Does 00 = 'Orribly Overcharged?

Newportnobby · July 24, 2016, 10:21:48 AM

I spotted in this month's Railway Modeller that members of the Bachmann Collectors Club can purchase a class 37 in West Coast Railways maroon numbered 37706 at a price of £129.95.
It looks very smart (although I've never seen one that shiny) and seems to be price very fairly.

HOWEVER!
To go with it there is a twin pack of MK1 Pullman coaches also in West Coast maroon livery priced at, wait for it................................ £134.95

As a bargain, members can buy both for £240.00.
Anyone desperate to own these models and is not a member of the Collectors Club will have to shell out the extra £29.00 to join.

PLD · July 24, 2016, 01:41:05 PM

Nah ... that's cheap compared to O gauge! That they£240 won't even get you a single bog standard mk1! The equivalent of the club package deal will set you back a 4 figure sum!!!

NeMo · July 24, 2016, 02:02:29 PM

Kinda sorta.

O-gauge kits are much cheaper. £35 will get you a complete kit (i.e., with wheels, couplings and transfers) from Parkside Dundas. These are easy to put together and have a lots more detail, and weight, than an N-gauge wagon costing a third of that.

Dapol have been leading the way on low-cost O gauge. Their 'Terrier' tank engine is really very nice, and can be had for as little as £150. Dapol's wagons are pretty cheap too, as little as £25 a pop though usually upwards of £40. Bear in mind that most O gauge modellers have FAR less stock than we do.

Cheers, NeMo

Quote from: PLD on July 24, 2016, 01:41:05 PM
Nah ... that's cheap compared to O gauge! That they£240 won't even get you a single bog standard mk1! The equivalent of the club package deal will set you back a 4 figure sum!!!

railsquid · July 24, 2016, 02:07:46 PM

Two OO coaches for 135 quid? OK, so (roughly calculated) 2 OO coaches are about the same length as 4 N ones, and 4 new N ones aren't going to leave you much change from 110 quid or so... And the OO coaches will have 4 times the volume, which means you're effectively getting the equivalent of 8 N gauge coaches, so I reckon per cubic unit of coach they might be better value for money.

ChrisWV10 · July 24, 2016, 06:15:25 PM

They have fitted lights so that's actually cheaper than the rrp on bachmann's website for the new Pullmans @ 68.95 each.

C.

Cooper · July 24, 2016, 10:09:22 PM

Quote from: NeMo on July 24, 2016, 02:02:29 PM
Bear in mind that most O gauge modellers have FAR less stock than we do.

Cheers, NeMo

Quote from: PLD on July 24, 2016, 01:41:05 PM

Cooper · July 24, 2016, 10:11:57 PM

Sorry @NeMo I should explain. I model O gauge as well and I have far too much of that too....

NeMo · July 24, 2016, 10:13:49 PM

In my defence, I did say "most"...

Cheers, NeMo

PLD · July 24, 2016, 11:52:50 PM

Quote from: NeMo on July 24, 2016, 02:02:29 PM
Kinda sorta.

O-gauge kits are much cheaper. £35 will get you a complete kit (i.e., with wheels, couplings and transfers) from Parkside Dundas. These are easy to put together and have a lots more detail, and weight, than an N-gauge wagon costing a third of that.

Hardly a like-for like comparison... - The £35 you quote is for a wagon kit. Not really comparable with a R-T-R Coach... The Heljan O Gauge Mk1s start at £250 each on the Hattons Website (new)

The equivalent to your £35 wagon kit in 4mm /OO is £10-£12...

NeMo · July 25, 2016, 08:40:28 AM

Quote from: PLD on July 24, 2016, 11:52:50 PM
Hardly a like-for like comparison... - The £35 you quote is for a wagon kit. Not really comparable with a R-T-R Coach... The Heljan O Gauge Mk1s start at £250 each on the Hattons Website (new)

The equivalent to your £35 wagon kit in 4mm /OO is £10-£12...

Yes, but my point was that O doesn't have to be expensive. For a start, you not only get more and finer parts, such as springy buffers and three-link couplings missing from that £10 OO-scale kit, you won't have the hidden cost of transfers either. So by my reckoning, those Parkside Dundas kits are pretty good value regardless of scale.

If you think about the insane number of locomotives and pieces of rolling stock N-gaugers tend to accumulate, that probably compares rather favourably with an O-gauge branchline with a single loco, half a dozen wagons and a couple of coaches, even at the prices you mention. I'd argue that O-gauge tends to attract people happier to build kits, which are much easier because of their sheer size. Those PD wagon kits are virtually idiot-proof and to be honest I don't really see why anyone would buy an RTR seven-plank wagon or similar. For sure locos and coaches are ~~hardy~~ harder, but there are "skill builder" kits from the likes of Jim McGeown.

Cheers, NeMo

Newportnobby · July 25, 2016, 10:08:53 AM

It would seem I should not have been as shocked as I was at the cost of those Bachmann carriages as, since the thread has expanded gauge wise, the cost of a Heljan 0 gauge Warship is £525 whilst the cost of a single MK1 coach from them is £260 - half the price of the loco.
The Bachmann offer is pretty much the same.
As they say in Dragon's Den - I'm out.

NeMo · July 25, 2016, 11:53:11 AM

There are Lima coaches if you're really on a budget... and surprisingly, there's a chap who upgrades them to something that actually looks rather nice. Easily good enough for a garden railway, I'd have thought.

http://www.aquitrain.com/coaches_a.php

Cheers, NeMo

JasonBz · July 25, 2016, 02:57:33 PM

I think that as a rule of thumb and regardless of scale, a model railway layout's RTR stock list will cost roughly the same for any given square footage of layout

steve836 · August 16, 2016, 08:28:46 AM

Quote from: railsquid on July 24, 2016, 02:07:46 PM
Two OO coaches for 135 quid? OK, so (roughly calculated) 2 OO coaches are about the same length as 4 N ones, and 4 new N ones aren't going to leave you much change from 110 quid or so... And the OO coaches will have 4 times the volume, which means you're effectively getting the equivalent of 8 N gauge coaches, so I reckon per cubic unit of coach they might be better value for money.

You forgot the width! 2 OO coaches have 8 times the volume of 2 N gauge ones.

Chris Morris · August 16, 2016, 09:42:12 AM

Quote from: NeMo on July 25, 2016, 08:40:28 AM

If you think about the insane number of locomotives and pieces of rolling stock N-gaugers tend to accumulate, that probably compares rather favourably with an O-gauge branchline with a single loco, half a dozen wagons and a couple of coaches, even at the prices you mention. I'd argue that O-gauge tends to attract people happier to build kits, which are much easier because of their sheer size. Those PD wagon kits are virtually idiot-proof and to be honest I don't really see why anyone would buy an RTR seven-plank wagon or similar. For sure locos and coaches are ~~hardy~~ harder, but there are "skill builder" kits from the likes of Jim McGeown.

Cheers, NeMo

I've never done O but I do have a G garden railway. The theory of a single loco and half a dozen wagons does not apply to me. I seem to have acquired some 25 G scale locos and over 80 items of rolling stock. This comes together with an acute storage problem! Most of my purchases were made at the right time and price so nearly all my locos were under £200 - that's a lot of loco per £. Got this little beauty from eBay for £110 a few years ago. The coaches cost between £100 and £180 and are made from real aluminium.