2025 is well underway so what’s going on here!
First, until now we have maintained our postage rate at +£3.00 per order for orders under £50.00. Over that, excepting kits it is and remains free to you the customer. However the price of 1st class stamps has risen sharply in the last few years so from today p&p on all orders under £50.00 has to be increased to £5.00 per order.
As ever now and then, as ever, we are waiting for fresh stock, and we thank you for your patience when delivery is delayed. Energy costs and material costs continue to be challenging, but most of the time we seem to have stock of what you are asking for. Our suppliers continue to do their best to supply us within a reasonable timescale, for which we are very thankful.
The post service seems to be normal in most areas, but we are finding that some customers still experience delays, and there have been instances where our 1st Class stamped packets have taken up to 2 weeks to land on doormats. I therefore emphasise that where ever possible you order your requirements in plenty of time, just in case!
NEW/IMPROVED ITEMS
We haven’t added any new items recently, but we are undertaking a steady process of upgrading castings. some of the moulds are now wearing and are being remade, and often with improvements to patterns gained in the light of experience where the castings have shown we haven’t got them quite right! We are also continuing the policy of replacing white metal castings with brass or nickel silver. Apart from feedback from customers telling us this is what they prefer in the last few years more than one of our good quality and reliable whitemetal suppliers have stopped production, sadly in more than one case because the owner has passed on to the the “big engine shed in the sky”!
3-063 L&YR Aspinwall and Hughes 0-6-0’s and 2-4-2T plus others, Double Brake Hangers & Brake Shoes £16.00/set 6 + 6. Now Available, NEW PATTERNS. This pattern of brake hanger and shoe seems to be a very commonly used item by the “Lanky” and although we list it suitable for the above locomotives, we believe it can find wider use.
3-030 LMS Black 5, loco’s 5000 to 5499, Brake Hangers & Single Brake Shoes. £12.00/set 6 + 6. Now available, NEW PATTERNS/UPGRADED CASTINGS.
10-034 LNWR Inside Cylinder Webb locomotive Rear Cylinder Covers c/w Valvechest Stuffing Boxes £10.00/set. Now Available, NEW PATTERNS/UPGRADED CASTINGS. Information was taken from GA’s for the Coal Tank, which will also suit most other 2 cylinder Webb inside cylinder locomotives.
12-007 Stephenson’s Valvegear – “Add On” Indirect Valve Motion. £40.00/set. Recently RE-MASTERED and now with UPGRADED CASTINGS. This set adds extra parts to the Stephensons Valvegear sets to enable locomotives with piston valves such as the MR/LMS 4F, LNER J39, & SR Maunsell N Class to be modelled with working inside motion.
19-014 Oil Boxes, 5 outlet £7.00/pk of 4. IMPROVED CASTING.
24-010 NER Small Safety Valve Cover, for the Smaller locomotives, such as E & H Classes. This should be available soon and will then complete the range for NER loco’s. As the others they will come complete with a Nickel Silver Balance Arm.
26-058 GWR early type ringed Smokebox Door £15.00/ea. NOW BRASS.
26-063 LSWR/HR/CR Drummond design Smokebox base Steamchest Cover £8.00/ea. NOW BRASS. This item is the well known “piano front” shape and is probably suitable for many other locomotives.
27-036 LSWR Adams X2/X6/A12/415 Radial Tank/T3/T6 4ft Leaf Springs £16.00/set of 4. In real life these locomotives had very similar spring (maybe spring rates or thickness varied a little but are so nearly the same size it isn’t noticeable in 7mm scale. UPGRADED CASTING.
27-038 LSWR Urie N15/S15/H16 & Rebuilt H15 locomotives. X4 3′ 6″ Leaf Springs & X2 Double Coil Springs £16.00/set Please note this is a “re-jig of this item following a closer look at drawings for all these locomotives.
27-039 Now Deleted as it is subsumed into 27-038 above.
29-033 LSWR 4000G “Watercart” Tender Axleboxes & Springs. £35.00/set of 8 + 8. FURTHER UPGRADE OF PATTERNS & CASTINGS.
29-035 LSWR Beattie Tender Springs and Axleboxes. £35.00/set of 6. The whitemetal castings had run to the last few so we have taken the opportunity to again, upgrade these to cast brass.
34-035 GWR Saddle tank locomotives, Water Filler £10.00/ea. UPGRADED NEW CASTING.
35-020 NEW ITEM – SECR Roof mounted whistle £5.00/ea.
KIT NEWS – Our kit for the LSWR D15 now includes an alternative pair of Cab sides/Splasher sides. When the artwork was drawn up it only had the early large cutaway cab/splasher sides which restrict its period to LSWR and very early period SR. A new bit of kit in the workshop now allows us to turn out the later sides with a much smaller cutaway. Apparently drivers complained about draughts. So this alternative now extends its period through SR days and up to withdrawal by BR. The price remains the same.