It is Christmas morning 1969. I am aged 11. All year long I had browsed the Triang Hornby catalogue and aware of my parents limited funds had asked for "Polly" for Christmas. Awake at 6am and excited to discover what Father Christmas had left me I fumble in near darkness through my presents to find the appropriate box shape that i had memorised from the last visit to Triang Hornby stockist. ( Model Dockyard of Melbourne). Oh dear, i couldnt find the right shape so slowly opened my presents.. Whats in this box?, a large flatish box.... another Jigsaw? No it was the Polly Pick up set RS24a.. Best Christmas ever!!
The R.355 body shell is based on the LSWR C14 class 0-4-0T departmental loco. These were rebuilt from steam rail motors. There was a Cyril Freezer scale drawing of a C14 in a 1980's issue of the Railway Modeller, as part of a feature on converting the R.355 body shell into a C14, which involved shortening the body shell by removing a section of boiler & water tanks from the cab to the next boiler band. This required a razor saw and steady hand or a mitre block for guidance. The C14's survived as departmental locos on the Southern Railway & later British Railways, being the only BR steam loco to be painted with wasp stripes on either end. All C14 locos were scrapped in the early 1960's.
I had the Hornby late version r/n 25550 which had a Scalextric motor in a plastic frame to fit the X04 slot in the chassis. It went really fast but no torque. This for me was the start of the falling quality in the model range. It's probably in my spares stock. Great video as always! Tom.
Thanks Tom, glad you enjoyed watching that I think you're right those later motors used in place of the XO4 were a bit of a cost-cutting exercise. Oscar
Hi Oscar, great to see Polly and her little train - I guess it's where many of us started with a small tank engine and a few trucks, perhaps decades ago. We owe Polly and others like her a great debt of gratitude !
Who doesn't like Polly and Nellie?! Two great classics. Maybe one day you can treat us and have both of them running around at the same time? Hope so. Thanks Oscar for another enjoyable episode. Guy
I have a LNER apple green one, (minus the steps to the cab and was purchased secondhand). The company and number decals have been replaced as some were worn or missing. Instead of displaying ‘LNER’ I decided to opt for ‘L&NER’. She’s looks similar to the ‘Y’ class locos, (which was the LNER designation for 0-4-0’s). Still good little runner too, even on PECO setrack.
What a great piece of nostalgia, along with all the other nostalgia from your layout. I remember my best friend and next door neighbour used to bring his older brothers Polly tank engine and a few trucks into my place to run on my little 8 x 3 bedroom layout ... that would have been about 1968.
Well what a lovely video. By sheer coincidence while I was watching this my daughter gave me her Father's Day present - a boxed Triang R210 Shell BP tanker! I too had a blue version of this little 0-4-0 tank loco as part of the Rural Rambler train set given to me many years ago for my sixth birthday! A perfect start to Father's Day, thank you Oscar 😊 Kind regards, Antony
Good morning Oscar, I do love Polly, she looks very nice in red. I think triang did a few of these industrial locomotives, my dad got me "Nellie" if I remember correctly she was was blue. He got that one because my mum was called Nellie, I've looked over the last few years to to get another but all the ones I've seen have been in poor shape but I'll keep looking. All your engines seem to be running very well at the moment i think there's something very comforting about hearing the clatter of the dublo over the rails so many memories. Had a little smile when you said I've done a daft thing stopping on the points, yesterday when Tom my 4½ Yr grandson did the same thing Alfie 7yr old said to him try not to stop on the points you know they stick, wise words. Thanks once again for my Sunday morning nostalgia trip. Looking forward to the next one already, Eddy xxx
Good morning Eddy, glad you enjoyed that, I was quite surprised how well this one runs on this point work, doesn't like the diamond Crossing! It's definitely a lumpy and bumpy piece of track work and optimistic in design. Great to hear your grandchildren are having fun playing with the railway. Take care. Oscar
Did not know that R114 had drop doors! Very entertaining as usual Oscar. My favourite 0-4-0 was Nellie in blue . A famous shot of one , expertly weathered by Terence Cuneo (?) features in the vol 1/2 of Pat Hammonds.
Those are wonderful little locomotives, I have the later 70's version No. 7178 with plated wheels and a newer style can motor. It took some careful adjustment of the wheel back to back and pickups in order to get it running on my Peco track but it was worth it being such a fun little loco.
Lovely little film thank you Oscar. I've a few of these, and as you say, a lovely little loco'. Yours is in wonderful condition.. One of our Later models Hornby Blue 7178, restarted model railways for me with the advent of our first child due in 1979, ( I first was started off in 1963 stopped around 72' there abouts)
Thanks for this morning's viewing. I love these little 'Nellie' types and enjoy collecting the various incarnations. As you say, they can be a little iffy over points, but the earlier track seems to suit they really well! I love how the earlier models without the silver wheels can pull fantastic long rakes of wagons! I don't know if it is right or wrong, but I have found double-sided tape to work well with those nameplates. All the best. Gord
Hi, thanks again, glad you enjoy that I was quite surprised how well she did run on these points. I have loverly looking Hymek but sadly, somebody has done the same and glued the number code on the front and the glue is visible, thanks for the great info on the double sided tape, I shall keep that in mind, I use Pritt stick, it's quite good, however, they do peel away again after a time in storage. Take care. Oscar
Like so many others, I have a fondness for these little locos. I've seen so many with a vertical split around that body screw and missing steps and the funnel is often missing. I've ground many of those back weights down. Did you know this body shell was still being made long after it disappeared from the Hornby range. It appeared as a "Push Along" version with names like "Pixie", "Dixie" and even "Postman Pat". With a little bit of drilling they will fit the old chassis. Thanks again Oscar for another great Sunday morning video.
Hi thanks for the reply, I've got some 3 rail which I enjoy, I've just accuired a Hornby Dublo LT25 8F loco & tender, initially it didn't work and I found one of the brushes fell out, it's running smoothly on the 3 rail now but not really fast, any I should be looking for as I'm pretty new to 3 rail, thanks John
Thanks for a great video. I like the way you admit to mistakes - which encourages me, given that my layout is nowhere near as complicated as yours but I still forget to close points etc. Also Polly behaved beautifully!
My first electric Triang model loco, after two clockwork ones (one black with red wheels and one red). Super 4 track and lots of unpainted plastic wagons. All still in the loft somewhere..
Good morning Oscar. I’m having my Sunday morning Oscar time on Tuesday this week as I was in Spain without internet access this weekend. Nevertheless a great video. Thanks for sharing. Roy.
Hi Oscar, Languishing on an island mid Atlantic and comms are a bit behind, back to business. Lovely video and as previously mentioned a great introduction to model railways. I remember buying a set in the late 70s for my son, I still have the blue 0-4-0 but have forgotten the name, runs well but been in the wars. Re the lift out section, I have had a look at a good many YT videos on the subject and my section is 36”x26” MDF with 2” battens so a fair weight. With that in mind and my flexibility or lack of it, I will be giving the hinged version a go with a stay, these hinges being camouflaged with some greenery or line side huts. Still very much work in progress and day to day life getting in the way 😂. ATB, Gordon
Good morning Gordon, great to hear you still have the 0-4-0 after all that time, there is a lot of life in these little model, locomotives, irrespective of there cosmetic appearance, great fun items. Nice to hear more about your railways lift out section sounds nice and sturdy, I don't think there's ever any real rush with these things, everything always seems to take me a lot longer than I anticipated, and always great fun along the way. Thanks again take care. Oscar
I wonder why modern loco's can't run as good as little Polly. Modern 0-4-0's tend to struggle over even modern points, yet little Polly could fly over the SEries 3 points with ease. It really shows these older models, although lacking the detail, were made so much better when they can run so nicely over 60 years later.
Good morning Oscar. Again, your skills are on YT for us to enjoy on a Sunday morning. Talking of exuberant activity, Mr Snooze had some marvellous footage of a Polly performing some acrobatics...
Hi Osacar ,, what you have there is the same type of loco as what started my train obsession when i was a small child. It was christmas 1973 and i got my first trainset from santaclaws (later found out that it was mum who had won the lottery and bought it for me) with a green little 0-4-0 loco called connie , a grey open wagon and a light blue insulfish van and an open ended grey guards van. For the life of me i can not remember what transformer came with it but i do know there was only a circle of track and was going around and round in circles. Thanks again for for the memories oscar. Cheers from John in Australia
Good morning John, glad you enjoyed that, terrific to hear about that set that Santa Claus brought you. Amazing how things can develop into an interest. My interests started again after many years of no interest in model railways simply by seeing the red and yellow boxes that I used to have as a child. Thanks again take care. Oscar
@@oscarpaisley,, Also I forgot to put in my last comment. You probably knowmthis but the buffers on any loco or carriage to tell or a good way to tell is if you put the buffers on the under side of your forearm and if they are cold to the touch on your skin then they are metal ,, almost the same way you test the temperature of a babys bottle before you give it to a baby. Theres 1 good thing iv learned from doing scrap metal for 30 years is that anything that comes from the ground is cold to touch like steel brass aluminum rocks and stones etc and most things like plastics and wood are at room temperature or are a warmer temperature. Cheers from John in Australia
nice to see a pristine Polly working really well..my one is repainted black, I milliputted round cab windows and gave it a ficticious number based on the C14 class. It runs well but is iffy on my Peco points..
Hi, thanks for watching, sounds like a great bit of modelling, many of these will have been the base for a bit of creativity and fun. Have you seen the terrific variation that Mr Snooze made on his channel? I've added a link below. Take care. Oscar ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-RMcbea9iw9Y.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-m05eB5qJ11M.html
I always loved this style 0-4-0. I wish Hornby still made these. Not a big fan of the 0-4-0 they make now. I did take the chassis off 1 and put it under 1 of these. Runs great. The original drive was toast
Good morning Oscar, its Martin from Hull in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Great video as always, i remember these little 0.4.0.s, wouldn't it be nice to have one of each color that was produced. Do you know how many different ones were available and did Hornby bring out any special editions ? A cup of tea, a toasted tea cake and one of your excellent videos is the best way to start a Sunday morning. Keep safe Oscar. 👍🚂🚃🚃🚃
Hi Martin, I think the original colours were red yellow and blue in the 60s Plus variations on names and numbers and then they got into making a more variations on these throughout the 70s. Lots to hunt for as a collection? Thanks again take care. Oscar
Hi Oscar, Polly operated over the Series 3 Points better than expected, but still managed a 'stutter' on the Diamond crossing? My Grandson has run a number of these 4 wheeled locos on his Series 3 track, and they have been pretty satisfying.. He actually had more problems with his early 0-6-0 Jintys and Diesel Shunters .. They both have wheels that are a bit worn and tended to 'waddle' down the track, lifting a wheel off of the point rails as the other end dropped into the frogs.. The "blind" middle pair of wheels really do nothing to help with power pick up, as their only connection is via the connecting rods on the insulated side.. (They also sit slightly above the rail and rarely make contact anyway). I wish that Hornby still made the "simple" but durable locos like those of the past, (and with the long lasting "old" X04 motors, or maybe a 5 pole version)?? All of the "new" locos seem rather light and paltry by comparison? We have already had to replace a 'can' motor on a later 0-4-0 loco.. No matter what is running though, Tri-ang / Hornby are always great fun for all ages...
Good morning Robin, I have been quite surprised how well this little locomotive worked on the railway, on the diamond crossings its wheel spacing and size of wheels encourages it to fall into the gaps! causing the lift off /loss of contact you mention. There is a step partway along the frog which I think it's supposed to alleviate some of this rocking motion, a number of the old items have flange depths which seem to create the opposite effect and add more of a lift off, all good fun. Thanks again for watching take care. Oscar
Hi, thanks for watching glad you found it interesting. Music was created for me by a friend using Royalty-free Apple loops and Royalty-free loops from Looperman.com in GarageBand. Oscar
That is for the first use of the chassis in 1959 in the R.254 0-4-0 Steeple Cab electric locomotive with operating pantograph. Pre the 1961 Nellie. Oscar explains more of this here : ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-_EGELszmijM.html With actual ovehead pick up unlike current production electric models,
Hi, the letters on the chassis are used to indicate insulated side and the return side for ease of use with the overhead power system, this chassis was originally designed for the R.254 Steeple Cab to take advantage of the overhead power system. I've included some text for reference below from the instructions that come with the locomotives for use with the overhead power supply. The chassis went on to be used in a number of other models. (Tri-ang Railways locomotives designed to operate with the Overhead Power Supply System collect current from the overhead Catenaries through operating pantographs. Alternatively, they may be powered from the track- in the same way as other Tri-ang Railways locomotives. Each locomotive is fitted with a three-position switch permitting the instant selection of overhead (OH) or track(TK) control. The central position (N) isolates the locomotive from both Overhead Power Supply System and track control and permits the model to stand on the track without interfering electrically with the operation of other locomotives. When placing a locomotive on the track for overhead operation it is essential that the insulated side is nearest to the Power Mast which is to provide the power for that particular locomotive. The insulated side is the side identified by the letter ‘I’ embossed on the chassis of R.254 Steeple-cab locomotive and on the power bogies of R.257 and R.351 locomotives as shown in Figs. 13, 14 and 15. The opposite sides of the models are marked 'R'. This indicates the Return side of the locomotive and is the side on which the current returns to the track. It is possible to operate two locomotives on the same circuit of track from the Overhead Power Supply System each under independent control, provided that no locomotives using normal track control are being employed on the same circuit of track. To do this, two power masts must be fitted, one on each side of the track, each having an independent supply of 12/15 volts D.C., and the locomotives must be placed on the track facing correctly in relation to their respective power masts.) Also link here to terrific pictures of the steeple cab. www.tri-ang.co.uk/Ohd1.html Thanks for watching take care. Oscar
