commerlad

I have only stated UK Mainland once in this thread (The others were lifted from a thread over a year ago), and that as such was to differentiate from the Islands thereof. Shetlands, Hebrides, Chanel etc as they take longer to get to than Ireland and as such the visitor numbers are really low. Not helped by the CalMac Ferry situation (Both new Ferries out of action only 3 months after entering service) for the former 2 either. Yes I am English and as such have been brought up to call it such (I am not trying to upset the "chariot à pommes" by inadvertently using that term). All this is not helped by the fact that I prefer the (Crown Dependency) Isle of Man anyway.

We have been over this topic before My comment from that thread still applies Posted June 22, 2025 (edited) The above posts have gone on about location and population in those areas, But I think some of you miss the point that those locations are holiday destinations or have good transport links. Wales is only in most cases only 2 or 3 hours drive away from England. Any thoughts that Ireland is that same 2 or 3 hours drive, A 2 hour ferry crossing plus the 1hr check in beforehand and then guess what. Another couple of hours drive to get to the location. It's not that those in the UK are not interested in Irish historic railways, It's just the practicalities of getting there easily are not viable. Especially as most do day trips to locations on the Mainland. Off the top of my head I can legally get to at least 10 mainland locations within an hours drive from home (according to google maps) for only minimal fuel costs. Anywhere in Ireland is 3 days 2 nights and a ferry fare. After checking I got that number to 16 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It is unfortunate that the population density of Ireland and the Republic Of (Other than in the Cities) has never fully recovered from the exodus (Not that it was that great to start with) so there are not that many wanting to visit an attraction in the first place, out of those, how many are enthusiasts? You see where I am going with this. There just is not the viable footfall to really support a venture that needs several thousand Euro to succeed and grow. Even now on the UK mainland places are stating to struggle. The availability and cost of Coal, means more Diesel running (And Trump has done nothing to help in that situaton!) So even visitor numbers are down (Not greatly but people may not go out so often and stay more local than long distance) I am lucky enough to be able to enjoy my hobbies, those of you that have read my posts may even realise how "lucky" I am. But just about everybody has limits and unfortunately some are more limited than others.

Yes we found that out the hard way. Still what we kept (Also not going to say as that would give the game away regarding not naming the person or Trust) isn't bad.

The Trust part also holds true for many Standard Gauge operations, To limit any financial loss to the Owners of the items. The problem comes when one of the Trust Directors gets himself declared Bankrupt. WITHOUT FIRST WARNING THE TRUST. So he was still listed. Then again, he did not tell the ombudsman that he was a Registered Director (Illegal, Nor did he declare all his other Assets Also Illegal). but if that had been found out then all the Trusts Assets could have been seized. I had personal dealings with this so know it to be True, Myself and Freinds were one the Creditors (Due to working on an item off site) so lost money. Warned the Trust when we found out though, so they had chance to act. (Have withheld naming the person or Trust.) In the end we kept the item. He could hardly accuse us of theft as that would have meant him openly saying that he had not declared said asset.

Dont print it, Use a cut open Beer Can for material instead. Just because you can 3D Print something it does not mean you have to.

It has had sellotape on it but just needs cleaning off. The Roof vent wants reseating. The Cab and Control Panel putting back Correctly after being removed for some reason (probably to get to the DCC socket) and the Handrail reseating. Scroll down the picks for close ups. This is a case of a seller doing all he can to show the true state of an item (Not just a single dark blurred shot) He said not running but also not a railway modeller. But all other locos he is selling have same description of power applied but wheels do not move. So if supplied DC from a transformer was it set to move or just at 0. Also this loco is a DCC fitted loco remember.

As this new thread has started, I will merely add, That I am still waiting on Allen Doherty to get back to me, with information and more importantly price.

The kit may stil be listed on the Backwoods miniatures site but Pete gave up the range and sold it on to Neville Kent (NDrive) See. Home | N-Drive Productions for narrow gauge kits and N gauge industrial locomotive kits

I know for a fact that P McParlin sold only 1 is false. Bob Hughes had 1, & I have most of 1 (Bought 2nd hand off Ebay part built {or trod on})

I would not say Cherry Picking as such, So far The only known acquisitions are. 3mm scale items by 3mm Scale Society (Although not yet completed as waiting for Allen to provide a list of Photo tool references). 5.5mm scale items by Neville Kent (NDrive) but again still awaiting some Photo tool references from Allen (10 months after being paid). French Railcars in various/all scales (7 kits only) Photo tool references provided by Allen, But they do not match the list sent to Grainge & Hodder transferring ownership. Other than that 5 (Separate) Attempts to secure the 3 foot Narrow Gauge range in 4mm Scale, By the 3 above and myself, (Twice now as my first attempt was jointly with 1 of above) and 2 (Separate) Attempts to secure the 3 foot Narrow Gauge range in 15mm Scale, By 1 of the above and myself. I am trying to keep track here, And by and large all other parties I have spoken to {With the exception of Stan, who is not answering or really saying anything either} are agreeing to avoid treading on other parties toe's and work with each other. The 3mm society took control (Or are trying to !) of the entirety of the 3mm range. Obvious really as it is their scale. Neville Kent has taken the 5.5mm range and attempted to secure the 3 foot Narrow Gauge range as they complement his current range of chassis. The French Railcars as it was a small range and the person is interested in them as such and will be easy to handle without much cost outlay.

Stupid place or not, Well done so far.

No the other 3 have specifically stated they re no longer pursuing the purchase. 1 hour long phone call later to latest contact gives the extra information. 1 Allen's List / Identification System of Phototools is not the same as G & H (But they do have a crib sheet to convert across) 2 The new contact having bought the rights to the said 7 kits has received a list of Phototools from Allen, But that does not tally with the list Allen has sent to G & H to transfer the rights. 3 New contact is also particularly wary of North West Group in that they are not forthcoming in their interest, involvement or position. (Go back to my 1st post in this thread 5th May.) In that they say they have the range (But do not say the rights) and are acting like they are agents for Allen (Or at least trying to give that impression to new contact)

The digging continues, although I do not know if the hole is getting deeper or just wider? I have (AT LAST) actually spoken to Allen. He now knows my intent and I am back to waiting for a response. I have also found out that there was another attempt to secure the Irish, Isle of Man and Southwold ranges in 00n3 and 15mm (But have been requested not to identify them) They have taken other bits but it took 4 months for 7 kits and they are still not certain they have all relevant details. So that's at least 4 of us that have been or still are after the 00n3 range. (With this amount of activity you should think that Allen would have the Phototool No,s sorted by now) Oh Hum.......

Well the Wallabies don't have far to swim. Wallabies and the Isle of Man | Manx Wildlife Trust

Further progress, Yes, if you count going backwards. Been in touch with Grainge and Hodder. My earlier statement that they knew what was on each Phototool was incorrect. What they have is a list of digitised Phototool sheets, Each being given a code that enables them to identify it from their records, also stating the material type, thickness and size of sheet it is to be etched on. They have no knowledge of what each sheet will actually make up into. Both Neville and Peter are still waiting, And this afternoon Allen announced on the 00n3 group.io site that he had found more old 00n3 stock. ?

The Bogie well looks good and the tip about the joining method. (Do not know if our Chemists will sell the product though) The article for the figures is interesting, as that looks doable being mainly Software lead, once you are familiar with the Printer. The Class 27 Cab, Well it's a bit advanced in the design stage for a newbie.

Hey, Don't Knock it.

I would be interested please, Just got a 2nd hand Tevo Tornado (Apparently a Creality CR10 clone) to start with. Also have a Resin printer gifted a few months back but that is still sat in it's as yet untouched and factory sealed box. Start a course on 3D printing at end of month.

Bit like this used to be. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/157894865580 This kit was reworked from a Steam Roller version.

He ruled me out as I'm barely 20 mile from him.

And from Neville Kent (NDrive) 10 months on from paying for the 5.5mm range, He is still waiting for film numbers and what's on each, So far he only has about a 1/3 of the info and 1 he has an order for is among the not yet provided. He was after the 00n3 range but Allen said only with the other Narrow Gauge range, But Allen would not give him a price (Then did the deal with Stan for the actual stock) Neville is not now necessarily wanting to buy after the market has been flooded with cheap kits. (Stans fire sale as I stated earlier) and maybe wait ages to get the information on the film numbers. (If ever) He has said if I'm interested to have a try to go for it (But armed and forewarned with the above information) You can see I am not going at this blindly. Next stop on my quest seems to be to try to "back door" the Film Number information from Grainge & Hodder if they will be amenable. But am still stuck with then trying to "Work" a deal with Allen.

Right Just spoke to Peter Leach, he has confirmed that the 3mm Society took all 3mm stock and had agreed a price on the Phototools, As it stands they have so far paid for the stock (Which he has in his warehouse) but not the Phototools as they are still waiting on Allen to provide a full list of what exists and is held at Grainge and Hodder, Apparently G & H know what is on the list but they will not provide it, as it is still Allen's intellectual property. So I was partly right in that the 3mm society do not yet have the rights to the 3mm range. Like me he is also an 00n3 modeller and we had raised the idea of the purchase between us before (Beginning of last year!) and we may still do this jointly, if we can get anywhere with Allen, But at present he is growing frustrated at not yet being able to finalise the deal he worked so hard on for the 3mm society. Anyway I now have some insight into the kind of prices achieved so far (And that it is well within what I had put aside in my mind!) we have arranged a further Phone call for tomorrow.

I'm still astounded by the fact that people try to print everything in 1. Yes I know it can but, Don't bother with the cab roof, A cut up Coke can still works, It's thinner and no layering detail. Think of a kit , The Cab Sides and Back and the Tank Side's would all be better if each part was printed Horizontally. (Other than Rivet detail its all 1 layer) So nothing to smooth. Also if it's in bits it is easier to paint.

As I said Point 1 Is the price, I do have a budget (but a reasonable bank balance), I'm still trying to get a price for what I am interested in 1st (At least it is something that I think I can judge sales on) Depending on how much that is? (If I ever find out!) then I may ask about Irish Broad Gauge or other English Narrow Gauge (If they have not been acquired?) But not getting anywhere with trying to get an answer from Allen.

Point 1 Purchasing Cost, That is what I am trying to get an answer to. Allen has on more than 1 occasion put me off "Till later" Point 2 Time to run Operation, Depends how many orders come in. Point 3 Viability i.e. Other Component availability, Lack of wheels is becoming a big factor here, Without which what's the point of a Loco kit. This is the main sticking factor Neville at NDrive has with the old Backwoods Kits. I know I have helped him out in sorting the mess that was the castings to go with each. Point 4 As Angus said Artwork is for a sheet and knowing what is on with what is a problem here. (Back to my initial post on this thread and the "Accessing" remark) if only to find out. The last kit I received was 2 full sheets directly from Grainge and Hodder for a West Clare Walker Bogie Diesel in 15mm, all the bits I want are there, but also some I do not (And have no idea what they are). Point 5 The rise of "The Machines", 3D printing, Laser Cutters and Silhouette Cutters are gaining traction, lowering costs and may end Brass kits for good "If it is classed as good". There is no easy way to take "artwork for an Etch" and turn it into "Artwork" for a different format, Each is unique, In it's form and nature. Basically for each style you start again from known measurements and design to suit your machine. What other posters to this thread seem to be missing is that I am serious in wanting to do this. At present I have reasonable funding to do it. (Depending on Point 1) and still feel willing to give it a go. The actual "Getting a Price" is the sticking point here.