Replacement chassis wanted for `classic Triang and Triang-Hornby goods wagons.

[TTRAK_Andrew]

G'day All, first post on RMWeb. My Dad passed away a few years ago and before we assisted him into aged care we had to dismantle as best we could his large OO gauge layout. It was our family layout as my brother and I grew up in the 1960's and 70's and was almost entirely Triang/Triang-Hornby with a lot of Super 4 track. Triang was the only easily accessible model railway brand in rural Australia at the time. While I am in the process of E-BAYing a lot of the wagons he bought in later years (Mainline etc), there is some of the older stuff I want to keep in order to use on a possible goods-yard shunting layout and for a bit off `heritage' in my overall modelling. This leads to the issue of replacing the Triang wagon chassis. Not only because of Super 4 profile wheels, But also because a 20ft by 12ft layout with a long continuous run meant that some of them now have `slots' in place of `dimples' for axle bearings.

Is it possible to obtain compatible chassis as spare parts? The collection includes both sh0oter and longer wheel base wagons (eg. closed vans, steel and wood open wagons, cattle wagons, grain hoppers).

My location in Australia means mail order suppliers are essential.

Thanks in advance, Andrew G.

BLOG: http://ttrakandrew.wordpress.com/
PHOTOS: https://www.flickr.com/photos/85896932@N07/

[sparks]

You could try this guy:-

http://www.melbournemodelraceway.com.au/tri-ang.html

 

I haven't had any dealings with him, but I have seen him at swapmeets with spare parts for locos. Not sure about rolling stock.

[Joseph_Pestell]

If your only issue with the wagons is wheels and "bearings", you should be able to put brass or nylon bearings into the old chassis before you change the wheels.

[TTRAK_Andrew]

If your only issue with the wagons is wheels and "bearings", you should be able to put brass or nylon bearings into the old chassis before you change the wheels.

 

Thanks for the suggestion but I will need some advice on how to fit the bearings in as the chassis is a solid plastic casting with the bearings being dimples on the inside of the axle boxes. It would be very difficult, if not impossible, to be able to drill a hole in where the original bearing hole is and keep it at right angles to allow the bearing a good seat. Perhaps there is a special tool that can do the job?

Thanks for the prompt reply, Andrew G.

[Fat Controller]

Thanks for the suggestion but I will need some advice on how to fit the bearings in as the chassis is a solid plastic casting with the bearings being dimples on the inside of the axle boxes. It would be very difficult, if not impossible, to be able to drill a hole in where the original bearing hole is and keep it at right angles to allow the bearing a good seat. Perhaps there is a special tool that can do the job?

Thanks for the prompt reply, Andrew G.

In a similar situation, I've drilled a hole with a 2mm bit into the 'dimple', and inserted a brass bearing. As the bearing will obviously not be 'square-on', I've then used an American-made device, known as a 'Truck-Tuner' or 'Ed's Tool', which will take small amounts of brass off the bearing faces to give a decent alignment.

http://www.micromark.com/ho-truck-tuner,8241.html

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

I did it that way on my teens. Pulled W iron outward, enables one eighth drill to go in near square, coning of pinpoints takes care of the rest of the alignment.

 

Or, make a little jig for your pillar drill. Drill the locating holes for the pinpoint bearings uniformly square and correctly positioned from outside. Insert bearings, clean up outside, glue on cosmetic axlebox cover.

[RosiesBoss]

G'day, Andrew,

 

I think a one-eighth inch (ie 3.2mm) hole is a little large for insertion of a 2mm dia brass bearing. I always use a 2mm drill, held in a pin-vice, and work slowly and carefully to achieve just the right depth hole to suit the replacement axles.

 

Here's a link to an article on my club's web-page that covers the procedure that we have found useful for old Tri-ang rolling stock: http://stlukeschurch.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Wheel-Replacement-in-Old-00-gauge-models.pdf

 

Regards,

 

Rob

[rodger5591]

Hi Andrew

 

Peco, Ratio, Coopercraft and Parkside all make chassis-only kits for various lengths and types of wagon (not all include wheels/brass bearings so may need to buy separately)

Cambrian make the skeleton frames needed for standard 4 wheel tank wagons (plastic).

Bill Bedford makes wagon frames, wagon body detailing parts and W-irons (all in brass), as well as jigs for getting the wheel sets perfectly aligned and for making accurate lengths of handrail. They also make lost wax coupling sets, if you want to make up a set of fitted vans permanently coupled together with the vacuum pipes connected (all available thru Eileen's Emporium website).

Comet have various wagon detailing parts in whitemetal and brass, as do Brassmasters.

MainlyTrains make excellent wagon detailing kits in brass, some for body detailing and some for underframe detailing, but you need to hurry as they are closing down soon (with reduced prices to match). Their etch of rivet strips is very useful for tarting up old wagon bodies.

Lanarkshire Models make very nice whitemetal buffers for every possible wagon type and era, and very good vacuum pipes too. If you use working 3 link couplings, their pen-torch with extendable coupling hook arm is very useful.

Smiths make sprung or fixed coupling hooks, 3 link and screw couplings and various types of printed tarpaulin sheets (also from MainlyTrains).

Bachmann, Hornby and Dapol make packs of generic wagon wheels, or you may prefer more accurate, model specific ones from Markits/Gibson (from MainlyTrains or their own websites).

Parkside make the pockets needed for fitting standard NEM couplings.

Modelmaster have introduced ready made up transfers of number sets for various wagon types, which saves fiddly renumbering (also from MainlyTrains).

 

All available by mail order from their own websites or from most of the big internet model shops (Kernow's etc)

 

Hope that helps

 

Rodger

 

Edit: forgot to add  - the Right Track DVDs no 13 and 14 are pretty inspirational for those interested in building wagon kits - there is a segment on improving RTR wagons, and Iain Rice shows you how to fit most of the detailing parts listed above. His books on detailing/improving RTR products (locos, coaches, wagons) are good too.

[kevinlms]

You could try this guy:-

http://www.melbournemodelraceway.com.au/tri-ang.html

 

I haven't had any dealings with him, but I have seen him at swapmeets with spare parts for locos. Not sure about rolling stock.

Looking at the photos of wagons for sale, it appears that some have been modified as per other posts in this thread.

[TTRAK_Andrew]

G'day All, thank-you to everyone who has contributed suggestions and referrals they are a great help. After I finish sorting through all the boxes, E-Bayed and discarded I will apply them to the remaining items where necessary.

Amongst my Dad's stuff I came across the following underframe kit:

Can anyone identify it for me?

Also any chance of finding instructions for it. From my broader modelling experience I can understand the basic assembly of two halves, bearings, inserting wheels and the end gear, but I could do with a bit of help with the placing of brake gear etc.

Thanks in advance, Andrew G.

[Fat Controller]

Pretty certain that's a Ratio one, as they seemed to go for the 1/2 floor and one solebar moulded as one piece. Looks like a 9' wb wooden underframe, as would be found under a PO mineral, for example. Pretty straightforward to build. I think it would usually have 'independent' brakes, as it has a second V-hanger on each side. The bearing housings look as though they've either been moulded oversize, or drilled out, possibly to accommodate Peco style bearings.

Assembly's pretty straight forward. Glue one buffer beam to one end of each half-floor, then mate the two halves together, on a piece of glass to ensure squareness if possible. The brake shoe assembly sits in line with the wheels, with the extra v-hanger fixed to the outside of the solebar. The brake lever sits on the outside of the V-hanger. I'd scrap the buffers, and look for suitable cast ones from LMS or similar.

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

...I think a one-eighth inch (ie 3.2mm) hole is a little large for insertion of a 2mm dia brass bearing. I always use a 2mm drill, held in a pin-vice, and work slowly and carefully to achieve just the right depth hole to suit the replacement axles...

So do I: must have been having brain fade when describing using an eighth inch drill...