Robert Vale

Lone Star also made several different buildings and road vehicles to go with their trains. In spite of the rubber band drive, the Treble-O-Lectric models will run quite happily at slow speeds over a weekend model railway show.

This was quite an expensive model. In the 1956 Gamage's "Book of Model Trains" the Trix Working Crane on Base costs 15/6 while the Model Crane Truck Set goes for 26/6.

From the same shop you could have had a Tri-ang R.51 0-6-2 Precision CLOCKWORK Tank Loco and Key for 18/9 or three Hornby Dublo D11 Coaches (ER) for 27/- 

Thanks for your kind comment. I've been using an old Duette controller but it's always somewhat hit-and-miss as to whether the loco will start. I did not realise the wheels can get out of true, that's something to look forward to! 

Later the same day...I've tried the Farish Prairie on Tri-ang Standard track and it will run through the points. It's a bit reluctant to run. not picking up power as well as a Tri-ang Jinty tested on the same track. The track is quite distorted because some of it is on the cellulose acetate base. 

Hope that helps to answer the question.

It runs really well. It's on Trix Twin Bakelite track in the film, so it won't go through points that are not set for the main line. In the past I found that only my older Tri-ang locos will run on Tri-ang Standard track. I've not tried the "Tanker" on Standard track but will have a go later today and see if it will cope with points.

I've just been out to the shed to try it. The Class 20 chassis is not going to be an easy fit. The chassis on the H/D Deltic (or should that be "Deltic"?) is bent to fit inside the body but the Class 20 chassis is a straight bar connecting the tops of the two bogies.

Well, I tried to upload a video as requested but could not manage to convert .mov to mp3. However, I found the suggestion to put it on YouTube and put a link to that, so, with luck, here is the link. It seems to work from my end, so here goes...

Video link

I've enjoyed reading the "collectable/vintage" thread on RMWeb for many years due to an interest in the by-ways of model railways. I've long wanted to have one of the original Graham Farish "Prairie Tankers" on my railway. This model was launched in 1951 and according to the GF advertising leaflet was exhibited at the Festival of Britain. Quite why they called it a Tanker as opposed to a Tank engine I have no idea. This year, 2021, is its 70th anniversary.

After gradually collecting possible locos there were enough parts to assemble a working example, with the body from one, chassis, motor and wheels from another and cylinders from a third. Surprisingly all three of the strange Farish motors in my collection are strong runners. The two-pole motor with sprung plunger pick-ups is a complete unit that fits into the chassis. It drives a centrifugal clutch so that it can start unloaded and then take up the drive when the clutch engages. 

The finished loco runs ok after quite a lot of fiddling about to get the correct setting of the springs that push the pony trucks down onto the track. Sometimes it will even start on its own without needing a push. In the photo it is pulling a train of matching Graham Farish diecast wagons. 

The biggest problem with this project was finding an intact chassis. I have enough parts to assemble two more locos apart from their cast Mazac chassis (chassises?), which have broken into chunks due to what the Germans call Zinkpest. I tried sticking the bits of one of the chassis together with superglue but the metal had expanded so much that the assembled chassis was too long to fit under the body. My two locos will have to remain unassembled until a couple more chassis can be found.

Does anyone have experiences of these locos to share? It's quite impressive that a loco that is 70 years old still runs quite convincingly.

Like Rob I'm also in NZ (Wellington) and have had a few tries at "simple honest photography" of my Dublo locos. Here's the Duchess of Atholl waiting at the platform while Mildred murmurs to Arthur "I'm sure there used to be a train at five past eleven...". (Yes, that is Trix Bakelite track in front of the platform, my railway is a combination of Hornby Dublo, Tri-and Trix.)

Robert