Trains4U

We’ve had one with a broken bogie tower. we’ll be repairing it ourselves once the spares are available.

They'd have said no - many retailers, myself included, have been asking for at least 8 years

I'm wondering whether to do a Heljan style teaser... Oh go on then...

Yes, it is. The owner, Dave, has been in to see us and I had a chat with him. fortunately his layout wasn’t too badly damaged. It was the woodwork beneath, and some stock that suffered. the parts have been obtained to fix what was broken and he is working on new frames and trestles. he is hopeful to have it ready to show again in just over a weeks time at Kettering. The damaged locos are in the care of Bachmann.

Got my orders in those NMT mk3s will vanish quickly

Only to say, if you can, please try and visit the show! Hosted by the St.Neots club, a big attendance would be a great show of support following the problems at Stamford last week.

It's Hell-iyan but I just say Hel-Jan as its not worth either the argument, or the perception that I'm correcting people!

The next exhibition is already planned for the same venue. I imagine the school have examined their security in great detail over the last week.

The figure is well in excess of £100k Plus offers of stock and layouts of the same value again, if not more.

Mike, I think it's almost certainly the latter, and the sentiment of those club members I've spoken to is along similar lines. It wouldn't have mattered if it were a wedding show or a craft fair - the target was almost certainly the school, and anything else is "collateral damage"

(Removed - as out of context)

Are you trying to make me cry? It will do nothing for my image you know...

I'm aware of two. One administered by Natalie Wilson (Who appears to have links with a clubmember) and has raised @£600 And the other by Steve Follows (No known connection) that has raised @ £2000 As these have been linked via comments from my original facebook post, I am in the process of contacting them and asking to merge their funds. I'm not suggesting these are anything but well meaning, but fundraising ought to be under the control of the club. If anyone is aware of any others, please can you PM me with a link? thanks

I spent the evening at the MDMRC clubroom, talking with the club members and listening to whats going on. (Thanks for the Tea!) I think its fair to say that they are all completely astonished by the response to the events of the weekend. The members seemed to be in good spirits, and the messages, support and pledges have left everyone feeling very emotional, but the St. Neots club, the owner of the other damaged layout and Paul from P&D Marsh were certainly at the forefront of their minds and of the conversation, the concern for them being palpable. Peter addressed the members describing the events of the Saturday and of the subsequent response. He and the club as a whole expressed a great deal of gratitude to the staff and students of the Welland Academy, who have been extremely helpful and supportive as well as being absolutely distraught and disgusted that something like this could have occurred in their school, and to the Police, who have been incredibly understanding, and who are treating the incident very seriously. It is far too early for plans to emerge with respect to the donations. There are several ideas, but the club first need to take stock and arrange their working group. The plans will be communicated by the club in good time. What is apparent is the considerable weight of responsibility that these donations has placed upon the club, and it is clear that the sums involved are almost reaching a point of embarrassment, with the genuine concerns regarding how to distribute the funds and donated items without negative repercussion. My view remains unchanged, the donations have been made to the club for the club and for those affected. In a week (or less), the media circus will have moved on, and the club will be left with a legacy that perhaps wont be subject to quite as much scrutiny as feared. My experience of the MDMRC are that they are a tremendously generous organisation, but there should be no shame attached to spending a good sum of this money on the club and its activities, and I hope that they don't forget themselves when helping everyone else. I think a lot of good will come of this in the end - the story has touched a lot of people and the response shows that innocent hobbies like ours are deeply ingrained in the national psyche. Peter and some of the others still have interviews over the course of the week, and I believe that "The One Show" will be filming a feature on Friday, so the circus will keep rolling for a few days yet. Though frankly I'm surprised Peter is still able to talk! I hope he gets a well deserved break soon.

Nor should we engage in any moralising about what should be done with the funds. There is a tremendous weight of responsibility accompanying this money, on top of having to manage what has been a difficult time. This money has been freely given to them, to do with as they see fit. I know the members well, their hearts are in the right place and they will make appropriate use of the money to help those affected, but I'm hoping also (And rightly in my opinion) to bolster and build up the club and realise long-term plans that they could previously have only wished for.

And no sign of it slowing... I was chatting with Peter Davies last night (MDMRC Chairman) and he is absolutely blown away by the generosity shown by so many people - and donations were at about £25k at that point. There have also been many direct offers of replacement stock and expertise. This will allow them to help all those affected, and also have a transformative effect on the club itself. Its heartening to see some good being realised from this tragedy.

The response has been astonishing My original post on Facebook ( merely intended as a notification) has been seen by over 55,000 people. The story is (At the time of posting) the most read story on the national BBC news website. I think we may be surprised at just how much support will be forthcoming. In the meantime I’ll be liaising with the club to help in our own way. I Remain hopeful that the goodwill of ordinary, decent folk will go far to bringing some positivity out of this whole mess.

I am aware that four layouts have been affected. there are also some trade stands (P&D Marsh being the most prominent) and exhibitors affected. there was a second hall that has not been affected. I am currently discussing ways in which we may be able to help. Being local, we have close ties with many affected, and we will do what we can.

Hi Last night, every exhibition manager’s worst nightmare came true. vandals broke into the hall for the Market Deeping MRC show in Stamford. The show has had to be cancelled. The hall is a crime scene and is out of bounds the layouts and stands have been totally destroyed. the perpetrators have been apprehended, but that is little comfort to the exhibitors whose layouts and displays have been ruined. I was due to set up this morning, so am unaffected, but seeing pictures of the destruction has left me feeling absolutely heartbroken for the club and the exhibitors. Please share the news that the show is cancelled. thanks

I try not to spam too much, but thought it worthy... We have just taken in an enormous collection of used OO model railways. Mostly locomotives and all steam. These range from late 80s Hornby through to items released in the last 6 months, with emphasis on more recent models. There are dozens and dozens of Eastern and midland locos (A1s, A2, A3s, A4s particularly) Standards and a small smattering of southern. Plus pretty much every Bachmann collectors club limited edition loco (Steam) and a good selection of locomotion models (including 2x GNR single wheelers) Well over 250 locomotives in all. The majority of these models have never been out of their boxes. We will be adding some to ebay and also some to our website as we begin to list used items. Keep an eye on our website here: http://www.trains4u.com/c/603/Pre-Owned Items are being added most days I'll also be at the Market Deeping MRC show in Stamford tomorrow with a selection of the models. Below is a sample...

Ours arrived today

I think the only person confused is Dave. His initial announcement made assertions about his perceived IP rights and their constraints on others far in excess of the reality. The "Clarification" backtracks on pretty much all of that, but his initial proclamations, and the perceived conceit that accompanied them have resulted in huge damage to his credibility. It is no different to, and no less ridiculous than trying to register IP rights for this...

So the latest clarification simply says what he should have done the first time around. That he has invested in tools to which he no longer has access, and is trying to prevent their use. DJ models will have a hard time preventing a Chinese factory from manufacturing models using his tools. He could, however, justifiably pursue any business importing, selling or marketing those models in the UK (Provided he can prove they are made using his designs) What he cannot do (And the original statement seemed pretty clear in this intent) is prevent another manufacturer from producing any model, in any scale, that he has on his development list, provided that manufacturer has not a) used his CAD designs or b) directly copied physical components of existing models. Quite how this affects tools bought and paid for by commissioning partners is yet to be tested. On that, we will have to wait and see.

It would be the IP war equivalent of the Anglo Zanzibar war (look it up)

Anyone can produce an APT in OO if they have the means - Just as long as they don't use DJ Models CADs