Bing!

 

A few weeks back I lucked into a long sought after item - a Bing 00 locomotive. 

This was an American market electric, resplendent in flag decals (including an Imperial Japanese Navy flag), which were no doubt added sometime late in its life. The lead wheels are missing, and honestly the tiny locomotive looks as though it had been stomped on. 

Yet I managed to get it running. I have to still replace the lead wheels, but it runs. 

Then, last week, my friend Jack sent me another one, the mechanical (clockwork) version. 

Like the electric, it was meant for the American market, though according to my friend this came by way of Australia, and it is also missing the lead wheels. 

Sadly, one of the brass gears is completely worn through by the spring gear, so it isn't running (at the moment?). 

Yet to have these two rarities, running or not, is a joy. This is where 00/H0 began, after all. Soon other companies would begin churning out relatively small models, and they would gradually transition from toy-like to scale (indeed - here in the United States the emphasis on scale was paramount, likewise for many in the UK). 

Frankly, I feel blessed to have them. 

Well, That Turned Out Differently Than Expected

As I have mentioned here in my blog I have decided to use Trix Bakelite track for my layout. So far it has worked mostly well. 

Mostly, that is. 

The trouble are the turnouts (points). 

Trix 00/H0 track owes its geometry to Bing 00/H0 track. When Henry Greenly first imagined what would become 00/H0, he was fairly generous with some of the dimensions, specifically the flanges and wheels. Not only were the flanges tall, they were also wide, as were the wheels themselves. For this reason the track was designed accordingly. Trix followed this practice as well. 

This leads to unexpected problems. 

Left to right, Trix, Tri-Ang Series 3, Fleischmann Standard, Hornby 00

Whilst my Trix (and Bing) locomotives glide through the turnouts with relative ease, models with smaller flanges derail. 

The problem is the gap betwixt the stock and guard rails on the diverging track. 

Since Trix had to work with models on thick flanges, the guard rail gap is almost 3mm (about 1/8"). This allows for excessive lateral play on thinner flanges, with the net result being a derailment. The Tri-Ang, Fleishmann, and Hornby turnouts/points have a narrower gap, more like 2mm (around 3/32"). That slight change is enough to work effectively with those thinner flanges. 

There is of course a however. 

The one Trix locomotive I have that is two rail (an Aristo-Craft/Polk's import) derails on the other brands for the opposite reason - it rides up onto the guardrails and then derails. 

Not all of my thin flanged models have problems with the Trix track. The ones that have taller flanges (most of the early imported models) slip right through them fine. 

Yet my American made gear cannot handle those turnouts, having been undone by the quest for a more scale like appearance. 

What is to be done?

Some of my locomotives have been sold. Others will be restricted to mainline only. After all, I have put a lot of work into some of them, and I hate to see them go.