We forget how expensive N gauge used to be!

[MalcolmInN]

That's because I can't remember how old I am confused1:

It amuses me that when going for the annual flu jab* they always ask my age, having already sent letter inviting me !
It takes them aback when I ask " Why, is it that you are checking that I am still compos mentis ? "

Now where did I put that coffee mug , , ,

* I dont like it, and would save the NHS the cost if I did not, but I am a wimp and dare not _not_ have it, cos if I then went down bad with the flu they'd all be able to say "nenenana we told you so ! "

[mark100]

Hi All

I have been sorting through all my stock boxes tonight and I notice that I was paying about £11 for a MK1 coach 18 years ago!

Locos were around £70 for a steamer

That was a lot of money nearly 20 years ago

Prices may be going up but still a lot better value than the distant past!

Rail Enthusiast Magazines circa 1988 show CJM repaints from £50.00

Mark

[railsquid]

That's because I can't remember how old I am confused1:

It amuses me that when going for the annual flu jab* they always ask my age, having already sent letter inviting me !
It takes them aback when I ask " Why, is it that you are checking that I am still compos mentis ? "

Now where did I put that coffee mug , , ,

* I dont like it, and would save the NHS the cost if I did not, but I am a wimp and dare not _not_ have it, cos if I then went down bad with the flu they'd all be able to say "nenenana we told you so ! "

I had to pay 3,000 yen for my own flu jab... worth it to shut SWMBO up, but to get back on topic I could have made a useful investment in rolling stock or infrastructure with that money. As it is, she bought me some buffet staff for a buffet car I don't have, so I bought a buffet car and fitted it out with staff and some sitting customers I happened to have acquired earlier, and then I realised the buffet car is fitted with a Kato coupler incompatible with the Arnold couplers attached to the existing stock, so that's another 400 yen I'm going to have to spend to fix their couplers.

Erm, not quite sure where I'm going with this, but I invited SWMBO into the SquidLair to inspect the completed buffet car (complete with lighting) and she totally failed to notice the totally other stock which wasn't there before, so I guess I'm still ahead of the game.

[Newportnobby]

Erm, not quite sure where I'm going with this, but I invited SWMBO into the SquidLair to inspect the completed buffet car (complete with lighting) and she totally failed to notice the totally other stock which wasn't there before, so I guess I'm still ahead of the game.

In other words you didn't remove the blindfold

[DesertHound]

Now now Mick ... Stop putting ideas into Squiddy's mind!

Back on topic, Poole a Farish is now cheaper than it was new towards the end of the Poole days by half!

Dan

[MalcolmInN]

I had to pay 3,000 yen for my own flu jab... worth it to shut SWMBO up,

Umm, context please, how many bags of potatoes (or rice!) is that. That is one advantage of growing old here, more things become free 

so I bought a buffet car ...
so that's another 400 yen I'm going to have to spend to fix their couplers.

Yes I saw that, excellent work, better eyes than I gunga din !, I should have said so in that thread, I wonder if I can find it again , , ,

Erm, not quite sure where I'm going with this,

Well, errr, not sure we do either, but it sounds good fun, can we come too ?

but I invited SWMBO into the SquidLair to inspect the completed buffet car

Is that what you young turks call it these days ? It was 'come see my etchings' in my youth 

[railsquid]

Erm, not quite sure where I'm going with this,

Well, errr, not sure we do either, but it sounds good fun, can we come too ?

Step this way 

[NinOz]

I Personaly wouldn't mind paying the higher prices if the reliability was as Good as it used to be.......

My experience and opinion of N in the past is not one of reliability especially Farish.
Poor motor design, self grinding brass gears, splitting plastic gears, poor gear trains with massive friction, poor bogie pickups, limited number of pickups and then when they did employ tender pickup you had to spend a while getting the pickup pressure just right for the tender wheels to turn and then they dropped tender pickups.
Then there was the noise, lumpy detail, scale compromises, poor low speed, no allowance for DCC and QC issues.

Example: A just-out-of-the-box HST ran about 400 mm and stopped.  Wire from the armature had been fed through the gear train and chopped into little pieces.  Farish replaced the powered bogie.

Was so annoyed with the quality of British locos I ran mostly US outline (Kato, Atlas, LifeLike) for 15 years to get enjoyable operation.  Also British stuff was much more expensive than equivalents from other manufacturers.  Now at least British stuff is at a point that US stuff was at 30 years ago.

No rose-coloured glasses here.

CFJ

PS Really didn't like the condescending looks and comments from my fellow N modellers about how crap my BR models were when I ran them; especially in that I agreed with them.  But I like the look of GWR and LMS  stock too much to have abandoned completely.

[Bealman]

Yeah, I used to cop that distain from fellow enthusiasts in the 1990s, and it annoyed me, too. The unfortunate aspect is that most of it was from BRMA members - the reason I dropped out of the organisation.

[Mr PJ]

Dating back 20 years I bought a Farish 25/3 (can't believe this inaccurate model is still being sold in 2015, but seemed to be okay by 1994 standards!), at the late lamented Hadley Hobbies near Liverpool Street. Price £42.75 - still have the old box. Think that was quite a big discount should have been £50+
Result - ran nicely for a while. Expired year or two later. Trip to local model shop (John Dutfield). New bogie ordered due to split gears - another 20 quid. Result - ran for a few weeks, and expired again.... I watering really, considering my poor wages on the railway 

N gauge 20 years ago was pants compared with today's offerings to be honest. 80 quid or so for a pretty good 25/1 is no comparison with what I spent years ago. The 47s were appalling too, until re-done a few years back, although ran a bit better than said 25/3.

Loco's now have working lights as standard etc, and DCC ready - a huge leap forward for N kind.

Hopefully models like the Class 40 and 45 will be updated soon with lights/DCC etc.

I have got to admit N gauge was very expensive for those how dared model it 20 years ago, and its not cheap now compared with HO - I mean 4mm on HO track - but in my honest opinion represents a lot better value for money than it used to.

Cheers,
Paul