AL1 Trix Trio

[Darius43]

And joins the roster.

 

 

 

 

Cheers

 

Darius

Edited December 4, 2022 by Darius43

[Gibbo675]

On 11/09/2020 at 15:59, Gibbo675 said:

Hi Roly,

 

I see the smiley face, nice try but no cigar !!!

 

For those that don't know, there was no provision for steam heat on the electric locomotives only electric heat. Instead boiler vans were used, mostly converted from LMS porthole brake ends.

 

Most of the coaching stock provided on the WCML at the time were 100mph rated and consisted of the later built Mk1's which were dual heat and latterly dual braked, they rode on Commonwealth bogies along with the Mk2's which were also dual heated but vacuum braked only, (Mk2a's were dual heat and air braked only).

 

If no boiler vans were available, and in extreme circumstances, a black five would be coupled inside to supply steam heat to the train.

 

Gibbo.

Hi Chaps,

 

With a photograph lifted from the AC Electric locomotives thread here is what the boiler vans looked like:

 

 

Gibbo.

[Legend]

59 minutes ago, Gibbo675 said:

Hi Chaps,

 

With a photograph lifted from the AC Electric locomotives thread here is what the boiler vans looked like:

 

 

Gibbo.

 

Lots of interest in that pic

 

Proof that 86s ran without small yellow warning panels , although I suppose it could be a works train

I never realised they had these types of Pantograph. I thought I'd only seen that on 87s from 1973/74

[John Tomlinson]

One of the problems from that era is that any enthusiast seen photographing, or even showing an interest, in "modern" traction would have been subject to ridicule.  A few managed it whilst out on steam trips, but it does account for a big void in photographic evidence for things like the WCML electrics.

 

One of the upsides of the digital age, is that the likes of Flickr have enabled individuals who weren't in the "published" category, to show their stuff for the first time, otherwise it would probably have remained hiddden then junked when they passed on. Obviously in this case Colin Gifford is well known, and rightly so, for his portrayal of the general railway scene, and he took a wide range of images, some/ many on a commercial basis.

 

John.

[David_Belcher]

1 hour ago, Legend said:

 

Lots of interest in that pic

 

Proof that 86s ran without small yellow warning panels , although I suppose it could be a works train

I never realised they had these types of Pantograph. I thought I'd only seen that on 87s from 1973/74

They did indeed. And the early batches were Electric Blue rather than Rail Blue - red buffer beams are the giveaway, RB ones didn't have them. Although both liveries started out with the aluminium lion emblem so confusion arises.

 

David

[andyman7]

22 minutes ago, David_Belcher said:

They did indeed. And the early batches were Electric Blue rather than Rail Blue - red buffer beams are the giveaway, RB ones didn't have them. Although both liveries started out with the aluminium lion emblem so confusion arises.

 

David

The Electric Blue/Rail Blue issue has been debated at length - the consensus appeared to be that no 86 ever had Electric Blue. You'd help to settle things if you have evidence to the contrary - it's before my time so I'm entirely reliant on others.

Edited October 20, 2020 by andyman7

[Gibbo675]

33 minutes ago, andyman7 said:

The Electric Blue/Rail Blue issue has been debated at length - the consensus appeared to be that no 86 ever had Electric Blue. You'd help to settle things if you have evidence to the contrary - it's before my time so I'm entirely reliant on others.

Hi Andy,

 

BernardTPM has provided some perfectly reasonable evidence that goes somewhat against the general belief by way of quoting some paint codes from a book titled "British Rail Designed 1948-97" , this is shewn on page 2 of this thread.

 

Here it is for you to read:

http://www.crecy.co.uk/british-rail-designed-1948-97

 

Gibbo.

[Natalie]

A factor in deciding the loco (AL6) above's identity is the AEI cross arm pantograph which I believe ten were fitted with from new.

[Darius43]

 

 

Cheers

 

Darius

[Darius43]

eBay rescue.  

 

First coat of primer on after sanding down the lumpy repaint job that had been applied.  The primer has reacted with the repaint in places so I will leave this to cure overnight and sand it again.

 

Going for a “fishy” scheme with this one...

 

Cheers

 

Darius

[Darius43]

Rail blue livery applied.

 

 

 

Cheers

 

Darius 

[TRAILRAGE]

Some amazing work going on here.  Has there been any more progress?

 

Cheers Trailrage

 

[Darius43]

Hi Trailrage.  

Alas it stalled around the time of my last post and has joined a group of around 6 unfinished projects that I have.

 

Must get it back on the bench and completed - only about 2 days work or so required.

 

Cheers

 

Darius

[Darius43]

Another Trix AL1 upgraded - as Shields Road 81 009.

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers

 

Darius

[45125]

On 11/09/2020 at 18:20, Gibbo675 said:

Hi Darius,

 

The air pipe with a white painted cock seems to be an oddity, white painted cocks usually denote a through pipe for brake continuity whether air or vacuum with no ability for actuating the continuous brake on that particular vehicle. It is my guess that the air pipe is for controlling the air brakes of just the locomotives when the locomotives were multiple working and not for a train's continuous air brakes for such a connection would be denoted by a red cock. I think that this may the case as the train locomotive would have to have its brake valve isolated and its vacuum exhauster shut down. Also that the locomotive's reservoir capacity in the as built condition would not have been to the required volume to support the operation of the continuous brakes of a train the very reason extra tanks were fitted upon the roofs of the locomotives after conversion.

 

I do find it curious that all of the first five classes of AC electrics were not fitted with continuous air brakes from new. 

 

Gibbo.

Many locos when first dual braked had the air brake pipe painted white, AL6 when delivered had white air brake pipes, it was only around 68 when the air brake pipe started getting painted red. Technical all diesel and electric locos should have the vacuum pipe painted white as there is no vacuum brake cylinder.

 

Edited December 5, 2022 by 45125

[roythebus1]

The loco is capable of providing vacuum for the train brake, therefore in that respect it is not a "piped" vehicle. As built the loco had only a loco air brake, hence the white air cocks on the loco. If the loco had assistance in the front, then unless the assisting loco was air fitted, then the electric loco would have been "piped" inasmuch as the air brake on the loco wouldn't work! As they were eventually dual fitted, the problem went away. 

 

One of my secondman duties at Rugby in 1974 was on a train of 4 or 5 dead locos going to Crewe hauled by another electric loco. I had to ride in the back cab of the back loco and apply the handbrake in case of a breakaway. It was winter, it was a long way in the cold at 45mph with no heating!

 

 

[andyman7]

On 04/12/2022 at 08:52, Darius43 said:

Another Trix AL1 upgraded - as Shields Road 81 009.

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers

 

Darius

Yet again showing just what an excellent model the Miniature Construction/Liliput/Trix model was!

 

Edited December 5, 2022 by andyman7

[melmerby]

22 minutes ago, andyman7 said:

Yet again showing just what an excellent model the Miniature Construction/Liliput/Trix model was!

 

Way better than the HD version (one of which I bought new, when it first came out)

The pantograph was crude, the bogies not very convincing and the BR symbol on the side was just a stamped in silver paint image.

 

I hadn't really seen much Trix stuff at the time.

[Waveydavey]

This thread (and a few others) has been very influential in getting me into modelling AC electric locos as a change from Scottish diesels. On my workbench I currently have classes 81 to 87 in various states of not being finished. I work in P4 so have a tendency to spend to much time researching and pondering rather than getting on with it.

 

Trix AL1 bodies are very popular with those who paid 50p each from Dapol years ago but eBay prices are prohibitive nowadays. My first attempt at an 81 was therefore based on a cheap Triang AL1, I sold the chassis straight back onto eBay and got most of my money back. EBay also supplied a set of Bachmann class 85 glazing so I gently filed out the windows until it fitted and removed the gutter from the cab roof. At this point I’d bought a Bachmann 85 and it became clear that the Triang body is too tall. About 1.5mm was cut off the bottom of the body which improved the look but emphasised the extra height in the roof dome that I didn’t think I could easily reduce.

 

Another Bachmann 85 was bought and I decided to convert it to an 81 by cutting the sides out and grafting the Triang body sides in. The Triang plastic is a bit thicker than the Bachmann so it needed thinning a little. The Triang plastic is also very brittle and I managed to snap one of the body sides. Luckily it repaired quite nicely.

 

Most recently I’ve bought a cheap, slightly broken Trix shell more to compare with the Triang and Bachmann bodies than to use for a build. The Trix body is undoubtedly better than the Triang but they both suffer from undersized windows, a heavy rain strip above the cab windows that shouldn’t be there and a lack of curvature across the front of the cab. The outermost grills on the Trix body seem to be a bit too far inwards but I can’t imagine anyone wanting to fix that.

 

A bit late for Darius perhaps but I think the removal of the rain strip (and adding the correct one) and fitting of Bachmann glazing would be a worthwhile modification for anyone working on the Trix body.

 

Cheers

 

David

 

 

[melmerby]

16 minutes ago, Waveydavey said:

the Triang body

The Triang body is the (slightly modified) Hornby Dublo body on a Triang Chassis.

[Waveydavey]

Quite true Keith.

 

Luckily for me Triang fitted AL2 bogies so I’m using two sets of trailing bogie frames on my 82 that is using a Heljan 26 chassis with the bogie centres adjusted.

Unfortunately Triang made those AL2 bogies 9’3” wheelbase instead of 10’ and put the axle boxes too low so I’m having to attend to that.

 

David

[BernardTPM]

The AL2 was shown as an artist's impression in the 1964 Tri-ang catalogue and photographed in full mock-up form in the 1965 one, hence the basically AL2 bogies used on the later Tri-ang Hornby model.

[roythebus1]

As I've posted in the "vintage and collectibles" section on the Trix AL1, the bogie side frame patterns were made by the late Adrian Swain of ABS Models. I found. one on the dashboard of his car back in the early 1970s when I was collecting some cast bus kits from him. He explained they were over length as the mechanism was that used in some of the continental models and was slightly too long for the AL1.

It was an excellent model in its day and still is with a bit of detailing.

[Darius43]

Some more Trix AL1s (plus an AL2) in the roundtuit queue…

 

 

 

Cheers

 

Darius

[Waveydavey]

Hi Darius,

 

As you fit SE Finecast flushglaze to your AL1s would you by any chance have four of the Trix body side windows going spare?
 

Cheers

 

David