[jayjayem71]

Hello Everyone,

I wonder if you could help me...

My work colleague is soon retiring and I am arranging a collection for him, I asked him what he was going to do with himself when he retired and his eyes lit up and he said he was going to build a train set. After a little more digging I found out he wants to build a oo-gauge.

We really want to get him something special so I am asking you like minded folks all very very nicely if you have any ideas as to what we could get him????

Any suggestions I would be very grateful for.

Thank You.

 

[Brian Considine]

Try & find out if he prefers steam or diesel, then what sort of period he prefers, then it will be easier to get something like a complete set to start him off.

If you can find that out it will narrow it down & then the forum members will come up with some suggestions.

 

[dwb]

If you could find out if this is a dream of recollecting some particular area or period from his youth and then whether he actually has some stuff already. If he hasn't done anything about it yet, then a complete train set would be a good start. If he's got some stuff already and doesn't seem inclined to start all over again, then maybe some models particular to the area / period that interests him would be more appropriate.

I hope this idea works out. It's a great colleague who would go to this amount of trouble.

David

 

[BobB]

I remember leaving my first job and the folks wanted to buy a present - I was into N gauge then and they plied me with booze until I said I wanted either a GF GWR pannier or the new Hall just out and very expensive (just over twenty quid in those days.

What do you know - I got both and was so impressed I almost didn't leave ! (Would I have had to have given them back then ?)

Find out what he wants - it will be a present that reminds him of you all for years.

 

[jayjayem71]

Yes I was a big vague wasn't I...

I got the impression that he already has the set he wants to build, I may be wrong, but I suppose what I am really asking is if there is anything that would make a good gift for a train set fancier - sorry don't know the terminology, apololgies as I don't wish to offend anyone if I say something wrong!

Maybe not for the train set itself but any other sort of thing that may be appealing to someone building one - like accompaniments i.e models, details for the set like people or buildings - could you possibly recommend any websites where you can get things like that?

But I will certainly try and find out if I can (without being too obvious!) whether he prefers steam or diesel - though i'm willing to bet it will be steam.

Thanks so much.

 

[dwb]

QUOTE Yes I was a big vague wasn't I..

Model railways can bring in so many different skills and interests, it can sometimes be very hard to provide a general answer. Model locomotives are always welcome and prices range from say £30 to up to £200 for a British outline sound equipped steam model but it is a good idea to know what the receiver's interests are. One way to find out is to get "inside information" from his other half or someone who knows his hobby. If a locomotive is the thing and you wanted to make it really special, a company such as The Model Centre could customise a standard "off the shelf" model for you - at a price.

Recommending websites will not be a problem. Most people here will have favourites of one kind or another, either best price or specialist depending on taste.

On the buildings side, for a British steam based layout maybe a set of buildings from the Hornby Scaledale range - say all the stuff for the gasworks - would fit the bill. You can view the entire range here on the Hornby website. Availability may be an issue as Skaledale is popular and some models are only made the once.

Bachmann have recently introduced a range of buildings - their webpage is here

I hope this helps

David

 

[poliss]

I would get him the CMX track cleaning wagon. I doubt if he has one already and having two wouldn't hurt anyway.
Here's the link to it. http://www.dccsupplies.com/shop/product_in...roducts_id=1071

 

[34C]

Take a look at the presentation boxed set described in the link. This was the 'cutting edge' rail technology circa 1960 and most UK rail enthusiasts will know about it. http://www.modelrailforum.com/forums/index...?showtopic=7946

 

[frame69]

May not represent a lot of thought but I'd be over the moon with a few of these...
http://www.ontracks.co.uk/index.php?page=p...&catID=1203
...just an idea.

 

[neil_s_wood]

Maybe make some discrete enquiries into his area of interest and what he would like to get some pointers.

 

[Chinahand]

Any idea what sort of money your 'whip round' is likely to generate ?

I would have thought that, rather than trying to identify any loco/rolling stock requirements, a DCC Controller might be a better bet.

 

[dwb]

QUOTE I would have thought that, rather than trying to identify any loco/rolling stock requirements, a DCC Controller might be a better bet.

That thought crossed my mind too. It would be a great idea if DCC is one of the recipient's ambitions. The downside of such a choice is that he might be one of those who has no interest at all in DCC or already has a sizeable collection of locos which would have to be converted.

David

 

[Chinahand]

How about a Gift Voucher from either his local model railway shop or one of the national retailers such as Hattons or Gaugemaster ??