What to do with old Tri-ang Princesses....

[33C]

51 minutes ago, manna said:

G'Day Folks

 

I think 48775, would look better as a 4-8-0, or you could make another one.

 

manna

It is a bit out of proportion but i saw the idea in a very old "Railway Modeller" and have replicated it as i saw it because it was so radical compared to the usual Princess conversions and i love this kind of thing, doing what you can, with what you've got.....

[33C]

Here's the template i use for the Gresley "hush hush", no. 10000 boiler casing. When folded over the princess body, the middle straight line on both sides, will line up with the princess running plate. (I glue one side on to this first to aid the folding). Cut the smoke-box of your donor loco at approx 30 degrees from middle of smoke-box door up to first boiler band and glue front apron to curve down to front framing (a good picture would make this clear). Cut down the cab sides and remove roof, dome and top feed. A chimney is a slice of plastic tube and a bit of filler, shaped to a V. (<0 ) The cab is an easy exercise of straight lines and can be done as one piece for both sides and roof. Once attached to the shroud, the extra length will become apparent. (A dummy boiler backhead can be added for extra rigidity if needed and can be detailed before insertion). If you have a drawing/blueprint, all the better. The pony i lengthen with plasticard dummy side-frames and, to keep it simple, a dummy trailing wheel set, keeping the princess axle as is, so it can go round train set curves. Add the handrail to the front framing. Colour is battleship grey with silver boiler bands (plasticard/sellotape/sticky back plastic). Add an A4 tender and white Letraset letters/numbers and your done, for a fraction over whatever you paid for your donor princess. Incidentally, for older chassis with the deep flanges, i just clamp the bare chassis in the vice and give each wheel's flange, 2/3 strokes all the way round with a coarse file at 90 degrees to the wheel and dress with a wet and dry sanding sponge block to a smooth finish so no more bumping on the sleepers! Whole lot takes about 20 mins. Check out the "Railway Modeller for December 1965 "The streamline era" article. Good luck! (My build thread, in detail, is titled "L.N.E.R. 10000 for a 1000 pence.")

 

 

 

 

Edited June 2, 2023 by 33C
added photo.

[33C]

Forgot i had this princess conversion. An L.N.E.R. class A6.

 

Edited May 25, 2022 by 33C
added photo.

[DCB]

22 minutes ago, 33C said:

Forgot i had this princess conversion. An L.N.E.R. class A6.

 

That is seriously impressive.  How much of a Princess did you use?

[33C]

1 hour ago, DavidCBroad said:

That is seriously impressive.  How much of a Princess did you use?

Whole chassis with modified rear pony, filed down wheel flanges(see above) and original bogie, 2/3 running plate, lower cab-sides, lower firebox, rear dragbox, front upper middle cylinders cover. This is the "spine" i used to build on. That way you keep the mounting points, buffer height and rigidity of the scratchbuilt superstructure, (plasticard and plastic water pipe for boiler). And the smoke-box door!

Edited October 29, 2020 by 33C
added detail

[cypherman]

Hi all,

33c I wish I had half your talent. Brilliant job.

[RedgateModels]

On 10/10/2020 at 22:58, 33C said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Snap!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Built many, many years ago (must be at least 30 years....)

Edited July 12, 2022 by RedgateModels

[33C]

11 hours ago, RedgateModels said:

 

Snap!

 

 

 

 

Built many, many years ago (must be at least 30 years....)

Like it! It's a pain to get rid of the offside nameplate isn't it.......!

Edited October 30, 2020 by 33C
added detail

[33C]

On 10/10/2020 at 23:44, 33C said:

Looking gooood! The ones shown on the viaduct were sold on an auction site when i last had a cull so hopefully they are giving pleasure somewhere. Have since remade a Great Bear and a Turbo motive as i was given some flood damaged loco's. The 2-8-0's have a hardwood chassis extension, super glued at the rear and drilled for a set of Tri-ang flangeless wheels and cut down rods. Simple as that. All lining now done by bow pen and steel rule to guide, and free hand curves. Got fed up buying expensive lining sheets so bought the cheapest bow pen in the art shop (£1.95) and they showed me how to use it gratis. As you can see on the Furness and Jones it works a treat after a bit of practice! Try it... I wont be going back to Pressfix! 

Here's "The Great Bear" mk.2. knocked up over that week off. Got to find a couple of princess bogies for the tender as she's on accommodation bogies for now! And a contrast to the usual Hall class to compliment her....

 

Edited May 25, 2022 by 33C
added photo.

[RedgateModels]

9 hours ago, 33C said:

Like it! It's a pain to get rid of the offside nameplate isn't it.......!

 

I turned up a full 360 degree splasher out of brass then cut the appropriate section out - replaced it all. This was back in the day when I had a Myford Super 7 to hand ....

 

Deflectors are Millholm Models Patriot, unsure of the double chimney but was bought at the same time as the deflectors. Good old Gee Dees

 

The rest of it was scratch built from bits of aluminium (turnbines) and brass sheet (left side cover) and bits of wire.

Edited October 30, 2020 by RedgateModels

[Barry O]

some other locos you can build from a Triang Princess.....

 

A Stanier Mogul

 

A Glasgow and South Western Baltic Tank

 

 

A Black 5, an ex Great Central A5..

.. I need to get some more photos - My Dad did loads of Conversions as Triang Princess were cheap in those days..

 

Baz

[33C]

44 minutes ago, Barry O said:

some other locos you can build from a Triang Princess.....

 

A Stanier Mogul

 

A Glasgow and South Western Baltic Tank

 

 

A Black 5, an ex Great Central A5..

.. I need to get some more photos - My Dad did loads of Conversions as Triang Princess were cheap in those days..

 

Baz

I do like that! I have been meaning to do the L.T.S.R. version but keep getting drawn to the full G.S.W.R. liveried Baltic. Hmmm.......

[33C]

I should put this here! Gresley 10000 "Hush Hush". (Build thread is," L.N.E.R. 10000 for a 1000 pence! ")

Edited April 29, 2023 by 33C
Missing letter.

[DCB]

# 33c   How many Hush Hush's did they build in your alternative universe, is that 3 of the things in one photo?   

[33C]

34 minutes ago, DCB said:

# 33c   How many Hush Hush's did they build in your alternative universe, is that 3 of the things in one photo?   

Well, my original one was a Triang Flying Scotsman but, the princesses are 10 a penny so it was inevitable really. I suppose you can build as many as you want, have a fleet and experiment with liveries. Imagine a shed full in Garter blue.......

[roythebus1]

A bit off-topic, many years ago I done a Met Railway 0-4-4T E class from a Triang M7, that looked the part even if not quite accurate.

[cypherman]

Hi all,

Many years ago when Noah was still building the ark  I made what I thought was a reasonable black 5 out of a Princess Victoria. Then 6 months later Hornby released their first black 5. I then realised how bad it was. OH the shame.....🥴

Edited February 4, 2023 by cypherman

[33C]

A knackered example, serviced, refurbished and a repaint into early 1949 BR blue, just for 5hits 'n' giggles!

[RedGemAlchemist]

On 10/10/2020 at 23:13, cypherman said:

At last some one after my own heart.

You and me both!

[33C]

2 hours ago, RedGemAlchemist said:

You and me both!

Keeping it cheapo! Save those shed queen's and scrap box squatters, rescue the Princess! 🤪

Edited May 8, 2023 by 33C
Added letter.

[The Johnster]

Back in the day, I used Princess chassis for several bashes; motorising Airfix kit 61xx, and a 43xx from 61xx bits and a CoT bodyshell, S15 with a Walchearts version from Airfix kit Schools with plasticard cab, and, yes, the motor stuck out into the cab on the 43xx and S15.  This was in my impoverished teenage years, and very much a learning curve and valuable modelling experience.  What I learned mostly was not to attempt anything so daft again...

 

MRC published an article on converting one to a Black 5, which I took as permission to do both this and a Jubilee, but never got round to actually doing this.  I reckon a Royal Scot, Patriot, or Claughton might have been feasible, and possibly a Lord Nelson, but scratchbuilding for bodyshells would have been needed.

[cypherman]

On 21/05/2023 at 15:46, The Johnster said:

Back in the day, I used Princess chassis for several bashes; motorising Airfix kit 61xx, and a 43xx from 61xx bits and a CoT bodyshell, S15 with a Walchearts version from Airfix kit Schools with plasticard cab, and, yes, the motor stuck out into the cab on the 43xx and S15.  This was in my impoverished teenage years, and very much a learning curve and valuable modelling experience.  What I learned mostly was not to attempt anything so daft again...

 

MRC published an article on converting one to a Black 5, which I took as permission to do both this and a Jubilee, but never got round to actually doing this.  I reckon a Royal Scot, Patriot, or Claughton might have been feasible, and possibly a Lord Nelson, but scratchbuilding for bodyshells would have been needed.

Hi Johnster.

I did the Black 5 back in the day. Looked really good till Triang/Hornby brought theirs out a few months later..... :(

[The Johnster]

I also considered inventing a Rule 1 class of 6XP Stanier light pacifics for work in Scotland and possibly on the Cumbrian Coast, numbered in the 63xx/463xx series for the model, the 'Munro' class, later improved by Ivatt with double chimneys and his Rebuilt Scot/Patriot style smoke deflectors.

 

My teenage kitbashing also featured a Spam Can with the Triang Winston Churchill chassis and the Airfix (ex-Kitmaster) Biggin Hill upperworks, and a rather dire 56xx using a Triang chassis that had originally been under one of their ersatz 08s and bits from another Airfix kit 61xx, including a plasticard running plate and built-up side tanks.  An even worse blasphemy against the gods of modelling was a 42xx; yet another 61xx kit on a HD converted 3-rail Stanier 8F chassis given me by a chum who'd chopped the bodyshell up for an MRC-inspired  Black 5 (his dad could solder).  This person also managed to motorise a kit 9F using a Dublo Deltic power bogie in the tender.

 

MRC in about 1965 also published a plan to convert a Dublo Castle into a 2884 using the 8F chassis, which makes me feel a little less embarrassed about some of my transgressions.  We were all young and foolish once; I am no longer young...

 

The RTR producers only gave us a limited range of models in those days, and if you weren't capable of building whitemetal kits, and I wasn't when I was in my teens, you had to improvise a bit.  My layout was 'Blackwater', a WR Irish ferry port ostensibly on the Exmoor coast of North Devon, an extension of the Minehead branch and accessible from the Southern from a spur from the Ilfracombe branch, and there really wasn't much that was suitable for it in 1965!  Albert Hall and the Hymek were yet to appear, as was the 8750 not that it was worth the wait, and the Southern offerings were the Triang and HD Bullieds, and that was your lot.  Trix did Westerns, Warships, and 5MTs, but were pricey for my paper round money which was increasingly being used on ever-expanding trips in search of steam engines, though I did stretch to a Trix 'Trainmaster' (CKD) Western; lovely runner...  It seems almost unimaginable given the numbers in service in those days that there were no RTR 9Fs, Halls, Black 5s, or B1s, nor for that matter 25s, 37s or 47s which were being built in volume to replace steam.  HD did the 20 which was numerous everywhere except the WR and SR in those days, and Triang did the 31, ditto.  Triang, to their credit, also did the Metrocamm 101 dmu, again not much use to me!

 

But I enjoyed kitbashing, and indulged in locos that were not really ideal for the layout's supposed location, such as the 56xx and 42xx.  Nowadays, I can buy very high quality RTR models of pretty much any loco and most stock that was likely to have made it to Blackwater in the early 60s.  The layout (this was my first serious attempt, the one that tore itself to bits in the temperature range of my parents' poorly insulated (courtesy of Buffalo Bill Enterprises plc, my dad) was a continuous run single track secondary main line and fy with a station passing loop and Taunton-facing bay, loco shed, three-road goods yard, and quayside siding for cattle imports from Ireland and fish traffic, set at more or less the then current time.  It used Streamline turnouts and flexi, with some lengths of Farish Formoway and setrack straights in the loco shed.  Buildings were a mix of early Triang, Airfix kits, Bilteezi, and Superquick; Metcalfe were years into the future!  There was a HD 'art deco' signal box and the loco shed had started life as a larger scale wooden toy garage with a tinplate up-and-over door which I'd binned, covered in brick paper.  Scale it was not, an accurate representation of then-current practice it was not, quite, either, but I had a lot of fun with it and learned a lot from it.  It was my introduction to proper layout wiring, isolating sections and so on.

[33C]

Whilst looking for a Kitmaster Duchess body i came across the GBLC "Coronation" body. With 3 donated Princesses in front of me i thought it would be rude not to......Cut down body, extended rear body mount and front held in place with pins in the cylinders, she's a runner!

[33C]

On 04/02/2023 at 00:22, cypherman said:

Hi all,

Many years ago when Noah was still building the ark  I made what I thought was a reasonable black 5 out of a Princess Victoria. Then 6 months later Hornby released their first black 5. I then realised how bad it was. OH the shame.....🥴

I did much the same but, even then, wanted something different. A Caprotti version.  After a rummage under the stairs i found it! Made this in our old bedsit circa 1987.