Trix

[ELTEL]

A fellow SRC member posed a question this morning at a club members running session which I hope someone somewhere can come up with a answer.

 

The member has a Hornby A4 the model with the full skirts and he has bought a Trix A4 body with no skirt.

 

Is it possible to fit the Trix A4 body on a Hornby 4 chassis?

 

Any help or advice would be most welcome.

 

Terry

[Grovenor]

It would seem that the fellow member concerned is best placed to advise as he has the required bits to try it out.

Regards

[ELTEL]

Yes I agree, but he is a bit reluctant to removing the Hornby A4 body

 

I just wondered if it had been done before

 

Being a mainly MI modeller I haven't clue about kettles

[ELTEL]

Bump

[40F]

_{I would have thought not as the Trix model was in between 3.5mm and 4mm scale and had different fixing points and as Grovenor states the owner of such items is better placed to find out. Also why the bump after less than twenty four hours?} 

[ELTEL]

_{I would have thought not as the Trix model was in between 3.5mm and 4mm scale and had different fixing points and as Grovenor states the owner of such items is better placed to find out. Also why the bump after less than twenty four hours?} 

I know the scale issues, and believe it is not a easy swap.

 

The owner is a reasonably new modeller with little or no experience in removing loco bodies and is reluctant to undertake such actions.

 

So he wondered had it been done in the past.

 

Terry

[Arthur]

 

I suspect that even if it is possible it would be beyond him. If he is reluctant just to remove the Hornby body to have a look then I doubt he would have the skills and confidence to make the inevitable modifications to both body and chassis.

 

This is in no way a criticism of him, just an observation. He's new to the hobby, maybe he just needs a little more experience in practical modelling before he attempts such conversions.

 

Is there nobody at the club who could take the body off for him and just check the fit of the Trix body? Bearing in mind the scale differences it may be readily obvious that it's just not feasible.

 

If he just wants a skirt less A4 then a spare Hornby body would, cost aside, be an easier answer.

[ELTEL]

I suspect that even if it is possible it would be beyond him. If he is reluctant just to remove the Hornby body to have a look then I doubt he would have the skills and confidence to make the inevitable modifications to both body and chassis.

This is in no way a criticism of him, just an observation. He's new to the hobby, maybe he just needs a little more experience in practical modelling before he attempts such conversions.

Is there nobody at the club who could take the body off for him and just check the fit of the Trix body? Bearing in mind the scale differences it may be readily obvious that it's just not feasible.

If he just wants a skirt less A4 then a spare Hornby body would, cost aside, be an easier answer.

Hi Arthur

 

Pretty well my thoughts

 

I will let you know the outcome

 

Terry

[Andy Y]

I suspect that even if it is possible it would be beyond him. If he is reluctant just to remove the Hornby body to have a look then I doubt he would have the skills and confidence to make the inevitable modifications to both body and chassis.

 

This is in no way a criticism of him, just an observation. He's new to the hobby, maybe he just needs a little more experience in practical modelling before he attempts such conversions.

 

Is there nobody at the club who could take the body off for him and just check the fit of the Trix body? Bearing in mind the scale differences it may be readily obvious that it's just not feasible.

 

If he just wants a skirt less A4 then a spare Hornby body would, cost aside, be an easier answer.

 

Terry, I'd completely agree with Arthur. There would be some adaptation required, it's the same as trying to mate a Hornby body with a Bachmann chassis.

 

I've also had some notes on the lineage sent over as the A4 (and A2, A3) are 4mm rather than 3.8mm to the foot models.

 

 

The Trix A4 was true 4mm as was the A2 and the A3 all produced under the leadership of Ernst Rozsa who had been the driving force behind Liliput UK. In addition to importing Liliput into the UK through his Miniature Constructions company established in 1958 he introduced a 4mm scale OO gauge model of the British Railways AL1 electric locomotive (later Class 81) which subsequently went with him to Trix in 1961.

 

Rozsa rescued the model railway tooling when British Trix closed its Wrexham factory in 1973 and the tooling was acquired by Liliput in Austria. This resulted in the formation of Rozsa establishing Liliput UK with parts manufactured by Liliput in Vienna and assembly taking place in Bala.

 

In 1992  Liliput UK closed on Ernst Rozsa’s retirement. Some parts and tooling were acquired by Dapol whilst others passed with the sale of Liliput to Bachmann Europe in 1993.

 

 

The A4 was one of them and with a new chassis and improvements to the body it was introduced into the Bachmann Branchline range in 1995. In 2011 it received a new DCC 8PIN chassis

[LooseHead]

Just amused to see Trix in the 'Smaller Suppliers' section - as part of Märklin they have a multi-million Euro turnover (or was it based on their N gauge focus through Minitrix?).

[ELTEL]

Terry, I'd completely agree with Arthur. There would be some adaptation required, it's the same as trying to mate a Hornby body with a Bachmann chassis.

 

I've also had some notes on the lineage sent over as the A4 (and A2, A3) are 4mm rather than 3.8mm to the foot models.

Thanks Andy

 

I will pass on my findings to Roger

 

Terry

[ELTEL]

Just amused to see Trix in the 'Smaller Suppliers' section - as part of Märklin they have a multi-million Euro turnover (or was it based on their N gauge focus through Minitrix?).

May be big in France and once had a presence in the UK

 

The only regular Trix item I ever see at UK exhibitions and model shops is there wheel cleaner

 

Hence in small suppliers (uk)

 

Terry

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

...So he wondered had it been done in the past...

 

 I have offered up a Bachmann (ex-Trix) A4 body to the current Hornby Gresley chassis (actually from an A3, but in essentials the same unit) as a project possibility, and it will go; albeit requiring some cutting inside the body for clearance (remove interior projection on the RHS, and a little localised  thinning of the moulding wall thickness for clearance) and fitting location points to engage the Hornby mechanism, by copying the Hornby bodyshell interior. Annoyingly the Bachmann body front screw boss misses the Hornby screw location by about 3mm, but can at least be used as a foundation for the new fitting.

 

I'd encourage having a go. The mods can all be done on the body, so no risk to the complete model, only to the spare bodyshell. As such things go, a relatively easy start.