# Those colourful little engines in UK...



## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

are often seen running around in friendly little bunches, for one reason or another, and in this 7-minute movie, we can see the recently-built Pacific 'Tornado' hauling 'Mallard' and couple of spacer passenger coaches, and then the new dismal 'Prince William' to a meet-up in the Steam Hertage Centre at Shildon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAcJ...grec_index

Enjoy!

tac
http://www.ovgrs.org/


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## Cougar Rock Rail (Jan 2, 2008)

Excellent! Thanks Tac! At one point she broke loose for a few revolutions--at least they were making her work! 

Keith


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## stevedenver (Jan 6, 2008)

Tornado and William are really useful engines!

lol

actually i really enjoyed the video-very atmospheric -lovely light-and
i really enjoyed the diesel idling-

as an aside 
one of my earliiest childhood memories
-after wooden brio like trains
was getting a Mallard in diecast-perhaps Lesney?? perhaps not, about n scale size
but i recall it was made in england ( i have always loved english stuff, and as a child of the 50's, it was synonmous with the best )


i recall some sort of pre-n scale cast track in grey to go with it-only a few sections or so
-at a toy shop, on a saturday outing with my mom to farmers market in LA

i remember, as a young yank, how unusual the Mallard looked to me -i was im guessing 3-4 yrs-
had never seen anything like it

and i recall even then, i evoked in me the feeling of blinding locomotive speed

The Mallard is truly a thing of beauty-as are all the Gresleys IMHO


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

Steve - you would have had a now very rare push-along version of what later became known as Treble-O [OOO] electric models that actually were exactly as you describe - die-cast and running on grey cast track. I have six sections of it in front of me this very minute. They were a series of tiny model trains in the mid-to-late 1950's made by the company called DCMT - Die-Cast Metal toys - their trademark was 'Lone Star' and they also made a huge range of cap guns too, as well as a range of farm machinery and loads of other stuff. My late Great Uncle John [Jack] Whetnall was MD of the holding company, Chad Valley Toys. 

Some bright spark in the factory had the great idea of putting a tiny electric motor in the American diesel model - again, in front of me - a reasonable version of an FA - and using tiny rubber bands to drive the thing along directly from the ends of the armature to the axles, and calling it Treble-O-lectric. The rail gauge of the improved plastic and metal track was 9mm - sound familiar? 

Over in Germany, the toy company Gebruder Arnold GmbH produced a near-scale model of a little German tank loco, made some better track and the world was introduced to N scale! The 'N' stood for German 'neun' - nine for 9mm. 

The rest, as they say, is History, Sir! 

Best 

tac 
www.ovgrs.org


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## Cougar Rock Rail (Jan 2, 2008)

It's little bits of historical gold like that that keep me coming back....thanks Tac! 

Keith


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## stevedenver (Jan 6, 2008)

tac -lone star-- a red star logo i think- (one might think that after 37 years of all the single malt, such things would dim-but nooooooooooooooo...........!!!..cant remember where my glasses are from this morininng tho) 
i do recall that-they made click over switches as well, not unliek todays peco versions-was it in fact english?-but i also recall loving the stuff -and it having euro style sleepers and chairs, am i right? and a twist to attach them -i think opposite ends, sides had a hook like arm and a receiver to attach sections
and never finding the damned track with the cars in the store, and always odd bits-a box car, no engine, a tender, etc., 
-i seem to recall that after some time-finally, i say some curved sections 

but the series was truly an inspiration to me a child-i loved all things miniature-having started with American Flyer and moving onto the more realistic 2 rail HO, 

i can clearly recall my 8th birthday-a small fairly detailed very very small plastic train as a cake decoration-thinking -'if only it ran'-it was a F diesel 
eventually z scale did show up 

and i recall my first n scale car-$1.50 for a blue B and M hopper-just amazed at the flat paint, the celver rapido style couplers, 
alas i digress 

well, thats been some fun remembrance


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

Posted By stevedenver on 12 May 2011 04:24 PM 
tac -lone star-- a red star logo i think- (one might think that after 37 years of all the single malt, such things would dim-but nooooooooooooooo...........!!!..cant remember where my glasses are from this morininng tho) 
i do recall that-they made click over switches as well, not unliek todays peco versions-was it in fact english?-but i also recall loving the stuff -and it having euro style sleepers and chairs, am i right? and a twist to attach them -i think opposite ends, sides had a hook like arm and a receiver to attach sectionswell, thats been some fun remembrance...


The 'Red star' was the company logo right enough. Click-over switches and doll's head joiners are it. Totally English in every way, shape and form, until the Germans muscled in and took over the idea. Great acrimony there, I recall. 

Glad to have made some memories for you both, and apologies for digressing. My head is soooooooooooooooo full of this stuff [near eiditic memory, y'see, even if some of what I remember is just wrong].

I recall vividly my first-ever little train ride, behind a live-steam park railroad loco called, appropriately enough, 'Canadian Chief'.


Now, back to the studio.....

tac
http://www.ovgrs.org/


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