BR Lima coaches -not so bad as I thought

[dannyboy]

but I do remember throwing it in the bin

You slipped up there. What you should have done is put it on ebay and used the words "Extremely rare" and "vintage" - you could have made a fortune  - then one of us could have come along and put a post in under 'Ebay madness strikes again'  . David.

[railsquid]

but I do remember throwing it in the bin

You slipped up there. What you should have done is put it on ebay and used the words "Extremely rare" and "vintage"

Depending on what else was in the bin, "professionally weathered" too 

- you could have made a fortune  - then one of us could have come along and put a post in under 'Ebay madness strikes again'  . David.

The prices they sometimes go for proves there are suckers out there. 

[Bealman]

Thanks for the idea, but when I binned it, the Internet wasn't around, yet alone fleabay (which I still don't know how to work)! More 

[Dr Al]

when I binned it

...that must have been an extremely satisfying throw.... 

Cheers,
Alan

[Dr Al]

Don't really understand why people criticise stuff that was made almost half a century ago.

They are what they are and were made at a time of different available technology.

Don't criticise just for the sake of it please. Do give the history of the hobby some respect.

But at the same time you could buy a Minitrix Mk1 which was correct length, had correct length bogies, had better wheels....etc....

Cheers,
Alan

[austinbob]

Don't really understand why people criticise stuff that was made almost half a century ago.

They are what they are and were made at a time of different available technology.

Thankfully progress is made and products evolve and hopefully get better quality although with that comes price. Also the current method of manufacturing in batches gives rise to crazy prices for items considered rare e.g. Network Rail Class 37's etc.

In time the older "vintage" items become heirlooms and looked on with historical nostalgia. Nothing wrong with running a prototypical "N Gauge" 1960's or 70's rake. It shows the history of the hobby.

I must say I am surprised at some of the prices vendors are achieving on EBay for all sorts of stuff. It isn't just sharp practice either. Respected retailers are involved as well. If they achieve the crazy prices it is because there is a market for the stuff whether it meets current standards or not.

Don't criticise just for the sake of it please. Do give the history of the hobby some respect.

Absolutely right. AND don't forget that some of these older models look just fine from a couple of feet away, especially if your eyesight is not as good as it used to be.
I think some of the elevated prices reflect what 'collectors' are prepared to pay rather than real railway modelers.
To my mind a model just have the right 'feel' about it rather than 100% accurate detail. Just my 2 pennerth.

[railsquid]

Don't really understand why people criticise stuff that was made almost half a century ago.

They are what they are and were made at a time of different available technology.

Don't criticise just for the sake of it please. Do give the history of the hobby some respect.

But at the same time you could buy a Minitrix Mk1 which was correct length, had correct length bogies, had better wheels....etc....

And if the advertisements in a 1982 copy of Railway Modeller are anything to go by, cost about 60% more (GBP 3.00 vs GBP 1.85). I have an idea which I probably would have been buying with my pocket money, had I been into N at the time.

[Dr Al]

And if the advertisements in a 1982 copy of Railway Modeller are anything to go by, cost about 60% more (GBP 3.00 vs GBP 1.85). I have an idea which I probably would have been buying with my pocket money, had I been into N at the time.

Yep, I'd have been buying none of those, because the far superior (old Poole) Farish Mk1s had been released in 1981. They were retailing below the price of the Minitrix ones going by Aug 1982 RM...

...Lima stuff was cheap, quite simply because most of it was dire (CCT and Syphon being the exceptions), even by the standards of the day. There were plenty of articles lambasting them even back then (I remember one in particular in MRC, maybe 1983 type time), and showing ingenious and huge efforts to try and just cut them down to scale.

Cheers,
Alan

[Bealman]

Yeah, I remember that issue. In fact I think I might still have it here somewhere.

I really must get around to throwing a lot of my old magazines! 

[Dr Al]

Yeah, I remember that issue. In fact I think I might still have it here somewhere.

That's one to keep - it's that with the well known "Daventry Garden Railway" as RotM. Inspirational stuff.

Cheers,
Alan

[Bealman]

I remember that garden railway too, but I don't recall MRC having a Railway of the Month feature. You've got me intrigued now.... Mrs B left me instructions to do a few things before she left for work this morning.... now it looks like I'll be overturning the study looking for that mag instead! 

[Dr Al]

I remember that garden railway too, but I don't recall MRC having a Railway of the Month feature. You've got me intrigued now.... Mrs B left me instructions to do a few things before she left for work this morning.... now it looks like I'll be overturning the study looking for that mag instead! 

Ah, sorry, no MRC didn't have that - what I was referring to previously was an article going to town on how to try and make Lima stock look more like something believable - hacking the heck out of 55s, 31s to actually try to get them down closer to scale. A valiant effort to the individual who attempted it.

Cheers,
Alan

[Bealman]

Too late - I've started overturning the study looking for it..... turning up all sorts of interesting old mags. Much better way to spend the day than cleaning up leaves which were my orders for today! 

[railsquid]

There's apparently an issue from around that time detailing how to convert a Lima 86 into a class 87 which I'd be interested in acquiring on the offchance you come across it.

[Bealman]

I'll keep an eye out for it, Squiddy. Just took a break from the mags and took a pic of this on me garage wall:
[smg id=36942 type=preview align=center width=400]
.... it seems even their continental models also had steam roller wheels at the time!

While, also about then, Hornby were apparently selling prototype Flying Scotsman locomotives!
[smg id=36943 type=preview align=center width=400]