Latest News:
 

26/01/08 Site update and a big change in <our> store.
A huge stock update this weekend of over 70 line items!  Including amazing micro-motors, new books, new PSU's, electronic components, and miscellaneous items added.
Due to the additional stock lines we are carrying, and the increasing need for even larger workshop and demonstration areas, we've been looking for bigger premises. We have now 'signed up' a 750 square ft business unit, only 15 minutes away from our current site, and 15 minutes nearer the motorway!  Even better, there is a cafe only yards away (Excellent bacon butties!) and a state of the art lecture theatre on site for our DCC workshops.

We take possession on the 1st of March, and will complete our move by the end of March. Our local rate telephone number for UK customers ( 0845 224 1601 ) will remain the same, For our overseas customers, our direct telephone number will change and will have a recorded announcement from mid-March directing you to our new number, which will also be published (once we know it!Obviously our snail-mail will be also be re-directed, but don't worry, as we will still occupy the old premises, so any strays won't go missing!  We'll announce our new address shortly, once we have possession of the new building as they are occupied by a non-modelling company who are currently moving out, and we don't want them to take your models with them in error!

All other contact details, E-mail, website etc. will remain as is!

17/01/08 - New card payments method goes live!
Finally, (after some few weeks delay) we have been able to make our new, online card payment scheme live.  You will notice a change in the checkout process, as you are now able to view, and confirm your order before entering your payment details.  Payment will be taken on checkout, and product availability is based on the live stock levels displayed throughout the ordering process.  You will note that if you order more than the available stock, or an item which is out of stock this is highlighted to you in the cart at checkout and the available quantity shown.  You can adjust your purchase quantity accordingly.  If you require more than we have, don't worry, just leave the quantity at the amount you want, and we'll back-order the rest for you.  If delivery is delayed, then we'll advise you accordingly.

You will receive two emails from us after checkout, the usual order summary, and an electronic credit card receipt.  You will no longer receive a printed credit card receipt with your order.

This new system also adds to your security, as it incorporates 3D secure technology, this incorporates Mastercard's secure code, and ''Verified by Visa' schemes.  If you have joined these schemes, you will be asked to complete an additional checkout stage by your card issuer.

We are obviously interested in your feedback on these changes, and you can E-mail us with your comments, good or bad as we are eager to hear your opinions.
 

03/01/08 - Happy New Year!
As a small celebration we've reduced prices on Heljan Locomotives - whilst stocks last!
We also have some exciting plans for this coming year!
1st of all; We've introduced a new local call telephone number.  This means that from wherever in the UK you call from, you will only be charged the same as a local call (approximately 4p/Minute peak and 1p/minute off peak, depending on your service provider) Our new number is: 0845 224 1601 (We also have a lo-call fax number 0845 224 1604)
Our Non-UK customers should continue to use our old number  +44(0)1299 896198 and +44 (0)1299 896470 for FAX, but please note that these will change in March, as we are moving to new premises.

More news on our move later, including full information on our new products and customer service enhancements.

 

16/11/07 - Christmas opening times:

Christmas has arrived a little early here this year, due to Warley looming, and the seasonal rush in full swing!
I 'd like to take this opportunity to thank our customers and visitors for making our business a success during 2007, and we look forward to working with you during 2008!

We will be closed on Saturday the 1st of December for the Warley Exhibition - Orders placed on our website will be posted on Monday the 3rd.
We shall be closed for callers and telephone sales from Saturday the 22nd December until Wednesday the 2nd of January for the Christmas and New Year holiday.

Items ordered via our website during this time will be posted on Friday the 28th December and Wednesday the 2nd January.
Please note latest posting times below, any orders placed after 3pm on the 20th December should specify Special delivery in order to guarantee pre-Christmas delivery.

Compliments of the Season,
Andy, Fiona and Sam.

 

25/11/07 - Royal Mail - Recommended last posting dates before Christmas 2007

2007 UK 2007 International airmail 2007 International Surface
Friday 14 December Standard Parcels Friday 7 December South & Central America, Caribbean, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Far East (except Japan), Australia and New Zealand Monday 1 October All non-European destinations (except USA, Canada, Middle East, Far East and South Africa)
Monday 17 December Second Class Monday 10 December USA, Canada, Japan and Eastern Europe Monday 15 October Middle East and Far East (except Hong Kong and Singapore)
Thursday 20 December First Class Thursday 13 December Western Europe Monday 29 October USA, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Africa
Friday 21 December Special Delivery™ Saturday guarantee     Friday 16 November Eastern Europe, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Malta and Iceland
Saturday 22 December Special Delivery™     Friday 30 November Western Europe

 

01/11/07 - NTL Users experiencing connectivity problems.
We have numerous reports over the past couple of weeks of NTL users experiencing connectivity problems to our site.

This issue has been reported to NTL engineers who are working on the problem. Note this is a problem that only NTL will be able to resolve as it is not a specific problem with our website,  and is affecting connectivity from NTL to other websites and services from various UK ISP's.

This is also affecting blueyonder and Virginmedia customers as all 3 ISP's use the same network in many parts of the country.

Note the symptom is a loss of connectivity for a minute or so to sites and services, and this occurs intermittently throughout the day at different times.

We will keep you updated as we here more information back.
 

15/10/07 - Real time stock levels:
Advanced information: We are completing the integration of our website with our stock control system at the end of the month. This will improve your visibility of our stocks, and allow you to order with confidence as we can now inform you about stock availability at the time of purchase. Should you attempt to order more items than are available you will be notified at checkout, and given the option to change order quantity, or to request a back order. As we sell stock during the day, either on the web site, in person, or by mail order; The stock will be reserved, and an update made to the website, this way we won't need to remove items from the site when out of stock (so no more confusion about vanishing products!) and we won't get caught out by large mail order or trade sales coinciding with a web order!
 
We have decided to use stock availability, rather than simply show stock levels, as a stock figure may look impressively large, but does little to inform you how fast they sell, if the item is on order, or if a supply delay has occurred. ( It's no use seeing 50 in stock, and returning tomorrow to find they've all sold! ) Once you place your order, the stock is reserved for you, and the web-site stock quantities are updated as required.

To simplify this process, we are introducing a traffic light system which will appear on every product page, and will show you it's stock status at a glance:
 

This item is out of stock This item is out of stock, replacements are on order, and are expected to arrive soon.
We have low stock on this item We are running low (relative to usual demands) replacements have been ordered, but best to order now before the rush!
We have plenty of this item in stock Ample stock levels, plenty on the shelf!

A further check is carried once you have placed items in the basket, if there is insufficient stock (ie. you ordered 20, we only have 18) this will be indicated before the payment stage of checkout, and the actual stock quantity will be displayed. This will give you the information you require to either adjust your purchase quantity, or to continue with your order, and the out of stock items will be automatically placed on back order for you.  Once you have paid for the order, stock will be reserved for packing and shipping.  All order details are automatically passed to our stock system, and you will receive a confirmation email once the system has updated the order records. (Normally within 30 minutes of your placing the order)  You will also receive our customary confirmation email after your order has shipped.

We hope that you find this new facility useful, and we look forward to implementing this at the end of the month.

 

13/10/07 - Royal Mail:

Royal Mail is pleased to report that negotiations with the Communications Workers Union (CWU) have been successful and a settlement has now been reached.

We apologise for the disruption and inconvenience the strikes have caused, and thank you for your ongoing patience through this difficult time.
We are now working hard to return to normal as quickly as possible, but there is a significant build-up of mail that will take some time to clear. We will deal with all mail in the order in which we received it, and will re-instate all service guarantees and promises as soon as we are able to honour them.

Unofficial strike action
However we are very disappointed to report that some colleagues are currently taking unofficial strike action, in several parts of the country, which will inevitably lengthen our recovery period, and affect services in these areas. Please call our [Royal mail] customer service helpline 08457 740 740 - for the latest details.

 

11/10/07 - Royal Mail:

Statement from the post office:

After lengthy negotiation we are very disappointed that the Communication Workers Union (CWU) has announced more strike action starting on Monday 15th and ending on Friday 19th October. This action will take place at different Royal Mail sites across the country at different times. We are currently assessing the impact that this will have on services, and will communicate this as soon as possible.

We can confirm that the latest round of strike action by members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) ended in the early hours of Wednesday 10th October. Royal Mail regrets the impact of the strike action and apologises to its customers for the disruption this has caused.

Whilst we are encouraged that increased numbers of operational staff are attending work and that managerial and support staff continue to keep mail flowing, the situation remains very serious and our ability to provide services remains extremely limited. We are very sorry that we have had to withdraw a number of service promises and guarantees, but we will reinstate these as soon as we are able to honour them.

Special Delivery items are being delivered and some mail is flowing through the network, but we have a significant build-up of mail that will take time to clear when the strikes have finished.

We would like to assure our customers that we are working hard to get mail through the system and delivered. We will do our best to return to normal as quickly as possible, and will deal with mail in the order in which we receive it. However customers should expect significant delays during and after the strike period.

 

06/10/07 - Server Upgrade.
We are upgrading our server from apx. 01:00am GMT  until apx. 10:00am GMT,  Monday the 8th October.  Normal service will be in operation during this time, although you may notice server response times are a little slower than usual.
This upgrade paves the way for integration between our invoicing system and our on-line system, benefits will include real-time display of actual stock levels, easier order processing, and faster order processing.

03/10/07 - Postal strike.  October 4th - 6th and 8th to 10th.

The post office have announced further strike action, and have stated that special delivery guarantees will be suspended during the forthcoming strike.  For this reason, we will not be posting any orders with Royal mail on strike days. Large orders, and orders on which customers select special delivery will be sent via a Courier service at no additional charge.  If you wish to take advantage of this offer, please select special delivery at checkout.

The Communications Workers Union (CWU) has announced further strike action. Two 48-hour strikes are planned. The first will begin at lunchtime on Thursday 4th October and ends at lunchtime on Saturday 6th October. The second will begin in the early hours of Monday 8th October, ending in the early hours of Wednesday 10th October.

This will be followed by an unspecified programme of weekly strikes, starting week commencing October 15th, until the resolution of the dispute.

During the strikes, Royal Mail’s priorities will be:

What does it mean for our customers?

This action will severely limit our ability to provide any services for the coming period. Customers should expect severe disruption to all postal services during the strikes and for a significant period afterwards.

 

09/08/07 - Holidays! (Postal info updated 13.08.07)

 

02/08/07 Quick Update & Postal strike info (Pt. 2):
We will be sending out a newsletter shortly (only our 2nd in 12 months) Which will contain a full update on our new products, but in the meantime, I'd like to address the thief, who masqueraded as a hobbyist when he visited us recently.  I have a fair idea of who you are, and needless to say, you are not welcome in the future either as a visitor or customer (Naming and shaming is still an option here!).  We pride ourselves on treating our visitors as fellow enthusiasts, and those who have spent time here will know we/I try our best to make the visit worthwhile and enjoyable. We place trust in our visitors, as they place trust in us to work on their locos.  However, when our hospitality is abused in this way, it does tend to make one think.  I realise that the vast majority of folks are not inclined this way, and I hope that you will understand when visiting us that security will be a little tighter in future.

In the mean time, if you see a unique (smooth running!) Hornby Pendolino set, with full interior lighting, and cab lights, or are offered an N or OO/HO gauge CMX track cleaner, (marked up with graduations on the needle valves) then you can have some fun on us, by asking difficult questions about pedigree! (B.T.W. this rolling stock is uniquely identified in a way the thief will never figure out!)

Postal Strike update:  (BTW the way - if you visit the R.M. website, don't bother to sign-up for email updates - we did, and guess what? no emails! - I can only guess they got held up by the strike as well J

Unofficial strike action
We are very disappointed to report that our colleagues in the following mail centres are currently taking unofficial strike action:

We will do all we can to minimise disruption to our customers’ services, but some disruption is inevitable, Customers can expect delays to mail collection and delivery services in these areas.

 

28/07/07 Postal Strikes:
Unfortunately with the escalation in the postal service dispute it is difficult to forcast when, where or how disruption will take place, therefore we cannot say with certainly how long a shipment will take.  We are despatching large, high value items via UPS, at no additional cost to you, but it is not economical to send all items this way.  Smaller/lower value items are being send royal mail, recorded delivery in order than some measure of tracability is imposed.  The latest information from the R.M. is reproduced below.

We are disappointed to report that, despite our best efforts, and those of ACAS, to resolve the industrial dispute, the current round of strike action has been extended by a further 24-hours in select parts of the country. This is not a national strike, but affects different parts of Royal Mail’s business on different days. This is now set to continue until 03.00 on Thursday 9th August.

In addition, we believe the CWU has announced a schedule of further strike action affecting different parts of Royal Mail’s business on different days, from 19.00 on Thursday 9th August until 19.00 on Friday 17th August. Royal Mail has not been officially notified of this action, but will update you on the details as soon as we have them.

What this means for you

The situation is complex.

06/05/07 Postal pricing update:
At the beginning of April, the Royal Mail increased postal charges As postal charges are one out our biggest bugbears (second only to the abysmal support the R.M. provide to our business!) We decided to hold our existing postage charges for a month, whilst we judge the fairest way to react to these increases.

We have now introduced a selection of shipping methods, based on actual postage cost, and the weight of the item.  Our table rate prices are held at the existing rate, and will now ship within 48 hours of the order being accepted. As the Royal Mail refuse to collect from our premises (we are apparently in a deep rural location, although a van passes us, without stopping!*) we are absorbing the costs of the daily 36 mile return trip to the sorting office. This permits us to offer the latest same day shipping times we can.

You can now prioritise the urgency of your order and have a choice of shipping methods by choosing one of the other methods on offer. Our despatch time, and the estimated postal time is also displayed.  We base these charges on actual postage costs, plus a fixed fee (regardless of order size) for handling and packing materials. 

Orders over £250 are still post free within the UK!

The on-line UPS quoting system is the first of many integrated systems improvements that we have planned for 2007. Whilst we are still a small family company, we want to take advantage of the most efficient means of processing your orders.

We hope you find the new postage structure more convenient, flexible and ultimately better value than previously; We shall be monitoring orders over the next few months and will be introducing more improvements as options become available to us.

*In March 2007 the Royal mail charged us £480 pounds for a collection service, 2 weeks later, without making a single collection, they 'revoked'  the service  The charge has not yet been refunded.
Practices such as this by the R.M. ultimately increase our shipping charges (and those of the other companies you buy from), Please write to your MP, or to the chief executive of the Royal Mail group PLC, 5th Floor, Old St. London EC1V 9HQ. if you feel this is unfair to small business, and to YOU, the customer!
 

02/05/07 Update:
DCC Supplies are now the official re-seller for Zimo in the UK.  We are actively seeking new resellers for Zimo products, (as well as our other distribution items) and will be enhancing the UK support of the Zimo product line over the coming months.  One immediate benefit of this partnership is the development of Zimo's miniature, low cost function decoder the MX which was designed around our specifications.
Our own product line continues to grow, with the addition of our Carriage lighting strips, and our custom designed LOKSOUND compatible speakers, complementing our incredibly successful Digi-Hat.

We are now authorised  TCS, DIGITRAX and CT Elektronik suppliers and have added Heljan locomotives to our portfolio of FREE DCC decoder installable  locomotives.

Our 2007 workshop schedule has been announced, as well as our show schedule.
 

24/12/06 Update:
Merry Christmas to all our Customers, Visitors and suppliers!
We have been extremely busy since Warley, and unexpectedly ran out of some items due to demand.  Our suppliers provided us with great backup, and we surmounted the problems, thanks for your patience during this time.

We're working a site update during our break, and will be going live by the new year, this will include more help resources and information on DCC and Installations.  There will also be a lot more products appearing in the shop.

 

14/11/06 Update:

Preparations for Warley are well underway and we're getting excited here! We'll be having a number of show specials, and if you'd like to reserve items for collection, the email, phone or order on line.  We'll keep it by for you.

We've released our DiGi-Hat - the answer to every Graham Farish owners dreams! A direct replacement for the brass bush found in the older style chassis, you just drop in a DiGi-Hat, and the conversion is all but done.  We supply modified brush holders as well.

We've also added a pop-up currency converter, and a full site translation for our non-UK customers, and have a number of other 'cunning plans' up our sleeve for the Christmas holidays, whilst we wait for the turkey to settle.

Don't forget the Christmas Special on Fantasonics Engineering scale sounds, and look out for more specials on December the 1st!

Our Links page has been updated with suppliers and some of our favourite resource sites.

Last but not least, we're proud to say that our web site has won it's first award, we plan to continue to keep our site standards as high as possible!

 

20/10/06 Update:
 Hornby Logo Is Here!  We're not jumping on the Hornby DCC Wagon, (although we'll stock it, just as soon as Hornby can deliver [Latest estimate - December]) But we are offering a growing stock of locomotives at competitive prices. At your option, Hornby at DCC supplies logowe will install Zimo, Lenz, or ESU sound decoders (ESU decoders limited to our own range of sounds, or an appropriate ESU generic sound)  Any item in the Hornby Catalogue (Subject to manufactures availability) is now only 4 days away, all backed by our own customer service and workshop facilities.  We are now also able to offer a full spares and repair service for Hornby locos and rolling stock.

Computer control we have recently been appointed UK dealers for the KAM range of DCC control software, offering everything from decoder programming, route setting right through to fully automated control.

A great range of automated signal control is now available, using track mounted light sensors, the signal is operated by the presence of the train, and can be interlinked with units further back, as well as systems such as ABC to automatically stop trains.

 

12/10/06 Update:
Wow! has it really been this long since I updated this? Reasons, but not excuses can be found below:

We have some more exciting developments coming shortly, keep an eye on the press, and our main site for more information ....... shortly!

20/08/06 update:

Apologies are due! - Latest news has become rather stale over the past weeks, this is actually due to busy work, but this is really no excuse for bad communications !

15/07/06 Update:

Previous updates: