Excellent Railway Prints "Locos in Profile"

(note: this post didn't go through earlier when I said it was, I only just noticed)

I have recently found a site that offers some of the most detailed profile prints of steam engines I have ever seen- technical precision to every nut and bolt. They're drawn from a combination of sources- works pictures, technical drawings and shots of the engines in service. So far I've had a look at- and am purchasing eventually- the B-17 'Sandringham' and the magnificent 'Cock o' the North'.

So far, there about about ten different prints available- however, what sets this site apart is the 'type submission' section- where you can nominate your favourite engines to be done next! (I have emailed already requesting, you guessed it, Jeanie Deans, the artist knew of the class and said he would consider it if there was more call for pre-grouping types)

The price is fair at around 20-30 pounds for a single print (depends on type of engine you're buying).

LOCOS IN PROFILE

Advice on buying overseas railway goodies

All right, a quick note here to say something on how to find books on certain railway subjects given our pathetic bookstores cater more to car enthusiasts- and the train books are horrifically expensive! Of course, the best thing to do is buy online. So how do you get the most of your money when buying from say the UK or America?

Research!

See a book on the subject on ebay- whether America, UK or Australia, never bid on a item unless you have some idea of what the book is retailing for elsewhere. Often, when you factor in postage you can often get a better deal on Amazon!

A good site to check for british related railway books is Antiqbook- I managed to acquire a copy of the wonderful LNWR locomotive book I mentioned in an earlier post for about half of what someone is currently selling for on ebay. I will add several more good sellers at the end of this post.

Should you buy from the US or UK? Firstly, some things will ONLY be available in the UK or viceversa- you won't find many books on small UK branch lines or locomotives studies on Amazon US unless its a british seller. Also, note that postage seems to vary IMMENSELY from seller to seller. Amazon has a flat rate, but not everything will ship to Australia. American postage is very varied, and I have had to wait longer for US deliveries in general. My record for a package from the UK (Scotland, actually) was four days! (and a very fair priced postage) Generally I've noticed postage for the UK sellers on ebay to be around 6-15 dollars, depending on size- and some sellers are more fair than others.

One very important factor- the exchange rate. The American dollar is killing us, but the Pound is the same its been the last couple of years (averaging around 45 pence to our dollar). Although most people will tell you to source the items from the US instead, I have in the past bought books that have worked out less in the UK than in the US- remember that our dollar is no longer 95 cents to the Greenback, and when the exchange rate comes up with inflated American postage it can really blow out the cost. Not that the UK is immune to this, of course, but I would suggest weighing up the postage costs and the item cost itself before clicking 'buy'.

Whatever you do, don't buy anything from overseas without working out exactly what its going to cost you in AU$. The best site for currency exchange is undoubtedly Xe.com which does up-to date conversions on current market rates- crucial! You should always check the exchange rate just before you hit 'buy'- if you check even one hour earlier things can change for better or worse.



One thing to watch out for in exchange rates: Paypal, the choice of payment used by an awful lot of sites, exchanges money at a lower rate (maybe 1 or 2 cents) than what it is currently being sold for, meaning this will increase your costs slightly- a thing to watch out for. Also, NEVER pay for an item by international money order from your bank- they will charge you though the nose.



One final recommendation I can make: be extremely careful dealing with any country who uses the Euro. Even though this is cheaper than the pound, the postage costs are HORRIFIC. I once ordered a book from italy that cost 10 euros, and had 28 euros postage added to it...coming out at around 70 DOLLARS.



Some good sites:

T-P Rail Books (this gentlemen has some great books, some of which are at very low prices: his postage to australia is 3 pounds surface: extremely fair

UK Book World

Amazon UK (the american one is simply .com)

Antiqbook UK: a fantastic collection of books of every kind, from all manner of seller.


I will add more as I find them, or if you have any good ones please comment!