Ebay vagaries

I definitely don’t need any more engines but I still check out 3 rail locomotives on ebay just to see what’s about.

I came across a Jinty based on an HD 0-6-0T which had been 3 railed. Now I have a 3 railed Triang Jinty so definitely did not need another but this one was in Crimson Lake so I put it on my watch list.

I put in a bid fairly early on but was soon outbid and the final price was £107 plus postage. Which I thought was staggering.

Well at the same time Rails of Sheffield was listing a Hornby LNER B12 3 railed at a BIN price of £39.50 and postage of £2 so I went for it.

It is in very good condition with added crew and lights and runs perfectly over points and diamond crossing but like all modern stuff has poor pulling capacity although it is OK with 2 or 3 Trix coaches. Need to add some weight to the loco,

So £107 for a Jinty or £39,50 for the B12 – ebay is a funny old place but it induces you to buy engines you don’t really need.

The B12 pulling a Triang converter wagon and two Trix maroon coaches. Behind  is a Black Five also a Hornby conversion but this one is tender drive whereas the B12 is engine drive.

2 thoughts on “Ebay vagaries”

  1. The vagaries of eBay.
    Yes I personally find the aforementioned site really is hellish expensive. I think it’s a ‘human nature’ thing and once a couple of bids go in then it becomes a personal battle to win. I am fortunate in that I live within easy reach of two decent toy fairs and virtually all my Hornby Dublo has come from two of the regular dealers. I am thankful that I am able to access and barter with the dealers and most importantly I can touch and check what I am about to shell-out on.
    Some of the items listed on eBay are often described as mint, when at best they are spares or repair.
    The prices fetched for some items are staggering and the postage charges are not helpful either.
    You can buy virtually anything Hornby Dublo on eBay but it does come at a cost.

  2. I agree with William about ebayuk postage charges, but do bear in mind the Hornby Dublo locomotives are heavy – at leat the metal bodied ones are. I picked up an Exley carriage at the Doncaster exhibition a few years ago, not had one before. Did some research, OO carriages were not made after February 1962 when some lads made a big box fire on waste ground next to the factory on Little Horton Lane, Bradford. Fire spread and the factory was a complete loss. Edward Exley then retired, having made models from circa 1928. I started looking on ebayuk for Exley carriages and have built up a collection of 26. Some came with Dublo couplings, others I changed. I’ve now got TPOs, a buffet car, full brakes (for the postal train) corridor types including brake-ends, suburban types, a sleeper, a 6 wheel brake (all LMS) and a couple of green Southern railway full brakes for the Engineering Department trains that I run in between the regular service. Some of the LMS passenger carriages I’ve managed to dismantle and wash the strips of real glass and replace together with passengers as the carriages all have seats and compartment dividers. The carriages with glass windows were made pre-WW2. I’ve been buying metal bogies with metal wheels as it makes a nicer sound over the tracks. My Elmton and Holbeck branch line is a U shape with tunnels at each end for the train to disappear from view. It is in the old attic bedroom of my cottage with is 25′ X 15′. I use a lot of Bilteezi as the whole ethos of my railway is that it might have been built by a schoolboy in the 1950s.

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