In my experience, if you give the LHS a chance, they can compete on price... especially on large orders. You can help the deal happen if you load up the order with other items you need, pay retail for the extras to get the discount on the big item.
In building a past layout (which used up a 22' x 12' room), I sent out a materials bid sheet for tools, track, turnouts, roadbed, etc., to three LHSs. The winning bid was a few hundred $$ less than I could get by cherry-picking the best deals online.
It was a classic win-win deal, 1) I got the best price (and no shipping charges!), 2) the LHS got a big sale and a reasonable profit with minimal effort and without carrying any inventory, and (as a bonus) the LHS will be there the next time I need a bottle of paint on a Saturday afternoon.
Sure, I shop all sources; but I always give the LHS a shot if I'm planning a significant purchase; and if they're reasonably competitive... I'm happy to give them the order.
Jim
hardcoalcaseIn building a past layout (which used up a 22' x 12' room), I sent out a materials bid sheet for tools, track, turnouts, roadbed, etc., to three LHSs. The winning bid was a few hundred $$ less than I could get by cherry-picking the best deals online.
Sounds like a good deal..
Try that at the three shops I go to you will get three full MSRP bids if they have the credit or up front cash to pay for all that stuff.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
BRAKIETry that at the three shops I go to you will get three full MSRP bids if they have the credit or up front cash to pay for all that stuff.
Sounds like three bad businessmen. Back in the day when mail order was truely mail order, the full service - full price LHS was the best way to obtain model railroad products and supplies. Even back then, hobby shops were going under, because the owners didn't know what they were doing.
The closest LHS, discounts, but good luck finding code 70 track and switches. Everyone sells locomotives, high end cars, and Bachmann, but no one sells Micro Engineering or Shinohara track, Usually, just Atlas.
I could drive up to Trainworld, but just the Turnpike and Bridge tolls plus POS Sales Tax negate any advantage of driving there. It's better to get it delivered.
rrebell Those of you that chose to pay more, hey, it is your money but don't ask me to be so foolish.
Those of you that chose to pay more, hey, it is your money but don't ask me to be so foolish.
Just because we choose to keep some of our money local, do not call us foolish. That’s down right offensive. When you go to a bar or restsurant, do you order the cheapest thing you can get? Or what you prefer? Point is, you can go the the bar and get that beer for 6 bucks, or get a 6 pack off sale for 12 bucks. 300% difference and chances are you don’t think twice about it. Or maybe you do order the Bud Light, skip the steak and hit McDs on the way home. You choice is yours, mine is mine.
Drumguy rrebell Those of you that chose to pay more, hey, it is your money but don't ask me to be so foolish. Just because we choose to keep some of our money local, do not call us foolish. That’s down right offensive. When you go to a bar or restsurant, do you order the cheapest thing you can get? Or what you prefer? Point is, you can go the the bar and get that beer for 6 bucks, or get a 6 pack off sale for 12 bucks. 300% difference and chances are you don’t think twice about it. Or maybe you do order the Bud Light, skip the steak and hit McDs on the way home. You choice is yours, mine is mine.
I dunno... Seems to me we are talking about supporting a particular business model rather than the business. Do you still go rent videos from a store, or do you stream them from online? DO you keep that VCR going so the local VCR repair guy stays in business? Our local typewriter repair shop closed recently, not enough people took their typewriters in for service. I don't know where to buy carbon paper any more, guess I have to go online for that.
Here in our area - close to 500,000 people - we only have Hobby Lobby, Joann Fabric, and Michaels. No model trains. Newspapers are shrinking and closing, people get their news elsewhere. Lots of old business models are becoming obsolete. Hobby stores are no different. They need to adapt and change, and redefine their markets. They cannot stay in business still selling buggy whips.
I think it laudable that people will spend extra money to keep their LHS friends in business, but that is not sustainable. Local grocery stores are now taking orders online and delivering.
How can they adapt? I have no idea. What in this hobby do you need but can't order online? Layout legs and mounting hardware maybe? I never see that stuff in hobby stores. How about services? If they can't do it themselves, how about subcontractors who could do installations. My own level of carpentry is two cinder blocks and a plank makes a shelf. I lack further woodworking skill. I know I am not alone. Can the LHS send someone to my home to erect the table work? Maybe that is unrealistic, but it suggests new directions for the hobby store.
As much as I like the VietNamese family that runs a local convenience store, I don't shop there for my groceries, I do that at a large supermarket. it is tough to keep a LHS going trying to sell low cost items like couplers. The convenience store thrives on things people need for daily life - milk, beer, bread. Hobby stores sell things people want but do not need. Our kids NEED milk.
We need to redefine their mission rather than hoping to retain the old model.
Well said, Enzo.
I swear that the LHS went on life support in 2007, the year that all three of mine closed. It is over.
Has anyone mentioned Toys R Us? When my kids were little, my wife and I spent a kings ransom at the local brick and mortar store at the beginning of each Christmas season. Now, Toys R Us is bankrupt and the online favorites for toy purchases are Amazon and Walmart. My wife shops for six grandkids on line from her iPad. Next to close are all the remaining shopping malls. Who needs brick and mortar?
Rich
Alton Junction
EnzoampsI think it laudable that people will spend extra money to keep their LHS friends in business, but that is not sustainable.
That nails the " I support my hobby shop because if I need paint on Saturday afternoon I can get it" cry that comes up in these discussion. My thought is really? You drop everything,rush out the door and drive to the hobby shop for that one bottle of paint?
The business as usual hobby shops cling to is dead.They need to adapt and have a strong on line presence if they wish to survive if not they will have a slow death.
I can order everything I need off line and it will be here in 3-5 days by USPS. That sure beats fighting traffic once I drive 20-60 miles(one way) to get to the shops I go to and some times the items I need isn't in stock or the paint looks like its been around since the days of Moses.
My local hobby shop is 2000 miles away. In Baltimore. I am pretty loyal and want to help keep them in business. But they don't always have what I want in stock, so I sometimes shop at my other LHS. In Brooklyn. Sometimes they're sold out as well. So I shop at yet another LHS. In Florida. Or Atlanta. I have another favorite LHS in Las Cruces, NM. They don't discount as heavily as the guys in Baltimore, but they do specialize in N scale, so I don't mind paying a small premium.
I haven't bought an anvil or a buggy whip in years, and I'm sorry to say the Gibraltar Anvil Company of Carson City, NV went out of business. They now sell Fit Bits and Fidgit Spinners online. And at 30% discount, their days may be numbered. Dang.
Robert
LINK to SNSR Blog
BRAKIE Enzoamps I think it laudable that people will spend extra money to keep their LHS friends in business, but that is not sustainable. That nails the " I support my hobby shop because if I need paint on Saturday afternoon I can get it" cry that comes up in these discussion. My thought is really? You drop everything,rush out the door and drive to the hobby shop for that one bottle of paint? The business as usual hobby shops cling to is dead.They need to adapt and have a strong on line presence if they wish to survive if not they will have a slow death. I can order everything I need off line and it will be here in 3-5 days by USPS. That sure beats fighting traffic once I drive 20-60 miles(one way) to get to the shops I go to and some times the items I need isn't in stock or the paint looks like its been around since the days of Moses.
Enzoamps I think it laudable that people will spend extra money to keep their LHS friends in business, but that is not sustainable.
Larry,
First off, I'm sure you know that I agree, the old business model is dead.
But I have a few general thoughs on both sides of this issue.
Again Larry, you talk like every brick and mortar hobby shop/model train store still in business has nothing on the shelves but 20 year old Blue Box kits? That may be true where you are, but in this region, the shops that remain, have new, current items with very little (if any) left over old stuff no one wants.
Next point - travel time - then and now. The Baltimore metro region once had so many hobby shops no person in the area was more than 15 minutes from one, or even two........
Today the remaining shops are farther out in the "wealthy rural suburbs", so they are close for some, far for others.
But there are still 3-4 within a 40 minute drive of where I live, and several really good ones just a little father away.
MB Klein (ModelTrainStuff), who does have a retail showroom, is only about 30 minutes from my house......
Interestingly, one of the best remaining brick and mortar train stores I know is about 1-1/2 from me - in the middle of nowhere, in south central Pennsylvana, Mainline Hobby Supply. They kind of defy the "population center" idea, but I'm sure the building rent/ownership is low cost, and they do sell online.
And for the last 22 years I have had a model train shop within walking distance of my house. A very small shop, called Forest Hill Station, located in, of all things the former Ma & Pa train station, here in beautiful downtown Forest Hill.
After 22 plus years the owner is about to retire, he has has enough, and he is up in years. The train store was he retirement "job".
I gave him lots of business, but only on things where price was not really an issue, or on which he was willing to be reasonably competitive. I NEVER asked for any special deals, I took deals he offered. I had him order lots of stuff. He never kept a real large inventory in HO, his main focus in the shop was O gauge.
All that said, I have no overwelming "loyalty" to any one retailer, brick and mortar or online.
My choices of source are based on time, money, on hand inventory, and convenience. Online does win for a lot of stuff.
But if I walk into any of these shops, the last thing I would ever do is try to negotiate down the price of a locomotive or other large purchase.
Maybe because of the way I was raised, or maybe because I worked in the hobby business and I know the economics, or maybe because I have been self employed most of my life.........
I do custom historic restoration work to old homes, and custom remodeling. Most of the work we do is actually done on a "time and material" basis. I give my customers "budget prices", but the actual work is billed based on actual time and material required. There are a lot of unknowns, and we would have to severely overcharge to give quoted prices.
But if I gave a new customer my rates, and they then tried to negotiate that rate down, I would politely explain that I must not be the right person for the job. I have done it several times.........interestingly, my team and I am booked for the next year, possibly longer.......
To those of you who think "everything" is negotable, what do you do for a living? What if your employer wanted you to renegotiate your salery with every weekly rise or fall in his business?
When you ask a small business to give you a lower price, you are asking him to work for less. If he offers you a deal, that is his choice to work for less.........do you want to work for less?
Sheldon
ATLANTIC CENTRALAgain Larry, you talk like every brick and mortar hobby shop/model train store still in business has nothing on the shelves but 20 year old Blue Box kits? That may be true where you are, but in this region, the shops that remain, have new, current items with very little (if any) left over old stuff no one wants.
Sheldon,For me to visit a hobby shop with new current items then a 130 mile round trip to Columbus is needed other then that its dusty NOS at full MRSP.
IMHO these shops need to get on line even if its a e-Bay store and move that old stock instead of sitting on it while cussing the on line shops and e-Bay.
As far as a 10% the shop has a choice..Offer it as a way to gain a customer base or sit on it hoping and maybe praying modelers with deep hobby budgets will walk in and pay the full price.
A shop isn't like your business..A LHS fools with modelers limited hobby budgets.Like me those with limited budgets will be looking for the better deal and the money saved can be applied to other items to fill the order.
The LHS must become competitive to gain those lost hobby dollars.
A hobby shop that gives a 10% discount would get the 90% of my business instead of MBK and e-Bay stores getting 99% of my business.
mobilman44 Otherwise, everything else was bought from the two local hobby shops (Larrys & Spring Crossing). Of course both of those are not history.........
Where did Larry's go? I have family in Spring, TX and visit there often. Last I knew Larry's lost their lease and closed several years ago. Did they reopen?
I only go to Spring Crossing about once every couple years.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
BRAKIEYou drop everything,rush out the door and drive to the hobby shop for that one bottle of paint?
I'm not going to "drop everything" and "rush out the door" but I am going to make a run to the LHS (House of Trains, Omaha, NE) today to get some spikes to finish my latest track project. I can get them in less than an hour vs several days via mail order (if the place I'm mail ordering from has them in stock).
ATLANTIC CENTRAL BRAKIE Enzoamps I think it laudable that people will spend extra money to keep their LHS friends in business, but that is not sustainable. That nails the " I support my hobby shop because if I need paint on Saturday afternoon I can get it" cry that comes up in these discussion. My thought is really? You drop everything,rush out the door and drive to the hobby shop for that one bottle of paint? The business as usual hobby shops cling to is dead.They need to adapt and have a strong on line presence if they wish to survive if not they will have a slow death. I can order everything I need off line and it will be here in 3-5 days by USPS. That sure beats fighting traffic once I drive 20-60 miles(one way) to get to the shops I go to and some times the items I need isn't in stock or the paint looks like its been around since the days of Moses. Larry, First off, I'm sure you know that I agree, the old business model is dead. But I have a few general thoughs on both sides of this issue. Again Larry, you talk like every brick and mortar hobby shop/model train store still in business has nothing on the shelves but 20 year old Blue Box kits? That may be true where you are, but in this region, the shops that remain, have new, current items with very little (if any) left over old stuff no one wants. Next point - travel time - then and now. The Baltimore metro region once had so many hobby shops no person in the area was more than 15 minutes from one, or even two........ Today the remaining shops are farther out in the "wealthy rural suburbs", so they are close for some, far for others. But there are still 3-4 within a 40 minute drive of where I live, and several really good ones just a little father away. MB Klein (ModelTrainStuff), who does have a retail showroom, is only about 30 minutes from my house...... Interestingly, one of the best remaining brick and mortar train stores I know is about 1-1/2 from me - in the middle of nowhere, in south central Pennsylvana, Mainline Hobby Supply. They kind of defy the "population center" idea, but I'm sure the building rent/ownership is low cost, and they do sell online. And for the last 22 years I have had a model train shop within walking distance of my house. A very small shop, called Forest Hill Station, located in, of all things the former Ma & Pa train station, here in beautiful downtown Forest Hill. After 22 plus years the owner is about to retire, he has has enough, and he is up in years. The train store was he retirement "job". I gave him lots of business, but only on things where price was not really an issue, or on which he was willing to be reasonably competitive. I NEVER asked for any special deals, I took deals he offered. I had him order lots of stuff. He never kept a real large inventory in HO, his main focus in the shop was O gauge. All that said, I have no overwelming "loyalty" to any one retailer, brick and mortar or online. My choices of source are based on time, money, on hand inventory, and convenience. Online does win for a lot of stuff. But if I walk into any of these shops, the last thing I would ever do is try to negotiate down the price of a locomotive or other large purchase. Maybe because of the way I was raised, or maybe because I worked in the hobby business and I know the economics, or maybe because I have been self employed most of my life......... I do custom historic restoration work to old homes, and custom remodeling. Most of the work we do is actually done on a "time and material" basis. I give my customers "budget prices", but the actual work is billed based on actual time and material required. There are a lot of unknowns, and we would have to severely overcharge to give quoted prices. But if I gave a new customer my rates, and they then tried to negotiate that rate down, I would politely explain that I must not be the right person for the job. I have done it several times.........interestingly, my team and I am booked for the next year, possibly longer....... To those of you who think "everything" is negotable, what do you do for a living? What if your employer wanted you to renegotiate your salery with every weekly rise or fall in his business? When you ask a small business to give you a lower price, you are asking him to work for less. If he offers you a deal, that is his choice to work for less.........do you want to work for less? Sheldon
Back to the discusion at hand, yes a local hobby shop could still exist but the first thing on the list would have to be instalation of all sorts of things because unless you start with a whole lot of money, you can not compeat with the existing players to go the internet route. Once met an owner whose real buissness was building model railroads, the shop was not there to do anything but break even and drive customers to his core buisness. So there is more than one road to success.
BRAKIE ATLANTIC CENTRAL Again Larry, you talk like every brick and mortar hobby shop/model train store still in business has nothing on the shelves but 20 year old Blue Box kits? That may be true where you are, but in this region, the shops that remain, have new, current items with very little (if any) left over old stuff no one wants. Sheldon,For me to visit a hobby shop with new current items then a 130 mile round trip to Columbus is needed other then that its dusty NOS at full MRSP. IMHO these shops need to get on line even if its a e-Bay store and move that old stock instead of sitting on it while cussing the on line shops and e-Bay. As far as a 10% the shop has a choice..Offer it as a way to gain a customer base or sit on it hoping and maybe praying modelers with deep hobby budgets will walk in and pay the full price. A shop isn't like your business..A LHS fools with modelers limited hobby budgets.Like me those with limited budgets will be looking for the better deal and the money saved can be applied to other items to fill the order. The LHS must become competitive to gain those lost hobby dollars. A hobby shop that gives a 10% discount would get the 90% of my business instead of MBK and e-Bay stores getting 99% of my business.
ATLANTIC CENTRAL Again Larry, you talk like every brick and mortar hobby shop/model train store still in business has nothing on the shelves but 20 year old Blue Box kits? That may be true where you are, but in this region, the shops that remain, have new, current items with very little (if any) left over old stuff no one wants.
10% is not enough to get most people to make large purchases from a local shop.
rrebell Back to the discusion at hand, yes a local hobby shop could still exist but the first thing on the list would have to be instalation of all sorts of things because unless you start with a whole lot of money, you can not compeat with the existing players to go the internet route. Once met an owner whose real buissness was building model railroads, the shop was not there to do anything but break even and drive customers to his core buisness. So there is more than one road to success.
So that might be one formula, but from my view as a customer that has no value.
I would never pay for anyone to provide services. I don't need anyone to repair my trains, or install decoders, or build part of my layout. In a different life years ago I did those things for others.
All I want/need is reasonable access at a fair price to the items I need for my modeling.
I don't want advice, decoder installs, repairs, fellowship, help building the layout, custom painting - I just want the supplies I need to to do it myself.....
rrebell ATLANTIC CENTRAL BRAKIE Enzoamps I think it laudable that people will spend extra money to keep their LHS friends in business, but that is not sustainable. That nails the " I support my hobby shop because if I need paint on Saturday afternoon I can get it" cry that comes up in these discussion. My thought is really? You drop everything,rush out the door and drive to the hobby shop for that one bottle of paint? The business as usual hobby shops cling to is dead.They need to adapt and have a strong on line presence if they wish to survive if not they will have a slow death. I can order everything I need off line and it will be here in 3-5 days by USPS. That sure beats fighting traffic once I drive 20-60 miles(one way) to get to the shops I go to and some times the items I need isn't in stock or the paint looks like its been around since the days of Moses. Larry, First off, I'm sure you know that I agree, the old business model is dead. But I have a few general thoughs on both sides of this issue. Again Larry, you talk like every brick and mortar hobby shop/model train store still in business has nothing on the shelves but 20 year old Blue Box kits? That may be true where you are, but in this region, the shops that remain, have new, current items with very little (if any) left over old stuff no one wants. Next point - travel time - then and now. The Baltimore metro region once had so many hobby shops no person in the area was more than 15 minutes from one, or even two........ Today the remaining shops are farther out in the "wealthy rural suburbs", so they are close for some, far for others. But there are still 3-4 within a 40 minute drive of where I live, and several really good ones just a little father away. MB Klein (ModelTrainStuff), who does have a retail showroom, is only about 30 minutes from my house...... Interestingly, one of the best remaining brick and mortar train stores I know is about 1-1/2 from me - in the middle of nowhere, in south central Pennsylvana, Mainline Hobby Supply. They kind of defy the "population center" idea, but I'm sure the building rent/ownership is low cost, and they do sell online. And for the last 22 years I have had a model train shop within walking distance of my house. A very small shop, called Forest Hill Station, located in, of all things the former Ma & Pa train station, here in beautiful downtown Forest Hill. After 22 plus years the owner is about to retire, he has has enough, and he is up in years. The train store was he retirement "job". I gave him lots of business, but only on things where price was not really an issue, or on which he was willing to be reasonably competitive. I NEVER asked for any special deals, I took deals he offered. I had him order lots of stuff. He never kept a real large inventory in HO, his main focus in the shop was O gauge. All that said, I have no overwelming "loyalty" to any one retailer, brick and mortar or online. My choices of source are based on time, money, on hand inventory, and convenience. Online does win for a lot of stuff. But if I walk into any of these shops, the last thing I would ever do is try to negotiate down the price of a locomotive or other large purchase. Maybe because of the way I was raised, or maybe because I worked in the hobby business and I know the economics, or maybe because I have been self employed most of my life......... I do custom historic restoration work to old homes, and custom remodeling. Most of the work we do is actually done on a "time and material" basis. I give my customers "budget prices", but the actual work is billed based on actual time and material required. There are a lot of unknowns, and we would have to severely overcharge to give quoted prices. But if I gave a new customer my rates, and they then tried to negotiate that rate down, I would politely explain that I must not be the right person for the job. I have done it several times.........interestingly, my team and I am booked for the next year, possibly longer....... To those of you who think "everything" is negotable, what do you do for a living? What if your employer wanted you to renegotiate your salery with every weekly rise or fall in his business? When you ask a small business to give you a lower price, you are asking him to work for less. If he offers you a deal, that is his choice to work for less.........do you want to work for less? Sheldon Sheldon, wish at times like this I was still in Baltimore as I have all those skills and more for old house restoration, things like rebuilding coved ceilings and all types of plaster moulding work, floor restoration to stained glass windows, picked up a lot of skills back in the day.
Sheldon, wish at times like this I was still in Baltimore as I have all those skills and more for old house restoration, things like rebuilding coved ceilings and all types of plaster moulding work, floor restoration to stained glass windows, picked up a lot of skills back in the day.
Right now we are building/installing custom built in bookcases in an 1863 Mansion in Falston, MD. On that same job we restored three dormers and a built in gutter/soffit last year and will finish restoring the front porch when the weather breaks. Along with installing nine pairs of working custom wood shutters and painting all the windows.
And then the owner wants more done.........
In between that we have a large kitchen remodel to do, and are helping a Real Estate friend/client with a high end whole house remodel for a flip.
And those are just the big jobs - mostly we are a team of just three - we stay real busy.
ATLANTIC CENTRAL riogrande5761 Tangent seems to offer more early era models in their mix and you can order from them direct also. But I find I order my Tangent from MBK more often than direct. There too, most are not early enough. Just the tank cars and gons. Sheldon
riogrande5761 Tangent seems to offer more early era models in their mix and you can order from them direct also. But I find I order my Tangent from MBK more often than direct.
Tangent seems to offer more early era models in their mix and you can order from them direct also. But I find I order my Tangent from MBK more often than direct.
There too, most are not early enough. Just the tank cars and gons.
Lack of choice appears to be disadvantage of modeling a very early era. But I'd guess the manufacturers are responding to demand. There was a time I wasn't happy with the choices availabe to me for my wants, but things have changed massively in the past 10-15 years and I couldn't be happier.
That said, Tangent just announced another tank car that should work for your era - 10k gallon, all new. So one more choice for the early 20th century folks.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
riogrande5761 ATLANTIC CENTRAL riogrande5761 Tangent seems to offer more early era models in their mix and you can order from them direct also. But I find I order my Tangent from MBK more often than direct. There too, most are not early enough. Just the tank cars and gons. Sheldon Lack of choice appears to be disadvantage of modeling a very early era. But I'd guess the manufacturers are responding to demand. There was a time I wasn't happy with the choices availabe to me for my wants, but things have changed massively in the past 10-15 years and I couldn't be happier. That said, Tangent just announced another tank car that should work for your era - 10k gallon, all new. So one more choice for the early 20th century folks.
Well, I don't have any shortage of suitable rolling stock on my layout?
Of course I also don't demand that every freight car be some recently produced high detail $40 RTR model?
There have been plenty of reasonably accurate models of 1930's/1940's and 1950's rolling stock made during the 50 years I have been in this hobby.
My freight car fleet, which includes my fair share of RTR, but also includes kits made from the 50's to now, includes well over 1,000 pieces covering every car type my layout theme requires.
And I don't replace models already deemed "acceptable" just because a newer version comes out. I will however sometimes add a few of those newer versions.
The rolling stock on my layout includes Athearn and Varney metal kits from the 50's, Athearn, MDC, TrainMinature, Walthers (1980's era kits) and similar "blue box" type plastic kits, craftsman kits of all brands and eras (F&C, Silver Streak, Globe, Westerfield, etc), current/recent Athearn RTR, Walthers RTR, and stuff like Spring Mills Depot, Fox Valley, Intermoutain and other high end RTR cars, as well as high detail plastic kits from Intermoutain, Proto, Spring Mills Depot, Branchline, Tichy, etc.
Funny how you call the 50's a "very early era", to me a very early era would be to model 1925.........
When I started in this hobby, my "very early era" was only 15 years ago.........
Unlike Sheldon, I do want all of my stuff up to todays standard and I have some old stuff that is. I don't think I have any RTR in inventory (between layouts here) that is not highly detailed with individual grabs etc.
I was talking to my wife about this thread this morning.
We have a large shopping list at Christmas time, mostly because we help fill Christmas hampers for teens with kids, we get a list of needs from each one of them.
Every day (this year) through November and December courier trucks rolled up to the house with armloads of boxes. This year we made a huge leap and bought everything online except for the kids' new laptop.
Just before I typed this she went online to check out the gas bill for the car and truck for November and December for the last five years. Five fewer fills than average for a saving of $314.00. The gas is the cheap part of vehicle operation. Gotta love the internet.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
rrebell Unlike Sheldon, I do want all of my stuff up to todays standard and I have some old stuff that is. I don't think I have any RTR in inventory (between layouts here) that is not highly detailed with individual grabs etc.
Interestingly, old stuff, like the Athearn and Varney metal cars, all have individual grab irons.
But with 4 35-45 car trains rolling around the mainline at once, the difference between a carefully weathered blue box car and some new state of RTR car is hardly noticeable.
I left out a few brands above - Bowser, Accurail, a few Kadee, and few select pieces of Atlas RTR.
So this has always been my question - what do you do if no "high detail" model exisits of a car you want for your layout?
My layout has a carefully constructed theme, from which I have deviated very little, so simply ignoring missing elements is not really acceptable for me.
BATMAN I was talking to my wife about this thread this morning. We have a large shopping list at Christmas time, mostly because we help fill Christmas hampers for teens with kids, we get a list of needs from each one of them. Every day (this year) through November and December courier trucks rolled up to the house with armloads of boxes. This year we made a huge leap and bought everything online except for the kids' new laptop. Just before I typed this she went online to check out the gas bill for the car and truck for November and December for the last five years. Five fewer fills than average for a saving of $314.00. The gas is the cheap part of vehicle operation. Gotta love the internet.
Completely agreed.
We shop for all sorts of stuff on line that we once went to a store for, including model trains.
ATLANTIC CENTRAL Of course I also don't demand that every freight car be some recently produced high detail $40 RTR model?
If that comment was aimed at me, it's false. I have an accurail car coming in my next MBK order.
There have been plenty of reasonably accurate models of 1930's/1940's and 1950's rolling stock made during the 50 years I have been in this hobby. Well, I don't have any shortage of suitable rolling stock on my layout
Well, I don't have any shortage of suitable rolling stock on my layout
Ok so you should be happy it sounds. When you were saying that Tangent only makes a couple things you can use, it sounded like it wasn't a good thing. But if you have all you need, it's moot then.
Your happy, I'm happy. Shall we put a fork in it?
Onward and upward - this topic is a dead horse now.
riogrande5761 ATLANTIC CENTRAL Of course I also don't demand that every freight car be some recently produced high detail $40 RTR model? If that comment was aimed at me, it's false. I have an accurail car coming in my next MBK order. There have been plenty of reasonably accurate models of 1930's/1940's and 1950's rolling stock made during the 50 years I have been in this hobby. Well, I don't have any shortage of suitable rolling stock on my layout Ok so you should be happy it sounds. When you were saying that Tangent only makes a couple things you can use, it sounded like it wasn't a good thing. But if you have all you need, it's moot then. Your happy, I'm happy. Shall we put a fork in it? I'll even let you have the last word.
Your happy, I'm happy. Shall we put a fork in it? I'll even let you have the last word.
No, not directly aimed at you, just that's what we were talking about, high end brands like Exact Rail and Tangent.
If they come out with stuff I want/need, I buy it.
Recently got a stack of B&O covered hoppers from Spring Mills Depot.
But yes, I have most of what I need, and don't feel any need to "replace" anything.
It is I who has pointed out repeatedly the problem the manufacturers face in covering the ever growing number of eras that can be modeled - which has nearly doubled in my lifetime.
They need to go where the money is.
But new runs of many of the products on my layout show up all the time. Athearn may have restructured it branding, putting the older, lessor detailed models in the Roundhouse line, but they don't seem to be slowing down the re-release of those products. Same with Bowser, etc.
Again very happy here - and I do agree this is a great time to be in this hobby, even if the current high water mark of available product was actually a decade ago....
Since everyone is happy and we've covered the topic and then some, let's move on...Thanks.
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.