A look at the Roco/Fleischmann factory in Arad

The second half of 2013 has been so busy in the store and with updates online we have not had a chance to post much here. We are going to try our best to start posting regularly again as we had such great feedback from everyone with our previous posts. On tap are some new product updates, tips for beginners, and more layout construction posts as well as our visit to the German Toy Fair in late January.  Post a comment below and let us know if there is anything else you would like to see us cover here!

Roco/ Fleischmann has posted a new video on their YouTube Channel featuring a glimpse inside their factory in Arad, Romania.  The video covers various steps in the assembly process of locomotive and rolling stock and is an interesting peak behind the scenes!

Bahnhof Plattling Webcam Update & more

We have previously posted about our favorite railroad web cam, DEG.Net's Bahnhof Plattling camera that covers the whole station area of the busy Bavarian junction, but they have recently updated the webcam software to make it even better. With the new viewer, the video is much smoother and more detailed, and can be viewed full-screen.  iPad and iPhone viewers can also now use Apple Airplay to stream the video to an Apple TV or other Airplay device. 

A train of covered goods wagons is shunted while an
auto-transport train passes though Bahnhof Plattling.

Here are some other great European Railroad live video webcam links to add to your bookmarks;

Hannover Haupbahnhof Webcam - a live view of the passenger station in Hannover, Germany

Pforzheim, Germany - a live video of trains and trams in Bahnhof Pforzheim

Mierlo-Hout Grade Crossing - live video (2 cameras) with sound from a busy grade crossing in Mierlo-Hout, Netherlands.

Chocen Bahnhof - Live video of a busy station and freight yard in Chocen, Poland

Lippstadt Rail Line - was once a grade crossing and is now a road underpass under construction

Amsterdam Webcam - A live view of trains and trams passing outside Amsterdam, Netherlands

Please donate to the webcams if you can.  In most cases they cost more to operate than they make with donations so any assistance will help keep them online for all to enjoy.

A Glimpse Inside our Retail Store

We have had a couple new customers ask if it is worth visiting our retail store while they are in the Vancouver area this summer so we wanted to post a small gallery of images showing our fully stocked retail store.  Unlike other ecommerce web sites operated out of a garage or spare bedroom with little or no actual stock on hand, we have a huge inventory and are always glad to meet and assist our customers with their hobby needs. We strive to keep a full selection of popular products in our store at all times.  Each year we get many customers from around the world stopping in while visiting Vancouver or Seattle and they tell us we have more stock than most of the hobby stores they have visited in Germany and Europe. And of course our staff is always happy to package and ship your store purchases to your home in case you are unable to carry them on an airplane or other means of travel.

The photos below were taken in early February 2013 so we are a little low on very popular items like locomotives and rolling stock following the holidays.  We will post updated photos soon.  For more photos of our HO scale store layout, see our main photo gallery page.

New Roco SmartRail Brochure

Roco has just sent us the latest brochure for the exciting Roco/Fleischmann smartRail digital locomotive stand.  We have had a demo model in our store for a few weeks now and have to admit that they have done a fantastic job creating this product.  For those who have always wanted a way of displaying your digital locomotives on your desk or anywhere away from your layout, this is the product for you!  Roco is billing the smartRail as the perfect executive desk accessory and we can't imagine anything better.  With a full Roco z21 wireless digital system built in (allowing control via your smartphone/tablet or the touch buttons on the smartRail base) and its unique 'treadmill' design, the smartRail is definately a great way to show off your locomotive investments!

Click here for the Roco/Fleischmann smartRail Product line on our website

Click here or on the cover below to view the new smartRail brochure

2013 New Items Report - Part II - Marklin/Trix/LGB

Marklin

Following the release of many locomotives and cars in 2012 with completely new tooling, Marklin initially appeared to have cut back in some respects for their 2013 New Items announcements. But that was not the the case - the 2013 New Items brochure is packed with 190 pages of new item announcements in all gauges with several items to highlight for you.

Of course in late 2012, Marklin announced the first of their 2013 new tooling commitments by announcing a complete new Swiss Crocodile Set # 37565. This represents both an Era II Version Ce 6/8 II and an Era III Version in Pine Green livery. Both models are highly detailed full metal construction with MFX Sound Decoders with 12 functions. What’s interesting is that each locomotive will have 2, yes TWO high-efficiency motors with flywheels.

Marklin then offered a Toyfair edition of the new Crocodile in black livery for both HO # 37967 and Z Scale # 88561. Of course, while the prototype never ran in a black paint scheme, the models look really cool. These are unfortunately now sold out at the factory and we only have a couple left of each to order so if interested, reserve now. The other very popular model is the edition of the Austrian Crocodile # 37566. This is a limited edition run of 2500 pieces worldwide, packaged in a wooden case, and sure to sell out by summer.

2013 New Items Report - Part I - Roco/Fleischmann

This year’s Nuremberg Toy Fair was an interesting show with many of the manufacturers focusing on technical and digital innovations in addition to the usual announcements of new model tooling (and of course the seemingly endless repaints and versions of existing models!).  This focus on innovation combined with the industry-wide budget tightening of the last few years has meant we are seeing slightly fewer (and to some, less exciting) completely new models. That does not mean there are not some exciting models to report on though! From Fleischmann’s all-new scale-length BR407 ICE set and Marklin’s new Scandinavian heavy ore locomotives and Swiss Crocodiles, to Minitrix’s V100 with digital sound (in N-scale!!), there are still many highlights to report.

2013 New Items Brochures from Roco/Fleischmann. We are still not quite sure
what to think about Roco's "It's a Man's World" theme this year (?????)

This installment will cover Roco and Fleischmann’s new item programs as announced at this year’s fair.   Don’t forget our annual pre-order discount program for Roco/Fleischmann 2013 New Items ends Sunday March 17th! In most cases our prices for these items will NEVER be lower than the pre-order pricing offered so take advantage of pre-ordering to make the most of your hobby dollar with Euro Rail Hobbies & More.  And as always, we never charge your credit card until the products actually ship from our store!

Roco/Fleischmann smartRail - THE executive desk accessory!!

With the end of our annual pre-order discount program for Roco and Fleischmann new items ending this weekend, March 17th, we wanted to feature one of the most exciting releases from these firms at the Toy Fair - the smartRail rolling track stand.  Many of you may be familiar with existing locomotive roller test stands - where you set you locomotive wheels on a stand with small rollers to support each wheel or axle. These are mainly used for testing locomotives and in most cases only the powered wheels of the locomotive are in motion - for tender driven steam locomotives this means roller stands never show the amazing action of the running gear and large driver wheels!

The smartRail system is a completely new experience in that the rollers have been replaced by a continuous steel band for each rail, allowing the locomotive to run exactly as it would on your layout. The smartRail features a complete Roco Z21 digital system with WiFi built in to control the locomotive via touch controls on the stand or via you smartphone or tablet with the Z21s wireless features.  All of these features and more add up to make the smartRail the best locomotive stand we have come across.  We have one in our store and simply cannot stop playing with it. 

Order your smartRail package before March 17th and save $$$ with out pre-order discount program for 2013! Click here for our full list of Roco/Fleischmann smartRail packages.

More details and video from Roco Fleischmann below!

Off to Nuremberg and the Toy Fair

We haven't been able to be much posted here this month as the store has been so busy and are short staffed with some staff off to the Nuremberg Toy Fair in Germany.  Once the Toy Fair is over and we finish posting the hundreds of new product announcements we will get back to a more regular posting schedule. 

In the meantime we wanted to share this quick overview of the Toy Fair to show you that it is not just model trains in Nuremberg - it is one of the largest toy and hobby trade fairs in the world! And stay tuned, we have lots of exciting plans for the year ahead!

Piko 2013 New Items Preview

This year's Nuremberg Toy Fair (or 'Spielwarenmesse') runs from January 30th to February 4th but many of the new items announcements are made public during the month leading up to the Toy Fair. The first of the major manufacturer announcements this year comes from Piko. With new product announcements in rolling stock and structure kits for G-scale, HO scale (DC and Marklin AC), as well as N scale, Piko's new item announcements have something for just about everyone.  Click here for the 2013 Piko New Items on the Piko.de website.

We will be adding all the Piko New Items to our store website once we have more details and pricing information from Piko.