Ducking Giraffe

...My favourite is the snowing inside the station. Fun illustrations that are slightly weird .... !

I had similar situation about 10 years ago, after remembering the hassle I'd had in the 1970s with my old Standard, Series 3, and Super 4 track from the 1950's and 60's I just binned the lot on eBay and bought modern stuff on eBay that actually went like it should! 60 foot run with one power connector? fab! - something i could only dream about 50 years ago. My thought was , if you want to play trains with you children/grandchildren , it had better work properly!

I had similar situation about 10 years ago, after remembering the hassle I'd had in the 1970s with my old Standard, Series 3, and Super 4 track from the 1950's and 60's I just binned the lot on eBay and bought modern stuff on eBay that actually went like it should! 60 foot run with one power connector? fab! - something i could only dream about 50 years ago. My thought was , if you want to play trains with you children/grandchildren , it had better work properly!

Do an internet search for mrhmag.com and the article about polar and non-polar solvents https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/mrhpub.com/2019-05-may/online/index.html?page=9 and you'll see what to use and why, with a bit of science behind it rather than the usual "this works for me...". Long story short, dirt on the track is apparently caused by micro-arcing which is a result of using polar solvents. The idea is to use non-polar solvents. IPA has a dielectric constant of 18 and is a polar solvent, but wd40 CONTACT CLEANER (not normal WD40) has a dielectric constant of 1.9 (non-polar) - so I use that. Also I treat the rails with absolutely tiny amounts of no-ox id which is an electric conducting grease and this keeps them cleaner for longer. Having said that, track cleaning has many methods as there are enthusiasts - take your pick!

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.

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.

BM Well done that's good, shows you don't need to go overboard to fix it! The main thing is you've done something!

Layout access? The thing I'd be worried about is access to all areas, do you have access areas to get to all of the track & scenery? Layout in loft? I try to stay out of lofts, (even though I fit loft ladders) they're madly hot in summer and literally freezing in winter. (So I built a shed instead.) If I had to build a layout in a loft I'd build an insulated "room" with 50mm Cellotex before any layout went down, to reduce the temperature extremes. Try heating a normal ventilated loft and you might as well heat a tent. In the summer its not possible to cool it down -ideally I'd get a Velux north-facing skylight: there really is no substitute for daylight and open it can cool the place down at night in the summer. My shed has a dehumidifier on 24-7 and I'd recommend one to avoid problems: everything is always dry and there's no mould or damp.

Great you've done really well with your TT layout, I like it lots! Not that I'm bitter, but... TBH I'm not that keen on the final 5, the layouts are great but not wild about lighting and composition. The black and white by Jack Cutmore is really nice, could swear it's real. What does anyone else think, are there any you'd vote for?

RM Those pics look great, and in TT, you've come a long way in a short time, or were you always doing TT before the Great Comeback? My shot are at night because there isn't really a layout there, just 4 large ovals!

Colin - Was this the HST from the GWR set that has white lights only in the power car but not in the dummy? Did you convert that, it has a funny front light arrangement , unlike the old 1980s Hornby HST which is a doddle to light. I tried for ages to put lights in the dummy car but it defeated me in the end - not enough space for LEDSs and alignment very difficult! So you had success with one of those led boards, they look very neatly done? steve

Yes I know here's the other one...., trouble is I'm so into video that I haven't got any decent stills! Couldn't make it to 5!

Hi Roger B I do apologise, i appreciate any photos need to be moderated so I was going to wait but then i got a email saying Dear steve, Your recent post Photo competition closes tonight! (here's my entry) in the Hornby Forum contained content which has been rejected by one of our moderators. Because of this, your post cannot be made public. Thank you, The Hornby Team So i submitted again with no youtube link. Then the original went through! Maybe that was just someone deleting my first excessive submission.... Sorry to cause you more work. Bee Thanks for that, look at the video, its even better with sound! steve aka DG

And here's my entry! The video is better. I did have a link to the video on how it was done but I don't seem to be able to post it here for some reason...

• However the decoders are not aware of their own or each other’s location in space or time. Nor are they sentient & certainly cannot control themselves!" Thank goodness for that, its bad enough when my PC tells me I "do not have authority to complete this print request" (its my PC I'm the only one using it), I can just imagine it now: "You do not have authority to run at this speed, especially mixing Eastern and Western region Mk3 coaches. IN THE SAME TRAIN? And the buffet car is in the wrong place too."