Bring out yer dead

[cmason]

Ibertren 3-rail (I have a complete set to run this on)

I too have a 3-rail Ibertern loco acquired around 50 +/- years ago from a schoolmate who had got it when on a holiday in Spain with his family - I cannot remember what I swapped it for, although I do not believe it was for a model railway item -however, after years and years of moves, some sections got lost and I no longer have all the track needed to make an oval - so basically nothing to run  the loco on. Any pointers to sources of 2nd hand Ibertren? I guess one might have to visit Spain...

Colin.

[ntpntpntp]

@cmason   the 3-rail track and pointwork does appear on ebay from time to time, but not very often.  Watch for "Bertren" as well as "Ibertren"  as some folk misread the branding.  If it's boxed track then look for "3N" labelling (not "2N").  Check photos very carefully, make sure you can see the raised contacts in the plain track and the centre rail on the points.

I found some 3N diamond crossings on ebay at the moment, and a couple of old 3-rail sets, but nothing else in the way of track bundles.

[cmason]

@cmason  the 3-rail track and pointwork does appear on ebay from time to time, but not very often.  Watch for "Bertren" as well as "Ibertren"  as some folk misread the branding.  If it's boxed track then look for "3N" labelling (not "2N").  Check photos very carefully, make sure you can see the raised contacts in the plain track and the centre rail on the points.

I found some 3N diamond crossings on ebay at the moment, and a couple of old 3-rail sets, but nothing else in the way of track bundles.

@ntpntpntp - yes, not a lot on ebay, and an outrageous shipping cost from Spain for the crossovers - could probably fund a flight from the cost of buying a few bits... however you set me looking and I found this Spanish auction site - https://www.todocoleccion.net/buscador?from=top&mostrar=t&navegacion=g&orden=r&bu=ibertren+3N - pricing seems reasonable - just need to spend some time investigating shipping costs.

Could be worth it to get that old engine running after all these years.

Colin.

[icairns]

My modest contribution to this thread is a Langley Class 25 white metal kit on a Lifelike GP 40 chassis.  I am guessing I made this kit 30-40 years ago.

The Lifelike GP 40 chassis was not the best of runners and shedding a traction tyre hasn't improved things, although the metal loco body does provide a good bit of adhesion. 

Hopefully, I think my modelling skills may have improved slightly in the intervening 30-plus years, although this is open for debate.

The Langley model has long since been replaced on Ferryhill by a Graham Farish Class 25 although this model is looking a bit long in the tooth, too.

Ian

[ntpntpntp]

@icairns those old Life-Life / Mehanotehnika chassis were cheap and easy to cut up.  At least the motor was a 5-pole even if it rattled a bit!

[Roy L S]

@icairns, that looks a pretty nice job and is a reminder that back then that if N Gauge modellers wanted a particular loco we had to work with what was available, which was way less than these days and a kit or scratch-build on whatever chassis was available was often the only game in town.

[Papyrus]

Just caught up with this thread - some very interesting old locos there! My first loco was a Lima shunter (stop sniggering at the back...) which Mrs Papyrus Mk1 bought me in the mid-80s, along with some track and wagons to get me started. I ditched the body and used the chassis in a kit-built Wisbech and Upwell J70:



Yes, yes, I know the J70 is an 0-6-0 and the chassis is a four-wheeler but you can't tell underneath the valancing. Still runs well. I subsequently bought a Lima Class 31 which was so poor it wouldn't even pull itself along, let alone a train, so I got rid of it. Knowing what I know now it obviously needed new traction tyres, which I didn't even know were a thing in those days. All the locos I had then were either second-hand or a kit, including:

Farish Black 5, subsequently sold,
L&Y Aspinall saddle tank on a Farish chassis (awaiting repair),
Langley B1, ditto, (still runs well)
Farish Jinty, of course, (still runs),
and the granddaddy of them all, a Farish Holden tank (currently in bits awaiting a new motor).

Since I got back into the hobby I've acquired among others 3 Minitrix Britannias, 2 Class 27s (still not sure why), an Ivatt 2-6-0 and another Jinty, most of which need working on but I'm confident I can get them running again. In fact, I've still only ever bought one loco from new. I'd much rather renovate something old and bomb-proof than buy something new and fragile.

Cheers,

Chris

[Newportnobby]

Much though I like the latest detailed models, it's a sad fact that when I take stock to a show to run it's always my older versions as they'll run all day and bits won't fall of them if I sneeze in the vicinity

[Hiawatha]

I'll start the ball rolling with this Concor (made my Roco) F3a from 1979.  Bought at a show recently for next to nothing, she's got a bit of a wobble but runs well and looks pretty good as well I think.  Doing pretty well for a 45yr old!

Interesting: The Roco F3 is a "Phase I" as it has three portholes – never noticed that before. I always thought that Kato's early F3s were the only Phase I's that were produced. The Katos were introduced in 1988, so are just nine years younger than Roco's – but the detailing of the shell is still contemporary. The F3 Phase II in the background is a much more recent release, and there have been a few improvement in the printing, like the silver plates on the doors and the numberboards (now also lighted) but overall the units from 1988 still hold up very well 37 years later. (Single headlamp is correct for the Santa Fe F3 as built but it should have the large numberboards.)
Yes, there are now F units from Broadway Limited that are even better detailed with photoetched grilles etc. but honestly, in N I don't need more details than Kato's engines offer.





These are the oldest items I have, some are older than me. The early Minitrix "push-Trix" T3 was the only locomotive that made it into the 1964 "Minitrix electric" range. They had to enlarge the cab to fit the motor.
The electric T3 and colourful wagons are from the 1973 starter set 1033 – the first N my grandpa bought. This must have been the cheapest starter set of all as the T3 does not even have red wheels and rods like all others.





The Minitrix push-Trix were much more realistic than what Arnold had to offer at the time. The green coach is from Arnold's initial "rapido 200" range from 1960–63. But just four years after these coaches were retired, Arnold was the first manufacturer to offer full-length 26.4 m coaches – 165 mm in N, like the one in the background. This one is not from 1967 but from the 1990s, so has a few improvements like finer window frames. But the bodyshell was still derived from the original 1967 release.
Full-length coaches were not even produced in H0 at the time, so this was a spectacular development to transform N scale away from childish toy to realistic model railway.





And from Fleischmann's humble beginnings in N – the first <piccolo> items from 1968:



Officially, Fleischmann celebrates 1969 as their entry year to N scale with the class 050 2-10-0 and some wagons. But in fact the 2000 set was already introduced the year before. I have read that this was more aimed at H0 modellers for a narrow-gauge industrial railway but the sticker clearly says N=9mm=1:160, so this isn't true.
For 1970 all item numbers were changed, and set 2000 became 9369 which was available until 1974. The print on the tray can be found with "FLEISCHMANN <piccolo> 2000", "FLEISCHMANN <piccolo> 9369" and then just "FLEISCHMANN <piccolo>" of which the first version was once considered extremely rare.
I have a Fleischmann variations guide were this set has a footnote that they can't give a price range as it is such a special collectors item. But that was before ebay ... now, when this set appears every now and then, it usually sells for less than €50.

[Webbo]

Here is my very first British N gauge loco and the only one of my assemblage that dates pre 2010. It is an LMS Fowler 0-6-0 4F made by Lima. I can't remember when I obtained this loco, but it was certainly pre 1980. This particular model was introduced in 1975.



Lima has a reputation of being rather careless with the scaling of their UK offerings. A nominal N gauge scale can range from 1:160 all the way up to somewhat overscale. My little 4F looks to me as if it is scaled about right. To me, it is a handsome looking locomotive.

This loco would have run less than 1 hour total in 45 years and is understandably a bit 'stiff'. It now runs somewhat okay, but I'm certain it could use a good lube. The second photo shows the motor in the tender. To be honest, I'm frightened of disassembling such a strange looking beast for oiling as it looks like it would spring apart.



Webbo

[Bealman]

Awesomely cool, Ian. It is way overscale, though.

I wouldn't think about fiddling with that motor either! Reminds me a bit of the Hornby Dublo Ringfield Motor.

[ntpntpntp]

@Webbo @Bealman  those old Lima mechs are very easy to dismantle and service so don't be scared.  Only remove the cover plate if you need to clean the commutator.  Don't lose the brushes as originals are very hard to find now.

I would suggest just the tiniest pin-drop of oil on the motor bearings, and keep the wheels spotless.

[Stuarted]

@Webbo
That Lima 4F was my first N-Gauge loco too, purchased in the late 1970s from the model shop in the shopping precinct by Chester market. It was most definitely over scale but ran alright. Your photo made me feel quite nostalgic. I'm afraid I disposed of my old Lima items some time ago.

Stuart

[Webbo]

George tells us that the Lima 4F is way over scale and Stuart agrees it is definitely overscale, but I'm not so sure it is really any worse than any other N gauge model.

Wikepedia lists the length of the prototype tender+loco as 52' presumably across the buffers. My model is 59' scale (1:160) across the buffers, but there is an enormous gap of 4' between the loco and tender on the model. If I reduce that gap to 2' which looks more correct from 4F photos (see photo), then my model would be a scaled 57' long. Now N gauge in the UK is overscale by 160/148 = 1.08 so a 52' prototype would scale to an effective length of 56.2'. So, it would seem that the Lima 4F is overscale to the tune of 57' versus 56.2' in N gauge scaling terms. Not much! So, it seems to me this loco is really not noticeably more overscale than any other N gauge model.



Sorry about the convoluted arithmetic.
Webbo     

[Bealman]

You're probably correct, but to me it just doesn't look right. Too high, or something. The gap between cab and tender might exasperate this, I dunno.

I might be just fussy.