railroadbill

Back in the 1960s my 2/- stuka kit was missing a cockpit canopy. Airfix sent me an entire new kit after I sent the missing parts form back. I was very impressed by Airfix's customer service, (I must have been because I still remember it). The finished stuka was soon hanging from my bedroom ceiling. Good old Airfix, I say.

That is so impressive. Just one tremendous collection. * Also spotted your Aster video on Youtube, that's a good one as well.

Came across this in a bits box last night, a Triang device I think. When the loco comes to an abrupt halt, the weight on the arm keeps moving and the hook is raised uncoupling the train from loco. Simple, but not so realistic with train movement! (I reckon it's off an 08 shunter). Looked up the 2-4-2T (20/56) in the Matthewman book, and there's quite a lot on p154-157, including instruction leaflet and diagrams. Certainly a complicated mechanism. It says the British market one was available from 1951 to 1954, and the German one from 1948 to 1955. However, it was subject to mazak rot and not many survive. Apart from that looks a good model, very advanced for its time.

Thanks, David, that's very useful. I dug out a few H-D 3 rail stock last night, all tinplate and un-insulated wheel sets running in metal axle box clips. Just tried pushing them on a length of track and very stiff. Then oiled them, (haven't been run for years). A bit smoother, but still not free running. I'll try your 1 in 30 experiment and see if they do meet the H-D spec. Also tried a H-D ex LMS corridor coach, that was still stiff, has I think nylon moulded wheels. I have had a pair of those running on the main 2 rail layout, behind a Wrenn 2-6-4T. Obviously pulled 2 of them ok. I'd tried using Kaydee "grease 'em" graphite grease which kind of puffs on from the tube on those axles. Helped a bit but not the whole answer. As I was running a current model Hornby Clan round, I experimented by adding more Hornby and Bachmann Mk1s to its train, got up to 17 coaches. I then replaced the Clan with the Wrenn 2-6-4T and it had no problem pulling 18 coaches. As cypherman said in an earlier post, the locos can pull ok. I'll continue any accounts of further experiments on the Hornby Dublo thread, or start a new one as I'm conscious this one is really about 9F tender drives. Thanks again for H-D spec, Bill

Bought a railroad Mk1 WR livery coach not too long ago, that had plastic wheels that I changed for the metal Hornby ones. I did have a few Trix Mk1 coaches, that ran very freely but sold them on because the smaller scale just didn't look right against 4mm coaches on the layout. A Hornby Mk1 coach I bought in early 80s (the ones that were the old body mouldings upgraded with flush windows and better paintwork) is very free running and I use it to see if any new track is level! Agree, the metal track must help! Have got some Airfix suburban coaches fitted with metal wheels that clatter over rail joints rather satisfactorily.

Agree, they are good runners as well. The way the bogies pivot is well engineered, decent motors. My 33/2 cost £41 some years ago, being sold off when rrp was £70 plus. It was in an obscure livery so got resprayed in green. Other Heljan Bo-Bos with a similar mechanism (hymek, 26 etc) also good models.

These must have been early ones, they had the Hornby style "pressed clip with a hole in in" design that the axle runs in. Current rolling stock like Hornby/Bachmann where a pin point axle runs in an indentation in the moulded frame do run very freely. May depend on the exact type of plastic used and how "slippery" it is. (Also whether you oil it or not. Certainly had to with metal on metal...)

Yup, should be straight forward enough to fit some kind of servo or solenoid device controlled from a function output on the chip. Plenty of functions on sound chips for instance, and things like flickering firebox lights are becoming popular, but not uncoupling (as a ready fitted feature, as Trix did long ago). On reflection, it would work ok in a tender with reasonable room, a diesel might not have enough space perhaps.

That does look a good loco, cypherman. The single chimney boiler as well. Re rolling resistance, leaving aside the Hornby dublo tinplate for a moment, I did buy fairly recently a couple of Wrenn utility vans from local model shop's cheap box as they were in poor condition. Repainted them, model master transfers and looking ok but ran badly. The axles ran in a hole in pressed metal clips over the axle boxes. Replacing the wheels with current Hornby ones running in brass pin point bearings made all the difference.

One thing about Trix (at least the older 3 rail system) that comes over is that they pushed operating features as a selling point. The isolating switch with bulb that slowed the train to a halt, running 2 trains on one track, then 3 with catenary, the gravel conveyor belt loader, (I remember that one) had plenty of operating value. On the other hand the 0-4-0 locos were seminscale with very coarse wheels. By the time the britannia/std 5 era came along, they still had the compromise scale. The colour light signals look sophisticated for their day. One operating feature that's intriguing is the remote uncoupling mechanism (which apparently was noisy). Other makes had (have) uncoupling ramps and so on, but being able to have a loco uncouple anywhere by remote control didn't catch on. Even now with DCC it doesn't seem to be available on an r-t-r loco (at least in UK).

Serious question. Clans and Britannias have long and high running boards that can't be reached from the cab, only the front of the loco. So cleaners when cleaning the boiler (when the locos were actually cleaned) must have worked their way along the running board and then back. So how were the boards cleaned, or were they just brushed to start with, perhaps? Wouldn't have been cleaned with oily rags if they were going to be walked on. Can't have polished them as they were walked on so must have had a different finish to vertical surfaces and boiler. Painting them green is rather strange.....

Having looked it up, it seems that when the acetate plant at Spondon was demolished, (2014) some track used at the plant was recovered by the Ecclesbourne Valley railway. Also in 1916 when the forerunner to British Celanese was set up, the main product was cellulose dope for finishing the covering on aircraft wings.

Agree with you about Which in some ways. Many years ago I read a car review comparing a Ford Cortina with a Mazda equivalent. They compared let's say 10 points. The Mazda was better with 7 and the Ford with 3, therefore the Mazda was the recommended car. Unfortunately, one of the negative points about the Mazda was that it didn't just have rust in places but actual rot that you could stick a finger through. That would be a complete show stopper in buying that car. Unfortunately the Which system just seemed to treat every inspected factor the same and go on final totals. Having said that, they are an independent organisation with no axe to grind, and they do suggest factors to consider when buying consumer goods that one might not have thought of. They were good on microwaves (Philips) and laptop computers (Toshiba) for me in the past. haven't read Which for a while now, probably because I don't need to buy anything anymore apart from model trains. My Hornby Dublo coaches never seemed that free running, two LMS corridors, a "printed windows" coach and a mail coach was about all the A4 could pull. I'll have to get some track down and try again with more recent coaches sometime..... Now of course a loco like a Heljan 47 can pull 34 Bachmann and Hornby coaches...hey, did I say that out loud?

I've used 1. Peco track cleaning rubber, then 2. Methylated spirits on a soft cloth. That's worked very well in getting that black gungy deposit off rails that gradually builds up. Trains run very reliably for hours after a cleaning session (layout's in the loft). I have tried Woodland Scenics "clean track solution" TT4554, on Gaugemaster track cleaning pads, the type that clip under a wagon axle with a pad that runs over the rails. (Believe they're made by Noch). Anyone else use these? Just to keep track clean after cleaning session.

My take on the green running plates/tender top is that 72009 was given a special make over after its last overhaul, as steam was coming to an end. Therefore green paint was sploshed everywhere, not following an official paint scheme as it didn't matter any more and they weren't going to need green paint much longer anyway. So green running plates are at least feasible for that last paint scheme for 72009. Making 2 versions, the factory would just make the basic bodies in one paint scheme, therefore 72004 models would use the same painted bodies as 72009 and get the green running boards. I'm reckoning now that my 72004 will get the (90% likely) black boards like every other loco with running boards that I've got. It's done some hours running now, very quiet and reliable, looks good bopping round the layout. Just have to run it every session...

Here's one I made earlier (probably about 55 years earlier actually...) It just sits around at the back of the layout. And indeed there were transfers for the tender and cab lining, as Ruffnut Thorston said. The boiler bands are actually moulded on and raised. (As are the hand rails, but i didn't do anything about them).

Agree, you've reminded me of using single edged razor blades for modelling (cutting balsa I think). Despite having some Chinese clone knife sets cheap from Aldi, I've got a genuine X-Acto knife handle I bought in a model shop in the States and that is just so much better to hold. Also, my old Swann-Morten knife (has number 3 on it) that takes scalpel blades again has a better grip while using it.

Been having a lot of delayed post locally, but this has now turned up! Thank you so much Ruffnut Thorston for posting the link for this earlier in the thread. Oxfam has some money and I now have a very interesting book! A win win situation. I have so far learnt 3 things. 1. Trix used to make cycling accessories. 2. Trix made Xacto tools under licence as Trix-Xacto. 3. There was a British Lego company that made mouldings for Trix. The company (or companies) history is interesting.

Just come across this thread, it's been very interesting. Here's my (HO) beer transportation contribution. The Tuborg and Carlsberg vans are Heljan, the Ceres one is Roco. All mid 90's production.

Have a Hornby A4 (Mallard) which was a present in about 1980, which I've kept. That's got Ringfield motor tender drive (3 pole one?). It never ran terribly well, so got left in its box, nearly sold it but it was a present after all, so had sentimental value. Anyway, several years ago I had another go, cleaned it and oiled etc. What I found was, given a good amount of running, it got better. In the end it would run reasonably slowly, plus didn't stall. (This one has loco wheels live one side, tender ones the other). The best tender drive Hornby loco I had was a B17, which I sold on. Very controllable. I felt that the mechanism had somehow been improved. (Think that was still a Margate one, early 1990s).

As the story of Liliput and Trix became intertwined.... I found I had more of a collection of Liliput stock than I realised, these are all Austrian made Liliput. The UIC gondola with the opening doors is a nice model. The upper model is an older Austrian made model. The later Chinese made Bachmann Liliput are very well detailed. This must be at least 25 years old now. Have got some other tank wagons, all Roco that I picked up cheaply, to form an oil tank train. After the discussions about Trix and scale, it occurs to me that, without looking too closely, it could work to have a 47 or similar pulling them round the layout as a British train. After all, an HO vehicle shrinks in apparent size when on a oo train....

Guess that would have been 4mm scale by then? (Had it ever appeared of course!) As it happens there have been a reasonable number of 47s produced in oo, when the revised Heljan and Bachmann ones arrive I make it 7.... (or should we stretch it and make it 8 with the Bachmann 57 or 9 if Heljan actually make a 48?)

Excellent, Fred, as usual! ( I haven't found an HO gauge T3 yet, - earlier in this thread- but there will be one out there somewhere).

Following on from the Trix class 80, here's a later model of it, by Roco. Seems to have been a popular prototype for different manufacturers.

Great weathering, good to see you can now get back to the workbench! As an aside I built a Parkside BY and PLV during one of the lock-downs. Went together ok but kept derailing when run on the layout. I realised they were too light, and added 70 gm weights to bring them up to the sort of weight r-t-r vans of a similar size are. That's worked.