Tri-ang 00 standard track

[Silverfox17]

I have managed to pick up what might be a Primary maroon coach with closed axleboxes, but, it has had its roof glued on.  Is there a modern day solution that will melt the glue which I assume is polystyrene and yet not affect the body?  If not I cannot complain for £1.50 plus post as these are not often seen so will do for now.

 

Garry

[Silverfox17]

I have just got this Trix standard 5 which is in nearly new condition (including the box and leaflet) and it just has a slight jump on the point frog, odd times it will derail.  The coarse plastic flanges have been removed from the driving wheels which if they had been left on I guess it might have worked fine through the pointwork.  I am thinking of getting some etched half rings done to fasten where the plastic was which will give a closer back to back.  I am not one for rubber tyres but cannot change the wheels as the non tyred sets have the gear wheels on.  It is a lovely smooth runner though on the straight and curved rails.

 

I think all that lets it down is the tender and cab lining which looks to be put on with a pen and/or brush along with the numbers not centralised properly.

 

Garry

[Ruffnut Thorston]

Yes, that red coach would be a Primary Series one.

 

It would be a good thing if there was something to dissolve glue, but I don’t think there is...

 

I have a feeling that plastic glue is made from similar stuff to the plastic, but with a solvent...

 

The solvent and glue weld the two parts together...

 

The solvent evaporates away, and the glue hardens.

 

 

 

 

Edited November 20, 2020 by Ruffnut Thorston
Typo

[Il Grifone]

I think that pen and/or brush was exactly how Trix lining was applied. Transfers applied skew are not only a Trix failing unfortunately.

 

I might be wrong, but I think they had given up on the thick flanges by the time they switched to 2 rail or is she a conversion?

 

Really I should add a Trix Class V and Britannia to my collection. The former (and the 56xx) have green and black versions.

[Silverfox17]

12 hours ago, Il Grifone said:

I might be wrong, but I think they had given up on the thick flanges by the time they switched to 2 rail or is she a conversion?

This is one of their universal models that had the coarse plastic tyre behind the finer metal wheel.  Unfortunately you have to cut it to get it off so no use again although it may glue back but I never got them with the loco.

 

I do have a reasonable Britannia that runs well and only cost £10 from a local model railway show about 3 years ago.  

 

I am in two minds about getting a 56xx body to fit a Tri-ang chassis to it as well.

 

Garry

[Silverfox17]

Tri-ang or Tri-ang Hornby never made an Ivatt 2-6-2 but did do the 2-6-0 tender loco so when it came out I bought two, one to leave as it was and the other to convert. Two tank sides were made which were glued to the cab sides and footplate then a complete rear end of bunker sides, rear, roof and footplate made as one piece. The loco roof was filed smooth and the new rear was glued to the roof and footplate. A new rear pony truck was fashioned from a spare front one and the result is this. At the moment it is still in 3-rail mode so I will have to convert it back.

 

Garry

[Il Grifone]

From what I recall (it was a long time ago I converted my then new 56xx to run on Hornby Dublo track*) the plastic was some thing hard (nylon?) that would have resisted reattachment. It might be possible with metal half washers (or even full washers if the wheels were removed).

 

* She didn't run very well. She would start with a jerk (due to incompatibility with my Dublo Controller) and then shorted intermittently though the couplings (Dublo are live to the outer rails and Trix to the centre rail.) Half wave rectification and plastic couplings (The Trix version is a direct replacement and quite decent apart from the trip pin offset) cured both problems (eventually!).

[Silverfox17]

Here is my Trix Britannia David, not bad for £10.  AFTER I bought it I asked why he had just £10 on it and he said he did not think anyone would buy it for more and just wanted to get rid. I was not going to complain lol.

 

There are various issues like the nameplates could do with neater etched ones and smoke deflector handrails re shaping but at the moment I will keep her as is for nostalgia, would not have done 20+ years ago though.

 

Like the Standard 5 it will need some etched half rings on the rear of the drivers but does run well.

 

Garry

 

 

[Il Grifone]

£10 was a real bargain Garry. I paid that for my Tri-ang one and thought I'd done well. Why they had to do these models in 1:80 scale I don't know. I suppose it was to match the tinplate coaches left over from pre-war days. They produced these in chocolate and cream to go with Britannia, though she was allocated to the Eastern Region and the coaches are Stanier LMS vehicles (approximately).

[Silverfox17]

3 Pieces of cellulose acetate track that came in the last parcel. It shows how the base distortion can differ, the front one has shrunk in length but still relatively flat whereas the other two have also twisted considerably. These have twisted the rail and broke the chairs in places. Thankfully I knew what these were but it was just the points in the collection I was after.

 

4 more sets of Hornby Dublo 3-rail wheels ready for some Tri-ang coaches. The treads clean up nicely with a wire wheel once fitted.

 

Garry

[crackedmember]

The reason Trix models were to 1:80 scale was because that was the scale that trix (germany) was using at the time.  It was also in use by others e.g. Rivarossi and Fleischmann.  As models became more accurate over time, continental manufactures brought out 1:87 models.

 

 

[Silverfox17]

Managed some of the standard track isolating rails and a series 3 style uncoupler.  Also in the job lot were 3 Mk1 electric points.  These seem to be okay gauge wise so will test them later and if ok will strip and wash the bases.  With another 20 Mk2/Mk2a electric points in the collection I will have more than enough for the proposed layout.  Just need some more uncouplers and isolating rails.

 

Garry 

[Silverfox17]

Update, I have tried a variety of locos over these points as well as another diamond crossing and all work well. So, most likely they are polystyrene and another indicator is they have not shrunk in length like the roll over switch points have. 

 

Just realised that I cannot remove the motors like the Mk2a without unsoldering the wires as the power eyelets are permanently in the base. The Mk2a come out in a small removable section. 

 

Garry 

Edited November 27, 2020 by Silverfox17

[Il Grifone]

On 25/11/2020 at 16:48, crackedmember said:

The reason Trix models were to 1:80 scale was because that was the scale that trix (germany) was using at the time.  It was also in use by others e.g. Rivarossi and Fleischmann.  As models became more accurate over time, continental manufactures brought out 1:87 models.

 

That could have been legitimate in the thirties (scale was approximative then anyway), but not in the fifties with new models. Even less so in the eighties, as Rivarossi found to their cost with their Royal Scot*. Their 1:80 scale was fine for their Italian models (apart from specialist manufactures, there were only theirs or Lima's rubbish). As Lima's production improved and became a competitor, they switched to 1:87. The two companies merged soon afterwards.

*There's no real excuse for this error. Their production for the North American market was 1:87 and Lima's UK models were 00.

British Trix models have always had their buffers at 00 spacing (or slightly over), whereas Trix Express used the H0 spacing, as did Rivarossi despite the 1:80 scale of the rest of the model. I am going to have to correct all mine....

 

[sandwich station]

On 10/11/2020 at 10:26, BernardTPM said:

For the later 'London Brick' version the tooling was altered slightly to make printing  LONDON BRICK easier, eliminating some more of the plank line. The Miniville version still has the shorter 'blank' section for BRICK.

 

I have a later red London Brick version with the longer plank lines still visible, so I'm guessing the first ones where done before it was altered.

[Silverfox17]

Just collected this smart loco.  I would not normally go for the Transcontinental range but this was 1) in keeping with the Tri-ang period I am doing, 2) is very clean and with latest tender bogies and 3) was very cheap.  50+ years ago I had one but it was the CA body all twisted and did not have a headlight (which this does) and ended up in a bin I think.

 

I will have to dig out my original F7 unit and coaches which was my very first new and complete train set, previously I had second hand 3-rail Dublo although my parents did not know the two were not compatible.

 

Garry

 

[cypherman]

Hi Silverfox17,

I had one at about the same time as you. Mine was fortunately not a CA body. I do not have a clue what happened to it. Long gone in the mists of time.

[Il Grifone]

I recently acquired a 2335 body and then had to acquire the other bits. I now have two bodies, a warped acetate* tender, and various other duplicates....

 

* These always go sway backed. I tried straightening mine (nothing to lose), but only made it worse.

 

It is not a bad model of the real CPR 2335, (for the time), but the scale is rather dubious.

https://tri-ang.weebly.com/4-6-2-steam-loco--tender.html

 

https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=ALeKk01MT9y46EfbLYeao-3pCEwacZ8yJg:1607097987417&source=univ&tbm=isch&q=cpr+2335&client=firefox-b-d&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi4waLF2rTtAhUR-6QKHfVqD6MQjJkEegQIBBAB&biw=1296&bih=666

Edited December 4, 2020 by Il Grifone

[Silverfox17]

7 minutes ago, Il Grifone said:

It is not a bad model of the real CPR 2335, (for the time), but the scale is rather dubious.

https://tri-ang.weebly.com/4-6-2-steam-loco--tender.html

As it was a very early loco in Tri-ang's history (second pacific?) you can let them off for using the Princess chassis and not making a new shorter one.  

 

I notice someone on Ebay at the moment has one in "BR Blue" with a BR totem 

 

Garry

[Silverfox17]

It seems very hard to get polystyrene straights, most of what I have bought are CA with just the odd one or two P based so really pleased when offered 32 polystyrene ones in one lot.  They were in various conditions but have come up well.  The half done one showed what was the worst piece of track and about half a dozen have not even been touched.

 

Still need a few more though.

 

Garry

[Il Grifone]

On 04/12/2020 at 17:42, Silverfox17 said:

As it was a very early loco in Tri-ang's history (second pacific?) you can let them off for using the Princess chassis and not making a new shorter one.  

 

I notice someone on Ebay at the moment has one in "BR Blue" with a BR totem 

 

Garry

 

The model actually looks better with the earlier chassis with smaller driving wheels. Mine has a dud motor. It ran OK by itself, but failed once in the chassis. It looks like over application of oil (not by me) has caused breakdown of the commutator insulation.

[Silverfox17]

Yesterday I experimented with a Bachmann type 4 chassis and after re-setting the B to B on the wheels it successfully travelled over the standard track crossings and pointwork set in reverse curves so today I decided to convert my Peak back to 2-rail and re set the wheels and she works a treat too.  I cannot put a video on here as the file size is to big unfortunately.

 

That leaves my BR green 10000 an EMU and a DMU to do.

 

It will be very difficult if not impossible to do a steam loco though but who knows one day I may try.

 

Garry

[Silverfox17]

This seems strange to have been allowed into production, the spelling of Canadian, unless spelling it Tri-ang's way is acceptable in Canada?

 

I have just bought some wagons marked with CN as opposed to TRI-ANG on to go with the pacific although my Caboose is Tri-ang marked. 

 

I have just been informed that this is the French way to spell Canadian, seems strange to do it in French though.

 

Garry

Edited December 9, 2020 by Silverfox17

[Il Grifone]

Canadian freight cars were at one time (still?) marked in English on one side and French on the other. French is an official language in Canada.

Tri-ang decided to market their TC series in authentic liveries for the Canadian market about the same time as they became Triang/Hornby. My 'F7' is in CNR livery*. She has an early chassis with an X.04 motor acquired from my scavenging habit (hence 'Il Grifone').

 

*It's obviously supposed to be an F series, but, like lots of models from that era, possibly best described as 'approximate'.

 

Here's Bachmann version of one (N scale).

https://www.amazon.com/Bachmann-Industries-Reefer-Canadian-National/dp/B0090TBDSA

 

 

[Il Grifone]

I found this erudite site on Tri-ang Canadian Products.

 

https://tri-ang.weebly.com/