i am modeling in N guage and my layout is a CSX line set in westen MA.
why is everything for n gauge and especailly CSX sold out. even rolling stock is very limited. what gives? production problems, people and manufacturers not committing to production with the poor economy, companies not wanting to expant inventory? Walther and horizon hobbies seem bare.
any info?
p.s. i will call walther tomorrow (have a return--did not think anyone made anything but nuckle couples now-surprise they do!) and see what gives. i had to vent!
Yeah, I bought the Walters Car Float apron for my layout. Now the car floats themselves are unavailable, with no expected "in stock" date.
And, that's in HO, so you're not alone.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
try modeltrainstuff.com i use them a bunch of times and they have a good inventory it seems... also good folks
rivman1973 i am modeling in N guage and my layout is a CSX line set in westen MA. why is everything for n gauge and especailly CSX sold out. even rolling stock is very limited. what gives? production problems, people and manufacturers not committing to production with the poor economy, companies not wanting to expant inventory? Walther and horizon hobbies seem bare. any info? p.s. i will call walther tomorrow (have a return--did not think anyone made anything but nuckle couples now-surprise they do!) and see what gives. i had to vent!
Walthers and Horizon are the manufacturer distribution for those products. Just because they are sold out, does not mean that plenty of those items are not available. Go to some train shows, check major retailers like TrainWorld, Caboose Hobby, and all the rest of the big online dealers. Go on Railserve.com and check the list of hobby shops and online dealers, look on E-bay, the products are out there in the hands of retailers, not sitting on the manufacturers shelves. Not only will you likely find what you want, it will likely be priced lower than purchasing directly from Horizon or Walthers.
Sheldon
Lee
Lee 1234Are you feeling more like hunter gatherers than modelers?
You gotta work for it y'know! It is a sport----
Any argument carried far enough will end up in Semantics--Hartz's law of rhetoric Emerald. Leemer and Southern The route of the Sceptre Express Barry
I just started my blog site...more stuff to come...
http://modeltrainswithmusic.blogspot.ca/
The modern business model is for the manufacturer, in particular, and wholesaler to actually stock as little as possible, or nothing at all. This results in a considerable savings for them. The product is manufactured off shore, arrives at say Walthers, and its shipped out the doors almost immediately to their retailers. In some cases I'm aware of (not Walthers in this instance), when the containers come off the ships on the West Coast, the product is being re-shipped directly from there to the retailers who have standing orders, without ever seeing the inside of the seller's company warehouse (if one even exists!).
This situation has been compounded by the steadily shrinking size of production runs, such that by the time the product review appears in MR, the item can already be sold out at hobby shops. Some runs have been so limited that specific road names have been totally sold out in advance of the item's arrival on our shores. The resulting "buy it right now, or loose" approach that so many hobbyists have eagerly bought into, has proven another boon for the manufacturers...but in the long run, a definite new problem for many hobbyists.
CNJ831
Try eBay. I just did a search on 'CSX' in N-scale and found over 100 items for sale.
Walther's and Horizon might be a good place to start in order to see what's been manufactured, but their stock status is hardly an accurate indicator of whether an item is not available. It just means they don't have anything in their warehouse. It's likely because they have distributed said items all to their retailers, several of which could still have some in their stock.
That's why it's best to seek out and build a long list of reputable on-line (and local) sources.
thanks guys for the help. i wil check it out.
john
One report I saw in the financial news was that the world financial situation has caused several Chinese manufacturers out of business. If the product you're trying to purchase was made by one of those bankrupt manufacturers, you may be S.O.L. because it may never be available again.
Try collecting Bev/Bell-Athearn odd name short line boxcars or special run cars..
Took me 4 years to find this car.
And 3 to find this one.
Its the thrill of the hunt..
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
rivman1973 why is everything for n gauge and especailly CSX sold out. even rolling stock is very limited. what gives? production problems, people and manufacturers not committing to production with the poor economy, companies not wanting to expant inventory? Walther and horizon hobbies seem bare. any info?
I get 13 N scale CSX locomotive items in stock on Walthers, and 11 N scale CSX locomotive items in stock on Horizon hobby. N scale engines items in stock at Walthers: 586 products.
Unless both Walthers and Horizon suddenly restocked N scale engines on a rather massive scale this morning, your "everything sold out" rant seems maybe slightly overblown ...
Smile,Stein
Whenever I see something that I think I want for my layout, even if I might not need it for several years, I always buy it right away because I've seen too many instances in the last 3 decades where I passed on something and when I needed it, it had been discontinued. Worst case scenario is that I'll change my mind in which case, I can resell it through e-bay. I'd never been much of an e-bay shopper until the last few years but I've found that many items that are currently either out of stock or discontinued are readily available on e-bay. It's a little riskier buying through e-bay but my experience is that most e-bay sellers are honest people who aren't trying to take advantage of your trust. There are a few bad apples, but for the most part, my e-bay purchases have been very satisfactory.
jecorbettWhenever I see something that I think I want for my layout, even if I might not need it for several years, I always buy it right away because I've seen too many instances in the last 3 decades where I passed on something and when I needed it, it had been discontinued. Worst case scenario is that I'll change my mind in which case, I can resell it through e-bay. I'd never been much of an e-bay shopper until the last few years but I've found that many items that are currently either out of stock or discontinued are readily available on e-bay. It's a little riskier buying through e-bay but my experience is that most e-bay sellers are honest people who aren't trying to take advantage of your trust. There are a few bad apples, but for the most part, my e-bay purchases have been very satisfactory.
Yes, I second that experience. And let me expound on it by saying I've had equally as much trouble or hassle (probably more so, frankly) from stuff I've bought through "legitimate" sources, either online retailers or LHS's. So while it *might* be fair to suspicious of buying through ebay, I'd say the same for purchasing elsewhere as well.
Just my
John
Many manufacturers use batch production. Reruns may wait years if ever. If you really want it, buy when you first see it.
I have a long term plan so that I know what items to buy immediately - in my case mainly anything for the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad in S. There isn't much in that category. Many things, I wait and see if I can buy at a discount or I wait until I actually will use it before I buy at list, the risk being that I never get it.
Enjoy
Paul
Doesn't just apply to MRR! However, to the OP, a few tips that might help you to find the specific items you seek besides the good advice you've gotten so far.
Friends in other parts of teh country. CSX probably seels fast in VA but not so fast in NE, however, LHS sometimes get items outside their geographical area due to ordering requirements. Check with folks you know elsewhere to have them check for you, especially if they know an LHS that doesn't have an online presence.
Some LHS only have email and no website. A friend of mine drafts an email that states what he's looking for and blasts it out to every shop he knows of, he has had great success in finding items that way. He generally does it for detail parts but it would work with rolling stock too.
This forum. Tell the folks here exactly what you're looking for, we may spot it in a LHS and could drop a PM to you letting you know cost and such. It can be a good thing because if its sitting on our LHS's shelf collecting dust instead of generating revenu, it hurts the bottom line and maybe the shop cannot bring in the stuff we want to get.
Good luck in your quest. I've been searching for one brass passenger car now for about 8 years, unfortuantely, if I ever do find if for sale, it will most likely cost me not only a pretty penny but some emotional grief with the Chief Financial Officer (wife) as well!
Ricky
Things do come back in stock, at least popular items made by the major manufacturers.
A favorite example (in the HO realm) is the neat assortment of MW cars sold in the late 1990s and early 2000s as Walthers kits. They're now mostly out of stock at WKW, and have been for several years, but those designs must have nine lives. They look almost identical (and probably are) to Tru-Scale MW cars produced in the late 1950s. By the 1970s, you could buy the nearly same products under the Train Miniature label, then the tooling apparently wound up in the hands of WKW, and they were most recently produced and sold under the Walthers name. It's hard to predict when they'll be back in the big catalog, but it's a good bet that it will happen.
My point here is that you shouldn't give up on what you're seeking. The other posters have given you the right ideas for seeking out the things you're after (I've done the same) but keep looking and there's a very good chance that you'll find them, sooner or later. The adventure of the search isn't the main point of our hobby, but sometimes it's sort of a enjoyable sidelight, if we don't get too frustrated.