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Christmas O-gauge alert

I was in Focus DiY today, and spotted a trainset for 29.99, battery powered, infrared remote control. It is approximately O-gauge, actually

30mm between the rails, just too tight for Hornby and Lima stuff, but I'll take that as a challenge, not a failing.

What you get for your money is some plastic track, enough curves for two complete circles, 4 straights, 2 points, a level crossing straight and an uncoupling straight, accessories like trees and a small station, three wagons, and the engine with tender. The engine is actually an

0-6-0 tank with outside cylinders, but it is coupled to a 4-wheel tender containing the six AA batteries, infra-red receiver, and the chip for sounds. The engine has a smoke unit fitted, but it emits smoke at about one-quarter of the rate it should. It has 2 speeds in each direction. It looks continental in appearance, not American, and the three wagons could be English.

Apart from the obvious ( rip the body off and plasticard up an Ilfracombe Goods or an O1), the two points mean you could build an Inglenook shunting puzzle, and the running is excellent, allowing for the fact that it is a little faster than you would like for shunting.

But for the money, great fun. Charge up a few batteries and you could be shunting before the turkey is even finished.

Reply to
Albert Ross
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One of these, I presume:

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Looks a bit like the "Big Big Train" set that I had as a kid. Heck, that takes me back a bit, I've just come over all nostalgic :-)

Mark

Reply to
Mark Goodge

"Royal Express" ?

With a tank, a flat and an open wagon ?

So, where does Queenie & Phil the Greek sit ?

Cheers, Martyn

Reply to
M Roberts

Wherever they want, she's the boss

Reply to
Trev

In message , M Roberts writes

I thought she was known as Brenda

Reply to
Jane Sullivan

Indeed

I still have bit of Triang BBT left, like you say, stirs up memories of rug-railways.

For anyone hoping to buy one of these sets, chop it about, and then produce an IR-controlled super-scale 7mm shunting layout, a word of warning. There is a minimum on time of about a second, which made shunting a bit tricky with freshly-charged Nicads. I set up all the track to give a pear-shaped loop and a couple of inner sidings and tried playing Inglenook games. With the run-down batteries it was fine, but after swapping them over I found that you have to wait for about 2 seconds from start before the train will act on the stop command. Scattered a few trucks before I got the hang of it. Oh, and there are only two speeds, fairly fast, and almost perceptibly faster. But it _is_ good fun.

Reply to
Albert Ross

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