Model Railway Imports "Trade"

British railway modellers in Canada and the USA may be interested to know that one of the largest North American stockists of British railway models, track, accessories, kits, modelling supplies, and books has resumed business following the death of founder Harold 'Madg' Madgwick in early 2006. Model Railway Imports is now based in St. Catharines, Ontario, and is owned and operated by Steve Ciazynski, lifelong British railway enthusiast and modeller. The full product range, ordering and contact details are available on our website:

formatting link

Reply to
Steve C
Loading thread data ...

I note you have Hornby Thomas products. I was under the impression that Bachmann has exclusive Thomas rights for North America. H'm.

In my experience, Bachmann Thomas tends to be better than the Hornby product. OTOH, the two ranges are not equivalent, each including items the other doesn't have.

Reply to
Wolf

And different scales as well - 3.5mm vs 4mm.

Reply to
Christopher A.Lee

Two points worth clarification (or perhaps not!)

The Bachmann Thomas range is NOT 3.5mm / ft. whilst I accept that it is impossible to quote the scale of a fictitious loco. The Bachmann Thomas and Percy are virtually the same models as Stuart and Greg in the British Bachmann Digital Starter set (and also 2005 and GWR 311 in the Junior range). Greg/Percy/311 is a quite nicely proportioned but very basic generic

0-4-0 industrial type and the buffers match up with 00 gauge rolling stock.

Stuart/Thomas/2005 is an absolute abomination with the front buffer beam much lower than the back one and lacking substance below the smokebox end running plate. The cab is much higher than a Bachmann Jinty but the overall length is also much shorter. I have to say that in my opinion, the Hornby Thomas (based on the LBSC E2) is a much better likeness of the character/machine on the TV.

I had expected the USA Bachmann Hogwarts Express to be superior to the Hornby versions but the finish is nowhere near as good even though they have the advantage of having a Hall class model available to base it on. Once again, this is OO and not HO.

Regards,

Dave W

Reply to
David Westerman

I had assumed Bachmann sold the same Thomas stuff in the UK as the US, which is proportionally smaller than the imported Hornby, as HO is to OO.

Reply to
Christopher A.Lee

"Christopher A.Lee" wrote

Hornby have *exclusive* rights to the 'Thomas' range in the UK, and Bachmann cannot legitimately market their 'Thomas' range here although I do know some retailers have imported the latter (and the Bachmann Hogwarts Castle) from the USA.

John.

Reply to
John Turner

In the USA the Hornby Thomas stuff was sold as grey imports for a long time before the Bachman versions appeared. The latter are definitely HO, being proportionally smaller than the former.

Reply to
Christopher A.Lee

PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.