Hello,
There’s a lot of stuff below, but first we want to wish you a very happy Christmas, and to say thank you for your support this year. We’re genuinely grateful for every order, message, and bit of encouragement.
It’s difficult to write a message like this without sounding too trite, but my hope for you over the season is simple: peace on earth, goodwill, and a lighter heart going into the new year.
If you’re spending it with family and friends, I hope it’s easy company and good conversation. If it’s a quieter one, I hope it’s properly restful.
On with the rest of it…
Christmas delivery and opening dates
Royal Mail Tracked 48 last posting date was today. By the time you read this, it is too late, so FedEx Next Day is available right up to Tuesday 23 December.
Vouchers are sent digitally so delivery is immediate!
We’re 'open' (answering queries and sending parcels) until Tuesday 23 December. After that we’re taking a break and we’ll be back on Friday 2 January. You can still place orders on the website and email queries to us in the meantime, but replies and dispatch will restart in the new year.
New pre-orders just announced (Kato Japan + Kato USA)
If you like to get in early and plan ahead, these are now live to reserve.
Kato USA
- GG1 electrics (including new Amtrak and Conrail Bicentennial liveries), with DC and DCC-fitted options
- F40PH in Amtrak Phase III, plus DC, DCC-fitted, and DCC-sound variants
Kato Japan (N)
- 883 series “Sonic”: yellow 5-car set, renewal sets (basic + expansion), and the 30th anniversary wrapping 7-car set
- 287 series “Kuroshio” 60th anniversary wrapping (2nd) 6-car set
- EF65 0 (JR specifications)
- Tokyu 5050 series (antenna expansion) 8-car set (Special Projects)
- E721 series: 2-car, 4-car, and the combined 6-car set
Kato Japan (HO)
- (HO) DD51 “North Star Color”
Full list here, and highlights below:
https://traintrax.co.uk/preorders-reserve-them-here-c-51-html
A quick note on the new Krokodil
It’s one of the most eagerly anticipated releases of the year. We love it, but it does need careful handling when removing it from the packaging. Kieren has put together a short guide here:
https://traintrax.co.uk/2025/12/15/how-to-handle-a-crocodile
Super payment service ending + rewards reminder
We’ll be discontinuing the ‘Super’ payment service on TrainTrax.co.uk early next year. We introduced it to pass on a 1% saving, but we’ve also had significant feedback that it has been making purchases more difficult. We’re keeping checkout simpler.
If you’ve built up a cashback reward, please use it before 5 January or it will be lost. You can check by entering your mobile number in the box at checkout.
Finally, if you missed it, we published our review of our company financial year 2024/25 a few weeks ago:
https://model-railway-magic.co.uk/2025/12/01/mrm-annual-report-2025/
Believe it or not, we're still getting huge deliveries of stock right up until the last minute, so we're off now to do some more unpacking.
Best wishes,
Ian & the TrainTrax UK team
PS. Keep an eye on the rolling sale page https://traintrax.co.uk/sale - we're adding new items regularly.
