James

P.S. My Bedford is set in Montana, And will be mainly comprised of building kits made by Life-Like.

James

[Anonymous]

...Also in keeping of pinching pennies. I decided with the massive roster that I have. That I can not afford to convert over to DCC. I already have a fully capable DC control system waiting to be assembled, and I can not justify expensive high tech gismo and gadgetry that costs lots and lots of money to just even get used. I would need an additional $500 or so in extra components just to even Install the DCC hardware, and I havn't even gotten to the cost of converting over 100 locomotives. With DC, I already have all the wiring components on hand, avialable, and paid for. No locomotive conversion necessary, and just like my modeling freind Dan says. You flip the toggle switch, crack the throttle, and the train moves. Good eneugh for me. So I have decided to sell what DCC components I have to a freind and use the proceeds to improve my financial situation. (Read Pay on Credit Card that got maxed out while I looked for work for 6 months)...

James

It's a matter of preferences, perspectives, and perogatives. You would like to keep your massive roster and run DC. I would whittle the roster down to a few 'can't-live-without' locomotives and use that money to convert to DCC. Different strokes...

[Pruitt]

I am glad that you find topics like this insightful. My situation is being compounded not only by higher prices. But in my region of the country. I may buy the $7.50 car kit that has sat on the shelf for ages. then nothing gets reordered. Shortline Hobbies in Douglas WY has done this very thing. I have bought almost every single HO scale item they have. And they are not going to reorder because in their view model railroading is a dead hobby  and not worth their time to bother with. At Who's Hobby House in Rapid City SD. I have nearly exausted their supply of kits. When they reorder Its with RTR items that cost nearly three times the price. I have found that I am now forced to E-bay and Mail order to get what I want. But we all know the disadvantages of these sources and I have elaborated on them before.

I've been in the hobby shop in Douglas - last time was a couple of years ago. If you drove 150 miles for that - your modeling IS in dire straits!

Is there anyone in Casper that sells out of the basement? I pretty much got started in Cheyenne by buying from a couple of different guys with no storefront but with a decent selection of items they sold in their homes. You learned about them by word-of-mouth.

You'd think Casper would have some sort of decent hobby shop, but they don't. There used to be a place called Walt's Hobbies, but that was nearly forty years ago and the place is long gone (he was mostly into slot cars anyway. He had a large custom-built race track - 8 slots, as I recall).

Billings MT has a decent hobby shop, I've heard (never been in the store). It's called Jim's Junction, at 811 16th St W #B. He posts occasionally on the CB&Q Yahoo group. It might be a little closer than South Dakota!