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Post by WP 257 on Mar 18, 2015 20:10:31 GMT -8
Hopefully most of the remaining brick and mortar stores in this area will be already aware of the theft and on the lookout for the goods.
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Post by Brakie on Mar 19, 2015 6:28:29 GMT -8
Hopefully most of the remaining brick and mortar stores in this area will be already aware of the theft and on the lookout for the goods. I suspect these stolen models won't show up any time soon..These are not your common smash,grab,run and sell criminals. They knew exactly what they were doing and what to grab.I highly suspect they already had a buyer or in a organization that has lots of independent and highly knowable sellers through out the land that specializes selling though various methods.. Again how does one tell a stolen model from any other model? Cops can't go around questing everybody that sells a use engine or freight car on e-Bay, Crag's list,train shows etc since you can't prove the model wasn't legally purchase. |
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Post by riogrande on Mar 19, 2015 6:40:26 GMT -8
As I said, it may take someone who has loose lips talking to the wrong person to give away the theives - so they will have to be smart and very quiet to avoid getting caught. Not that people can't be their own worst enemies at times - just watch the news about how they get caught these days!
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Post by kentuckysouthernrwy on Mar 19, 2015 7:06:33 GMT -8
Perhaps, especially in light of the shocking nature of the crime, and the gut reaction of the individual at Bowser who contacted NBRY, the comment on the offender/offenders being put to death...should have been left out of the original qoute. But please don't misconstrue this as faulting NBRY, it's just an observation keeping in line with my belief that such comments have no place here. And to second Donnell, there is absolutely no need for the discussion of politics, in any way, shape, or form. What is a NBRY? I don't get the initials so many use now days instead of just saying what they mean, at least once, in their communication. YKWIM*? *You Know What I Mean? |
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Post by canrailfan on Mar 19, 2015 8:40:51 GMT -8
Nothing mysterious, NBRY was the original poster of Lee English's original email to Bowser customers.
I can sympathize with Lee's mood at the time.
I hope the perpetrators are caught and the stolen items recovered. This isn't the first robbery of this kind in the area.
David
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Post by Brakie on Mar 19, 2015 8:42:15 GMT -8
As I said, it may take someone who has loose lips talking to the wrong person to give away the theives - so they will have to be smart and very quiet to avoid getting caught. Not that people can't be their own worst enemies at times - just watch the news about how they get caught these days! Some of the smarter criminals will never get caught and the majority of the people knows all to well what can happen if they talk out of turn.Should a criminal be in a organization and talks he just sign his death warrant. This wasn't just another petty smash,grab,run and sell break in. |
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Post by riogrande on Mar 19, 2015 8:50:38 GMT -8
Perhaps, but to err is human. Only time will tell.
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Post by bigb6flyer on Mar 19, 2015 12:21:21 GMT -8
I had a radio stolen out of my car years ago. I found it a few days later at a local pawn shop. The owner said 'prove that it's yours.' I had him power it up. I said when you hit the 'eject cd button' Pearl Jam's Ten will come out. It did. I got my radio back.
Best of luck to the people at a Bowser. I hope the crooks get 4 flat tires, get busted, and have old crappy Tyco trains thrown at them.
Brad
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Post by valenciajim on Mar 19, 2015 13:21:42 GMT -8
I hope the merchandise was insured. Clearly this was a sophisticated robbery. We had a LHS in Valencia that sold a lot of stuff on-line. They were in an industrial center. Someone drove a truck through the glass door in the front. They took 30 Trix Big Boys and the store computer that had all the customer credit card information stored on the hard drive. That was in 2003 or 2004.
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Post by atsfan on Mar 19, 2015 15:49:24 GMT -8
Cinder blocks can be easily smashed with a hammer and chisel. Little noise.
As for the state police, they surely have bigger things to do than monitor ebay to see if a train shows up matching something stolen. If the crooks are smart they will know how to fence the items.
I would expect Bowser to have insurance (I hope).
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Post by jlwii2000 on Mar 21, 2015 8:00:36 GMT -8
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Post by riogrande on Mar 21, 2015 9:01:33 GMT -8
It sounds like from the interview, the folks at the store expect much of the merchandise to be sold at train shows - so the thieves may be looking to cash in on it that way.
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Post by alcoc430 on Mar 26, 2015 15:43:59 GMT -8
Just wondering. Being they went through the wall, what type of wall construction does Bowsers building use? The video link shows that the portion of the building that they went through was a steel building with the thin sheet metal siding that they cut or popped out the screws that was holding the pieces together |
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Post by Brakie on Mar 27, 2015 16:20:49 GMT -8
It sounds like from the interview, the folks at the store expect much of the merchandise to be sold at train shows - so the thieves may be looking to cash in on it that way. Jim,I don't think so.I suspect it will be at least several years before these stolen models start showing up since these criminals wasn't amateurs since they knew exactly what they wanted-all 80-90,000 bucks worth. Of course they may have had a buyer already lined up for a quick sale. . |
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Post by atsfan on Mar 27, 2015 16:56:30 GMT -8
It sounds like from the interview, the folks at the store expect much of the merchandise to be sold at train shows - so the thieves may be looking to cash in on it that way. Jim,I don't think so.I suspect it will be at least several years before these stolen models start showing up since these criminals wasn't amateurs since they knew exactly what they wanted-all 80-90,000 bucks worth. Of course they may have had a buyer already lined up for a quick sale. . I still think that it will be very hard to tell these items from others at a train show sale. Or via ebay. |
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Post by riogrande on Mar 27, 2015 17:37:42 GMT -8
Hey, don't shoot the messenger, I'm just passing on what they said.
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Post by atsfan on Mar 27, 2015 17:38:54 GMT -8
Hey, don't shoot the messenger, I'm just passing on what they said. No shooting. Just thinking.  |
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Post by jamesbrodie67281 on Mar 27, 2015 19:27:20 GMT -8
Do you know that thinking can cause brain damage !
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hhr
New Member
Commercial Pilot
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Post by hhr on Mar 27, 2015 22:12:59 GMT -8
Yes it can Mr. Brodie.
Why just yesterday I was thinking, "it's my day off, a nice visit the the local train shop sounds in order", then my lovely wife handed me a list of errands to run. Suddenly I developed the worst headache.
She gets inside my train addled mind before I know it's happening, oddly enough all the errands were in the opposite direction of the train shop, and I just couldn't justify a 125 mile detour no matter how hard I tried.
Back to the main topic, those trains will be scattered to the four winds, if they aren't already. My emotions have shifted from anger to sadness, the folks at Bowser and English's Model Railroad Supply are my friends, and they'll be dealing with this mess for months.
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Post by Brakie on Mar 28, 2015 1:00:41 GMT -8
Yes it can Mr. Brodie. Why just yesterday I was thinking, "it's my day off, a nice visit the the local train shop sounds in order", then my lovely wife handed me a list of errands to run. Suddenly I developed the worst headache. She gets inside my train addled mind before I know it's happening, oddly enough all the errands were in the opposite direction of the train shop, and I just couldn't justify a 125 mile detour no matter how hard I tried. Back to the main topic, those trains will be scattered to the four winds, if they aren't already. My emotions have shifted from anger to sadness, the folks at Bowser and English's Model Railroad Supply are my friends, and they'll be dealing with this mess for months. My wife tried that once or maybe twice and each time I said to her "Have fun hon and drive safely!". She got the point I was not her errand boy on my day off.. I also suspect those trains may be in a storage locker in another state. . |
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Post by atsfan on Mar 28, 2015 4:27:40 GMT -8
Do you know that thinking can cause brain damage ! I am fairly safe then...... |
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Post by WP 257 on Mar 28, 2015 6:37:39 GMT -8
No, the trains will be out on the tables for sale at the next York, PA, TCA show, or at Timonium on April 11.
There are unethical "basement" dealers in PA (I know of one who has had his issues with alcohol and not reporting any taxes) who just might acquire the stuff, and it will most likely be out on show tables by April.
I misunderstood the initial reports and was led to believe they focused more on the vintage stuff--which English's didn't have all that much of on hand, in for repairs. However, the photos posted later make it quite clear that a decent portion of the stuff taken was actually brand new in box, and therefore easy to put out at a show.
Also, their price stickers are the generic ones without any kind of store name on them (as some stores used to use in the past), so there won't be any identifying marks at all on the brand new in box stuff.
My heart goes out to them, agreed.
John
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Post by Brakie on Mar 28, 2015 7:14:23 GMT -8
No, the trains will be out on the tables for sale at the next York, PA, TCA show, or at Timonium on April 11.
There are unethical "basement" dealers in PA (I know of one who has had his issues with alcohol and not reporting any taxes) who just might acquire the stuff, and it will most likely be out on show tables by April.
----------------------------------------------------
I'm not to sure since these aren't your common smash,grab,run and sell criminals. I really don't think these jay birds would let $80-90,000 worth of trains go cheaply since they knew exactly what to take.I also doubt if any basement dealer would have that much cash on hand.
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Post by WP 257 on Mar 28, 2015 12:26:56 GMT -8
One basement dealer I'm thinking of could have covered the cost of at least part of the theft. Last time I saw him at one of the train shows, his HO brass inventory easily matched or well exceeded the dollar amount of trains stolen here.
I suspect that portions of the inventory will re-enter the market through different sources, in little dribs and drabs here or there, but what do I know?
I may contact Bowser and see if I can take a partial inventory list with me to an upcoming train show. I was always good at tracking who had what and how many and will gladly search, discreetly.
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Post by atsfan on Mar 28, 2015 13:23:41 GMT -8
One basement dealer I'm thinking of could have covered the cost of at least part of the theft. Last time I saw him at one of the train shows, his HO brass inventory easily matched or well exceeded the dollar amount of trains stolen here. I suspect that portions of the inventory will re-enter the market through different sources, in little dribs and drabs here or there, but what do I know? I may contact Bowser and see if I can take a partial inventory list with me to an upcoming train show. I was always good at tracking who had what and how many and will gladly search, discreetly. 1. You should be careful accusing people of felony burglary. 2. You should me even more careful going to York to accuse someone selling a product you think was stolen, of it being stolen. |
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Post by WP 257 on Mar 28, 2015 14:09:41 GMT -8
I have not accused anyone of felony burglary. Don't you think I'd know better than that?
The show I'll be attending is not at York, PA.
I can legally gather facts and quietly pass those facts along if I would happen to see an inventory that looks suspiciously similar.
Last time I checked, it was a free country, and I'm allowed to look and watch for what might appear, and quietly pass that along.
Thank you for reminding me to be most discreet. This is also why I never post any pictures of myself online anywhere--it is better to remain anonymous.
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Post by WP 257 on Mar 28, 2015 14:40:56 GMT -8
Then again, dealing with "reputable" "known" dealers, one can still get burned.
Once upon a time, Canadian Model Trains was considered to be among the most trustworthy dealers out there.
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Post by Brakie on Mar 28, 2015 16:42:12 GMT -8
I have not accused anyone of felony burglary. Don't you think I'd know better than that? The show I'll be attending is not at York, PA. I can legally gather facts and quietly pass those facts along if I would happen to see an inventory that looks suspiciously similar. Last time I checked, it was a free country, and I'm allowed to look and watch for what might appear, and quietly pass that along. Thank you for reminding me to be most discreet. This is also why I never post any pictures of myself online anywhere--it is better to remain anonymous. Just be careful since you can't prove those are the stolen goods.. Even the Police would be reluctant to approach any dealer based on hearsay since there isn't any serial numbers to check against the list of stolen models.. |
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Post by WP 257 on Mar 28, 2015 18:53:28 GMT -8
Well, talked to my friend Rich (the store sales mgr.) in person yesterday...they rather doubt the stolen merchandise will show up at any of our relatively "local" train shows. Three other stores were also similarly robbed in a couple state radius (I'm not sure over what exact timeframe). He didn't think it would be worthwhile for me to get a list and look at the "local" shows like Timonium.
Fortunately it appears that only 4 customer trains were stolen, but they were pre-WWII Lionel trains, now difficult to replace. The thieves were specifically looking for the pre-WWII trains. The thieves were even somewhat conscientious in the way that they actually left the building after the robbery--lol--won't (shouldn't) elaborate here.
Both local borough police and PA state police are working the case. English's have absolutely no idea what usable evidence was actually collected from the site. I'm sure they are getting rather tired of even talking about it by now.
On the bright side, the empty shelves were already filling up...
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Post by alcoc430 on Apr 7, 2015 17:18:40 GMT -8
you dont have to be disceet walking around with a list at a train show no one would care? At the wgh show in Edison a week or two a go. I saw two separate guys walking around with notebooks. I don't know if they were looking at their wants list or of what stuff is worth. I never seen that before.
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