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Post by fr8kar on Feb 12, 2019 10:41:31 GMT -8
...Walthers is pretty low on my favorite list of model train companies. Mine, too. They're a bunch of screw-ups (I have a little list, Comrade). And you and CSX3305 are both right--Walthers should do things your way. And mine. But they don't. I pointed out a possibility of how to get (if possible) what you want from the company, anyway. But I suppose you're both right. The way to go is to complain about it here, because that will surely be more effective than my approach. I used the same approach to get my full set of SP 5503's, incidentally. From Atlas, not Walthers. Come to think of it, I get everything I want that way, by pre-order. Ed You mentioned upthread you ordered yours through your LHS. That's not an option for me, unfortunately. The shop nearest to me has successfully ordered something on my behalf once in over ten years, "forgetting" my order in every case except one. And that one time they ordered what I wanted, they brought in triple the quantity I asked for and tried to put me on the hook for it all, so I don't take my chances with them anymore. So I attempted to pre-order these online through Walthers, but the option wasn't available when I attempted to do so. I found the product page, but there was nothing to click to order the cars. Now I'm fine ordering direct from Walthers or any other manufacturer, even if there's no discount involved, but back in June (when these cars were originally supposed to be delivered, IIRC) there was no way to order them on the Walthers website, either as pre-order or backorder. If there's an alert system to set up for when you can pre-order something, I'm not aware of it. It seems like I would have had to be in the right place at the right time to get some of these cars. And I wasn't. If this was a case of me wanting the cars but not making any effort to get them, then complaining none are available, you have a point. But that's not what happened at all. So for you to characterize this episode as everyone complaining was asleep at the wheel is unfair. After reading this thread, it seems like most of us would like to see Walthers improve in a few areas: communication, searchability, and reservation/pre-order. With more of these cars coming and an obvious demand for them, Walther's certainly has an opportunity and incentive to improve. |
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Post by riogrande on Feb 12, 2019 10:54:56 GMT -8
You mentioned upthread you ordered yours through your LHS. That's not an option for me Not an option for me either - no LHS's to pre-order from. Here here |
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Post by Colin 't Hart on Feb 12, 2019 11:09:48 GMT -8
Sorry for the commercial plug, but I pre-order through HO Hobbies and have used them for 15+ years now. The owner, Bill, conducts business purely via email. He emails regularly for all new releases, and has discounted prices, even for pre-orders. Pre-orders can of course be cancelled before release (though you might not want to do that too often!), and you don't pay until Bill gets the goods. He holds items for consolidated shipping. You can also order anything from Walthers at 10% off, even sale items.
I almost always have something pre-ordered and regularly order other items through him too. I'm in no way affiliated, just a very satisfied customer. Email Bill at sales@hohobbies.com and tell him I sent you (I don't get anything for it!)
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Post by edwardsutorik on Feb 12, 2019 11:12:11 GMT -8
(I see Colin answered while I was composing and typing. Sounds like he has a candidate for "organized-competent-aggressive".)
Interesting. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones, having a great shop (Just Trains, Concord CA) about 20 minutes away. And my shop doesn't forget, because I hand them one of their order forms. They keep those, order the item, and then attach the form to the item. When I come in, I pick it up, bring the form home, and cross it off my list. Ryan's description of the business practices of his local shop is almost funny. But not, really.
But.
Are y'all telling me that there's no competent internet train supplier that you can pre-order Walthers stuff from? 'Cause I guess that's what I'd be trying to do if my local shop closed.
Ryan. I'm curious why, when Walthers ordering system failed you, you didn't go elsewhere, online.
That sounds like a REAL opportunity for some guy somewhere. Someone who is organized, competent, and the least bit aggressive.
Ed
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Post by csx3305 on Feb 12, 2019 12:08:05 GMT -8
Since this issue keeps being needlessly pushed, allow me to update with a little context. I didn't think it to be very important in the big picture of this thread but I will add it now:
After poking around on the Walthers website last night, looking at the various [mislabeled] links for these cars, I found the video announcement for this product, that was put out in December 2017. I was formerly of the belief that I had missed this announcement entirely but seeing the video jogged my memory and I now remember glancing at it when it was first publicized. I won't go into detail here, but let's just say life had gotten in the way of model trains a little bit, and at the time I wasn't very concerned with 60' flatcars, which are not a huge priority to me. In fact, I vaguely remember thinking to myself "Oh, another 60' flat. Looks pretty close to the Intermountain which I have plenty of and have never been a huge fan of because of the way they track. Let's wait and see what Walthers does with it."
It is sort of like the old adage that you should never buy the first model year of a brand new, unproven automobile design.
I have never been a big preorder kind of guy. The total amount of preorders I've made **in my lifetime** can be counted on two hands with four fingers left over.
Atlas MP15
Atlas B23-7
Scaletrains C39-8
Rapido B36-7
Scaletrains Tunnel motor
Scaletrains Airslides
What do all of the above have in common? They are all important prototypes to me and at the time the orders were placed I had or have plenty of faith in the companies producing the items. Can't say the same for some other manufacturers.
Bottom line is, I am unwilling to preorder every single release that "maybe, sorta, might be cool to have someday." I don't want the burden of the data entry and management of keeping up with what is hitting the shores, when, and if, and rather not it might overlap with something else and my budget won't be able cover both at the same time, etc. If anything, my anecdote above just reinforces this mantra.
No need to try to sell me on it, Mr. Sutorik. I'm a big boy, I've been at this game a long time and I am comfortable in my system, and all the risks/trappings it may entail. I believe you grossly overestimate my concern about it, and nor should you confuse my musings on this thread with any kind of genuine sour grapes towards Walthers or the state of things, the preorder system, etc. It's all just observations. I wasn't expecting this particular product to be as well executed as it is, so I held off and missed out, forgetting all about it in the interim.
Big deal. I'll grab the next one. No worries.
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Post by fr8kar on Feb 12, 2019 12:23:29 GMT -8
Ed, I don't buy much when it comes out. I almost always shop on the secondary market (ebay, train shows). I've had a few good years of steady income recently so I've been able to plan ahead for model train purchases that come due in the lean months when I'm not making overtime. All of that has gone directly to the manufacturers. Through this forum I've learned about places I can go to shop, but that's only applied to me recently.
Thank you, Colin, for the recommendation of HO Hobbies. I just signed up. I've had bad experiences in the past buying online from hobby shops I haven't heard from, so getting a recommendation is a good thing for me.
As far as my LHS is concerned, yeah, it's a joke. The inventory mostly consists of unbuilt kits from estate sales with the original price crossed out and a new and improved price in its place. The other LHS has Atlas yellow box locomotives that have steadily been marked up over the years from original MSRP to whatever the owner thinks is that original price in today's dollars. I'm sure he doesn't understand why they don't sell to make room for current models. The rest of his inventory hails from the same era. I bought pretty much everything he had that was useful to me in the 80s and 90s. Across town is Discount Model Trains, which is a great shop, but I'm not burning an hour plus each way driving to see what they have because they don't have a website. Why wouldn't they spring for a website in this day and age? Who even knows.
I live in the fourth largest metro area in the United States, which is in the state with the most freight rail miles of any state (by a whole lot). Naturally it's a model railroad hobby shop desert.
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Post by riogrande on Feb 12, 2019 15:44:27 GMT -8
Since this issue keeps being needlessly pushed, allow me to update with a little context. I didn't think it to be very important in the big picture of this thread but I will add it now: After poking around on the Walthers website last night, looking at the various [mislabeled] links for these cars, I found the video announcement for this product, that was put out in December 2017. I was formerly of the belief that I had missed this announcement entirely but seeing the video jogged my memory and I now remember glancing at it when it was first publicized. I won't go into detail here, but let's just say life had gotten in the way of model trains a little bit, and at the time I wasn't very concerned with 60' flatcars, which are not a huge priority to me. In fact, I vaguely remember thinking to myself "Oh, another 60' flat. Looks pretty close to the Intermountain which I have plenty of and have never been a huge fan of because of the way they track. Let's wait and see what Walthers does with it." It is sort of like the old adage that you should never buy the first model year of a brand new, unproven automobile design. I have never been a big preorder kind of guy. The total amount of preorders I've made **in my lifetime** can be counted on two hands with four fingers left over. Atlas MP15 Atlas B23-7 Scaletrains C39-8 Rapido B36-7 Scaletrains Tunnel motor Scaletrains Airslides What do all of the above have in common? They are all important prototypes to me and at the time the orders were placed I had or have plenty of faith in the companies producing the items. Can't say the same for some other manufacturers. Bottom line is, I am unwilling to preorder every single release that "maybe, sorta, might be cool to have someday." I don't want the burden of the data entry and management of keeping up with what is hitting the shores, when, and if, and rather not it might overlap with something else and my budget won't be able cover both at the same time, etc. If anything, my anecdote above just reinforces this mantra. No need to try to sell me on it, Mr. Sutorik. I'm a big boy, I've been at this game a long time and I am comfortable in my system, and all the risks/trappings it may entail. I believe you grossly overestimate my concern about it, and nor should you confuse my musings on this thread with any kind of genuine sour grapes towards Walthers or the state of things, the preorder system, etc. It's all just observations. I wasn't expecting this particular product to be as well executed as it is, so I held off and missed out, forgetting all about it in the interim. Big deal. I'll grab the next one. No worries. Ditto the above almost verbatum except I only pre-ordered tunnel motors but didn't the orange D&RGW airslide which I was surprised are completely sold out on preorders. Dealers will get them so I'll have to be Johnny on the spot. |
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Post by csx3305 on Feb 12, 2019 15:59:13 GMT -8
I have a lone Grande Tunnel Motor on reserve, I could've found it easy to skip that announcement altogether if it wasn't for this photo of one leading the pack, smack dab in the center of the territory I'm modeling, less than a year after my cutoff: rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=91617 I've always liked those DRGW units, ever since a family trip took me by the yard in Helper, Utah in summer 1993. I'm anxious to see the model, the pre-production pics look sharp. |
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Post by fr8kar on Feb 12, 2019 17:26:43 GMT -8
I've always liked those DRGW units, ever since a family trip took me by the yard in Helper, Utah in summer 1993. I can imagine what that was like. I never thought much of BN SD40-2s until a family reunion in Havre, Montana where my machinist cousin took my brother and I on a tour of the diesel service facility. Neither of us has been the same since. |
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Post by TBird1958 on Feb 12, 2019 17:47:44 GMT -8
I have a lone Grande Tunnel Motor on reserve, I could've found it easy to skip that announcement altogether if it wasn't for this photo of one leading the pack, smack dab in the center of the territory I'm modeling, less than a year after my cutoff: rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=91617 I've always liked those DRGW units, ever since a family trip took me by the yard in Helper, Utah in summer 1993. I'm anxious to see the model, the pre-production pics look sharp.
I visited Helper, UT in 1982, it was indeed a very cool place - and is what I hope to represent with my layout.
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Post by csx3305 on Feb 12, 2019 18:28:18 GMT -8
I've always liked those DRGW units, ever since a family trip took me by the yard in Helper, Utah in summer 1993. I can imagine what that was like. I never thought much of BN SD40-2s until a family reunion in Havre, Montana where my machinist cousin took my brother and I on a tour of the diesel service facility. Neither of us has been the same since. That trip, along with a second one in late Spring 1995, were pretty magical times. I caught Warbonnet Dash 8's thundering through Dodge City, BN GP50/LMX B39-8 lashups near Colorado Springs, clean speed-lettered SP Dash 9's, the UP yard/shops at Cheyenne, and chased freshly-built BN executive SD70MAC's for miles near Moorcroft/Devils Tower at twilight. I feel fortunate to have been able to see the last stand of the "Super Seven" before they got whittled down to the "Forlorn Four" just a short time later. Only thing that could've made it better would have been owning a better camera. But I digress... |
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Post by riogrande on Feb 17, 2019 18:04:21 GMT -8
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Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2019 18:13:28 GMT -8
You know...they looked alot better when they were undecs. |
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Post by surlyknuckle on Feb 17, 2019 18:56:30 GMT -8
Yeah but look at that seller...all of their listings have a ton of bids, even common items that sit and rot for lower on eBay seem to have "bidding wards" going on over them...
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Post by csx3305 on Feb 17, 2019 19:01:01 GMT -8
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Post by snootie3257 on Feb 18, 2019 7:41:15 GMT -8
bid up to $76 so far. The only way I’d pay that much is if there were 3 or 4 of them. Steve |
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Post by riogrande on Feb 18, 2019 8:58:33 GMT -8
bid up to $76 so far. The only way I’d pay that much is if there were 3 or 4 of them. Steve Pretty nutty paying that much for a Mainline. |
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Post by roadkill on Feb 18, 2019 14:23:25 GMT -8
I paid less for TWO CP cars INCLUDING shipping  !!! |
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Post by roadkill on Feb 18, 2019 14:28:45 GMT -8
Got them for a little off MSRP from a dealer in Blissfield, MI., and shipping was cheap to the Cleveland 'burb I live in.
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Post by slowfreight on Feb 18, 2019 16:58:03 GMT -8
I paid less for TWO CP cars INCLUDING shipping !!! With street price being where it was, I did the same...got a pair for $50 with shipping. Considering all the Amtrak RPOs and C&O passenger cars that Walthers couldn't give away, the PS flat will go down in history as one of Walthers most-missed opportunities. |
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Post by csx3305 on Feb 18, 2019 17:54:28 GMT -8
Apples to oranges IMO, there’s an entire segment of of us that have little to no use for the CP/ATSF/WC flats. Basic supply and demand at work again.
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Post by trainguy99 on Feb 18, 2019 18:14:04 GMT -8
Considering all the Amtrak RPOs and C&O passenger cars that Walthers couldn't give away, the PS flat will go down in history as one of Walthers most-missed opportunities. You guys do know that they've already announced another run, right?
Given the number of TTX and Railbox cars they make, I think they have decided that yellow cars sell pretty well.
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Post by roadkill on Feb 19, 2019 7:56:46 GMT -8
Considering all the Amtrak RPOs and C&O passenger cars that Walthers couldn't give away, the PS flat will go down in history as one of Walthers most-missed opportunities. Which is a a bit of a shame as I'd love to see the B&O domes available in Amtrak phase I paint (I know, I know, that's a blasphemy !). |
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Post by simulatortrain on Jun 28, 2019 11:40:17 GMT -8
So are these in again? Have they already come and gone? I preordered a VTTX car through my LHS (haven't heard from them yet), but really hoped I'd be able to track down another.
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Post by ambluco on Jun 28, 2019 11:58:45 GMT -8
Seemed to come and go this week. Was looking for an HTTX myself. So are these in again? Have they already come and gone? I preordered a VTTX car through my LHS (haven't heard from them yet), but really hoped I'd be able to track down another. |
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Post by SOMECALLMETIM on Jun 28, 2019 12:00:55 GMT -8
Has anyone received one of the Walthers OTTX flat cars? The Walthers website kept showing the wrong car and now it doesn't show anything for a search of the OTTX reporting marks or the item number for the OTTX car. Can you PM me a picture of one?
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Post by snootie3257 on Jun 28, 2019 12:04:58 GMT -8
Brown one or yellow one? I just received 2 brown OTTX ones today.
Steve
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Post by TBird1958 on Jun 28, 2019 12:15:30 GMT -8
Brown one or yellow one? I just received 2 brown OTTX ones today. Steve That's good news! My LHS will have mine in two weeks then...…..  |
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Post by SOMECALLMETIM on Jun 28, 2019 12:16:17 GMT -8
Which ever is the most recently released 60' flatcar model - would it be the brown ones? Brown one or yellow one? I just received 2 brown OTTX ones today. Steve |
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Post by ambluco on Jun 28, 2019 12:21:21 GMT -8
Both colors came out.
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