[Seek]

Originally Posted by Gany

I am heading to Chennai over Christmas weekend. Can someone suggest me places where one can buy model train sets & accessories. I am interested in buying HO scale US railroad stuff and HO scale India railroad stuffs. Also suggest me some place in Pune also

@Gany, you can check out Odyssey (Adyar) in Chennai. They stock Hornby OO and HO scale. Also ping Emerald India Hobby Centre (Address below). They have limited stock but you can order against the Hornby catalog and they can get it in about 10 days (I havent tried it though).

Emerald India Hobby Centre
"rayala Tower",Shop # 31,#781,(Near M C S Subway)
Anna Salai, Chennai, 600002
044 28520783 / 65291824

I have picked up some of my stuff from ebay UK...works out really well if you order multiple items and save on shipping.

[shankar.balan]

@Gany - Odyssey is a good bet for original Hornby Train sets

@Seek - is this Emerald India Hobby Centre the same as the old India Hobby Centre which used to be on Mount road?

Originally Posted by Seek

@Gany, you can check out Odyssey (Adyar) in Chennai. They stock Hornby OO and HO scale. Also ping Emerald India Hobby Centre (Address below). They have limited stock but you can order against the Hornby catalog and they can get it in about 10 days (I havent tried it though).

Emerald India Hobby Centre
"rayala Tower",Shop # 31,#781,(Near M C S Subway)
Anna Salai, Chennai, 600002
044 28520783 / 65291824

I have picked up some of my stuff from ebay UK...works out really well if you order multiple items and save on shipping.

[Seek]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

@Gany - Odyssey is a good bet for original Hornby Train sets

@Seek - is this Emerald India Hobby Centre the same as the old India Hobby Centre which used to be on Mount road?

Shankar, No Idea.I just located it about 6 months back. But yeah this is on Mount Road.

[basilmabraham]

I dont own any train sets, but my son apparently is quite addicted.
He has a small set of IKEA wooden train set, the ones with no self properlling engines.

The mall near our home has setup some model train tracks for Xmas. I will get some pictures for you guys this weekend.

[Seek]

Originally Posted by Seek

@Gany, you can check out Odyssey (Adyar) in Chennai. They stock Hornby OO and HO scale. Also ping Emerald India Hobby Centre (Address below). They have limited stock but you can order against the Hornby catalog and they can get it in about 10 days (I havent tried it though).

@ gany, Shankar - Just went down to Odyssey yesterday. They had stopped stocking Hornby since a while and have not as yet re-stocked.

[shankar.balan]

thats sad
you can visit www.hornby.com
or www.hamleys.com and order the train you want via the internet
they will ship it down here.
Better still get them to ship it to a pal or relative in the UK and get them to bring it down because our Indian Post is notorious for stealing things as per my experience.

Originally Posted by Seek

@ gany, Shankar - Just went down to Odyssey yesterday. They had stopped stocking Hornby since a while and have not as yet re-stocked.

[askssh]

Originally Posted by headers

Yes Odessey still stocks Hornby Collections - Infact We have a huge collection of trains [read 6] with a 6 feet by 4 feet track setup too.. will post pics soon..

Are you sure Odessey still stocks Hornby or anything (HO/OO scale) of that sort? I am very much interested and phoned them only to know that they stopped dealing scaled railway models due to inconsistence supply etc.

I am looking for HO scale (HO/OO for tracks) models in India. However, I have seen a couple of shops in Bangalore selling scaled railway models, but they are chinese ones without precision and detailing on them.

[askssh]

Originally Posted by Seek

@ gany, Shankar - Just went down to Odyssey yesterday. They had stopped stocking Hornby since a while and have not as yet re-stocked.

Yes. Presently no one seems to be definite about supply of HO/OO scale railway models in India. I checked with everyone I get to know them selling: Odessey/Chennai, Jack's Hobby/Hyderabad, Hobby Makers/Mumbai, India's Hobby Centre/Kolkata, 2 Pune contacts (from irfca.org). I found a couple of Bangalore shops are selling much inferior chinese models which do not have the precision and detailing like European/American models.

I could not really check temptation and dared to order tracks, DCC and loco from UK. (waiting for them unless customs/postal service make them 'lost'!!)

[askssh]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

thats sad
you can visit www.hornby.com
or www.hamleys.com and order the train you want via the internet
they will ship it down here.
Better still get them to ship it to a pal or relative in the UK and get them to bring it down because our Indian Post is notorious for stealing things as per my experience.

I agree. An effective way, seems to be, is to buy them in the Internet from UK (limited to mostly British gauges, but economic) or USA (more variety with IR looking models but shipping costlier, delay more). But that comes with the risk of loosing them to Postal/Customs folks who often are known to steal them!!

Last month, I bought a few PECO turnouts and switch motors over the Internet from UK, to test out how things go and they reached me in 10 days.

After that, I dared to order few more items including flex-track, DCC system and locomotives, in multiple phases from UK based online stores (they have shops with good stocks and are very reputed, I know) --- only to wait indefinitely and praying for them for not getting attracted by 'reputed' Customs/Postal folks!! However, the tracking numbers say they have long been handed over to Indian postal authority, for delivery.

[Seek]

Originally Posted by askssh

I agree. An effective way, seems to be, is to buy them in the Internet from UK (limited to mostly British gauges, but economic) or USA (more variety with IR looking models but shipping costlier, delay more). But that comes with the risk of loosing them to Postal/Customs folks who often are known to steal them!!

Last month, I bought a few PECO turnouts and switch motors over the Internet from UK, to test out how things go and they reached me in 10 days.

After that, I dared to order few more items including flex-track, DCC system and locomotives, in multiple phases from UK based online stores (they have shops with good stocks and are very reputed, I know) --- only to wait indefinitely and praying for them for not getting attracted by 'reputed' Customs/Postal folks!! However, the tracking numbers say they have long been handed over to Indian postal authority, for delivery.

Just keep praying. One of my parcels from UK in Sep this year took over a month to reach me. I had infact filed for a refund claim on paypal before it finally decided to turn up! The delay was blamed on strikes in the UK postal department! And I thought only our Indian Postal guys were the guys who ever went on strikes

[tonrag]

Have been following the discussions on this thread with great interest. I'm interested in all forms of modeling, ranging from static models to tabletop layouts. Here are photos of a model that I'm building of the DHR B class engine. the material used is handmade paper, made from elephant dung! The scale is 1:16. The idea of building this model was to demonstrate that a fairly detailed model can be built with the most simple tools and commonplace materials. Apart from the paper, I've used notebook covers for stiffening and reinforcement, scrap steel wire to provide strength in some parts and more than a thousand paper pins, as rivets and to dowel butt jointed parts together. The model is nearly completed; are that remains are some details, such as the tool boxes below the saddle tank, the brakes and its levers, the cabin roof, the rear light, the holder and the log on the right side of the engine and of course, the innumerable pipe valve cocks. The mounting
base and rails are also being made out of paper. I've spent a shade over Rs. 250 for making it, including 200 ml of Fevicol, the pins, etc. If all goes well, the locomotive will be joined by a few carriages and a model of Sukna station!.
The other day I finished making the steam pressure gauge. It is just 13 mm in diameter, but you can read it with a magnifying glass, because I do believe that for a model of this scale, the steam pressure gauge must be readable. I copied the face from the actual gauge, sent by a good friend who was till recently the director of the DHR.
Shall post pictures again, once I've completed the model, which should be in a few days or weeks! I've already clocked more than 1000 hours making this model. Pure Masochism!

[shankar.balan]

ok finally here is my pic of the Hornby Flying Scotsman Train Set with Trakmat - unfortunately it is still boxed up and I just havent made time to set it up and use it. along with this are my remote mini helicopter and a couple of remote jeeps.
cheers

[Sujith1100]

Shame on me that I didn't see this thread till date, now on its bookmarked.
Superb collections. I love toys even now rather scale models.

[ampere]

Sujit,

Add one to that. Even I did not know that there exists a thread like this.

@Shankar,
Though I don't collect models, but I do love the horn of a loco. My first love, if I am at my dad's place is to visit the local railway station (Yelahanka) every morning as walk to that place. We don't come back unless we have a spotted a train or two. This is an apt station. Not big and not too small either, as there are four points connected here.

Sundays are a special treat to watch the Rajdhani in action flying past on the main line ! I have travelled on most stretches on Indian railways and enjoyed each and every moment. I have also most of railway travelogues published (Bill Aitken, Paul Theraoux, William Darlymple and the likes).

In fact another passion some time back was to look at the Mumbai traction conversion (read unification to AC traction) project. Its a massive task. If you look at the Mumbai google map with the conversion process overlayed, one will be amazed at how they carried this out.

Check this link: [IRFCA] Mumbai Area Electrification

[shankar.balan]

hey ampere
yes i also love trains - right from when I was a kid. there is no travel like train travel in terms of sheer comfort - First Class naturally!

I also love reading about the great train journeys of the world and indeed read some of the authors you've mentioned. You could possibly add Ruskin Bond to that list!

we have inherited a fantastic railway network from our erstwhile colonial rulers - and truly, if there is one physical unifier to our great country, it is our railway network - the largest in the world!

I also love travelling on trains in the UK and Europe - main thing is that they are so clean!

Ref the next scale model railway I ve got my eye on, it is the Harry Potter Hogwarts Express from Hornby Trains! Lets see when I manage to acquire that one! The existing Flying Scotsman that I have, I bought ages ago - more than 11-12 years back as a replacement to the one my Dad gifted me when I was small - it was another original Hornby (Made in England) but being of a naughty disposition of course I dissassembled that one and could never put it back together again.
this Flying Scotsman which I have, I havent set up and run for more than 5 years - I should do that one weekend and enjoy it again!

cheers

Originally Posted by ampere

Sujit,

Add one to that. Even I did not know that there exists a thread like this.

@Shankar,
Though I don't collect models, but I do love the horn of a loco. My first love, if I am at my dad's place is to visit the local railway station (Yelahanka) every morning as walk to that place. We don't come back unless we have a spotted a train or two. This is an apt station. Not big and not too small either, as there are four points connected here.

Sundays are a special treat to watch the Rajdhani in action flying past on the main line ! I have travelled on most stretches on Indian railways and enjoyed each and every moment. I have also most of railway travelogues published (Bill Aitken, Paul Theraoux, William Darlymple and the likes).

In fact another passion some time back was to look at the Mumbai traction conversion (read unification to AC traction) project. Its a massive task. If you look at the Mumbai google map with the conversion process overlayed, one will be amazed at how they carried this out.

Check this link: [IRFCA] Mumbai Area Electrification