Ken-362318

Well, as usual, things turned out to be a bit more complicated that I first thought! I forgot to mention in my original post that the axles on very early R.55 locomotives had a hole drilled in the end of the axle on the non-insulated side that was splayed, like a rivet, to hold the wheel on the axle without a spline. After cleaning the burr from the end of the axles, a slightly smaller hole may have to be drilled in the wheel for a good interference fit and as I have plenty of the later wheelsets with the axles splined at both ends, I haven't needed, as yet, to try and re-wheel these very early wheelsets. In the process of re-wheeling my Tri-ang diesels I have discovered that there can be a slight but significant variation in original Tri-ang axle diameters, so if one drills a ("standard") 1/8" hole in the non-insulated wheels and a ("standard") 3/16" hole in the insulated wheels, they will fit some axles perfectly while others will be a slightly loose fit. Drat!! I also had one set of axles where the spline on the insulated side had worn off (or was never manufactured properly in the first place). These axles were churned out by millions, so minor variations will inevitably creep in for a variety of reasons, including due to machine tool wear over time. Despite using a digital caliper and a small bore gauge to calculate the drill size required on a case by case basis, I have found it best to drill a slightly smaller hole than calculated, test fit, and drill up if required. I advise against attempting to use a hand-held file to make holes bigger because, for most people, the result will not be accurate enough for a good interference fit. On the non-insulated side, 1/8" = 3.175mm, so I have found that a 3.15mm hole, or, in a worst case, a 3.1mm hole works if the "standard" of 1/8" is too big. On the insulated side, one solution if the wheel is a good but slight loose fit, is to apply a tiny, even smear of Gorilla 5 minute epoxy glue (or any other two part epoxy recommended for a strong bond between metal and plastic ... not all do, it seems) around the outside of the insulating bush (part S. 5065). However, the better solution is, I think, still to drill a slightly smaller hole in the wheel. 3/16" = 4.78mm, so I have found a 4.75mm, or, in a worst case, a 4.7mm hole works for the insulated side if the "standard" of 3/16" is too big. Alternatively, those with a 3D printer can produce custom insulating bushes designed to the correct thickness to fit any axle while maintaining a constant hole size in the wheel. I haven't tried this yet with me Ender 3, S1 Plus, but I will do as some stage. Sam's Trains posted a YouTube video in which Sam successfully designed and then 3D printed some replacement bushes. Of course, axles can always be turned down in a lathe if the wheel hole is a tad too small, but I am trying to avoid that if I can .... so far, so good ... 20 locos to go! I have also started converting my locomotives with the newer, faux, 6 wheel bogies. Again, I am using Hornby's excellent R 8096 plain disc wheels. On models with needle-point axles in the non-powered bogie, R 8096 wheels are a direct, albeit slightly loose fit, replacement. On models with rounded-ended axles and sleeved wheels, R 8096 wheels, if removed from their axles with the tiny plastic bush still in place, can be press-fitted to the original round-ended axles, but be sure to adjust the gauge using your standards gauge of choice (I use an NMRA standards gauge for both my HO/OO and O scale models). On some wheels sets, a small fillet of super glue around the inside join of the axle and wheel may be required to assist in maintaining gauge (such a fillet can be seen in the right hand wheelset in the photo below). On models with factory fitted wipers for additional electrical pick-ups, the plastic insulated wheel can be replaced, as a push fit, by a single R 8096 wheel with its insulating bush still in place, as outlined above. On any of these models, additional electrical pick-ups, or replacement electrical pick-ups, can be fitted using the brass tube sleeve method I mentioned in an earlier post. The following photo shows shows additional pick-up wheels from two R. 357s with a single R 8096 wheel on the insulated side of each one (on the right in each case), fitted to replace the original Tri-ang plastic wheel. A needle point axle is on the left and round-ended axle on the right. The following photo shows R. 357 driving wheels: Tri-ang original on the left and fitted with R 8096 wheels on the right. For these driving wheel axles, 1/8" is too big a hole for the wheels to fit snugly on the axles and I found that, for one axle, a 3mm hole was the correct size while, on another, 2.95mm was the correct size. I also found that test drilling a hole in plastic ( I used a rigid plastic window spacer), sounds good in theory, but is unreliable because even rigid plastic is ever so slightly elastic and allows a snug fit that will be a tad too tight in metal. Using a piece of scrap metal (say an old hinge, blind bracket or shelf bracket that is at least 5mm thick is a better choice for a test hole. The following photo show an R.357 with R 8096 wheels fitted to all wheels except the electrical pick-up wheels on the non-powered bogie, which are the Tri-ang originals. Although made of steel, in my opinion they were good enough and close enough to the thickness of the R 8096 wheels to avoid needing to replace them and either drill out a bigger hole, or, use as is and have to apply conductive paint to electrically joint the replacement wheel to the axle. All wheel sets have been gauged using an NMRA standards gauge. This locomotive has been fully serviced and (as it seems is always required with these power bogies) needed new shaft bearings. I also fitted a neo magnet rather than re-magnetise original magnet that had lost most of its magnetism even though, from the slight wear on the motor brushes, this loco has seem little use. The loco would not start when I bought it, but now runs very quietly and smoothly and glides through the double slip and three way point on my test track without any bumps, jolts or hesitation. A great result (even better because I picked-up this loco, which has a body in as-new condition, plus 5 BR wagons from an op-shop the other day for next to nothing). Happy modelling!

Further to my previous posts, I went to fit Hornby R 8096 12.6mm wheels (approx. 38") to the non-powered bogie of a Tri-ang R. 450 NSW "Red Rattler" power car trailing bogie to provide additional electrical pick-ups, but I had forgotten that, unlike the Hornby R 8218 14.1mm (approx. 41") wheels I use for Transcontinental locos, the R 8096 wheels have BOTH wheels insulated from the axle, so conductive paint is needed to electrically connect one wheel on each axle to the axle (unless you want to go to the trouble of drilling out some brass rod and then turning it down to replace the plastic insulating sleeve!). Also, depending on the batch, some Hornby 8096 wheels (with a more silvery appearance) have a spline on the axle that prevents the brass tube sleeve sliding over the axle. Others (which have a more gunmetal appearance) do not have a spline, so those are the best ones to use for additional pickups. Pot-luck which ones you get when you buy through the post. Two more packets arrived in the mail today and both were all the splined variety (perhaps the splined versions are an upgrade to resist wheels sliding out of gauge along the axle?). I bought some conductive paint in hypodermic syringe applicators on ebay some time ago and used it for the first time last night and the photo shows the result. When dry, it works perfectly BUT it is very, very expensive for the minute quantity provided and is VERY gluggy and hard to apply neatly (I used the end of a paperclip in the end, but it was still very fiddly). As with all such paints, it will not be electrically conductive until it is thoroughly dry (overnight). So I went out today on the hunt for a better solution and bought some Kemo conductive lacquer from JayCar electronics (also available on ebay). Aside from the exceptionally noxious fumes (outdoor use only, if you buy it), the lacquer was just too thin and separated over the edges of the plastic bush even after multiple coats, resulting in there being no electrical continuity between axle and wheel. The photo shows a (non-splined) wheel and axle after five coats of the lacquer. JayCar also sell electrically conductive marking pens (cheaper than on ebay), but they were out of stock. I'll buy one when when available again and report back. Happy Modelling!

Further to my post of 16 November, I forgot until now to mention that I received the replacement parts from Hornby just after Christmas. Hornby were as good as their word so, again, thank you Hornby (and no thanks at all to the retailer from whom I bought the set whose service was virtually non-existent and dithered around for months without really doing anything to resolve the problem). On the subject of parts, I have bought a lot of old-new spare parts from Melbourne Model Raceway ("MMR") who, at some stage, acquired the remaining spare parts inventory when the Australian Tri-ang factory (Moldex Plastics Ltd) closed. As I had bought so many parts and the owner of MMR wanted to liquidate his stock, he offered me his whole Tri-ang new parts inventory, which is large but not exhaustive. I was very tempted but, sadly, we could not agree on a price and I had to let the offer lapse.

I forgot to mention that if you use my method for replacing original Tri-ang sleeved wheels in open axle boxes with needle point modern metal wheels of whatever size and style you require, (be they for Transcontinental freight cars, Transcontinental or BR passenger coaches, four wheel good wagons, locomotive/EMU/DMU/NSW "red rattler" bogies or pony trucks) as per my post of 24 July 2023, (subject: “Re-wheeling Tri-ang R.54 loco bogie and pony truck”), you can easily lubricate the new wheels by inserting a hypodermic oiler into the ends of the 2.5mm Evergreen styrene tube "bearings" inserted into the open axle boxes that hold the new wheels in place, as per the following photos of the R.55 in this post. Happy modelling and long live Tri-ang trains!

Hello again. In my post on 11 November 2023, subject “Reprofiling Tri-ang diesel locomotive”, I discussed my adventures trying to reprofile those super-hard knurled wheels fitted to R.55 and other locomotives using Tri-ang’s version of the North American “Blomberg” power bogie (“truck”). Although that method does work, it is, perhaps, and not really surprisingly, fiddly and very, very time consuming, somewhat dangerous and chews through a lot of diamond edged files. Thank you “threelink” for your suggestion about annealing the wheels, which had never occurred to me, but I haven’t tried it because even if I can soften the steel (I do have an oxy acetylene kit) it is really all too hard and there must be a better way. There is a better way! Inspiration came when I purchased an A-B-A single ended diesel set (R.55, R.57 and R.58) in almost as-new condition. Unlike the excellent similar set I bought from Dave Angell, this R.55 had a MkI power bogie, which I had never seen in the flesh before. The bodies were covered in dust and grime and the power bogie looked like it had not run for many, many years. The oil felt pads on the X.04 motor’s shaft had dried stiff and the motor’ commutator was all black and gooey. I did a complete strip-down and clean (I gave my new ultrasonic cleaner its first workout!), I replaced the carbon brushes and fitted a spare “Neo” magnet I had as an experiment, even though the original magnet was still one of the strongest I have encountered and so, surprisingly, didn’t need re-magnetising. The three units cleaned-up beautifully and after fitting new decals on the A units they all look as good a new. I was surprisingly very impressed with the power bogie, which I initially thought of as quaint and archaic, but it is powerful and very smooth with an interesting “diesel growl” (on top of the usual knurled wheel noise), probably due to the extra gear. The MkI power bogie is beautifully engineered and I expect, with proper, routine maintenance, will still be running smoothly in another 65 years. I bought the set very cheaply with the intention of sprucing-it up and re-selling it, but after the dirt and grime were removed, the bodies all turned out to be in such excellent condition that I decided to keep them all for my (ever growing) collection …. and that is when the matter of the re-wheeling raised its very, very ugly head. I am using modern PECO code 100 track and I have several double slips and three-way points (switches/turnouts) which are very fussy about what wheels they like. Unlike “normal” Code 100 points, the double slips have slightly higher rail chairs and so even the diesel wheels with the medium depth flanges bounce across the tops of some of the rail chairs, so only the shallow flange wheels will work at all. However, as with all Tri-ang wheels, the back-to-back spacing on all three versions of those wheels is too tight for modern track and all are so wide that they can short out non-electro frog points when traversing the frog, causing a stall. To add insult to injury, the wheel flanges are thick and can jam in the gap between the rail and the check rail on the minimum radius points I use in yards and sidings. These problems are, of course, well known to those who want to run early Tri-ang on modern track and there are a lot of posts and blogs discussing various fixes for diesel wheels, most of which involve turning-down the flange depth and thinning the wheels, which is more easily done for steam locomotive driving wheels which are either made wholly of zamak (or similar), in the case of the solid pre-1959 (approx.) wheels, or the later see-through wheels with zamak centers and a mild steel rims (for Magnadhesion), than for the super hard diesel wheels. I have bought several wheel sets with shallow flanges, but I need so many, both of the larger diameter for the R.55s and other Transcontinental diesels as well as the smaller diameter for the various locomotives fitted with smaller wheels (R.751, R.357, R.555, R.156. R.158, R.352 and so on), that it is just too expensive and no longer a viable alternative (especially as international postage from the UK can cost two or three times the cost of the items ... an ebay seller once wanted to charge me AUD $85 to post a 4mm body retain screw selling for $2 from the UK .... seriously? Naturally, I did not buy it). What to do about my new R.55's deep flange wheels …. I was fitting Hornby R 8218 disk wheels to the non-powered bogies (using the method in my post of 24 July 2023, subject: “Re-wheeling Tri-ang R.54 loco bogie and pony truck”), when it occurred to me that perhaps I could simply drill out the centres of those or similar wheels and fit them to the original Tri-ang axles. I had a few Evemodel 48" HP0287 geared driving wheels (which are the same diameter as the Hornby R 8218, but have a slightly wider wheel tread and a slightly deeper flange) and so I used them for this experiment in case it didn't work because I didn't want to waste the Hornby wheels. It worked a treat! It is fast, simple and relatively cheap. In future, I will use the Hornby R 8218 disk wheels to be consistent with the non-powered bogie and may retrofit a set to this model later. The only catch is that you must be very, very exact and drill not only at the dead centre of the wheel but also absolutely at a right angle to the back of the wheel or the hole will be eccentric and/or at a slight angle and the bogie will wobble (as is the case with some new Dapol wheels I bought to re-wheel Tri-ang wagons with needle point axles; so far, all of the dozens of new Hornby and Evemodel wheels I have bought in various styles and sizes have all been perfect). I recently bought a Ryobi Hobby Station and I thought that would be ideal. Wrong! I used that for my first attempt and I made a jig out of wood to hold the wheel flat and in the correct position. It was a total failure because the Ryobi Hobby Station is not a precision tool. The rotary tool is only fastened to the stand at the bottom and so it flexes the instant the drill bit engages the wheel and so the flexing caused the hole to be drilled ever so slightly too big resulting in a loose fit of the wheel on the axle instead of the interference fit that is required. Then I remembered my Proxxon hobby lathe .... duh! ..... which is currently in offsite storage with most of my OO/HO and O scale collection during the bushfire season because I live in a heavily forested area in the mountains of southern Tasmania and fire is a very real annual threat. The lathe did a perfect job! A few seconds per wheel ... sorted. If you do not have or have access to a lathe, I expect that you could use a proper, purpose-built drill press, but you would need to centre and hold the wheel very carefully and precisely. I expect a jig could be made from wood that could be clamped or bolted to the bed of the drill press. Before drilling the new wheels, I removed the old wheels using a puller (I have several and I found that my North West Short Line “The Puller” was the most suitable). The benefit of using a puller is that it will leave the plastic insulating bush on the axle and it can be reused. If the wheel is a tad loose on the bush, a drop of super glue should secure it (LokTite takes too long to dry). Alternatively, press a new plastic bush into the wheel. I used a 1/8” drill bit for the non-insulated wheel and a 3/16” drill bit for the insulated wheel. I bought new drill bits to ensure that they were sharp. Both the Evemodel and Hornby wheels are plated brass, so they cut easily. Check that the wheel is spinning true before engaging the drill bit. Use gentle but consistent pressure and let the tool do the work. When the holes were drilled, I brushed them to remove the swarf and I then lay them face down on the bench. I introduced one end of an axle to the hole in the non-insulated wheel (it should be a smooth, even, slightly tight fit) and when satisfied the axle was square with the wheel, I GENTLY tapped the axle with a tack hammer until the spline on the axle engaged the wheel and then onwards until the end of the axle was flush with the face of the wheel. I then repeated the process at the other end of the axle with the insulated wheel. Both the Hornby and Evemodel wheels are much thinner and slightly smaller (by approx. 1.05mm in diameter) than the original Tri-ang wheels, so even when both axle ends are flush with the wheel faces, the back-to-back spacing will still be slightly too big. To correct that I sat the wheelset face down on the bench and placed 3/16” socket, which fits over the axle, so that it was resting squarely on the wheel. I GENTLY tapped the socket until the axle protruded from the wheel about 1mm and then turned the wheelset over and repeated the process on the other end until the back-to-back spacing was correct. If the wheel is tapped too far down the axle, the spacing can be adjusted using the puller, half a twist at a time, checking each time with the NMRA standards gauge until the wheel set is properly in gauge. The wheels spin true without any wobble. They may look skewed in the following photo but that is only camera distortion. They are actually square on the axles. As with all things, one gets better with practice. The total process only takes a few minutes. The following pictures show the new wheels fitted to the power bogie. I now fit a 1cm length of 2.5mm ID brass tube as an axle sleeve to wheelsets on all my non-powered locomotive bogies and steam locomotive tenders for additional electrical pick-up. The tube is an almost perfect fit for the diameter of the Hornby axles. I solder a wire to each sleeve before fitting it to the axle and pass the wire through to the motor. I have found that tube sleeves have less drag than either a wheel wiper/spring or axle wiper, especially when LIGHTLY lubricated with graphite, which is also electrically conductive …. Caution: graphite is VERY messy. I found that both Kadee “Greas-em” and hardware store graphite powder for padlocks, etc, work well. The former is easier to use, having a very small hole at the end of the tube, but the latter, although harder to apply, is vastly, vastly cheaper for about eight times the quantity. I use a two pin PC micro-plug to connect the axle sleeves to the power bogie to enable an easy disconnect if the power bogie needs to be removed for service (the soldering in the photo above is less neat than I would like; it was very good the first time but I had forgotten to pass the wires through the hole in the rivet before soldering, which is important because the plug is too big to pass through that hole and so I had to unsolder and re-solder after passing the wires through the rivet and, naturally, I couldn't get it as neat the second time!). The wires are thin enough that they do not put any sideways force on either the powered or non-powered bogies. I also fitted a directional LED headlamp (with “headlamp sleeve” X.5271 to prevent light leakage) while I was at it. I am very, very happy with the end result. The locomotive glides smoothly through the double slip as if it were on a piece of straight track and, with the extra electrical pickups, I don’t expect it will ever stall on the points. I will use Hornby R 8096 disc wheels for the power bogies with smaller wheels. Evemodel HP0187 38" driving wheels could also be used instead of Hornby R.8096. Drilling and fitting the new driving wheels, cutting and fitting the brass axles sleeves and fitting the wheels to the non-powered bogie took just under an hour all-up on my first attempt. The costs were the Hornby wheels sets and a few cents for Evergreen styrene tube (for the non-powered bogie wheel axles bearings), a few more cents for brass tube and around 50c for the micro plus and socket. The Kadee Greas-em I’ve had for over thirty years, but a new tube costs around AUD$15. So, if you want to run vintage Tri-ang diesels on modern track, perhaps this might be the solution for you too. Happy modelling!

As a footnote to my initial post and the email I sent to Hornby at Yelrow's suggestion, Hornby came back to me promptly to say that there is nothing in their statistics of returns to stock sold to indicate that they have any specific issue with either of the RS30 or RS48 sets, so I must have been very unlucky. Although I told Hornby I had already bought a replacement buffer on ebay, they kindly offered to send me one anyway (I can use it for a R.751 B.R. Co-Co diesel I have just acquired on ebay that, as it happens, is also missing a buffer of the identical type .... as well as having the fairly common motor bearing and melted top-hat issues with that power bogie) and a replacement TV interference suppressor to replenish my stock of spare parts. So, thank you Hornby! Great service!

Thank you Yelrow, I have dropped Hornby a line as you kindly suggested.

Great tip, thank you sagaguy. Unfortunately, I doubt that my tiny modeler's lathe is up to the job (which I suspect was half my problem)!! I would love to have a REAL lathe but, like Rana Temporia, I have no room for it (aside from the cost). I recently acquired a Tri-ang R.253 dock shunter very cheaply on ebay that came with Ultrascale wheels fitted and the original, low profile wheels in a bag! Bonus!! Now that I think about it, I am sure that 81F is right. I am almost certain that the PECO points I bought back in the 1970s' were "Universal". All had plastic frogs (I don't think PECO offered electrofrogs at that time). I only had the equivalent of medium radius left and right hand points, with no wyes or double slips (both of which I currently find are very fussy about back-to-back wheel spacing and flangeway widths).

I now have an extensive collection of Tri-ang and Tri-ang/Hornby models and so, on impulse, I decided to buy a new Tri-ang Remembered RS48 “The Victorian Train Set” as an upgrade to my 1960’s era version. The set arrived promptly and was beautifully boxed. The painting and lettering of the models was superb (as one would expect these days) and the locomotive ran very, very smoothly. I was impressed and that is not easy to achieve. Surprisingly, the tender still had 1950’s era sleeved plastic wheels on metal axles. I had expected and hoped for modern metal wheels. The only defect was that the tender was missing a buffer and after carefully checking to ensure it had not fallen out into the box in transit, I contacted the retailer. The retailer arranged for the local Hornby distributor to promptly send me two replacement buffers (I only needed one) but, unfortunately, they were the wrong size, shape and configuration and could not possibly ever fit. I had supplied detailed photographs when initially raising the problem with the retailer so that mistake surprised me. Over the next two months I followed-up the retailer periodically (I always had to contact them, they never contacted me) and I was assured they were looking into it. I never dealt with the same person twice because of staff turnover … a red flag? I was eventually told that the Hornby distributor was having difficulty sourcing the part. In frustration, I searched ebay and found the correct part in about two minutes. It is a simple, turned brass buffer on a shaft identical to those used on many Tri-ang and Tri-ang/Hornby bogie wagons from (at least) the 1960’s and 1970’s. I have about sixty wagons with exactly those buffers but obviously did not want to cannibalize them. So, I bought one on ebay and had it in about a week. I was never offered an exchange, refund, discount or any compensation. The missing buffer was obviously not the fault of the retailer, but the lousy after sales service was, especially given that l had spent over $2,000 buying PECO points, track and and point motors from that retailer. I mistake I won’t repeat when buying more parts to complete my new layout. Being a glutton for punishment, I decided to buy, but from a different retailer, a new Tri-ang Remembered RS30 “Crash Train Set”, also as an upgrade to my 1960’s era version. Again, the set arrived promptly and was beautifully boxed. Again, the painting and lettering of the models was superb. Unfortunately, the two halves of the crane body had parted in transit and the workings had fallen out. The crane also still had plastic sleeved wheels on a metal axle and, again, I had hoped for and expected modern metal wheels. The locomotive is really quite beautiful and the level of detail and finish was superb. In all respects a better looking model than the 1960's version. But …. two small, very fragile details (wheel guards moulded to the underframe) had broken off either during packing or in transit and were lying on the piece of wrapping plastic under the locomotive. As always, I lubricated the locomotive in accordance with the instructions, placed the locomotive on the track, applied power …….. and watched it die in front of my eyes. The locomotive lurched forward, stopped and acrid smoke billowed from the underframe. I removed the body and noticed that the TV interference suppressor, which is normally a coffee colour was half black. I placed the locomotive on my rolling road and applied a little power. The motor stuttered and then stalled and smoked started billowing from the TV interference suppressor again, which turned completely black in front of my eyes. Fortunately, I carry a range of spare parts (in this case X8236) and the problem was quickly and easily solved (and I didn’t want to go through the hassle of going back to the retailer given what happened the last time) ….. but for a brand new locomotive straight out of the box, that is not really the point is it? I have just under one hundred Tri-ang and Tri-ang/Hornby locomotives. All of them either ran beautifully as received or did so after a clean and service and, in a couple of cases, the fitting of new motor brushes or the fixing of old, broken solder joints on electrical pickups or motor connections. But they are all old, some dating back to 1958, and so some maintenance is expected. The disappointment of encountering the poor quality control I encountered with these new Hornby models will long outlast the pleasure of improved painting, lettering and additional detailing that is barely noticeable from a distance anyway. So, given that two out of two brand new, and expensive, Hornby Train sets I have bought have quality control issues I have to wonder if I am game to ever buy another Hornby product?

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.

By the way, if anyone is interested, my modeller's lathe is a Proxxon FD 150/E. It is approximately 39cm long and weighs 4.5kg, so it does not take up much room and can easily be packed away in its box when not in use. It is an entry model lathe that does not have computerised controls or automatic feeds but it is made in Germany and is extremely well engineered (as you would expect). Not exactly cheap, but a very useful piece of kit (other than for turning down super-hard Tri-ang diesel locomotive wheels!!!).

Hello again. I was given a Tri-ang RS. 35 “The Indian Freighter” set for my eighth birthday and, over time, acquired a modest Tri-ang collection that ran happily on a 6’ x 4’ layout that my father helped me to build using Tri-ang Super 4 track. It was small but well detailed with scenery, buildings, lots of lights and all of the Tri-ang operating accessories. It was that rarest of beasts …. a completely finished model railway (I suppose because it was so small!!!). But it was really great fun when I was young (and it seemed so much bigger when I was very young!!). In 1970 my parents moved to a larger house and I had room to build an 8’ x 6’ layout and decided to switch to PECO code 100 track. Over time, I also acquired the modest Tri-ang collections of some of my school friends, much of which dated from between 1955 and 1968. Sadly, changing interests and my first job resulted in that layout never being completed and I sold all of my Tri-ang when I bought my first car (a clapped-out Mini) to pay for the constant and going stream of repairs that car needed. I am now in my late 60’s and I have rebuilt my Tri-ang collection. I have decided to stay with PECO Streamline code 100 track but this time I have bought “electrofrog” points (“turnouts”) to minimise dead spots for my four wheeled locomotives, some double slips and three-way points (both of which I had always wanted but never acquired when I was young). I don’t recall any of my former Tri-ang locomotives or rolling stock having any difficulties with the PECO code 100 points, but this time around the back-to-back spacing of the locomotive wheels is too tight for any of the points and the deeper flanges on some of the older locomotives bounce off the tops of the rail chairs in the double slips (but not any of the points). Some research revealed, as I am sure many of you would already be aware, that Tri-ang started with deeper wheels flanges that did get smaller with later models (in three stages in the case of some Transcontinental diesels and, for my sins, I have managed to acquire some of each of them). There are several excellent YouTube videos on that subject. I decided to re-wheel my (by now, large) collection and use various modern Hornby wheels where I could for my British outline coaches and wagons and the excellent Evemodel 36” wheels for my Transcontinental coaches and rolling stock. The rolling stock re-wheeling project is now complete and I am very happy with the results. I had also bought some Dapol wheels for my spoked wheel wagons, but I found that some were slightly out of round causing an ungainly wobble in the wagon and a problem I haven’t had with any Hornby or Evemodel wheels. However, the locomotives presented a problem. Buying modern replacement wheels sets was not an option. I now have around one hundred steam, diesel and electric locomotives and, assuming I could find even find the parts I wanted, the purchase cost would be prohibitive and, on top of that shipping costs from the UK to Australia can be up to 300% of the purchase price. Also, I have found some UK suppliers of parts not available anywhere else will not ship to Australia. So, I bought a Proxxon modeller’s lathe with the intention of turning down and thinning the wheels myself. The steam locomotives (with either solid zamak(?) wheels or spoked wheels with mild steel tyres) presented no great difficulty (once I learned how to use the lathe properly and bought some carbide tipped cutting tools), but the diesels were another story entirely. I read somewhere that Tri-ang had bought a job lot of ex-Navy armour plate and used that to make its diesel wheels. I don’t know whether or not that is true, but the diesel wheels are HARD, very, very hard. My lathe cutting tools barely scratched the wheels and the cutters were quickly destroyed. I then tried holding a high-quality metal working file to a wheel while mounted in the lathe chuck and it simply stripped the teeth from the file with just a light polish to the edge of the wheel!! I then spun a wheel in the lathe chuck and applied different grinding stones from Dremel and Ryobi modeller’s tool sets, thinking of the oils stones used to sharpen wood working chisels. Success ….. but, oh, sooo slow and the stones wore out quickly. Then, in desperation I tried a modeller’s diamond coated file. That worked well and in about ten minutes I had reduced the depth of the flange on my oldest wheel (a spare from a 1957 R. 55 Transcontinental diesel) from 1.5mm to 1mm, which is enough to clear the rail chairs in the double slip. I then started reducing the width of the flange and in about another ten minutes had reduced it from 0.91mm (individual wheels do seem to vary somewhat in thickness and flange depth) to 0.62mm. With the wheels back on their axles and the back-to-back spacing adjusted using an NRMA standards gauge, the wheels run through the double slip very smoothly with barely a bump and no binding on the check rails. The following photos show an unmodified and modified wheel from that R.55. My first attempt (on a spare wheel set in case I mucked it up), but it works and, with practice, I will be able to do a better looking job. Unmodified: Modified: So, success ..... but with twenty-five locomotives requiring modified wheels it will take me a while!!! Some tips: 1. If you don’t have a digital caliper, buy one. They are not expensive and I have found mine to be an invaluable tool. 2. If you are mounting a wheel in a lathe chuck or electric drill, be very, very careful to keep fingers and knuckles away from the spinning machine or you might be seriously injured. 3. Stop work frequently and check your progress. I used a 1mm window packing shim (side on) as a depth gauge for the flange (available at hardware stores, see photo). 4. When you are satisfied with the wheel thickness and flange depth, be sure to round-off both sides of the edge of the flange. 5. I found that the diamond file wore out and had to be replaced after each wheel, but it is the only thing I have found that will do the job at home. Fortunately, ten packs of modeller’s diamond flat files are readily and cheaply available on ebay. 6. You will need to buy replacement plastic wheel bushes for each insulated locomotive wheel (typically, part # S.5065). Melbourne Model Raceway (an excellent local source of a very wide range of new old stock Tri-ang spare parts) sells ten for AUD$25 with free shipping, but if you have a 3D printer, I saw an episode of Sams Trains where Sam successfully 3D printed some when restoring a Tri-ang locomotive. Happy modelling!

Hello Moderator, As a relatively new user I am not as familiar with intricacies of your website as you and more experienced users would be. Some posts go up immediately, others do not. Now I know why. I did not see the note "flagged top and bottom of the screen each time you press send/post/etc." because my PC crashed when I hit the "Post Reply" button (not the first time that has happened) and when I rebooted my post was not there and neither was that "flag". I assumed my post was lost when my PC crashed and that is why I re-did it. I stand corrected. Given that my post has been duplicated, perhaps you could delete the second one in the interest of avoiding needless duplication? Regards, Ken

Hi Tony57, I have never owned a R. 633 freightliner, so I can't say, but in my experience with Tri-ang, there are only three versions of the plastic 36" wheels for freight cars and wagons, the only difference between them being whether they: 1. have pin-point axles (1962 onwards?); 2. have sleeved axles for use with metal bogies with open axles boxes (pre-1962?); and 3. are pushed-on spoked shewwl to round-ended axles, spoked and disccssuch as used on loco bogies (all years?). As far as I am aware, "1" and "2" are disc wheels and "3" are always spoked, but all have the same diameter wheel (some pre-1959 versions also had deeper wheel flanges). I could be wrong, but I believe the R. 633 freightliner was first introduced in the 1967 catalogue and so I expect that it would use the same 36” pin-point axle wheels as all of my post-1959 Transcontinental cars, despite R. 633 appearing to have a different bogie than the earlier Transcontinental bogies (which seem to be based on 1890’s style US “arch-bar” truck/bogie). So, if the R. 633 freightliner does indeed use the “standard” 36” pin-point axle wheels, I expect that the Evermodel C8721 metal wheels will fit, but as their axles are slightly too short to drop straight in, you might need to VERY CAREFULLY bend the sides of the bogies inwards using the hot water method suggested by Threelink in his post on 24 July in reply to my post “Replacing Tri-ang Wheels” on 23 July. The following photos show a R. 136 box car with the bogies bent inwards (a bit too much as it was my first successful attempt with the hot water method) and then with the C8721 metal wheels fitted. I applied a drop of oil to the ends of the axles with a hypodermic oiler and the wheels fit and run perfectly, with thanks to Threelink for his excellent suggestion. I have a large number of Tri-ang British and Transcontinental passenger cars and British tenders with sleeved wheels on rounded axles with bogies/underframes with closed plastic axles boxes. I haven’t thought as yet about how to fit metal wheels to them and I’ll post any suggestions I come up with. BTW, I posted this reply earlier but it disappeared, so I have posted it again. Mod note - It didn’t disappear it went into the queue for approval as flagged top and bottom of the screen each time you press send/post/etc. Now you have it twice. Happy modelling! Cheers, Ken

Hi 81F, Now that you mention it, I had a R. 041 GWR Pannier tank loco and a R. 152 diesel loco back in the 70’s and the same thing happened. I had forgotten all about that until I read your post. There are a lot of four and six wheel locos in the Tri-ang / Tri-ang/Hornby range that will short circuit if coupled that way. If there are any plastic couplings available that are direct replacements for the Tri-ang X. 171 tension lock coupling, that would neatly, quickly and easily solve that short circuit problem without having to modify the loco to accept NEM coupler pockets for Hornby's range of plastic couplings. I did find some brand new couplings advertised on ebay as “Hornby Plastic Tension Lock Couplings” to replace (Tri-ang) X. 171 and (Hornby) X8025, but when I drilled down into that ad, it said that the “Material” is metal, not plastic, so potential buyers would need to contact the seller to clarify whether those couplings are metal or plastic. Not now being an issue for me, I haven't looked into it any further, but they may well be other plastic versions of the Tri-ang X. 171 tension lock coupling available (3D print?). Happy modelling! Cheers, Ken