What is your next kit and when is it coming out? We have found this to be the most frequently asked question of all. We usually come out with a new kit on Nov. 1 by advertising in one or more of the major model railroading magazines (Railroad Model Craftsman, Narrow Gauge and Shortline Gazette & Model Railroad News). This is a once a year event.

Do you take reservations? People often ask if they can reserve a kit before we have initiated production, but we prefer not to. Our policy is an old-fashioned one in that we will not take your money until we have something to ship. When a kit goes up for sale, (usually in October) we will hold an available kit on a verbal reservation for no more than 5 days.

How about a layaway? Sorry, but due to a poor track record on layaways, we are not doing them any more.

Can I get on a mailing list? For now, our (snail) mailing list is only for people who have purchased a kit. When you are on this list you get a couple weeks advance notice before the national advertising kicks in. We do have an open e-mail list, though. Regardless of your purchasing history you will get advance notices and updates (only a couple a year). Another way to find out what's new is to keep up with this web site. We have been trying to post a picture or two of the new introduction in the late summer - early fall. The price is usually posted shortly after the mailing/email goes out.

Do you sell out quickly and what should I do to not miss out? This can vary greatly. All kits do sell out. We have talked to hundreds of disappointed customers regarding every kit we have ever produced. Therefore, if you like a kit, we do advise you to buy it as soon as you can.

Do you have a more extensive catalog? The web site pretty much covers it as we usually only have the one kit for sale.

Can I get your kit at my local hobby shop? Sorry, but we only sell direct to the customer. We like the scale of our business, but is too small and we do not have enough products to maintain wholesale operations.

When you advertise is the kit ready to ship? Always! When we advertise, that kit is available to ship immediately! Normally, we can get orders out on the same day they have been placed - however, in the first couple weeks after a kit is announced, we are usually swamped and there can be up to a two-week delay until we can catch up.

Do you re-run kits and if not, why? We have not re-run any kits and have no plans to do so. Our yearly workload revolves around producing one major new kit. This consumes all of our design and production time and the physical space. Also, you have to understand the nature of our business. We turned a hobby we enjoy into a full-time business. So, in order to keep enjoying what we do, when we finish producing a kit, we move onto something new - it keeps us fresh.

Why only limited number of kits? Read the previous question for part of the answer. In the year it takes to design, produce and sell a kit, 500 is the maximum number we can work with. In recent years, we have only been able to make 450.

Why only HO Scale and why not do the same kits in N or O? Part of the answer is in the response to the previous two questions. Though we like all scales, HO is our favorite scale and it is to this audience that we do our annual business. Even working from an existing design, it requires a total (up to a year) effort to tool up and produce a kit in another scale. We would, in effect, have to put our HO business on hold to move into other scales. We do not want to abandon our core business or expand (employees) to do our kits in other scales.

Do you sell parts or plans? We do not sell parts or plans. With parts it is time, production, basic business plan and space constraints that prevents us from going in this direction. We do not sell plans because we are in the business of selling kits.

If you buy a second hand kit and it is incomplete or has been started, can we fix it for you?  Generally, we do not do this. It is the responsibly of the seller to be forthright in the sale and of the buyer to scrutinize the product before purchase. Almost all the problems we have seen involve "missing" instructions (almost exclusively with the Brick Roundhouse kit). The second most common occurrence is that a kit that has been started, but not completed. It can take hours of shop & correspondence time for us to make this right - something we cannot afford to do. Third are select parts that have been removed from a kit prior to being sold. To the credit of everyone in the hobby, this does not happen too often (except with the Roundhouse instructions). Still, I do not maintain an extensive replacement inventory and many patterns and molds do not exist any more - so again, be careful with your purchase.

e-mail: southriv@comcast.net