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Update September 2024

Hi everybody!  Fall is fast approaching and will soon be time for most of us will be looking forward to spending time with our trains! We are very much aware of how bad inflation has hit us. Getting harder and harder to make ends meet for many of us. We at TinMan are also   being hit with ever increasing costs. We very much understand that many of our customers are on fixed incomes that do not increase anywhere enough to cover the current inflation rates. For example, like most everybody else   Ebay has increased their fees quite a bit. So that is why you will soon see prices on our site, significantly lower than what we have to charge for the same items on eBay.   Better news, while the rest of the world is increasing their selling prices, we are going to reduce many of our prices! Examples, O gauge 10” straights on O31 curves will be available for as low as $1.50 ea. O27’s  $1.15.  Transformers, switches and controllers will also be priced much lower than we need to charge on eBay.

We are adding lots of new stuff to the site. Many of them are quite small and does not seem fair to charge a flat rate of $10 per order. SOOOO

Effective immediately we are going back to free shipping for all items on our site, and no hidden bs charges. To make this work we did have to increase a few prices for the larger heavier items, but overall will be a cost savings to our customers. We are trying folks. Tis time we all should realize we ride in the same boat.

New stuff: We recognize a lot of our customers have great electronic skills, and like us enjoy working on their own projects of repairing, upgrading etc themselves.  (boy would I love to hire some of you guys! Hey, Wisconsin is a beautiful state think about it.  To assist those guys who like DIY projects, we are adding a new section of electronic parts, for example LED’s a variety of switches, capacitors, bridge rectifiers, diodes, and cables. Because we purchase these items for our own items in large quantities, we are able to offer them to our customers at very reasonable prices.  These items will be listed in the general category of cables and parts.

When we purchase items to recondition, we often get relatively small quantities of items, that are not large enough quantities to qualify their own listings. Just an example, we have a bunch of Marx O27 switches, that are really nice, but quantities are limited.  Our plan is to open a new category called close outs. These items will all be checked for proper operation, and will of course carry our standard warranties, and will be great values. Items for example: a variety of top quality Marx and Flyer switches. Odd lengths of tracks, transformers, etc.  Again quantities will be limited, but prices will be very attractive.

A word about payment methods. We have done our best to try to make the process as simple as possible. Still some folks still seem to have difficulty with that.  We welcome folks who call us to place their order over the phone, so feel free to do that if you wish. Some customers don’t like using credit cards, PayPal etc. No problem, call us, give us your list, we will send it out and if you wish you can mail us a check after you receive your order. Plus, really like chatting with fellow hobbyists.

Like our train stories?  Great, we need more of them, please email us your own personal train history, what you had, what you have now and why. We when publishing them do not include your name or contact info.

Working on some new sections of product information should be soon published on the site.

Sometimes it is nice to know we must have done something right. Thanks to our friend Gunrunner, who greatly assisted with their design, our circuit breaker kits are now the number one selling item we offer. Would you believe over 500 of these have been delivered to customers in less than 1 year? Thanks to you John (Gunrunner). Your electronic expertise is very much appreciated by your fellow hobbyists! Only 1 question, why did it take almost 100 years to figure out how needed this item is? Gunna be a hard act to follow! Take care of yourself John, we all need you!

Tip of the month:  Like doing your own soldering?  We go thru over 30 Lbs. of solder a year. We only buy Kester 60/40 3.3% rosin core 44, .062 diameter.  Costs over twice as much as most other brands, now up to $30+ per pound. Well worth it guys. Don’t buy cheap solder, and don’t buy “new old stock, or preowned” (even Kester) after some years the rosin dries up and does not solder well.  Need a soldering iron?  There go to eBay and look for a Weller w100 preowned old fashioned iron. Make sure you get a good holderonner stand for it, (that’s a technical term).  If you buy one for stained glass, they may be even cheaper, used is fine. Then buy a 1/8”700 degree tip. Can get used irons for around 40 bucks, and a tip for bout $10.  Your iron will last a lifetime, tips no. Is our main units and for as much as we use 8 to 10 hours a day they  lasts for years. Tips about 6 months. Got some sets that are over 10 years old.