“Are Tri-ang trains worth buying or not” Discuss. 10 marks. No time limit.

[Ducking Giraffe]

We'll define tri-ang trains as any tri-ang locomotives about up to about 1972. We'll also say that they are buying for running on a layout rather than adding to a static collection. 

Upsides

On the upside tri-ang locos have several advantages in that thousands of them were made, they're freely available and can be pretty cheap. 

Low cost (mainly)

The low-cost means you could have quite a collection of locomotives in your engine sheds to get the feel of a real locomotive yard at low cost. Most of them will be static most of the time so maybe their running qualities aren't that important. The 1960s lack of detail and moulded parts instead of details such as wire handrails could be overcome by a small amount of extra detailing as in painting the details in and of course weathering to disguise any faults. 

Standard spares , easy to fix

When it comes to getting the locomotives to run, the mechanisms are fairly standard and simple and obvious when you take the body off as to what everything does. There’s also loads of spare parts and the original x04 motor was designed for easy servicing and all the parts can be replaced easily. If necessary you could always replace the motor with an up-to-date version (see youtube ) that will make the locomotive run a lot better. For diesel and electric locos, stuff the insides with lights and interior detailing and it can come up really nice. 

Great on steel track (!)

If you have the option to have any steel track on inclines the tri-ang “Magnadhesion” available on some locomotives grips the track really strongly and will increase pulling power. 

Weathering & detailing

The relatively low cost of locomotives also means that you needn't be afraid of weathering or tinkering with the internal components to put in lights, people etc as they're not that expensive. It may be a different case with a £250 more modern locomotive where you may decrease the value by some cack-handed weathering. If the original locomotive costs £20, well who cares? 

Downsides.

On the downside, by definition most Tri-ang locomotives are going to be around 50/60 years old and technology moves on. Speaking from bitter personal experience, quite a few of the locomotives, especially the diesel and electric locos from the 60s and 70s were an absolute pig to get to run smoothly in a second-hand state. Fifty years later I still remember looking thoughtfully at a second hand BR green class 37 in a model shop and then thinking “well if my present blue version doesn't run very well, why should this one?” The biggest problem was usually the driving wheels are also the pickup wheels. Whereas now you'd have maybe an eight wheel pick up and 8-wheel drive, in those days you'd have a four-wheel pick up and four-wheel drive - on the same wheels!

My nemesis - the R751 class 37. Arrrrgh. Still cant bring myself to buy another.

I spent many hours trying to get a Class 37 and EM2 Electra to work properly first time round in the 1970s . Flogged them on ebay for £12/ £40 a few years back and good riddance.

Quite how someone expects £250 for one of these awful Electra locos on Ebay is beyond me. Rare doesn't necessarily mean value . If I really wanted one of these pug ugly locos now I’d go for a Heljan version at £160 which you know for sure would run a lot better. Yes certainly you could update the motor in and make quite a few modifications internally but then it could be argued this rather defeats the object of buying a cheap and cheerful tri-ang locomotive. 

Track incompatibility

There's also the problems of scale accuracy in that the big wheel flanges on some of the wheels can make using modern track tricky and also some rolling stock eg pullman carriages, mk3 coaches locomotives just didn't look right because of the scale compromises that were made so they could run on 1960s track. 

Then there's the point that why would you want to run a 1960s version of a locomotive when the 2015 version is so so much better. I'm particularly thinking of the Blue Pullman which was made by Tri-ang in the early 1960s and although it's cheap as chips it’s quite frankly a terrible train and is completely blown away by the more modern Bachmann version.. (but yes OK at 5 times the price.) Tri-ang Pullman drive & Pickup on the same bogie. Not good.

The original version had a four-wheel pickup and four-wheel drive in one bogie and serrated drive wheels which make a horrible noise on the track. The mechanism by now is 60 years old and is really not a patch on modern mechanics.

Ouch! than tone arm is likely to recut the groves on any record you care to play....

It's a bit like saying yes I like The 1966 Beatles Revolver album but what's the point of listening to it on a 1967 Dansette record player when I could listen to it in digital stereo at any time. It's the same album but just sounds so much better on modern speakers and equipment. You could argue that it's the retro feel of a vinyl record on a period piece record player of the time. I’d argue my mission is to listen to the music in the best possible way. I can't think of any electrical item I’d want to use from the 1960s, not a washing machine, vacuum cleaner, hi-fi, drill or TV. And no i dont want that Aston Martin DB5 unless you put in new tyres, suspension, engine, and brakes....

As for the argument of putting in new motors and mechanisms in old trains I rather wonder what the point is if your time is costed out properly. You might as well just get something that works properly in the first place. Is my objective to run trains or tinker with them endlessly? I hated the days when a successful running session was getting a train to do 2 complete circuits. (Admittedly a mix of Standard track, Series 3, Super 4 and Peco track didn't really help)

Fab! One day I'd love to own one of those Blue Pullmans. =sigh=

The dream was owning a Blue Pullman and seeing it race round my layout, the fantasy was not to get exasperated with something that wouldn't work properly. There can be the fun of gaming the system by buying a wrecked old train and doing it up and getting it going, but it depends on what part of the hobby you find most interesting. If you want to play trains with your son/daughter as part of a doing-things-together activity, well, stuff had better work.

So where does this leave us?

This can only be my personal view, that's the great thing about this hobby, so many different viewpoints and skill levels can all be accommodated. 

Objective: 1

My initial objective was to “do something together” with my son on his layout, which is what I achieved. It didn't last that long but for the time that it did, it was worth it. It relied on trains that worked.

Objective: 2

These days my objective is to video trains while listening to Johnny Walker and Sounds Of The ‘70s: recreating my 1973 but better. This relies on trains that work. This time round JW is in digital stereo, the layout is 4 times the size, the trains do work properly and have more processing power than Apollo 11. The hours I can spend in the shed are limited, so the overriding objective is stuff that works. For that reason my vote is to shun Tri-ang, and buy the most modern secondhand locomotives I can afford, that run properly and that look great.

Your views on this would be interesting to read and just as valid!

Maybe I should finally Face Up To My Fears and buy another Class 37,......but not Hornby.

[atom3624]

I cannot surpass the above!

Tri-ang trains were designed as serviceable bricks - reliable, motors replaceable if necessary, otherwise the brushes can be removed, commutators cleaned, etc ... go on like that proverbial Swiss watch until you finally break it.

I was barely 11 when I started collecting, building tracks over stools and tables, the Pullman knurled wheels, even Polly able to amble up the impossible inclines - things you could, OK should never consider nowadays ... and they came back for more - great fun!

What most are not, are super-detailed near-exhibition quality models which are millimetric accurate like the current Hornby models are.

The latter suits me now, the former I admit I had great fun with at the time.

Al.

[ColinB]

I managed to acquire 4 off EBay by waiting for the price to be right, so I kept two as original as they had boxes and converted the other two. I converted them to DCC and added lights plus extra pickups in the non driven bogie. After killing a couple of decoders, I found it was possible to convert them to take the latest class 66 Hornby bogie. I did the conversion and now they are really nice locos. I have got two of the Heljan ones, again picked up when they were cheap but I actually prefer the converted Triang ones. Depends what you want to do, I run DCC so most Triang locos take too much current plus I found with the EM2s that although I could isolate the motor, it was so easy for a short to develop between the pickups and motors killing the decoder in the process. Then there was the issue with the Triang wheels, they don't work well with Peco streamline track. We are talking up to £30 for a normal Triang loco, a decent modern loco second hand usually stat at £70, so there is a major price difference.

[Tony57]

Hi

I agree with a lot you wrote and disagree with some.

Tri-ang trains are firstly toys made when plans were drawn by hand on large drawing boards where everything was in foot and inches converted by slide rules and could take 6 months plus to do 1 drawing, before tooling was started True scale was not an issue as long as it looked right and near enough.

Lines brothers used as many bits already in production in multiple engines to keep cost down, that is why there are only 4 motors across the whole range.

The same can be said about original Hornby Dublo / Wrenn, Trix Twin Track and many other toy trains made in the same period they are toys that are still kept running today by people the enjoy them, where reproduction parts are made today for many makes no longer in production.

My questions, Would we have todays models if there is no computers and CAD where everything had to be done the old way?

Will todays masterpieces still be working 10 years from now let alone in 50 years time?

[Topcat2018]

When I was a lad model railways were promoted as a hobby for young boys (unfortunately at that time girls weren't considered as potential hobbyists). The locos and rolling stock were not very detailed or accurate, but they were robust and practically bomb-proof.

I find modern locos and rolling stock are very detailed and accurate but incredibly flimsy. I have bought a few fairly modern locos and coaches and find they have a lot of bits that are stuck on with a blob of superglue and fall of if you sneeze. You couldn't let a young child handle them. Some time ago I bought an LNER R4173C teak buffet car (not a really modern model) and the bits and bobs glued onto the sides and undersides of the bogies just fell off at the slightest touch. Some of the bits were loose in the box before I even unpacked it.

I tend to buy second-hand stuff from the late 1990's and early 2000's.

[ColinB]

I suspect Tony57 that todays trains will still be running in the future if enough people want them to. We already see Peters Spares resourcing replacement parts so there will always be someone like this. I was bought up with draughtsmen doing designs on drawing boards, CAD just makes it easier. The big difference is the materials and the machines that make them.

[ntpntpntp]

I think of Triang stuff in the same way as old cars: a bit rough round the edges but they work and above all are simple to keep working :) I learned how to strip and service my Triang locos as a pre-teen in the 70s, and that basic knowledge has served me well ever since.

Whilst I don't collect Triang stuff as such, I do enjoy the old toys as much as modern detailed models. I love to see Hornby Dublo layouts clattering around at shows.

I collect early N gauge models, not necessarily to run on my current exhibition layouts (though most of them could) but to have examples of the "history of N gauge" to illustrate how things have progressed - or in some cases went up a blind alley eg. Ibertren's ill-fated 3-rail N range. They all work when run on appropriate contemporary trackwork with associated rolling stock.

[Rana Temporia]

Like a lot of people on here I enjoy fixing Triang trains and have been doing so since my pre-teen days out of necessity. If the EM1/37/31 power bogie is set up well it runs perfectly, especially on Super 4 track but acceptably on steel more modern rails. They don’t run that well on nickel silver without the magnadhesion but they were designed to run on steel rail. The later versions with additional pick=ups on the other bogie are better, as are the Hymeks with basically the same bogie.

I used to buy job lots of broken trains and I have always been able to get the Triang/Playcraft/Earlty Hornby/Trix etc working unless I purposefully stripped them for spares. I can’t say the same for some of the more modern highly detailed ones that I have been unable to get the parts for, they have all gone off to someone else via an online auction.

Unfortunately i have been working my way through my late father’s collection on eBay and to be honest even getting the modern locos out of their boxes to check they work (which some don’t despite I suspect never having been run) terrifies me. They are so fragile and full of bits that drop off with very little persuasion.

If I was getting something for a child a Desmond/holden tank type that will run and is fairly robust would be near the top out my list, other than that a later version of the Dock Shunter with mega speed, power, light and nothing to break off the body would be a good choice. I still have my original one but it’s retro- fitted with the later wheels (I also have around a dozen others as well in the various colour and number combinations.)

I would still buy Triang trains if I wasn’t making a rather pathetic attempt at downsizing…….but then I might always need some more Triang clockwork locos!

[Rallymatt]

It was always the catalogues, Triang, Hornby, Dinky and Corgi. They sold us a dream we just can’t shake but the reality is they were all a bit rubbish. The illustrators were absolute genius though. We now have expectations way beyond our childhood memories. My own model railway experience started with the family 3rail HD but Continental HO was my own collection, with Hornby/Lima additions, Piko was streets ahead even in 70’s. Now returning with Hornby TT:120, I wouldn’t give any of the old stuff a second glance, it was rubbish then and it still is now.

[LTSR_NSE]

Apologies if the following waffle is irrelevant, but imho something is worth purchasing if it is suitable/appropriate for the purchaser…

For anyone that mostly enjoys launching toys down staircases/across rooms & is still to learn anything about dexterity - BRIO is marvellously indestructible (& sneakily teaches magnetic attraction/repulsion without operator realising!)

Once some dexterity has been mastered (but perhaps electricity is still to be avoided) clockwork is an ideal next step.

When electric is appropriate, imho the first loco/train set wants to be something that is relatively indestructible. My first was an Intercity 225, which still survives undamaged in perfect working order today. Despite initially being sent round bends at full speed (resulting in multiple 3ft drops onto the floor) whilst I was learning that a variable resistor requires even finer dexterity!

After the introductory purchase, (& yet whilst still starting out) locos that are: relatively inexpensive, reliable, repairable and not too fragile would probably be the most suitable.

• Potentially 70s to 90s models?

• Possibly some of the later Triang models?

• Maybe Railroad range, if affordable?

I certainly wouldn’t recommend anyone purchases a modern ‘working ornament’ unless they are already capable/comfortable with: handling a pet rodent, or using a sewing needle/soldering iron without stabbing themselves!

[ellocoloco]

An interesting question, DG, which I think is a testament to Triang models after all these years that they are still relevant to the hobby given how many are around and how many of us have and use them.

Do I have some? Yes Will I buy more? No

In the last 30 years the main use I have found for my Triang models has been as a tested bed for my painting skills and I would have not have dared go on to strip and paint Roco, Electrotren and Mehano models had my Triang 37 not made the ultimate sacrifice.

25550 and the Jinty run, the others could be fixed but I doubt I every will. I just haven't got round to binning them as they remind me of the most important part of the hobby. Its great fun and should remain so. Triang was the seed that started me in this hobby and although not of interest now they remind me that we are all just playing trains.

(Was the 9F Triang? I have one somewhere and its the last of my early models. Its still boxed and runs great.)

[threelink]

It's horses for courses. Triang products were toys, not models, whatever Triang's advertising might have said. Personally I love Triang locos. They are infinitely reparable whatever may go wrong or wear out, tough as old boots and capable of detailing or conversion or "improvement" to the nth degree including re-wheeling with finer wheels if wanted. They can be made to run very quietly and at a slow crawl. With a drop of oil every now and then and the occasional replacement brush they will last for ever - most of mine are at least 65 years old. The only drawback is that all Triang stock rides 3 mm too high at solebar level. There are ways round this. I routinely re-wheel some locos and lower the bufferbeam to scale height on all, fit all rolling stock (even the cast chassis variety) with pinpoint code 75 compatible wheels, reduce the drawbar/bufferbeam height to scale height on some, substitute near-scale link couplings for the abominable tension locks on all, add detailing, re-paint and weather. Some wagons are made into converter wagons with a scale height buffer beam at one end and a Triang height bufferbeam at the other. Unconverted wagons with Triang height bufferbeams are run in fixed rakes with a converter wagon at either end. The rake will then couple to and buffer shunt with scale height stock without problem. The discrepancy in bufferbeam heights is not noticeable. Carriage stock is treated similarly. Most Triang stock is generic rather than an accurate reproduction of any given prototype but at normal viewing distance looks just fine, especially with some sly painting tricks I learned during time riotously mis-spent in the theatre. The biggest advantage is low cost. Triang stuff is as cheap as chips at train fairs because few want it. I keep detailed records of purchases. The average cost of a wagon, as "improved", including spares paint and glue, is £1.20, a carriage £4.50 and a loco £12.00. Not surprisingly I have a lot of each (and a big box of more awaiting refurbishment when time permits). As and when I shuffle off this mortal coil, my family can ditch the lot without worrying whether they should try to sell it because, however good it looks, it's all rubbish, basically. Long live Triang? It already does.

[Topcat2018]

@RT

I was amused to see that you agree with my comment that bits drop off modern locos and rolling stock at the slightest provocation, and sometimes without it!

[Ducking Giraffe]

I agree with everything said!

atom:

"Tri-ang trains were designed as serviceable bricks - reliable, motors replaceable if necessary, otherwise the brushes can be removed, commutators cleaned, etc ... go on like that proverbial Swiss watch until you finally break it.

I was barely 11 when I started collecting, building tracks over stools and tables, the Pullman knurled wheels, even Polly able to amble up the impossible inclines - things you could, OK should never consider nowadays ... and they came back for more - great fun!"

yup it was about having fun!

threelink

It's horses for courses. Triang products were toys, not models, whatever Triang's advertising might have said. Personally I love Triang locos. They are infinitely reparable whatever may go wrong or wear out, tough as old boots and capable of detailing or conversion or "improvement" to the nth degree including re-wheeling with finer wheels if wanted. They can be made to run very quietly and at a slow crawl.

yup, tough as old boots, will go on forever, great for modding. Wagons dirt cheap compared to latest offerings.

rallymatt

It was always the catalogues, Triang, Hornby, Dinky and Corgi. They sold us a dream we just can’t shake but the reality is they were all a bit rubbish. The illustrators were absolute genius though. We now have expectations way beyond our childhood memories.

That's just so true, I guess I'm trying to recreate the dream I was sold, but the dream wont necessarily work with the ACTUAL tri-ang trains from those days. Another dream was Minic motorways, but I'd shudder at having a go with that stuff 50 years on. (Always loved the idea of the "Mad motorist reversing hazard" - which would pop out of its garage randomly across two lanes of traffic. Seen too many real life example in recent years....)

"Too much" detail in recent models? Absolutely. Now with some models I'm in the dilemma of whether to keep them in boxes - and risk damage getting them in and out, or keep on the layout - and risk my own cack-handedness. Or kittens. Just got the latest black 9F at a bargain price but the detail is just too much. Decided in the end to keep in an engine shed to avoid damage.

[Rana Temporia]

Topcat, unfortunately speaking from experience. Also, sometimes it’s not always obvious where the bits go. If I’m disposing of my late father’s stock I photograph them and put them in the box wrapped in tissue paper with a note to the buyer.

I know it’s probably not strictly a loco but I bought a very nice looking Atlas Editions SNCF OH EMU for very little money, ordered the correct power bogie for it and looked forward to motorising it, only for a lot of small bits to fall off it when I took it out of the box. It’s back in the box with the bits in the bottom.

[bill7437]

I am surprised at your remarks Rana concerning the Atlas Editions models

I have a number of these and never had ANY problems with bits falling off.

Generally they are pretty simplified models asking for further details to be added. I have motorised three of the SNCF Autorails with Tenshodo Spuds and they perform very well the only addition being reversing white/red LED lighting. A great pity that DeAgostini have folded the Atlas brand internationally as they covered many prototypes not covered by major brands.

[Rana Temporia]

Bill, I only have one, the main moulding and the finish is superb but the steps and other bits fell off when I got it out of the box. I think I only paid a pound or two for it new, at one point they were on Amazon at 10 different for £60 including delivery. I did also think about getting their HO class 81 as a number of people have posted how to motorise one.

I will do the EMU at some point, I have the Tenshodo and replacement pantographs but some of the bits might have to stay off if I can’t locate where they go.

These models are designed to be motorised and not only prototypes that the main manufacturers haven’t touched but were available at a silly low price, they probably still are.

[threelink]

"Keep it in the engine shed to avoid damage"... says it all, really. Modern stock looks fabulous but is too expensive and fragile to use in any meaningful way. I buy mashed up wagons from train fairs and refurbish them. The average cost is including refurbishment costs is £1.20. A major manufacturer has just announced a retooled version of an r-t-r BR 15 ton mineral wagon. Its photo is indistinguishable from some plastic kit builds I bought recently and refurbished. Doubtless the wagon itself will be of museum quality (except as to gauge and couplings) and millimetre perfect. The plastic kit builds may not be so perfect but are now fitted with near scale link couplings. Couplings aside, any difference between the kit builds and the r-t-r will be invisible at normal viewing distance but at £25.00 a pop, who will risk running the r-t-r s ? My refurbished wagon roster stands at 180. That's £216.00 at train fair prices or £4,500.00 at r-t-r prices. 'Nuff said

[Rana Temporia]

Threelink, I couldn’t agree more. If I wanted an ornament for the engine shed I’d get one of the Amercom/GBL static models and paint it properly…..but then I’d probably end up motorising it anyway. My late Father's layout still has some Tri-and locos in the engine shed, amongst some of the later locos they don’t look out of place and help give the desired impression.

I have posted a reply to Bill but it’s waiting for moderation due to a photo. Some of the Atlas models are on Amazon currently at all of the first 6 in the range for <£50 including postage from somewhere in Europe, possibly Spain.

Someone has replied in Spanish that they are advertised as metal when in fact they are plastic and the bits fall off them. It wouldn’t stop me getting another.

Also a shame that most if not all of the actual locos rather than the MUs in the range have been done by the major manufacturers, yes it makes them easy to motorise but the bodies are no better than the existing ones.

Many of the range are on eBay in the £10 to £11 bracket or even less if you buy in multiple and the sellers are open to offers. These are new, boxed, fairly good HO models, admittedly much less robust than the Triang models that this thread is about but for the prices they are great. I doubt all the sellers in the UK, Europe and the far East are selling them at a loss so where have the prices come from? They can’t all be from discounted clearances unless the production was ridiculously over the demand worldwide.

Such a shame the only UK model I am aware of is the class 81. A nice L&Y or Merseyrail EMU would have been good as would an EM1 or EM2.

[ntpntpntp]

Are the Atlas Editions models from a magazine partwork?

We had N gauge models with the DelPrado "locomotives of the World" partwork some years ago. They tend to be produced in large numbers and sold in different series in different parts of the world. Nowadays ebay is flooded with them and I'd say generally people struggle to sell them for £5. There are a few "optimistic" sellers asking over £20, plus there are people adding lights to them or weathering them into rusty scrapped models and trying to make money that way. I've also recently noticed a seller of collectible resin cottages (similar to Liliput Lane and others) using the DelPrado Flying Scotsman models in railway related scenes and asking a helluva lot for them! I think the bottom fell out of that market years ago.

[Rana Temporia]

I have seen those N models for sale at swapmeets for as little as 50p a go. Possibly good for 009 conversions?

[Tony57]

Are Tri-ang Trains worth buying?

Tri-ang Trains with the open ended Mark 2 couplings to be honest NO but some people like them

Tri-ang Trains with the closed D Mark 3 couplings No and Yes to later model toys. However people like the early stuff. Transcontinental Range still has a following as does later CP and CN and American range made by Tri-ang for ATT. Tri-ang was sold in Canada, Australia, New Zealand South Africa it was also made in Australia. So some interest by collectors in regional variations

Tri-ang Hornby Yes

Tri-ang Wrenn Yes

Hornby (Tri-ang rebranded made in Margate) Yes

Hornby (Tri-ang rebranded made in China) ? Those into DCC and for display on shelfs Yes

Questionable on affordable. From a personal point of view is a five coach modern EMU worth a month's pension money?

[Ken-362318]

I have at least one of every locomotive made by Tri-ang / Tri-ang/Hornby up to 1972 and mine are all very smooth runners with no mechanical or electrical problems. Perhaps I have been exceptionally lucky.

I service my locomotives regularly and carefully, paying particular attention to keeping the motor commutator, brushes wheels and all other electrical contacts and connections clean and polished. As I have bought all of my current collection on ebay, some models have required a good cleaning, some restoration and often one or more replacement parts, but give that some of them are at least sixty-seven years old, they are in remarkably good condition (seized rolling stock wheels on rusted axles being the most common problem).

I use PECO Streamline electrofrog code 100 track and points. The only problem I have is the occasional stall if I stop a four wheeled locomotive (such as my R.355s) on the plastic frog of a double slip which, unfortunately, does not seem to come in an electrofrog version in code 100.

My R.751 class 37 and R.351 EM2 "Electra", in particular, purr along very smoothly. So again, given the problems some appear to have with these locomotives, perhaps I have been exceptionally lucky with mine.

I do not mind the lack of detail on the Tri-ang products and I am happy with their overall impression on they layout. It is the large vista I am aiming for. I can always add more details if I so choose, but I want to stay as close to the original as possible. In that regard, I can relate to Oscar Paisley and the sheer joy he obviously derives from building his Tri-ang (and now Hornby Dublo) layouts just for the fun of running his trains.

However, I am not at all adverse to super-detailed models. I also have a modest American outline O scale collection and some heavy, brass steam locomotives with every possible detail. However, I am having to constantly undertake minor repairs because despite how carefully I handle them (which I do try to avoid other than for servicing ), small and fragile parts are easily bent or dislodged. But ..... there is nothing quite like the "heft" of O scale and the beauty of watching a large O Scale steam locomotive slowly and ever so smoothly glide down the track with fibre optic or LED head and marker lights blazing, pulling a rake of highly detailed freight cars with real springs in the bogies, scale size wheel flanges and scale size knuckle couplers. They are big enough to really appreciate the detail (early ATLAS models being the O scale equivalent of Tri-ang in detail, but even their relatively low detail F9 diesel locomotive and freight cars are still beautiful and fascinating in their own unique way).

This is the beauty of model railways. Everyone is free to do it their way and in multiple ways if they so choose.

Tri-ang trains were deliberately made to be durable semi-toys that could, on the one hand, be played with and handled by children without damage while, on the other hand, being reasonably acceptable to older modelers wanting to build a representation of a model railway (cringe when I see an ebay add with a photo of Tri-ang for sale that has been thrown into a large toy box!). The days of every boy having a model train set seems to be long gone and, as we all know, to survive these days in the face of increased competition and a shrinking market manufactures are now aiming for the adult modeler market that insists on more accuracy and detail.

When I was growing up, few people other than doctors, senior police officers and school headmasters had their own dedicated telephone land-lines (party lines being the norm) and most families only had one car (if any). Today, everyone has a mobile 'phone and each adult member of a family typically has their own car. Times have changed. So too with hobbies.

So, for me, the answer to “Are Tri-ang trains worth buying or not” is a definite "yes" as long as one accepts them for what they are and doesn't try to compare them to modern models. It's like comparing a 1960s Mini Cooper "S" to a modern Subaru Outback (both of which I also own). Apples and oranges .... each fun and highly satisfying in its own unique way.