What did you order or the post deliver? (Worldwide Models)

[bill937ca]

Latest addition to the Prague tram fleet.  The solo Prague T3 tram and a TM-TR01 drive from RG Rokko. Ordered Sunday night and my order arrived Friday about noon.

[Tuga]

Yesterday I received a phone call from my favorite model shop, telling me that they received the first batch of the second run of Pendolinos. 😃

Unfortunately the ones I ordered ("Virgin Pride" (9-car) and the "Avanti" (11-car)) are on the second batch. 🙁 

Still I was able make a dint in my wallet 🫣 and I've score one "Virgin Silk" (11-car) which just arrived today. 🤩

 

Edited July 8, 2023 by Tuga

[Tuga]

This is the 5-car formation that comes with the first boxset. The second boxset brings the rest of the coaches, three of them with table lights.

The last photo has the first edition "Virgin" livery (on the left) and the new "Virgin Silk" (on the right)

[railsquid]

A bunch of incoming stuff which according to the tracking details is being sent from Europe by rocket over Russia, so I hope it doesn't get shot down on the way or trigger a J-Alert as it passes over the Sea of Japan.

[chadbag]

On 6/9/2023 at 9:42 AM, maihama eki said:

I once visited the Maerklin Museum in Goeppingen more than 20 years ago. I was regularly in the Stuttgart area for business, and made a trip over there on a free day once.

 

I always admired Maerklin quality. I was really worried about their future when they went through bankruptcy. I'm glad they came out the other side.

 

In 1983 I was in high school and we went on a 4 week long exchange with a German Gymnasium (Werner Heisenberg Gymnasium IIRC) in Göppingen.  Their kids came to our school for a little over 3 weeks.  I actually stayed at the principal's house as his son was on the exchange...   One of the things we did while there was get a tour of the Märklin factory and museum and got to spend an hour playing with trains and slot cars in a big room.  This was early 83 and I was not a model train person (though I had flirted with it in 6th or 7th grade when my younger brother got a Tyco set).  But it was cool and one of the things that got me looking at them later on when I went back to Germany in 86 and 87 and again 91-93...  

 

I'd go into the hobby shops and look and the thing that interested me the most was the Arnold N scale and when I heard that Arnold was using the Märklin digital system I was sold and that got on my long term bucket list.  DCC came later and by the time I actually invested in some trains, just 5 1/2 years ago, DCC was about 30 years ago but after I had learned about the early Märklin system and Arnold's similar use of it.

 

 

Edited August 17, 2023 by chadbag

[railsquid]

The rocket arrived without attracting undue attention, including from the nice ladies and gentlemen of Japan Customs and Excise, who seem not to have bothered trying to decipher the badly-printed customs declaration, which is a good thing as the box contains the better part of a year's worth of accumulated miscellaneous 2nd hand orders from Hattons and I was fully expecting to have to donate funds to the Japanese Government so they can concrete over some more scenery or something.

 

Anyway said box seems to be full of mainly unboxed items which Hattons have packed into individual padded envelopes, so I'm taking one out each day and processing it, including finding a suitable box.

 

First up:

 

]

Fleischmann DABz 756 Görlitz Doppelstockwagen 1./2. Klasse by Rail Squid, on Flickr

[SwallowAngel]

22 hours ago, railsquid said:

The rocket arrived without attracting undue attention, including from the nice ladies and gentlemen of Japan Customs and Excise, who seem not to have bothered trying to decipher the badly-printed customs declaration, which is a good thing as the box contains the better part of a year's worth of accumulated miscellaneous 2nd hand orders from Hattons and I was fully expecting to have to donate funds to the Japanese Government so they can concrete over some more scenery or something.

 

Anyway said box seems to be full of mainly unboxed items which Hattons have packed into individual padded envelopes, so I'm taking one out each day and processing it, including finding a suitable box.

 

First up:

 

]

Fleischmann DABz 756 Görlitz Doppelstockwagen 1./2. Klasse by Rail Squid, on Flickr

Ahh, these guys. They actually run on my local line. I'm always amused when I board these coaches and find the digital clock telling me that I have time travelled back to January 1999. DB has seemingly given up on setting the clocks in their coaches...

[railsquid]

1 hour ago, SwallowAngel said:

Ahh, these guys. They actually run on my local line. I'm always amused when I board these coaches and find the digital clock telling me that I have time travelled back to January 1999. DB has seemingly given up on setting the clocks in their coaches...

 

Heh, I remember when these were new and shiny and modern, which according to my calculations is an alarmingly long time ago.

Talking of that general era, next up out of the box is:

 

Minitrix B 518.1 Reisezugwagen 2. Klasse by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

which demonstrates the problem with modelling 1990's Germany because of the combinations of stock and logos.

 

Side note - if memory serves correctly, these ex-DR coaches had an unexpected "revival" at the end of the 1990s when DB (AG) had to take its ICE 1s out of service following the Eschede accident, and they made up the main pool of available replacement coaching stock rated at higher speeds (160 km/h?).

[railsquid]

Continuing the same theme:

 

Minitrix AB 511.1 Reisezugwagen 1./2. Klasse by Rail Squid, on Flickr

[railsquid]

On a very different theme:

 

Farish generic 4 wheel brake coach 371 (LMS maroon) by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

These are old Graham Farish generic 4-wheel coaches, not based on a specific prototype but there's nothing else like them for British N gauge and they are surprisingly hard to get hold of. I have vague plans to modify them into something more prototypical some day in an unlikely future.

[Beaver]

Don't forget the 'Shredded Wheat' and 'Gaffer' coaches are basically the same thing and often go for considerably less.

[ED75-775]

All this talk about Märklin has just reminded me: I've got another steam locomotive! Specifically, this Märklin 36245 Class 24 tender loco in DRG photo gray livery from fleaBay.

 

This is the second time I've tried to get this particular locomotive, the first time ended in frustration after the seller decided there was something wrong with my address and chose to refund me rather than sell me the locomotive. I was not happy! This time I've been luckier, the locomotive has actually been shipped although I paid considerably more than I planned for it. Should've factored in that there would be a 15% GST component on top of the purchase price, stupid me...

 

Anyway, that one's on the way to me and should be here hopefully in time to be played with at the next Christchurch Märklin Model Railway Club meeting in September once we're done voting to lease a clubrooms.

 

With that one down, I'm still puzzling over my potential next Märklin score, a 37452 BR45 'Bellingrodt-Edition' being sold for ¥36,300 by Mandarake through their specialist train store in Nakano. I've checked their English and Japanese websites, and emailed them three times to ask if they still have it and whether they'll sell it to me, but so far no response. I'm guessing that's their way of saying, 'No, we don't want to sell it to you?' It's left me kinda perplexed, especially since Mandarake has both a major online presence and welcomes foreign buyers. Might be time to head back to the drawing board on that one...

 

Alastair

[railsquid]

On 8/25/2023 at 8:27 PM, Beaver said:

Don't forget the 'Shredded Wheat' and 'Gaffer' coaches are basically the same thing and often go for considerably less.

 

Yeah, they've been on my list of things to get if I come across them, but the generic 4-wheelers popped up at a sane price so grab them I did.

 

Yesterday's "surprise" was another of the exact same model, so no photo (though I do note two of them fit nicely into a standard Kato box with the Kato insert, which saves a bit of storage hassle).

 

Today was another of the Minitrix ex-DR coaches:

 

Minitrix BDs 275.0 Reisezugwagen 2. Klasse m. Gepäckabteil by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

 

[railsquid]

Another olde-style generic British outline 4-wheeler, this time in pseudo-GWR livery:

 

Graham Farish generic 4 wheel coach (GWR) by Rail Squid, on Flickr

[railsquid]

Starting to wonder how many more of these are in the box:

 

Mintrix Y/B 518.1 Reisezugwagen 2. Klasse by Rail Squid, on Flickr

[railsquid]

Something else for a change:

 

Fleischmann DBbzf 761 Doppelstocksteuerwagen 2. Kl. (Bauart Görlitz) by Rail Squid, on Flickr

[railsquid]

And another one:

 

Mintrix DABz 756 Görlitz Doppelstockwagen 1/2. Klasse by Rail Squid, on Flickr

Edited September 1, 2023 by railsquid

[railsquid]

OK, this is the last double-decker:

 

Minitrix DBz 751 Doppelstockwagen 2. Klasse by Rail Squid, on Flickr

[serotta1972]

A new addition to my Taiwan Trains collections - a Touch-Rail Models MRT 381. It came via a friend visiting his in-laws in Taipei.  Thank you @Railtunes for introducing me to Touch-Rail Models. My other models were acquired through other friends traveling to Taiwan as they are not as readily as Japanese model trains. They are available on eBay but at twice the original price.

[disturbman]

You can use proxy services to buy on Ruten or get in touch with a local model train shop to pass orders/make reservations. I'm waiting for Touch-Rails to release a new batch of TEMU1000. Their production cycle is unfortunately relatively slow.

The next big and very awaited release is Sanying EMU800. Should hit the shops in October/November. Khaho in Hong-Kong are still taking reservations for it.

[serotta1972]

@disturbman Thanks for the info but I want to stay naive and think that this is the only way to get the Taiwan models, haha. Plus it’s free shipping. I requested the TEMU2000 Puyuma but wasn’t available. Do you have any of the Sanying Models? I would be interested in the EMU800.

Edited September 6, 2023 by serotta1972

[disturbman]

I think the only TEMU2000 available at the moment is the painted version released by Memories & Inspiration last year. It's a lovely model, but it's pricey. The train itself is from Touch-Rails. Memories & Inspiration only does painted versions, they never produce the trains themselves. They always collaborate with other manufacturers. Runs are usually 300 units iirc.

I have a few Sanying models, several DR1000 and an EMU600. I had an issue with the couplers of one DR1000 as it was too stiff and I could unlock it without removing/breaking the whole coupler assembly. I ordered spares for it. Otherwise, nothing to report. All are nice runners and nicely made. Though Touch-Rails motors are slightly quieter in my experience.

If you are interested in the EMU800, I wouldn't hesitate. I would even recommend you make a reservation with Khaho. It will be the most straightforward way to ensure you can get a model. Their prices are fair, I usually pay about the same I would have if bought directly from Taiwan. Just need to add a bit of shipping costs.

[Yavianice]

only thing to remember is that (allegedly, this is what a japanese vendor that stopped selling them told me) if your painted model goes belly-up, or if something is wrong with it, touch-rails will refuse service. 

[Markakis2014]

A Boston and Maine GP-40, these were, to the best of my research, the last locomotives produced for B&M before they were purchased by Guilford (later to be known as Pan Am). The GP-40 a Bangor and Aroostook Railroad car, which would have been used to haul potatoes. B&A had a messy history, due to relying on almost entirely agricultural goods transported through harsh weather conditions. But their boxcars are famous for their bright, alluring exterior, and led to popular toys sold throughout the country.

 

Nation: USA (Northeast)

 

[ED75-775]

My latest Märklin locomotive arrived early this week! Well, actually it was delayed by a day since I was sleeping in after a 1am finish at work, and the delivery driver decided not to ring the doorbell. So I had to retrieve it the following day from the local post office.

 

 

This particular BR24, item nr. 36245, was a onetime series for the Eurotrain dealership network in Germany in 2017 and thus never available in New Zealand. I'd tried buying one off eBay some time back but the seller chose not to let me have it; this one came from Seitz Modelleisenbahn in Kleinaspach, and they were more than happy to let me buy it.

 

This locomotive in particular was the first in a Eurotrain series of photo gray-livered steam locomotives; two further models were released in 2018 and 2019 with a further two from 2021 onwards*. Had I moved on it sooner when there were multiple models of this locomotive available online, it would have been much cheaper and easier to get hold of. But that's hindsight, I've got it now and I'm well pleased with it. Runs nicely, and brings my collection of BR24s up to six of the ten different versions Märklin has released since 2008 when the re-tooled BR24 was first released. Now, on to the three no longer in production!

 

* The 2020 Eurotrain-exclusive steam locomotive was a Prussian T3 0-6-0WT in fictitious guise as a Bavarian PtL3/3 branch line locomotive. For those interested, the series includes the following locomotives: DRG BR24 2-6-0 (2017); KPEV T3 0-6-0WT (2018); K.Bay.Sts.B PtL2/2 0-4-0T (2019); DRG BR64 2-6-2T (2021) and KPEV T12 2-6-0T (2022).

 

Alastair