Model Railway - What's your latest acquisition?

Don't even go by 'watchers' - these are more obvious.

Some are even covert and quite surreptitious - watching without registering interest.

If I have an interest I set a limit. I might set it several days before, I may do precisely as DRC indicated, bid within the last 5-6".

Al.

As above, don’t go off watchers. Some may be looking to see what an item sells for as they have one and want to know what they are likely to get for it. Others may look to get it at a low price and as soon as it gets above that they don’t bother unwatching. I have had several of my items with up to 20-odd watchers that have never received a bid.

I don’t bother bidding until the last five mins unless I will not have access at the selling time. Be aware of getting dragged along with the bidding frenzy, stuff can sell at way above what you can go in a shop and buy it new for. Set a limit and stick to it. There will always be another one along at some point unless it is an ultra rare item, and then it is likely to sell for a very silly price to someone with very deep pockets.

EBay isn’t what it was as so many chancers, criminals and downright idiots are on there now and eBay doesn’t deal with them as they should. If you know a good seller it’s worth adding them to your favourites, and don’t be scared of putting bad feedback where it is justly deserved. You are protecting other buyers from these people.

Anyone who has seen my entry on the "How do you play trains?" thread will have seen I run four general periods. Western Region diesels, (1), Western Region steam, (2), a mix of other diesels, (3), or other steam, (4). The last two categories just being other locos I happen to like. Recently I've gone a bit mad and acquired the following.

Hornby Class 25, (Cat.1). Hornby Class 2721 pannier tank and Hornby Saint David. (Cat.2). Lima D8900 diesel, Lima Class 59, Lima Class 20 and Hornby Class 29. (Cat.3) Wrenn Class R1, Mainline 4MT, Hornby Q1 and Hornby Ivatt Class 2. (Cat.4).

That really will have to do now,.......... unless something "special" comes along. wink

I was listing my DCC addresses last night in prep for including them in a new software package and I have 31 decoder equipped locos. These things creep up on you.

Over the last month I have added 3x Hornby Class 92s Milton, Elgar, and Charles Dickens, plus a Lima Class 92 Kipling and a Hornby Class 90.

I am looking at the possibility of making the pantographs operational on Elgar and Charles Dickens by linking the two pantograph together (like the Triang EM2) then a direct link to the ringfield motor like the Class 86, 90 and 91's but without the roof switch.

my W1 Hush Hush arrived today .

FL, how is it, or are you keeping quiet? ...

Al.

A rather splendid Class 4P 2-6-4 tank engine in LMS livery, weathered and with crew fitted. Bought as a non-runner for the princely sum of £26.00 + postage. Good old X03 motor with a bad connection to the commutator, a bit of soldering, cleaned and lubricated, zap the magnet back up, and hey presto, good as new. And replaced the broken coupling hooks.

I love to get an old 'un running again, immense satisfaction derived.

I got these three clockwork locos off an online auction site. I only bought them as the green top-tank was one of the few clockwork locos I didn’t have an example of. I already had a spare chassis so a bonus that all the mechanisms work and the badly painted blue one has donated a rear wheel and rod to the green one, now working perfectly. A shame the red on is missing a funnel and the rods, apart from that the body isn’t too bad and the mechanism works perfectly. I will probably dispose of both bodies and just add the mechanisms to my spares box, just happy to get the green top tank out of this low-priced lot.

Treated myself to the Hornby R3395 Mallard with TTS fitted, for Christmas. It's the Railroad version, but I've heard good things about it despite possibly some lack of detailing.

It's already arrived...but I'll keep it in the brown cardboard packaging until the 25th!