n8186w
Gandy Dancer
Pilot and Navigator of N8186W
Posts: 5
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Post by n8186w on Sept 24, 2006 13:32:25 GMT -5
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Post by Bill Holland on Sept 24, 2006 13:46:38 GMT -5
Theres 2 different Little Engines, which one you talking about?
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n8186w
Gandy Dancer
Pilot and Navigator of N8186W
Posts: 5
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Post by n8186w on Oct 1, 2006 12:45:01 GMT -5
It's one company, so it has to behave that way, in my opinion, without regard to location. There have been a lot of problems at Moss Landing (California), that is true. But, the problem with operating a business built upon a hobby is that the lack of good business practices can kill both the business and the hobby.
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Post by Bill Holland on Oct 1, 2006 18:10:20 GMT -5
They are same in name only, as I understand it the company was split up and sold to 2 different people, one in New Jersey, the other in California.
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Post by locodan5416 on Oct 21, 2006 11:01:06 GMT -5
yes, that is true. little engines was split into two seperate companies, only sharing the name. what happened was clarke simm (LE of california, previous Little Engines owner) he ran into significant money issues. from what i have gathered, a machine shop in canada has around 200,000 dollars worth of LE goods. that included engines, castings, boilers... the works. Then, Mike V.(i always misspell his last name), well he buys the castings from Clarke for the 1.5" scale. At that moment in time, Clarke owed 10 customers a Little Engines Ready to run 0-4-0 Switcher. Mike agreed to take on building 5 of them, leaving clarke to finish the rest.
at this point of time, clarke owed my father a LE 0-4-0 for 2 years at that point. the engine has not been completed to this day. we have recieved 20% of our deposit back, but clarke says he does not have the money. clarke has also had a couple ctrokes since we first started dealing with him.
from talking to mike v (little engines of new jersey) it sounds like some patterns are missing (which means clarke "stiffed" the foundrys making castings, as in he never payed them). mike is readily accessiple, but i have not ordered anything, and neither has my father. mike wil ltry to stop by your house with a casting order if you are close to where he is going.
i wouldn't touch anything around the name clarke simm. the world is macho-communication, and for clarke not to have a working answering machine and be able to call a customer back, thats ridiculous.
clarke has "control" of the little engines 1" scale and smaller castings. if you want a small engine(3/4"), look into martin evans buffalo(2-8-0), caribou(0-8-0), and columbia(4-8-4).
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