New Arrivals

I'm afraid that, for reasons too tedious to elaborate upon, I'm really not in the mood to post anything substantive at the moment.  So, today I thought that I'd instead provide a sneak preview of the latest addition to my roster of model railway locomotives.  Yeah, I know, the layout is still incomplete and I've already got several ongoing loco projects, but here I am buying another vintage model.  This one, bought from a charity via eBay, is the Trix model of the British Railways Standard Class 5 (or 'Class V' as Trix insisted upon referring to it).  I acquired it cheaply (I was the only bidder) because, I suspect, it was listed as untested and there was no guarantee tat it was a runner.  However, it ran straight out of the box when I received it - hesitantly and jerkily, but it ran.  The mechanism needs servicing and a thorough clean, which I haven't had time to do yet, then it should run smoothly.

Trix is pretty much the forgotten ready-to-run model railway manufacturer of the sixties.  Nowhere near as well remembered as either Triang or Hornby Dublo, the brand struggled into the seventies before expiring.  Perpetually beset by financial difficulties, Trix never had the extensive range of products its rivals could muster, but it did produce some interesting models.  Not least this one, the only model of the prototype made until Bachmann introduced theirs in the 1990s.  Buying Trix locomotives can be tricky, some have coarse wheel sets, some fine scale and some are three rail, while some are two rail.  This model was produced in both configurations, (this one is, obviously, two rail to be able to run on my system) and has the later fine scale wheels (which, again, allows it to run on my Code 100 track).  I'm guessing that it was manufactured circa 1966-69 (based on the pick ups and wheel sets, not to mention the style of the box).  Although one of the easier to find Trix locos, the Standard Five often sells for high prices - Trix is highly collectable these days - so I was glad to get this one for a very reasonable price. 

It needs some minor attention before I run it in properly - not just the aforementioned clean and service, but the linkage between loco and tender needs attention and I need to replace the Peco-type couplers with the Triang-type.  Once that's done, I'll hopefully have some video footage of it in action to post here and will also be abe to take the opportunity to look a bit more closely at Trix and its products.