Trix Western

Although I've never really encountered these in real life, I've wanted a Western for some time.

The closest I'd come so far was when I purchased a job-lot of re-worked Bo-Bo & Co-Co chassis that had been modified to accommodate Trix Western & Warship bodies. Sadly they were held in position using blu-tac and didn't look good enough to show, so the chassis and motor components were slowly recycled and have been put to good use over the years, allowing me to convert the Brighton Belle and several SR EMUs to three rail operation using the leftover wheels, and several Co-Co restorations, most recently the St Paddy, using the spare motor bogie.

So when this Trix Western appeared on Ebay, I snapped it up for the reasonable sum of £30. 

My knowledge of Trix is limited but I am aware of their Trix Twin three rail system, which although looks similar to HD allows independant operation of two trains on the same track. As this model was produced in both two and three rail versions. logically there would be room under the axles for a third rail pick-up!

Dismantling was dead easy, both powered and non-powered bogies, complete with housings are prised from the plastic body. No remedial work required on the motor itself, it's in good condition and even both lights work.

Although I originally planned to install a genuine HD pick-up assembly, the clearance underneath looked too tight, also there is a large weight that sits above the non-powered bogie, which would be difficult to reinstall and will be required to counteract the resistance of the pick-up. So I went with the Marklin skate instead (plus it can be mounted with one small screw!)

A relatively easy conversion that's now happily running around the loft test track.