Tri-ang AL2 (Class 82) Conversion

[Morgenergy]

Figured I'd put together my first bashing thread to share my work and musings. Although I've many projects ongoing, I wanted to document this one particularly. I'm very fond of WCML operations and particularly enjoy the AC electrics: although I own many 86s, 87s, and some 90s, as well as a pair of Bachmann's 85, when it comes to the original AL1-4s, I lack much besides a Triang AL1 and a Trix/Liliput one in bits.

 

Anybody who knows their stuff will know the Triang AL1 isn't what it seems. It began life with Dublo, who tooled it, ran it on bogies from the parts bin and sold it for a short period until they went bust, hence their rarity. Triang at the time were working on their own AC, perhaps as competition - an AL2 - with the chassis tooled and a mock up (a good one, at that) of the body made, as well as artwork in catalogues. This was to be released until the Lines brothers purchased Dublo and merged the companies in 1965, with the chance taken to reuse the late Dublo's AL1 body with Triang's newly developed AL2 chassis. No clue what they were thinking with that ugly Frankensteiner back then, but the world has since missed out on an accessible, bashable, RTR AL2... one can only imagine if we could have ended up with an 83 and 84 an' all.  Oh, the missed oppurtunities...

 

I've had a very tatty Triang AL1 thrust upon me by an excellent friend, the deal being that he gets the chassis and pantographs as spares whilst I get a free bodyshell to bash... Thanks, Chris!

It just so happens that I'm already detailing a Triang AL1 - Trix to follow - with an intention to bash a chassis from Hornby class 86 parts.. giving me a spare AL2 chassis for this new project. This bodyshell I think is an early example with white roofs and dual pantographs. She's a very sorry looking example, with permanent dirt, rust and a dodgy chassis to boot. A previous owner - likely decades ago - attempted a wiring job, which has left a really sore looking hole in the roof. The chassis is all kinds of bodged, combining a dock shunter power bogie and Hymek dummy.

 

Collectors may cry at what I'm about to do, but these same collectors would never consider this model for their collection.. so I'm giving it a better chance in life, as Metro-Vic and Beyer-Peacock's finest.

 

Fair warning: this won't be the most accurate or fancy model - it'll retain the Triang internals for now. However, I hope to make a decent representation with what I've got. The AL2 was a few inches shorter than the 81 for example, but I'm not willing to cut and shut for what I'm hoping will be a quicker (than most) project. As long as it resembles an 82 to a blind man on a galloping horse, I'm happy.

 

With that said, reasonable corrections and suggestions are welcome.

 

Once stripped down, started first of all with a wet sand and a coat of Halfords grey primer to even things out, which revealed that the body is in good physical shape besides the melted hole in the roof... Began work with A-side - The outer-most windows were covered with rough plasticard vents (may replace these later with proper embossed stock) and inner ones opened up a bit.

 

The really fun bit: taking a file to that hideous windscreen and cab roof, re-profiling the lot. You'd be surprised what can be achieved with a cheap flat file and bobbing your head up and down as you check reference photos; it only takes about 5 minutes and once it's done the affect is remarkable, even more-so when etched wipers are added. Still not perfect, but not a lot else you can do with this bodyshell in my opinion without going into major surgery and removal of material. The raised strips were also taken down and a rain strip above the doors will be added later: This loco will become a rebuilt AL2, so the rather soft headcode box will also be plated over, or dominos figured out.

 

Updates shortly,

 

Morgan

 

Edited December 6, 2023 by Morgenergy
Correction of info

[andyman7]

Very interesting as I have an almost identical project on the go as well! In the meantime a reminder of just how good the Trix/Liliput AL1 was....

[Waveydavey]

Nice work Morgan,

 

I recently tried to improve a Triang AL1 but came to the conclusion the body is far too tall. It’s easy enough to take some of the height (approx 1.5mm) off the bottom of the body but the cab roof is still about 1mm too tall. As everybody else has said in the past, the Trix body is a far better starting point even though it’s not perfect either. I decided that my 81-84 fleet will be based around the Bachmann 85 shell that can be bought fairly cheaply from Rainbow Railways at the moment.

 

 I did find that with a bit of gentle filing the Bachmann class 85 glazing that is available on eBay will fit nicely into the Triang shell and really improves the look of the front end.
 

A shortened Hornby class 86 chassis is a perfect fit into the Triang shell and if you are doing classes 82-84 for once the wrongness of the Hornby bogies works in your favour as Hornby made them 10’ wheelbase instead of the 10’9” they should have been.

 

Good luck with the project. I’ll enjoy watching it progress.

Edited November 14, 2023 by Waveydavey

[Morgenergy]

14 hours ago, Waveydavey said:

Nice work Morgan,

 

I recently tried to improve a Triang AL1 but came to the conclusion the body is far too tall. It’s easy enough to take some of the height (approx 1.5mm) off the bottom of the body but the cab roof is still about 1mm too tall. As everybody else has said in the past, the Trix body is a far better starting point even though it’s not perfect either. I decided that my 81-84 fleet will be based around the Bachmann 85 shell that can be bought fairly cheaply from Rainbow Railways at the moment.

 

 I did find that with a bit of gentle filing the Bachmann class 85 glazing that is available on eBay will fit nicely into the Triang shell and really improves the look of the front end.
 

A shortened Hornby class 86 chassis is a perfect fit into the Triang shell and if you are doing classes 82-84 for once the wrongness of the Hornby bogies works in your favour as Hornby made them 10’ wheelbase instead of the 10’9” they should have been.

 

Good luck with the project. I’ll enjoy watching it progress.

The size of the bodyshell is a massive shame indeed, and is the reason I don't intend on making further models using the Tri-ang model. I've a tidy one for the collection, one being detailed and this one being converted.. that'll do with the Triang one for me. With that said, it seemed a shame not to give this conversion a go being that I had accrued the parts for very little and, by the end of it, I'll have an 82 I didn't have before.

 

The 81 that's currently on my shelf waiting for a bashed chassis does look peculiar once I remember how tall it is, and it's vacc pipes will almost certainly need trimming to avoid fouling the track once it's mounted onto bogies at a suitable height, else it'll tower over my other stock. I may very well cut off the buffer beams on that one and remove said mm's via a large sheet of wet & dry. It's already painted and decal'd, but any filing won't be noticeable once suitably weathered...

 

If I create further ACs I too will be utilising the Bachmann 85 bodyshell; I got one from Rainbow Railways already some time ago, along with a tatty TOPS one for a fiver from a toy fair. I've a growing box of Hornby 86 parts thanks to a job lot I scored on eBay, some of which will be used to get these things moving. Need to accrue the underframes, though.

 

I may very well end up bashing a chassis for this 82 as well at some point in the future an' all; hardwiring a 2amp chip for DCC operation won't be an issue, but replacing the ancient wheels could turn difficult. Most of my electrics are Hornby or Lima too, so it'd be nice to keep this one standard and familiar in that respect.

[melmerby]

The AL1 was not Hornby Dublo's finest hour.

The chassis was poor and the body very basic indeed. Triang must've been really penny pinching to modify it for their chassis.

They do go for good prices though due to their rarity.

 

[proton]

I've done a very heavy mod on my Tri-ang AL1, using the Bachmann AL5 chassis, and depressed roof.  I cut over 1mm off the lower part of the body shell, matching it to the drawings available, and very carefully cut the electrical panel out of the 85 and inserted it into the AL1, with plasticard for some of the panels.  Buffer beam is from class 85.

 

The cab roof is the problem!  It sticks out (up?) like a sore thumb!

 

I still have the remains of the AL5 so I could use its roof, but I'm thinking of getting out the big files and filing the roof surface down by hand.

 

Even though unpainted, it looks nice hooked up the AL5, reminiscent of the early 60s with two locos powering the Crewe trains.

 

John

[Morgenergy]

I decided that, actually, I don't like my sanity and would like to blow crumbs of 50 odd year old plastic dust out of my schnozz for the next 2 weeks.

 

The new razor saw came out and the under-frames and buffer-beams come off...

 

 

Truth be told, I really would like this thing to look decent in regards to size alongside it's much better looking cousins, and the height of the bodyshell really does - as you've all noted - ruin things. I had to see to it... and fast.

 

 

With one of my Bachmann 85's to hand, and masking tape guide slapped on, I got to it. Violently.

 

 

That'll do, I thought. I won't bother with the roof, I said.

 

 

I lied. I went a bit mad and although the roof still isn't right, it'll do for now.

 

 

As you can see, the grab-rails were installed prior to this along with the marker lights (actually an ancient Craftsman etch intended for a class 50), which should show how impromptu and instantaneous the choice to file down a couple of millimeters was.

 

B-side should be next, which will be even more filing and sanding. Marvelous.

 

Thanks all,

Morgan

[Dagworth]

Half tempting me to get one of my Tri-ang ACs out and add it to the workbench pile, trouble is that pile is currently taller than I am and there is much with higher priority first. I really need to get those APTs sorted soon…

 

Andi

[Morgenergy]

20 hours ago, Dagworth said:

Half tempting me to get one of my Tri-ang ACs out and add it to the workbench pile, trouble is that pile is currently taller than I am and there is much with higher priority first. I really need to get those APTs sorted soon…

 

Andi

It's worth a go; would be lovely to see these things dragged kicking and screaming into some semblance of a model. Although I've heard and read, it isn't something I have actually seen done with the Tri-ang offering, hence me making this thread.

 

Speaking of APTs, I've got one lined up and can't wait to get my crafty mitts on it.

 

Morgan

[roythebus1]

The Hornby Dublo AL1 was not to my knowledge on the class 20 chassis. It was a slightly shortened version of the EMU chassis. It had the single-axle drive motor bogie with RingField motor. Mine ran quite nicely, I got it brand new back in 1965/66, then converted it to resemble a class 73 as per a Chris Leigh conversion in the Model Railway Constructor. I now realise all these things I bough years ago would have netted me a small fortune these days!

[TinTracks]

21 minutes ago, roythebus1 said:

The Hornby Dublo AL1 was not to my knowledge on the class 20 chassis. It was a slightly shortened version of the EMU chassis. It had the single-axle drive motor bogie with RingField motor.

 Agreed. I've just had a quick look in the Foster 'Bible' and he reckons they used the bogie sideframes from the Class 20 model  on the AL1 as an economy measure! Possibly the cause of any mix up regarding chassis identification.

 Regards, Rich.

[Halvarras]

21 minutes ago, roythebus1 said:

The Hornby Dublo AL1 was not to my knowledge on the class 20 chassis. It was a slightly shortened version of the EMU chassis. It had the single-axle drive motor bogie with RingField motor. Mine ran quite nicely, I got it brand new back in 1965/66, then converted it to resemble a class 73 as per a Chris Leigh conversion in the Model Railway Constructor. I now realise all these things I bough years ago would have netted me a small fortune these days!

 

Chris must have believed that Hornby would turn out thousands of AL1s so what did it matter?!

 

I could have had one for £4.50 in 1971 but I already had the Tri-ang model (only many years later did I discover they were one and the same) so went for the boxed 350hp diesel shunter, which had come into the shop in the same job lot, for £2.50 instead. Those were the days......

[Morgenergy]

The more you know; was indeed an easy mix-up with the Class 20 bogies. Still a rather odd creative decision from Dublo... not that it matters to my sacrilegious self.

 

Progress has been slow on the 82 owing to me having to work on various repaint commissions. I have managed to begin filling and sanding the vents on B side to prepare for new ones; couldn't bothered mixing up the Miliput, so Mr. Dissolved Putty was slopped on in layers. Good stuff if you need a smooth fill once sanded.

 

I've also taken the liberty of attempting some CAD in Sketchup for a quick source of rough roof tanks; with my fleet of electrics constantly growing, it was worth spending half an hour bodging some cylinders together as once sized, they'll be ready to go and only take about 30 odd minutes to print, costing me pennies rather than hours with styrene tube..

 

 

After some sanding and tubing they'll look fine once attached and painted. Printed in resin on my Mars 3 Pro.

 

Morgan

[Morgenergy]

Impatience growing, I have gone ahead and added B-side vents. Again, very basic and rough representations. I've done it now because I realised I'd be wasting time filling and sanding the entire bodyside - with these on, work is saved!

 

 

Starting to look like an 82, now.

 

 

Mr Dissolved Putty applied once more; a scrap piece of card becoming a helpful scraper to keep things neat, flat and minimise sanding.

 

 

I've also gone ahead and got the yellow sprayed on; I use Vauxhall Mustard Yellow from Halfords for all my warning panels and ends - coverage is excellent with a white undercoat and I think the colour looks ''right''... See also another Metro-Vick masterpiece having received the same treatment; this being one of the aforementioned repaint commissions that have been keeping me otherwise occupied. It's headed into BR blue, being formerly green.

 

The roof is next and I haven't a clue where to start on it. Debating cutting out the entire panel and making new, or just leaving it as is and adding new detail where truly necessary. References shall be studied.

 

Morgan

[Dagworth]

On 28/11/2023 at 20:49, Morgenergy said:

Debating cutting out the entire panel and making new, or just leaving it as is and adding new detail where truly necessary.

Personally I think that's probably the easier option.

 

Andi

[25kV]

This is looking excellent! 

For a rivet-counter level of detail with the roof, it's worth noting that the 82's roof well extends further towards the cab front than the 81's, to roughly level with the rear edge of the cab doors.  (Having knelt atop the real thing several times to paint it, I became somewhat familiar with its dimensions!)

[Morgenergy]

On 30/11/2023 at 19:46, Dagworth said:

Personally I think that's probably the easier option.

 

Andi

I feared this would be the case but considering the filing done already and the new plan to build a new chassis, I may as break out the razor saw again...

[roythebus1]

I do't recall the HD AL1 having class 20 sideframes. I'm certain it had plastic sideframes, the 20 had cast sideframes. If it's any help, I've just found some HD EMU bogie sideframes and the collector shoe mouldings for the trailer bogies. It's amazing what we chopped up years ago. 

[BernardTPM]

Both are the shown here* and look to have the same detail. It's certainly not the proper AL1 bogie detail.

 

* Scroll to about half way down.

[sandwich station]

14 minutes ago, BernardTPM said:

Both are the shown here* and look to have the same detail. It's certainly not the proper AL1 bogie detail.

 

* Scroll to about half way down.

 

You have to be a subscriber to see that.

[BernardTPM]

Really? I'm not a subscriber!

 

Alternative pictures: Class 20, Class 81

Edited December 1, 2023 by BernardTPM

[sandwich station]

3 minutes ago, BernardTPM said:

Really? I'm not a subscriber!

 

[roythebus1]

The AL1 used the same single axle drive ring-field motor bogie as the EMU which had clip-fit plastic sideframes IIRC.

[BernardTPM]

Perhaps it was fortunate they didn't use the EMU sideframes then and were spared 3rd rail pick-ups on an overhead electric! 😀

[Morgenergy]

Receiving notifications about responses only to see folks still debating what bogies Dublo fitted is rather flummoxing. I'd prefer if the topic of conversation in my thread was about the modelling (Even it is a bit Heath Robinson) at hand. Show us yours', tell how you did it; it's an uncommon subject is the AL2, so would be nice to get folks involved in cutting up these things. Thank you for the corrections of course - OP edited to reflect this.

 

With other projects and jobs getting out of the way, I'll soon find myself having the time to fettle this thing further. I've decided to indeed cut out the entire roof panel as suggested earlier; it's an easier job than cutting and filing away the existing poor mouldings, and the screw threads beneath will no longer be necessary owing to a new chassis being built (eventually..) with the Hornby 86 chassis I'm very familiar with being used as guidance. I've procured some brass strip and tubes to begin putting together a basic mechanism - first time doing so! - and will be on the hunt for a pair of Triang dummy bogies so I can cut off and detail the frames later.

 

Pantograph I'm hoping will be a Marklin 7219 or similar. Along with it's similar offerings, it's a bit cheaper and more readily available than a Bachmann 85 pan and, let's be honest, probably better quality too - the Bachmann ones I've come into contact with all seemed a bit dodgy to me.

 

The greatly welcomed MMRS Christmas show at the Sudgen sports centre is this coming weekend - 9-10 Dec - so provided I can make it, I may pop down to see what ingredients I can procure. It's always a good turn out and there'll be a pair of hoovers working a tour into the nearby station an' all. A grand day out, kids are free entry so you'll have a few extra quid to spend on trains... not affiliated, just recommending the local show.

 

Thinking about it, I may be able to cast the sideframes in Milliput with the help of Bluestuff. It managed to replicate a 1/700 Type 1936 (Mob) hull rather well last year amongst other things.

 

Morgan