Tri-ang Railways.

[Il Grifone]

As a youngster without knowing anything about "Foreign" railways I always thought the Blue livery was South African (maybe as I had heard of the Blue train) and that the green were Australian (possibly as the cricketers always had the green hats lol).  I knew the silver version was American as that is all America seemed to have and it did look American but as you say it did add some colour.  I think the silver version also appeared with a red stripe or am I mistaken on that one?

 

Garry

 

Hi Garry

 

The first series of TC coaches were silver (ish - more grey really, but it was supposed to be stainless steel) and later changed to blue (allegedly Australian, though never claimed to be such AFAIK, though the matching blue double ended diesel is clearly intended to be a V.R. prototype) and silver with a red band across the windows (fictitious I believe, though Southern Pacific used a red stripe above the windows (one stars alongside Sandra Dee in one of her films) . They also changed the bogies from a not unreasonable model of a U.S.bogie to a real horror*. These are too short - most s/s American cars of the period are 85 feet long, but this would look ridiculous on Tri-ang's curves (and there was a even shorter version produced in Australia**). The second series (based on Canadian prototypes I believe, but again short) added green to the available colours (I can't remember if there was still a silver version). The range was dropped in this country but continued in Canada (and Australia?) and appeared in some more authentic liveries

 

* As seen in post 300. Was it supposed to be something Australian

 

** Continental manufacturers were (still are?) also guilty of making short coaches. I added a compartment into a Lima one to make a full length coach (Lima coaches left out a compartment to achieve the short length) but it never got finished  . I suspect the tin of DB ocean blue I bought for it has long since dried up, For some reason I cut up a perfectly good Danish coach to supply the extra compartment (DSB coaches (some at least) use the shorter underframe and as a result the Lima model  is only a centimetre or so short. Still I have quite a few others.

 

David

Edited August 6, 2017 by Il Grifone

[SRman]

Some of the double-ended diesels were released in Australia (locally made too) with VR notations on the nose ends - Victorian Railways. The colour scheme was a fair representation of the VR scheme, and the shape was a fair representation of the B class, but the bogies were totally wrong for that; the B class had a Co-Co wheel arrangement!

Whatever the faults as a scale model, they seem to have been very popular and are still very commonly found in all sorts of conditions at swap meets over here in Oz.

[kevinlms]

Hi Garry

 

The first series of TC coaches were silver (ish - more grey really, but it was supposed to be stainless steel) and later changed to blue (allegedly Australian, though never claimed to be such AFAIK, though the matching blue double ended diesel is clearly intended to be a V.R. prototype) and silver with a red band across the windows (fictitious I believe, though Southern Pacific used a red stripe above the windows (one stars alongside Sandra Dee in one of her films) . They also changed the bogies from a not unreasonable model of a U.S.bogie to a real horror*. These are too short - most s/s American cars of the period are 85 feet long, but this would look ridiculous on Tri-ang's curves (and there was a even shorter version produced in Australia**). The second series (based on Canadian prototypes I believe, but again short) added green to the available colours (I can't remember if there was still a silver version). The range was dropped in this country but continued in Canada (and Australia?) and appeared in some more authentic liveries

 

* As seen in post 300. Was it supposed to be something Australian

 

** Continental manufacturers were (still are?) also guilty of making short coaches. I added a compartment into a Lima one to make a full length coach (Lima coaches left out a compartment to achieve the short length) but it never got finished  . I suspect the tin of DB ocean blue I bought for it has long since dried up, For some reason I cut up a perfectly good Danish coach to supply the extra compartment (DSB coaches (some at least) use the shorter underframe and as a result the Lima model  is only a centimetre or so short. Still I have quite a few others.

 

David

Weren't the last Hornby version of the B Class & blue coaches made in the UK? I can recall seeing huge piles of sets in a Melbourne department type store, associated with the ACTU (unions), in the late 70s/early 80s. This was long after production in Australia had been abandoned.

 

Edit to add.

 

Bourke's ACTU was the name of the store.

Edited August 7, 2017 by kevinlms

[Il Grifone]

Some of the double-ended diesels were released in Australia (locally made too) with VR notations on the nose ends - Victorian Railways. The colour scheme was a fair representation of the VR scheme, and the shape was a fair representation of the B class, but the bogies were totally wrong for that; the B class had a Co-Co wheel arrangement!

 

Whatever the faults as a scale model, they seem to have been very popular and are still very commonly found in all sorts of conditions at swap meets over here in Oz.

 

They are quite common here too, but not in VR livery The bogies were made for their E series disel (at least that's what I think it's supposed to be - th enose is the wrong shape). and are grossly oversize. Being Tri-ang it is entirely logical that they put them under something else even if incorrect. At least they corrected the nose shape.

 

Australian models don'e seem to be very popular with European manufacturers. AFAIK only Lima produced a rather limited range.

 

EDIT

 

t series makes no sense at all  (finger trouble - twice - once the original error and second when I failed to correct - I did try!)

Edited August 14, 2017 by Il Grifone

[5050]

Having bought an old Railway Modeller recently there was in it an article by Jack Dugdale of Ortogo fame. How many remember this layout and his fold up one?

 

Both layouts had Series 3 and possibly standard track used. Ortogo was full of gimmicks like a rabbit disappearing in its Warren when a train passed. With the fold up layout Jack would start a Jinty going and unfold the four sections or more as it travelled onto each new part. Once at the end he would do it in reverse folding it up while the loco went backwards.

 

The article was not about his layouts but a write up from him about one of his friends building a working 5 way point.

 

Garry

Are you sure the folding layout was Ortogo?  We were discussing this very subject in the clubroom last week and my mate mentioned the folding layout and called it something else.  I'll ask again this evening.

[TT3]

 

Weren't the last Hornby version of the B Class & blue coaches made in the UK? I can recall seeing huge piles of sets in a Melbourne department type store, associated with the ACTU (unions), in the late 70s/early 80s. This was long after production in Australia had been abandoned.

 

 

The VR sets were produced 1977-78, along with the pseudo B class there was the more slightly more accurate co-co S class, re branded UK wagons but a quite nice Z van in either maroon or orange. The S was also produced in red and silver Commonwealth railways colours with stainless coaches.

[Golden Fleece 30]

Are you sure the folding layout was Ortogo?  We were discussing this very subject in the clubroom last week and my mate mentioned the folding layout and called it something else.  I'll ask again this evening.

Ortogo was the large layout with all the small working cameos and automatic shunting etc on a couple of different levels, quite long but narrow I think.  The folding layout was as far as I can remember just a demonstration item that was just placed in front and I don't know if it had a name as such.

 

Garry

Edited August 7, 2017 by Golden Fleece 30

[kevinlms]

   

 

The VR sets were produced 1977-78, along with the pseudo B class there was the more slightly more accurate co-co S class, re branded UK wagons but a quite nice Z van in either maroon or orange. The S was also produced in red and silver Commonwealth railways colours with stainless coaches.

OK I started a reply earlier and accidentally clicked cancel :-(

 

There is a list of Australian models here

 

http://www.hornbyguide.com/

 

Type Australia in the search box near the top. There is more than you might expect.

 

Many models were rebranded Transcontinental range or British models. They were all to 4mm scale (at least!). The latter included the Class 08, Class 31, Dock Shunter (minus buffers) and HST. There was also a limited edition of Flying Scotsman, with the headboard carried while in Australia. Do you remember the article in 'Rail' magazine, where it claimed that FS had been converted to run on Broad Gauge (5'3")?

 

The Z van was nicely molded, but was huge, stretched to fit the BR brake chassis. There were articles on cutting them down to size.

 

 

ps Have you received correspondence from Croydon MRC regarding our exhibition in November?

[Il Grifone]

The Transcontinental range is rather variable in scale The first series of coaches are H0 scale (within Tri-ang parameters - their rulers were always elastic). The F series diesel to go with them isn't (mainly due to the bogies). I thought the flat car was overscale until I measured it. Fine for length and possibly a tad over on width (but still within the U.S. loading gauge). It's a pity the top surface is marred by two huge rivets and of course the awful diamond frame/archbar bogies need removing, binning and replacing with something better. (The necessity of fitting H0 bogies I think is general throughout the range.)

 

I've never been sure about the Pacific (the use of the 'Princess' chassis is not promising) and the 4-6-4T (New Zealand prototype?) and diesel switcher also seem on the chunky side.

[BernardTPM]

   

 

The VR sets were produced 1977-78, along with the pseudo B class there was the more slightly more accurate co-co S class, re branded UK wagons but a quite nice Z van in either maroon or orange. The S was also produced in red and silver Commonwealth railways colours with stainless coaches.

I remember seeing one of those S Class diesels in a shop in Manor Park some time in, I think, the 1990s. It is considerably more accurate than the old 'B' and mechanically would have been like the contemporary BR models (similar detail standard I'd guess to then then-new Cl.25). I went back to buy it a couple of days later and it was gone, of course! It seems odd they didn't do the NSWGR version as well (Cl.42).

[sagaguy]

The last of my Electric outline conversions for now,my Triang AL1 collecting traction current from the OHLE & running on HD 3 rail track.Perhaps i can get on with sorting the layout now for installing masts for a continuous run.It`s fitted with steel wheels with p/ups on the trailing bogie to stop stalling on HD 3 rail points.I had to turn these myself as finding 15mm dia. metal wheels was impoosible.

 

                                 Ray.

 

                     

[BR60103]

The green TC coach could have been an attempt at Canadian National livery, as inaccurate as some of the diesels.

Silver with a red stripe could be Canadian Pacific.

The pacific locomotive could be made into a nearly passable model of something CPR.

 

Some of the bogie goods wagons were sold to go with TC stock. It frustrated my friend who modelled Britiash

[BR60103]

Continued

As someone pulled all the buffers off before they were distributed.

 

(Can't edit previous post)

[5050]

Are you sure the folding layout was Ortogo?  We were discussing this very subject in the clubroom last week and my mate mentioned the folding layout and called it something else.  I'll ask again this evening.

Two of my mates (who are both a tad older than me) reckon the folding layout was called 'Pakaway'.  I never saw either as around the time they were on the circuit I was involved in other things.  I have a feeling that Ortogo was featured in a magazine article at some time, possibly the Modeller?

[uax6]

Ortogo's cameo's at least were featured in the modeller in a partwork (I've got scans of these at home I think), but I can't recall if the whole layout was featured.

 

Andy G

[Golden Fleece 30]

Two of my mates (who are both a tad older than me) reckon the folding layout was called 'Pakaway'. I never saw either as around the time they were on the circuit I was involved in other things. I have a feeling that Ortogo was featured in a magazine article at some time, possibly the Modeller?

Pakaway sounds appropriate for it although as I said I cannot remember if it had a name, I was only about 10 or 11. Ortogo was featured in Railway Modeller in the 60's I believe and the photo that stood out for me was Jack Dugdale opening the curtain front revealing masses of switches and relays used to operate it.

 

What happened to the good old days?

 

Garry

[Il Grifone]

The green TC coach could have been an attempt at Canadian National livery, as inaccurate as some of the diesels.

Silver with a red stripe could be Canadian Pacific.

The pacific locomotive could be made into a nearly passable model of something CPR.

 

Some of the bogie goods wagons were sold to go with TC stock. It frustrated my friend who modelled Britiash

 

Very likely, I think they had the Canadian market in mind. The Pacific has definite Canadian lines (there was an article in the model press many years ago on converting her into something of more U.S. appearance (rather pointless as there were/are far better models available). Tri-ang buffers are rather cra awful so it wasn't a great loss, but I suppose replacements weren't that easy to get hold of in Canada. (They are getting pricey over here now!)

Edited August 9, 2017 by Il Grifone

[5050]

What happened to the good old days?

 

Garry

I'm not sure - but my cousin appeared on it a couple of times.......................

 

Reruns occasionally on one of the more obscure TV channels.

 

 

Sorry..................................

Edited August 8, 2017 by 5050

[TT3]

OK I started a reply earlier and accidentally clicked cancel :-(

 

There is a list of Australian models here

 

http://www.hornbyguide.com/

 

Type Australia in the search box near the top. There is more than you might expect.

 

Many models were rebranded Transcontinental range or British models. They were all to 4mm scale (at least!). The latter included the Class 08, Class 31, Dock Shunter (minus buffers) and HST. There was also a limited edition of Flying Scotsman, with the headboard carried while in Australia. Do you remember the article in 'Rail' magazine, where it claimed that FS had been converted to run on Broad Gauge (5'3")?

 

The Z van was nicely molded, but was huge, stretched to fit the BR brake chassis. There were articles on cutting them down to size.

 

 

ps Have you received correspondence from Croydon MRC regarding our exhibition in November?

 

The Z van does make a nice looking model, I am tempted to hunt some down to run with 00 stock.

 

Nothing yet re CMRC

[Robin Brasher]

One model that appeared in both the British and Transcontinental ranges was the dock shunter. Originally costing 32 shillings and six pence it was given a red body in 1962 and over the next five years Tri-ang sold 40,000 of them. One of the members of our model railway club bought this for £5 today and some children who came to our meeting enjoyed playing with it this evening. It shows that operating model railways does not need to be expensive and you don't need to be a rivet counter to enjoy the hobby.

[Golden Fleece 30]

One model that appeared in both the British and Transcontinental ranges was the dock shunter. Originally costing 32 shillings and six pence it was given a red body in 1962 and over the next five years Tri-ang sold 40,000 of them. One of the members of our model railway club bought this for £5 today and some children who came to our meeting enjoyed playing with it this evening. It shows that operating model railways does not need to be expensive and you don't need to be a rivet counter to enjoy the hobby.

If I remember correctly this was also in Black as a British loco and Yellow as a continental one.  I think its power source was the old Transcontinental diesel unit.

 

Garry

[Legend]

You know it was the one Triang model that I never really wanted. Everything else in the catalogue yes, but never the diesel dock shunter. Even as a little boy I just perceived it was not real

[BernardTPM]

Actually it is loosely based on a Bagnall design, though it's likely that the bonnet is oversized. Of course,below the footplate and between the bufferbeams it's fictional.

[5050]

I used the chassis of mine to power a cardboard model of a tram engine, using Rev. Awdry's article ('Toby') in the RM as a guide.  First proper bit of scratchbuilding I did.

[ceejaydee]

I never had a dock shunter in my youth but always fancied one.

 

Managed to put a small collection together a few years back at toy fairs etc.

 

Must dig them out and get some pics sometime as I think I bought quite a few