Tri-ang R55 Restoration, with a hidden secret from the 70's

[@70rrsteve51]

I know this is an older video, but I only just stumbled across it. As kids, we had one of these. It was a great runner, likely because my Dad, an ex-pat Brit in Canada, used Tri-Ang track with its massive rail profile. Our favourite thing was to run it with the lights off to watch all the sparking from the front truck...which I note is common to your loco.

[@SMTMainline]

I like hearing stories like this. I think most Tri-ang locomotives make sparks since they have steel wheels which have little lines carved into them to allow for better traction. It sure makes them more exciting.

[@mrmrlee]

Ha I remember those batteries when I was a kid! My guess is they made the little battery package in an effort to add weight to the locomotive, probably dealing with some wheel slippage.

[@abbush2921]

Buy foam cradle young man it makes things a hell of lot easier ! Try Peco electriclube . Ps we old timers would wrap pennies in paper for added weight , paper would insulate the pennies from the frame , no shorts .

[@chr1sda1sey]

Hi the loco started out in Triangs Transcontinental range. As well as the single ended diesel there was a switcher and a double ended loco.

[@johnramirez5996]

When I redo trains. I hook str8 to motor and let them run for a while in both directions. Ensuring that the brushes make good contact . Getting rid of the dust on them from setting. The warmer the engine the more likely to run when put back together.

[@TheIntercityhst]

Hi, Ive recently bought multiple early Tri-ang locomotives and hopefully I can give you a few tips on how to restore these locos. The main reason why your loco runs badly is because of the wheel flanges. Tri-ang track used to have a much higher railhead, so triang locos had much deeper flanges. The locos don't run as well on modern track as the flanges hit the sleepers/ties and the loco momentarily loses contact with the rail. The only way to solve this is to reprofile the flanges. This can be done in a lathe but I developed my own method of re profiling the wheels using a homemade jig and a grinding stone, its rather crude but it does the job. The plate on the bottom is the contact plate. Remove it and make sure it is clean and that the two contactors are touching the back of the wheel. if not, bend it into place and clean it using a cotton bud/Q-tip soaked in lighter fluid You might have to remove the wheels to do this, make sure they go in the correct way round. Make sure the oil pads have enough oil. Don't be afraid to put a lot on as most of the oil will be absorbed into the pad, so you don't need to worry about it leaking over the other components. All of the gearing on your loco looks to be in good condition. using a pair of tweezers try to remove as much fluff and hair from the model as possible. I like to use lithium grease on all of the cogs and gears, it doesn't evaporate like oil does. if you have a wire brush, remove the wheels and use the wire brush to clean them. The early Triang engines had 'serrated' wheels (grooved) for extra traction so they did not need traction tires. Cleaning the wheels with a wire brush will clean out the grooves of any carbon build up and polish up the wheels at the same time. Obviously the best course of action in the long run is to completely dissemble, clean and rebuild the engine. This way you can clean the commutator and brushes. A dirty commutator and brushes is one of the most common problems on triang motors. Reassembly is a rather fiddly job and takes a fair bit of practice. However if you take photos of the motor before hand you should have a good idea where everything goes. If you do decide to take it apart, be careful not to lose the tiny ball bearings that are under the oil pads. Hopefully these tips are useful, and remember, the best way to practice repairing these locos is by trial and error :)

[@fernsnyder7072]

The Triang Dock Shunter, which I think you have, used the powered bogie from this loco as it's chassis. NIce to see you working on this, I had one when I was a kid in the U.K. and used to pretend I was in Canada and have it running over plastic wildlife that I placed on the track. Also, on these early locos the flanges were really deep because the Triang track was very coarse, but on more scale track they can make contact with the track sleepers that makes them run rough. Later locos were upgraded with different wheels with smaller flange depth.

[@simonblake5563]

Lovely loco. This model started in the early fifties and ran till the seventies, albeit with different bogies. Even though it says it was made in England it was probably assembled in Canada. There were factory's in New Zealand and Australia making local liveries and rolling stock and sometimes local locomotives. They really need code 160 track. Also the pads need heaps of oil. I soak mine, makes them run smoother band smoother. They use it up. Thanks for the great video.

[@ArcadiaJunctionHobbies]

The motor in these is from the 1950s and has to be said is excellent. The issue is the flanges on the wheels - they are made for Traing Super 4 track which is Code 120 rail. So on Code 100 track the wheels are lifted up by the frog on turnouts and electrical contact is lost. The issue is solved with filing down the flanges. But it is not easy as Triang made them from WW2 tank metal. Serious. But it can be done with patience.

[@mattstrains416]

That’s quite an interesting find in there. You’d be rich if money were in toy trains. Fun Fact: April 16th is my birthday! So that newspapers date kinda made me happy

[@reconphil]

The batteries were probably put in for weight in combination with the homemade traction tires.

[@GreyTheFloydianSergal]

These old US/CA outline tri-ang locomotives have always been a little curiousity to me as they are based loosely on prototypes from overseas for those particular markets. I think this model was also painted in an Australian scheme for that market too. It was more the home market they focused on but even then they aren't that accurate. They were sold as toys rather than models (like Hornby dublo) & tri-ang had a huge range back in the day so they won out over Hornby before buying them out & gradually taking over their identity. It wouldn't be until the late seventies when they started making more authentic models due to competition from Airfix & later palitoy's Mainline range. I prefer Mainline & Airfix locos personally because their models are so well detailed compared to tri-ang Hornby & are pretty affordable for the most part. It's weird that having that rubber goo on the wheels because tri-ang locos had magnahesion

[@JBofBrisbane]

Magnadhesion only works on steel rails. Not on modern nickel-silver.

[@jodysmith7934]

This is really awsome it sorta looks like an F-7!!!!

[@dacuzzz]

another loco brought back from the dead...good job... vinny

[@nighthawk9097]

ive got some OO gauge trains and they always preformed well on my HO scale track until they hit switches or a diamond then they sometimes jumped the track

[@JoeG-firehousewhiskey]

Youre really good at this stuff

[@SMTMainline]

Thank you!

[@peterforden5917]

your motor probably also requires remagnetizing, a common problem with older Triang 'models', you can buy a remagnetizer from the UK made by a Triang fan :)

[@joshbnsf]

Love it my friend

[@mlapoi7995]

Being a guy who used to run the older .locomotives like you do I would like to suggest if you have model railroad magazine you used to be able to access all older mags from the 50"s and up they covered a lot of the mods for Varney. AHM. Riverossi and many others. Just a tip. Keep on modeling

[@brizybutterfly]

i have a couple of RDCs that are Tri-ang with the same couplers, very cool but not something i would regularly run, more of a set of display pieces. they do run but not well.

[@sarp5340]

Tri-ang Also Made Australian Locomotives

[@antonbruce1241]

A hidden secret from the 70's??? Wow...for a second I thought you were going to find the remains of an old joint!!! After all...it WAS the 70's!!!

[@pipey61]

Triang made models in Canadian road names in the 1960s at a time when very few US manufactured models were offered in CN or CP colours. They enjoyed a certain popularity, and were offered through Simpson-Sears at Christmas. However, their lack of accuracy and detail, combined with non-compatibility to the huge market of NMRA standardized equipment led to declining sales and the eventual leaving of the North American market. A last attempt was a rebranded ATT offering of the Triang Budd RDC with horn hook couplers. But it, too, failed to make an impact against Athearn's more realistic model.

[@crsrdash-840b5]

That R55 is out of scale. Its larger than HO scale of 1/87. Its like 1/83 or something. Parts of a switch: Points - part that change the routing, frog, the section where the rails meet, wing rail - the outside guides opposite of the frog.

[@70rrsteve51]

You’re correct. That loco isn’t HO scale at 1:87, it’s OO scale at 1:76. Both HO and OO run in the same track, however.

[@Petemonster62]

SMT - You should try running this locomotive, the RDC, the blue Flying Scotsman steamer, & the green steamer with the six drive wheels on your Lemax track & see how well it works!

[@albertweir5070]

this loco is based on an Australian S class locomotive the flanges on the wheels may not run on modern traickthe old triang track was made for larger flanges on the wheels

[@willausterman3104]

It's very crudely based on an American EMD F7, which is coincidentally what the S class was also based upon. Tri-ang likely realized that later which is why it ended up exported to the Australian model market as well.

[@albertweir5070]

From 1970 they ran the trains on series three track then super 4 track the track was smaller so wrere the wheels all rolligstock will run on modern track this loco was made before that date hence the larger flanges

[@TheOldGord]

I still have my Triang CN switching locomotive from 1970.

[@cartersmodelsandreviews3492]

I thank you'll find that the locomotive isn't british as it has a door connecting it to the coachs that it would pull. I also can't find any photos of a british diesel in that design, it only came up with american locomotives that had a similar design

[@JohnJohnson-cn9fh]

some one has put that on there,triang did not have traction tyres,these were made in the 1950,s/early 60,s and were based on us and australian prototypes.jpj ps,these loco,s had very deep flanges designed for triang super 4 track.jpj pps,there is a you tube site called john,s amazing trains,where he has some reprofiled wheels for these loco,s,he has many video,s but there is one about this subject.jpj

[@Posttrip]

Hmmm…. I have two ‘Santa Fe’ RDC’s that were slightly larger then all my other HO passenger cars. It’s been boxed up for many years and now, after seeing this video, I wonder if it’s a ‘Tri-Ang.’ I never opened it up but whenever have the time and space, I will have a look. Now, I’m aware of the difference between HO ann OO scale.

[@MMRails]

Sooo cool! A time capsule! I was holding my breath for a good minute because I thought if it was money in there I’d be kicking myself. Another great job breathing life into a rusty old piece of junk. Do you think it’s a collectors item? I have matching cars and possibly track to go with it. -Mark

[@SMTMainline]

Well if it was money it still would have belonged to you. I'm not sure if it's a collectors item, I found one on ebay selling for 70 bucks but that's one in prime condition and ebay's prices are always inflated much higher then they're actual value. I will have to do more research

[@echomediatek1136]

I had a similar one, which was made by Tyco

[@JBofBrisbane]

It's surprising how much the Mantua/TYCO MU-2 drive resembles the Triang power bogie in the vid.

[@echomediatek1136]

@@JBofBrisbane IKR?! I still have that engine btw

[@dewsburydoug1347]

Because the traction tyres have been removed the flanges are now running deeper on the rails and catching the sleepers.

[@Project_29]

Hey SMT that was probably a aftermarket weight

[@michaellindsay6735]

That so cool

[@spproductions5103]

Wow cool loco

[@LukeLovesTrains-Mr.RailYard]

Those locomotives mermaid in the United Kingdom in the transcontinental line of trying trains

[@johnramirez5996]

That paper is 45 yrs old. I'm a 74 baby. Lol

[@benjaminokon-uribe9218]

You gotta get a bachmann jupiter

[@Petemonster62]

Perhaps an earlier owner added the paper & battery weight & applied liquid traction tires to the wheel treads in order to improve the locomotive's performance on code 100 track? Triang probably did not make their wheels with the RP-25 contour that the American National Model Railroad Association had recommended to HO manufacturers.

[@SMTMainline]

I suspect your correct, although I don't know how it would get power with those tires on.

[@Petemonster62]

@@SMTMainline - That is a valid point SMT! The traction tires would raise the wheels so the flanges would not hit the ties but would cause electrical contact problems.

[@markperry4165]

Ever thought about using a Xacto knife....

[@JasontheFolf]

I've never found anything in a train model, maybe that'll change.

[@kurtstrains]

What loco is that supposed to be? EMD F7? Or is it something European?

[@class_31clag]

Hey 00 gauge and ho are the same but in this era there was super 4 and there rail was fatter than code 100/75

[@michaellindsay6735]

Hay buddy i wa t to ask u a question about my lionel steam engine i ran out smoke fluids can i use cooking oil

[@SMTMainline]

I don't think that would work well.

[@JBofBrisbane]

Buy more smoke oil.

[@lendusaquid]

Baby oil

[@Petemonster62]

Michael - You could go to a pharmacy & get some Mineral Oil to try in a Lionel smoke unit. The cooking oil is for the smoke unit in a battery powered " bump & go " locomotive or a battery powered train set intended for Christmas tree operation.

[@yambo59]

Batteries for weight, never seen that before-lol

[@doggerbendrailway6002]

Old tryange locos wheels r set for code 120 track modden track is code 100

[@SMTMainline]

Oh, the thickness of the track was larger?

[@doggerbendrailway6002]

Scrumptious Model Trains yep it was higher I th8nk it was call super 4 track

[@MMRails]

This is making some sense now. I have some track that I’ve never seen before. Must belong to that train set with the different couplers. I wonder how rare it is and how much I can charge.....:)

[@SMTMainline]

10 million dollars' -dr. evil.

[@albertweir5070]

the track your running the engine on is too thin the wheels are not designed for that track they have to be turned down to fit these engines need a bit of lubrication and the communator cleaned regularly otherwise its a great runner cheers

[@antonbruce1241]

And made in England? I'm surprised that it's HO instead of OO!

[@michaelmaehle1433]

It was marketed as HO/OO, but it was incompatible with any HO equipment. From couplers to wheel flanges and Super 4/System 6 track , it was a British inroad into the North American model railroad market without reference to NMRA standards of the time. While it enjoyed success in Canada in the mid- to late 60s and early 70s, the lack of interchangeability with any other products doomed it. What made it successful was the availability of Canadian road names (CN and CP) at a time when the commercially-made US Canadian offerings were utterly unrealistic (think Tyco). But HO locos couldn't negotiate Tri-ang switches or crossings any better than Tri-ang could negotiate HO track, and eventually Tri-ang abandoned the Canadian market. There was a brief attempt by a company called Bev Bel to make some Tri-ang equipment compatible, but it, too, failed.

[@antonbruce1241]

@@michaelmaehle1433 Thanks! To quote Stan or Kyle..."I've learned something today".

[@JBofBrisbane]

HO and OO track is the same gauge (16.5mm). Triang used track with rails much taller than code 100, and wheels had really deep, thick flanges that bump along the sleeper (tie) detail and wedge in the check rails of modern turnouts and crossings.

[@johnramirez5996]

They really needed weight. At Least i would have used lead sinkers or tire weights.

[@theflyingscotsman9902]

Added weight for traction . You need to overhaul the whole motor . simple job . clean the drive/ pickup wheels . poor conducting

[@pcctrolley5813]

Cool

[@garysprandel1817]

Nick Cave will show up soon asking for your help in finding treasures

[@garysprandel1817]

Nick Cage stupid autocorrect

[@thegreatwesterntankengine2345]

Ho scale doesn't affect the oo guage wheels

[@SMTMainline]

Depends

[@markperry4165]

Or tweezers?

[@lanestewart291]

A American hornby???

[@SMTMainline]

North american Tri-ang, yes.

[@milou7300a]

clean the whell

[@soontobesopwith_production4705]

Please please PLEASE find a blue comet

[@WendyHodgkinson]

Tracks wrong you need to use series 2 grey ballasted track you get clearance on the point's then and the ridges are from the 50s motors runs perfectly fine 🙄 still using mine now on my layout

[@SMTMainline]

Ever since I added code 100 Peco switches I haven't had a problem.

[@ATSF2926Productions]

That battery is a no no

[@randolphfriend8260]

❤

[@vickiemuir1520]

I found money in a tank car

[@SMTMainline]

Cool!

[@2traingeeksproductions524]

Wow i wish i was that lucky

[@sparky107107]

well there is not much to the inside of one of those loco's. maybe you have to put 2 new batteries in it, wrapped in a new newspaper. and when needed the power jumps to the wheels mysteriously.

[@manningautogarage]

YO!!!

[@SMTMainline]

Sup!

[@laaeeh]

4:44 beard XD

[@michaellindsay6735]

Is that money

[@JBofBrisbane]

Old batteries.

[@KSR_YT06]

Alcohol is the eye this time? Lol

[@richardsharpe2602]

For future reference check this out. hornbyguide.com/service_sheet_details.asp?sheetid=165

[@petersmith4455]

first these locos were made in 1973. second to service these locos you take the 2 screws off the roof then remove the power bogie. if you are not familiar with these locos send your loco away.it sounds you don't know anything about triang power bogies.no it does not run ok.because the motor has not been stripped down and rebuilt. you are too young for these locos. stick to modern atlas locos

[@SMTMainline]

My age is irrelevant, however I will admit that I haven't had much experience working with old tri-ang locos but I don't know how you expect me to learn if I "Shouldn't" open them. Did you actually watch the whole video? I took the shell off and added lubricants to the worm gears which had both been worn out due to not having been lubricated in many years. I also don't understand why the powered trucks have to be taken apart, just as long as they are lubricated and kept free of dust and hair it really doesn't make a difference. I have also been told that removing the armature from the magnets can weaken the magnetic field so leaving it in place isn't necessarily a bad thing.

[@petersmith4455]

y@@SMTMainlines by moving the armature will affect the magnet,but after removal the magnet needs to be re magnitised and the armature windings tested then put together with new brushes.the wheels and pick ups will also need attention

[@raoulcruz4404]

You shouldn’t be messing with those locos! Lives are at stake! 🙄

[@theflyingscotsman9902]

@@petersmith4455 spot on ! Very easy motor to overhaul 👍👍

[@JBofBrisbane]

Seriously? Triang was still making this old crap in 1973, AFTER the Hornby takeover?