Tri-ang Railways.

[russ p]

Were the transcontinental sets cheaper than the domestic styled ones?

It always seemed odd to me that when I was a kid so many of my friends had TC sets which didn't resemble anything you had seen before when you could have had a familiar looking brush type 2 in the freightmaster set

[Golden Fleece 30]

To me this was Tri-ang's best range of coaches, the original "banana" shaped ones were too short and the scale length later ones looked too long in comparison to everything else.  There only issue was the maroon ones should have had better lining.

 

Garry

[Golden Fleece 30]

In my case Russ I think it was my parents did not really know anything different until I could tell them.  Price wise it was all comparable.

 

Garry

[Robin Brasher]

Were the transcontinental sets cheaper than the domestic styled ones?

It always seemed odd to me that when I was a kid so many of my friends had TC sets which didn't resemble anything you had seen before when you could have had a familiar looking brush type 2 in the freightmaster set

The British Railways sleeping car was 10s 11p in 1961 whereas the Transcontinental diner was 12s in 1962.

[5050]

My first trainset was the TC Pacific with the plain coach and the dome coach.  My Dad was the mananger of a furniture factory so a piece of plywood was easily come by for a baseboard.  It was 5' x 4', split in two down the middle and spent most of its life propped up alongside the piano, only coming down a Christmas for the first couple of years.  Once the MR bug had really bitten I was banished to a shed in the garden!

 

I always wanted one of the Bo-Bo switcher locos as they had a passing resemblance to some of the new 'modernisation plan' locos starting to appear on BR.  In reality I suppose the exact opposite was the truth.

 

I've still got my bottle of Shell oil..................

[russ p]

It's surprising really that triang sold the sets so widely.

For many years Bachmann have produced models of American prototypes but they aren't exactly widely available

[RJS1977]

It's surprising really that triang sold the sets so widely.

For many years Bachmann have produced models of American prototypes but they aren't exactly widely available

 

If they're not widely available, they won't sell many....

[Il Grifone]

To me this was Tri-ang's best range of coaches, the original "banana" shaped ones were too short and the scale length later ones looked too long in comparison to everything else.  There only issue was the maroon ones should have had better lining.

 

Garry

 

Hi Garry

 

The T.C. coaches are still too short though, despite the smaller scale. Real US stainless steel coaches are around 85' long*. Scale length coaches would have had a problem with Tri-ang's curves. It's particularly noticeable with the later Canadian styled vehicles.

 

* If someone could point me in the direction of some 70 foot ones I would be happy. As it is I just ignore it.... (The same problem occurs with Continental U.I.C. coaches.)

 

David

[Coppercap]

The British Railways sleeping car was 10s 11p in 1961.

I realise you meant 10s 11d (and for those who don't know 'old money', it was also written as 10/11 or said as 'ten and eleven') It wasn't a small sum in 1961, so for those who aren't familiar with 'old money' that's 55p when converted to 'New Pence'. What's that today, I wonder, allowing for inflation?

Edited December 5, 2016 by Coppercap

[Il Grifone]

I realise you meant 10s 11d (and for those who don't know 'old money', it was also written as 10/11 or said as 'ten and eleven') It wasn't a small sum in 1961, so for those who aren't familiar with 'old money' that's 55p when converted to 'New Pence'. What's that today, I wonder, allowing for inflation?

 

It's something around £10-15 depending on what you compare it with. A gallon of petrol was around £5 in the mid sixties (4 gallons for £1 plus a free glass was the offer I followed - Esso IIRC). Around the turn of the century, 1/- (50s/60s inflation was not high over the period) was roughly equivalent to a £1, but the pound has gone down a bit since.

 

House prices don't follow this 20-30 times rule; here we're looking at 70-100 times....

Edited December 5, 2016 by Il Grifone

[5050]

 A gallon of petrol was around £5 in the mid sixties

?  Sure you don't mean 5 shillings?

 

A pint of bitter in 1967 was around 1/10 'ish - unless it was Harp Lager which I remember being charged 3/6 a pint in 1967!

[Coppercap]

?  Sure you don't mean 5 shillings?

 

A pint of bitter in 1967 was around 1/10 'ish - unless it was Harp which I remember being charged 3/6 a pint in 1967!

Well, I wouldn't remember beer prices then, but I do remember petrol was somwewhere about 6/- (30p) about the time we went decimal. I only remember that as I was always badgering dad to buy where they were giving away special coins to collect, or suchlike. Sadly, I still have them somewhere... Dad always filled up at Jet petrol stations when I wasn't with him. Cheaper, but no 'giveaways'...

[Coppercap]

I realise you meant 10s 11d (and for those who don't know 'old money', it was also written as 10/11 or said as 'ten and eleven') It wasn't a small sum in 1961, so for those who aren't familiar with 'old money' that's 55p when converted to 'New Pence'. What's that today, I wonder, allowing for inflation?

  

It's something around £10-15 depending on what you compare it with. A gallon of petrol was around £5 in the mid sixties (4 gallons for £1 plus a free glass was the offer I followed - Esso IIRC). Around the turn of the century, 1/- (50s/60s inflation was not high over the period) was roughly equivalent to a £1, but the pound has gone down a bit since.

 

House prices don't follow this 20-30 times rule; here we're looking at 70-100 times....

Apparently... 10/11 (55p) in 1962 is equivalent to £8.20 today. Now, that seems very reasonable! I'll have a dozen!

[RJS1977]

  

Apparently... 10/11 (55p) in 1962 is equivalent to £8.20 today. Now, that seems very reasonable! I'll have a dozen!

 

Imagine how much one would cost if Hornby were to release one now. Probably about five times that! (And made overseas!)

[Il Grifone]

?  Sure you don't mean 5 shillings?

 

A pint of bitter in 1967 was around 1/10 'ish - unless it was Harp Lager which I remember being charged 3/6 a pint in 1967!

 

I meant 5 shillings of course - I was obviously thinking of today's price and hit the wrong keys - old age creeping up.....

 

The £8.20 equivalent must be based on average earnings. My first wage was £10 a week full time (less stoppages - N.I. & tax) (summer factory job - mid sixties).

Edited December 5, 2016 by Il Grifone

[Il Grifone]

  

Apparently... 10/11 (55p) in 1962 is equivalent to £8.20 today. Now, that seems very reasonable! I'll have a dozen!

 

Plenty on eBay.  They are rather rubbish though - the windows are the wrong size for a start and deeply recessed in the sides (not as badly as Lima though). There are issues with the buffers too - wrong shape and too high above the rails.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_odkw=%28trix%2C+ttr%29&_osacat=180250&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xtri-ang+sleeping+car.TRS0&_nkw=tri-ang+sleeping+car&_sacat=180250

Edited December 5, 2016 by Il Grifone

[Coppercap]

The £8.20 equivalent must be based on average earnings. My first wage was £10 a week full time (less stoppages - N.I. & tax) (summer factory job - mid sixties).

 

Looked it up elsewhere (Bank of England, no less) and 10/11 (55p) in 1962 is the equivalent to £10.58 (in 2015), with inflation quoted as averaging at 5.7% per year. (I'd like to think they're somewhere near right!) Still seems quite cheap for what it was, but I'm sure there's much more disposable income these days to make it seem cheap, despite what some might say.

[Robin Brasher]

I don't think that the Tri-ang restaurant car is much less realistic than the Hornby Railroad R4525 GWR chocolate and cream restaurant car. R4525 is available from Hattons for £14 which is probably below the recommended retail price. I bought my Tri-ang restaurant car a couple of years ago for £3 so it represents better value for money.

[Robin Brasher]

A couple of pictures of a Tri-ang R50 black Princess Elizabeth at the South Dorset Modellers meeting at Winterborne Kingston Village Hall on Friday 6th January.

 

Costing £2. 17s. 6d in 1960 they were excellent value for money and over 720,000 were made.

 

My first Tri-ang models were a green Princess and a Royal Mail coach which was fairly similar to the train we ran last Friday.

[Golden Fleece 30]

Robin, isn't your loco here pre 1960?  I thought that in the late 50's the loco cab and tender had the red and white lining.  Am I right thinking that the early green was devoid of lining and had heat stamped crest and numbers like this one too?

 

I have seen a couple of the "second" series with plastic wheels and plunger pick-ups but never seen one of the "first" batch with roller pick-ups, only one photo a couple of years ago.

 

Garry

[Il Grifone]

It can be seen that she is made from acetate plastic!

 

Indeed excellent value (over the years I've acquired two), but rather dimensionally challenged. The model was far cheaper than the Trix version, which has a close resemblance. This did not reappear after the war, but the 'Scotsman', which did and differs only in body and tender castings, cost around £10.

Edited January 9, 2017 by Il Grifone

[5050]

I've got (on loan) an early plunger Princess with coaches and an oval of early style, pre-standard track.  Sadly the front bufferbeam has been damaged but it doesn't look to bad.  The motor is the early vertical commutator type and the loco struggles to pull anything, let alone its own heavy and stiff coaches.  All items are individually boxed in yellow boxes but there is no longer the 'set box'.  There is also the controller that fitted on top of a bank of batteries.

 

I'm not sure the owner really knows what to do with it in the long term.  Any idea what sort of value it might be?

[Robin Brasher]

I've got (on loan) an early plunger Princess with coaches and an oval of early style, pre-standard track.  Sadly the front bufferbeam has been damaged but it doesn't look to bad.  The motor is the early vertical commutator type and the loco struggles to pull anything, let alone its own heavy and stiff coaches.  All items are individually boxed in yellow boxes but there is no longer the 'set box'.  There is also the controller that fitted on top of a bank of batteries.

 

I'm not sure the owner really knows what to do with it in the long term.  Any idea what sort of value it might be?

According to page 588 of the 9th edition of British Model Trains the Princess is worth between £20 and £50 unless it is one of the 3 or 4 original models with brass or chrome roller pickups in which case it will be worth £1,600 so it is worth checking the pick ups. If the locomotive will not pull anything I suggest that the owner sells the locomotive and buys a later model with more pulling power and enjoys running the replacement.

[shortliner]

I've got (on loan) an early plunger Princess with coaches and an oval of early style, pre-standard track.  Sadly the front bufferbeam has been damaged but it doesn't look to bad.  The motor is the early vertical commutator type and the loco struggles to pull anything, let alone its own heavy and stiff coaches.  All items are individually boxed in yellow boxes but there is no longer the 'set box'.  There is also the controller that fitted on top of a bank of batteries.

 

I'm not sure the owner really knows what to do with it in the long term.  Any idea what sort of value it might be?

Paul, depending on the amount of room available, it may be worth adding a couple of Neodymium Magnets on the outside of the motor casing, to see if you can increase the amount of magnetic flux and increase the pulling power that way - a look at First4Magnets listings may find something suitable. OTOH I don't know if anyone still offers a re-magnetizing service - they used to be quite common

[Golden Fleece 30]

Scalespeed offer a motor service which includes a remag.  If you have a few to do then buy a Ron Dodd one (Ebay), very good and very safe using 12 volts.

 

Garry