railroadbill

Been away from the computer for a few days so quite a lot to catch up on! The class 80 is quite an attractive loco (got a Roco one which is a scale model) and the Trix 0-4-0 tanks have a kind of, well, cuteness about them. My take on British Trix was that when I were a lad (etc) no-one I knew had Trix, it was either Hornby Dublo or Triang. They weren't compatible anyway, so dealing with yet another system wasn't going to work. I associated Trix with the 0-4-0 tanks, AC with a mechanical reversing device, litho printed tinplate stock and the 3 rail track that let you run 2 trains together. Then at a later stage there was an interesting range of scale locos, like the Britannia, Class 5, Hunslet shunter etc. advertised. There must have been a change of track standards as I think they had coarse or finer wheels, with a convertible type that perhaps had a removable band round the treads. Anyway, good selection of prototypes but they wouldn't have worked on my H-D 3 rail layout, no matter how hard I thought about it. I vaguely remember the (older) Meteor dmu being advertised as well, which puzzled my father and myself as we couldn't work out what it was supposed to be. Think it was probably just generic. Then there were the Liliput made LNER pacifics, the A2, A3 and A4. The A3 was in competition with the Triang (or probably Hornby by then) A3, pros and cons with both! By that time the H-D was boxed up anyway and 2 rail layouts for me were a long way in the future. There were some posts on the Wright writes thread recently about the Liliput pacifics, the consensus seemed to be that the bodies were good for their day but the mechanisms not so good. Anyway that's just what I remember of Trix and how it (didn't) fit onto my layout all those years ago. The story of Trix and how it started and it's history is very interesting. A very innovative and significant product in the commercial development of model railways. ** I appreciate there is already a lot of in-depth information about the history of Trix and the various products posted in this thread, but this is just what I remember of it when it was still being produced.

Enjoyable video, Ray. Nice coaches. By coincidence my "Clan" test train that's been running round my layout also has a 12 wheeled restaurant car, somewhat breathed on. One thing I found with my Clan is that the valve gear wasn't moving very much and in fact the return crank on both sides was aligned with the centre of the wheel. Out with my Hornby R913 con rod nut spinner and the cranks are now set as they should be and all is well. Should be like this Duchess drawing.

Our postman is very efficient, knows where to safely leave significant parcels if we're out, like those containing model railway locos, such as the Hornby Clan. DHL are very good in my experience, just received something I bought yesterday afternoon, turned up this morning. An eBay purchase where the seller used Yodel (which I hadnt realised before buying it) has just taken 9 days to arrive ...

Thanks , Fred, I really liked that version! Some very nice models there, particularly liked the o gauge Staatspoor Beyer Peacock 871 4-4-0 with the outside cranks, but they're all good.

Lockheed Hudson weathering looks very good, HMCS Snowberry coming along well!

Very good idea with the magnets, especially for small details like the fence. Also the brick arches look very realistic with the weathering. Great stuff, as always.

That is just...superb! [What is the version of "brown eyed girl" that plays as the theme, please?]

I can only go back to 1991, David. Fleischmann do (did?) an HO model of the DB class 89 0-6-0T (Prussian T3) with Allen valve gear, with the twin eccentrics, which must look really good running along, #4010/4011. Oh dear, feel an e-bay search coming on.... I've got some drawings of the DSB litra F 0-6-0T from Continental Modeller. (A number of the locos have survived, some still operating, there is one on the Nene valley which is under heavy overhaul at the moment) but as you say scratch built Allen valve gear is a rather large step to undertake...

Or even worse...Yodel !!

This is where I am so far. (The red and cream coach is sitting up on one bogie, just put the parts together for the pic). Not sure what make that is, had it for ages). The class 91 is Austrian-made Liliput. I knew Fleischmann made one, but not Liliput, then saw one advertised on-line. it came from a German dealer via E-bay. Good runner. It's close (enough) but not identical to the 1928 Henschel 2-6-0T used on the MHV line. Eventually, painting the wheels and frames black may do the job. (Plus lights, cow catcher etc.) This is what I'm (very slowly) modelling. (Pic Mariager station, North Jutland, Denmark July 2017) 6 bay, 4 wheeled teak bodied end-balconied coach. The roof ends curve downwards, which is a common feature. Apart from that, the Liliput/Trix coach, while not identical, is as close as I'm likely to get.

Thanks for the very in-depth info, 1E BoY, Trix certainly had a very involved and interesting history over its various eras.

Thank you, Fred. They look rather good in that livery. I've added the catalogue numbers to my "things to look for" list! Didn't know that Trix also sold Liliput products. More recent Liliput made after they were taken over by Bachmann is very well detailed.

Thanks for the link, Ray, just seen your video. These threads get so long it's difficult to remember what's already been posted! The point about the new motor is useful, that explains the running. Which said, the loco runs well and has more than enough pulling power. Does look good running round and I think this one will get a reasonable amount of running! cheers Bill

Interesting looking book there, Ruffnut Thorston. Looks a good reference. Know what you mean, David, i'm steeling myself to sort out some books to take to Oxfam - (really so I can make some bookshelf space for more books....)

Thanks Ray. Must say your blog was a good inspiration during lock downs, got my Mainline Royal Scot restoration finished among other things! Been running in Clan on layout having oiled it per instructions, slow running good after a bit of use. When I tried a higher speed once or twice, top speed seemed very high. I tried it on the same track as another loco, Hornby rebuilt WC, and the Clan was running faster on the same controller setting (DC). So I'm wondering if the Clan is higher geared than the WC, seems that way compared to the A2s with their excellent slow running capabilities. Clan perfectly usable, runs well but does have this high geared feel to it. Anyone else find this?

Hope you're doing ok. Best wishes.

Thanks for all of the above, I was puzzled that what was obviously German Trix was in a British Trix box. Strangely neither model (which both have the same design of underframe) have a makers name or reference moulded on. So could be either Liliput or Trix. Now that sounds an interesting book... The Danish 4 wheeled coaches that I want to alter these to represent have wooden bodies and leather seats. The ones I've travelled on on preserved lines are reasonably quiet and comfortable, but they are only running at preserved railway low speeds. The bigger loading gauge does give more room inside as well. The passenger coach model does have the right number of windows, the ends of the roof need to curve down and the rivets should be sanded off. Then needs to be teak colour. The brake van is mostly ok but needs to have the body sides extended instead of the rear balcony, just pieces of plasticard. After a lot of searching I did find some really nice 4 wheel teak coaches online (made by Hobby Trade) on a Danish shop's web site) but they still weren't a total match and were very expensive, quite apart from the problems in actually getting them sent to the UK. It seemed a better proposition to buy these cheap ones to work on.

At the very real risk of everyone groaning "oh no not what-is-BR-green again", here's my take on it. Pic taken in daylight. The Grange is sprayed with Precision Paints P101 BR loco green (post 1954) enamel and lined with modelmaster decals. When the H-D Bristol Castle was manufactured, the full sized locos were still running in that livery. (Not that that necessarily makes the model correct, but you could have put the model in the pocket of your duffel coat, gone to Paddington or wherever and checked it out). CoTN is definitely the odd one out with that turgid almost olive drab livery and red/black lining. Which leaves.... 72004 as being, well, reasonable enough with the colour. Looks ok running round the layout. That doesn't extend to the green running boards and tender top, which will definitely need seeing to.

Always best to test thoroughly before using of course. All I would say about the Games Workshop spray can is that I ended up using it on a largish aircraft model over Tamiya paint and it gave a very smooth matt finish with no bloom at all. Looked as good as Dullcote actually. It was sprayed on a warm sunny day with low humidity though. Advantage of Dullcote was that you could use it in less than perfect spraying conditions and still get away with it. Vallejo 70.520 varnish, which is acrylic, dries very matt, good for brushing small areas, but as it's in a bottle would need an airbrush to spray (which works well). Has anyone tried Tamiya TS-80 flat varnish at all?

I've only got 2 1/2 cans left, it was going to be the end of modelling as I know it. Seriously, try a can of Games Workshop "Purity Seal" matt varnish, seems to dry nice and matt. Worth a go.

I bought these 2 coaches cheaply some months ago, for a Scandinavian branch line project (actually I wanted a train similar to one on the Mariager-Handest line). They will need small changes and repainting. The other option was to try and buy some difficult to get hold of current (and expensive) models that would still have needed altering, so I went for the cheap route. They came in good condition boxes. I had another look at then recently, and the boxes have British Trix on them. The box states that "Trix offers a large selection of British and continental locos and rolling stock". It's a long time ago but I can't remember seeing any British range Trix other than the BR stock they did, and I can't find a reference online to these. (German etc. Trix being a separate range). So the question is, were these part of the British Trix range, or were they just put in spare boxes, perhaps? I didn't buy them to collect, they obviously have very little value, but just as a matter of interest. They are nicely detailed coaches and very free running. The problem is the wheel flanges are very deep and they bounce over the frogs on Peco code 100 points, so they will need to be changed.

Really liked "This is not the end of the line" (Oct 14). One of the installations was by Turner prize winning artist Simon Starling, really cool. Storing sake bottles in a disused tunnel was (actually) cool as well. Highlight was the "Abandoned Train cafe". And a nice touch was the studio layout, which had no trains running and a representation of one of the art installations on the station. (Shown at the end). Another good one for catch up was the Sept 9 one, actually a repeat of a 2019 episode, on the new N700S Shinkansen, which also covered Shinkansen development over the years. Interesting that the new ones have lithium ion batteries as a back up which will power the train at 15mph to move it a short distance in case of emergencies. (being Japan that could be earthquake, typhoon or attack by Godzilla). Sayonara

72004 model doesn't have speedometer drive or aws gear which 72009 has. So to be totally accurate it would depend on whether they were fitted before, when or after the late emblem was applied. (reply to Fredo) Actually, 72004 doesn't have speedo drive from rear driver in Ray's photo with late crest above. And it's got the top lamp iron.

Yup, should have said "one piece without top lamp iron" of course. Couldn't find it.

My A2/2 and A2/3 were in similar packaging.