BLW replacement suggestions

[Bob]

Logistics these days is amazing - N Scale Supply, Fifer, MB Klein, probably most others get things out right away.

[Bob]

I remember when I was in grad school in New Haven in the mid to late 80's and somehow discovering BLW.  I really looked forward to the monthly mailing - Pete would send out a pamphlet will all sorts of information and reviews.  I would scour it from cover to cover, and bought what I could on my limited student budget, collecting rolling stock and locos for the day when I could build my dream layout.  Who could have predicted it would take 30 years!  But, some of the stuff I got from Pete all those years ago has been taken out of storage and now runs on the CSX Cumberland Division.

[nkalanaga]

Bob:  That's basically what I did for almost 30 years, until I finally had a spare room for a layout.  Other than the lumber and some foam slabs, I had almost everything I needed to build it.

Until then, my "layout" was a series of around-the-walls "glorified test tracks" in my bedroom(s).  Watch your head sitting up in bed!

[rray]

I remember in the late 80's mail ordering a Kato GP38-2 and GP50 from them, and getting a Captian Blaster catalog, where I discovered all kinds of great stuff, including the N Scale of Nevada Piggy Packer back in the day. The Captain Blaster catalog had stuff the Walthers catalog did not have. It was "THE" N Scale info source of the day.

Anyone else remember the pre-internet days Captian Blaster catalog?

[rray]

I have been out of N for a long time, but I just checked and http://www.wig-wag-trains.com/ is still around, and they have pictures of everything too.

[wm3798]

The trouble with MBK/Modeltrainstuff is that their site is almost TOO good.
When something inventories out, it's gone from the page.  Always bugged me a little about BLW, all those tantalizing rotating "SOLD OUT" markers on the stuff I really wanted...

MBK also is really consistent about discounts and service, so stuff doesn't linger... generally... on the shelf for long.  And as far as I know, they don't horse around with used stuff at all.

So for the vintage buyer such as myself, it's into ebay or whatever other sources I can virtually rummage through junk boxes.

Lee

[sirenwerks]

Has Chuck at Feather River Trains fell out of favor? FRT seems to have never recouped from its last big SNAFU. I tried emailing Chuck since and never received an answer.

[JMaurer1]

"Honestly there is no replacement for BLW."

So very true! I now shop NSS and occasionally Wig Wag (Wig Wag has the best pre-order pricing, but I HATE being forced to pre-order anything, especially when it may take months or it never comes out...Intermountain, you know what I'm talking about here)

[basementcalling]

The trouble with MBK/Modeltrainstuff is that their site is almost TOO good.
When something inventories out, it's gone from the page.  Always bugged me a little about BLW, all those tantalizing rotating "SOLD OUT" markers on the stuff I really wanted...

MBK also is really consistent about discounts and service, so stuff doesn't linger... generally... on the shelf for long.  And as far as I know, they don't horse around with used stuff at all.

So for the vintage buyer such as myself, it's into ebay or whatever other sources I can virtually rummage through junk boxes.

Lee

Lee, they have an awesome inventory, but the  way they show each individual road number for every car as a separate picture drives me bonkers. Sometimes you have to scroll through 2-4 pages of the same car, just different numbers, to get to more items when browsing the new items. A drop box or way to choose numbers on a following page would be so much more user friendly.

Love the prices and selection, but then I was using the BLW site long before I started shopping at MBK when Pete lost Athearn items. Always thought Capt Blaster was the least useful Avenger though.

[Bob]

Yes, that is a problem with the MBK site - showing a photo and info for each road number.  Very tedious to scroll through, and then if you want to order several different road numbers it is a fair number of 'clicks'.  The MBK site is pretty good, but not as user friendly as the old BLW site, in my opinion.  Really loved their old catalogs.

[wm3798]

Unless you're rounding out a fleet and you need a particular number... then it's great!

[SkipGear]

I think the problem is not that N scale is dying but that it is growing faster than the manufactures can deal with because of the China issues. Every new release is sold out within a couple weeks, even the Bachmann stuff which is surely overproduced. Any shop that is not turning inventory is not making money and won't be around long. All those loco's setting in stock at BLW were nice for us but were not conducive to keeping the shop open and profitable. You still have to pay taxes on inventory, after a couple yearS of stock setting there, any potential profit is lost.

[CRL]

One of the things I’ve been confused about MBK’s site is that some non-stocked items show “out of stock” but other items just disappear when out of stock.

[OldEastRR]

But you have to admit BLW had "heart". Very rare commodity in retail, and a personal quality that generates intense loyalty to a brand. Big stores just aren't personal.

[CBQ Fan]

One of the things I’ve been confused about MBK’s site is that some non-stocked items show “out of stock” but other items just disappear when out of stock.

My experience is that if they list an out of stock item they anticipate a restock of the item. Usually but not always!