Hello Ian
December has rolled round again, layouts are lighting up, and we're selling lots of small curves ready to go round trees.
New arrivals – on the shelves and ready to post
The last few weeks have seen a steady stream of boxes turning up from Kato, and a lot of cardboard heading back out again.
A few highlights from the Just Arrived page:
- Sound-fitted Surfliners: SC-44 Surfliner 4-car and 8-car train packs with DCC sound on board.
- North American diesels: SD70ACU in CP Military Heritage green and Norfolk Southern liveries, plus new ES44ACs and other freight power.
- Japanese freight and electrics: the Koki 102+103 “Kangaroo Liner SS60” 8-car container set, EH800 and ED79 electrics, and the EF210 container train set.
- Urban EMUs: fresh E233 series sets for the Saikyō and Chūō lines.
- Starter sets: F7 freight starter sets in Santa Fe Blue Bonnet, Red Bonnet and Union Pacific – ideal for anyone who wants “open box, add power, go”.
- Figures and details: new people packs including shoppers and flag-wavers to give platforms a bit more life.
Everything on that page is physically in stock here in York and ready to ship.
👉 Browse the latest arrivals
And there’s more on the way:
Yesterday we opened our first boxes of fresh Kato Europe items, including the much anticipated “Krok” - see above. Due to the volume of pre-orders to sort out on these it may take us a while to list them on the Just Arrived page.
If you are chasing something specific, reply to this email and ask – we may have it tucked away even if it hasn’t made it to the top of the page yet.
Last call for 5% off in-stock items
A quick reminder that our early-season offer is still running:
5% off all in-stock items until 6th December only with the code BLACK-FRIDAY-5 at checkout.
If there’s something you’ve been eyeing up, this is the moment to grab it before the code, or the stock, disappears.
Gift ideas (for you or someone you like)
If you’re looking for present ideas, a few things that always go down well:
- Starter sets – track, controller and train matched up and ready to go.
- Scenery and details – trees, and little green bits that bring any layout to life and fit easily into a stocking - check out themodeltreeshop.co.uk which we also operate.
- Track 'V' box sets – simple ways to turn a basic oval into something more interesting.
- Gift vouchers! - delivered by email, so great for the last minute and they leave the choice to the recipient. Available for Train Trax and The Model Tree Shop.
If you’re stuck, reply to this email and tell us what you have already and your rough budget. We can suggest a few sensible options.
Christmas ordering and posting
We’ll keep sending orders out as quickly as we can through December.
Our last posting date for a decent chance of Royal Mail delivery by Christmas Day is Thursday, 18 December. We will also be offering Fedex as a next day option, but don't leave it too late!
If you need something for a particular date, add a note at checkout or reply to this email and we’ll let you know what we can do.
Behind the scenes at TrainTrax HQ
Behind the website there’s still just a small team in York, spending a lot of time surrounded by boxes and tape.
Right now we’re:
- Picking and packing orders as fast (and as carefully) as we can
- Trying to keep the stock room in some sort of order as new deliveries arrive
- Tweaking the website and getting frustrated with payment systems
- Answering questions about occasional delayed parcels, lighting kits and “which set next” in between parcels
- Testing the Rhb Krok!
Thank you for keeping us this busy. Your orders in this season really do make it possible for a little specialist business like ours to keep going for the rest of the year. It's 'Small Business Saturday' this weekend - our request is that you think about where your other money is going!
Best wishes,
Ian & the Train Trax UK team
PS
Nearly forgot, there's some newly announced KatoUSA Amtrak Phase III items available to pre-order. See below...
