Jet lag

I'm suffering from some serious jet lag, but I had enough energy to post a picture of my new acquisition sitting in the station. Must sleep now.

HK store update

I discovered a third shop in Hong Kong that carry mostly Kato and Tomix with some Marklin and Minitrix items. The store was located in a warehouse. They were having a 40% off on the Minitrix locomotives, but they were pretty old evident by the out of date packaging. Unfortunately, I did not have my camera with me so no pictures. I was hoping they might have some Kato TGV or Eurostar trainsets, but they only carried Japanese Shinkansens and a couple North American locomotives and one Amtrak train set.

If you find yourself in Hong Kong with a bit of free time, check out these places. All three places can be reached by MTR. After a three week hiatus, I'm anxious to get back to working on the prototype roof structures for my railway station.

Lee Kwon Hobbies
Shop A, G/F, Wing Sing Building, 36-40 Temple Street, Yau Ma Tei, Hong Kong
(10 minute stroll from Yau Ma Tei MTR station)

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Concorde Hobby Shop
G/F, No. 331, Lai Chi Kok Road, Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong
(10 minute stroll from Sham Shui Po MTR station)

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KKC Toys
9/F, Edwick Industrial Center, 4-30 Lei Muk Road, Kwai Chung, Hong Kong
(20-30 minute stroll from Kwai Hing MTR station)

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Lee Kwon Hobbies

Jerry from Quinntopia inquired about what a model train hobby store looked like in Hong Kong. It had never occurred to me to take pictures so I went back to Mr. Kwon's store as it was the closer of the two stores. That's Mr. Kwon standing in the doorway. He's been a fan of trains since he was a little boy and was lucky to get into it as a business. He's been selling trains in Hong Kong for many years now. As you can see, it's a very tight fit in his store with items crammed from floor to ceiling. I really want to buy that Fleischmann ICE-T, but it would cost almost $900 Canadian. I'm still humming and hawing whether to get it. It's definitely more than my limit of $750 duty free will allow.

Hong Kong Transit

Many people use the Mass Transit Rail to get around in Hong Kong. It is an amazing subway system that carries millions of passengers every day between the island and across the harbour to the main land. What's truly amazing is that they can do it so efficiently. Although there are similarities between it and the Tube in London, the MTR is far cleaner and cheaper and the ride is so much smoother. There are a few more branches than the last time I visited. The other noticeable difference is that the platforms are enclosed by glass walls and doors. This was put in place due to people committing suicide by jumping on to oncoming trains. Hong Kong is a place of extremes and excess. Despite the stress, I find people here are very helpful and friendly.

The trams are still running in Hong Kong and we got a chance to ride one today as well. I'm glad they kept the trams, but the city is slowly getting rid of the old ones, which were built of wood and replacing them with new ones. Tram 150 is the only old tram with wooden beams still in operation.

Sevilla to Madrid via Hong Kong

I've been on holiday in Hong Kong, hence the lack of posts lately. Who would have thought I'd be able to find the Kato model 10-719-1 here in Hong Kong. It was a little overpriced, but a perfect addition to my railway station. It will sit next to my TGV, which runs from Paris to Stuttgart. That leaves two more openings on my railway station before I have to consider expanding. Now if I can get my hands on the TGV Thalys, I'd be a happy and destitute modeler.