Can anyone here give me information on this old collectors set?

Andrew Hamilton Nov 1, 2015

  1. Andrew Hamilton

    Andrew Hamilton TrainBoard Member

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    I picked this up on Ebay some time ago. I know , it is a British set but my Mother was a war bride from London England so I like to have a few British Pieces even though my collection is North American.

    The Box says Model Power/ Minitrix Limited Edition Number 0940

    Anyway, I picked this up at a reasonable price and have only seen one or two on Ebay since and they went for a huge price. It is in a nice wooden box with a dedication paper inside which incidently is full of errors. The engine is one of the famous Gresley A4 class Pacifics and the engines name is Sir Nigel Gresley. I have watched many videos of this engine in real life as it is preserved, also her more famous sister Mallard.

    Forgot to ad... The engine runs beautifully.

    Anyway, anyone here know the history on this set. There seems to be very little about it on the internet.

    Thanks again!

    IMG_0416.jpg
     
    Last edited: Nov 1, 2015
  2. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Can't help on this one. Gotta believe someone will know.
     
  3. Andrew Hamilton

    Andrew Hamilton TrainBoard Member

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    I hope so. What I have been able to find out so far is that the engine is likely 30+ years old as Mintrix hasn't made this model for that long. Every now and then you see a Minitrix A4, Usually Mallard crop up on Ebay. For the age of this you would be amazed at how well it runs. I was.
     
  4. gcav17

    gcav17 TrainBoard Member

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    I have only seen this once. The old hobby shop in Boone, (its gone now :-( ) Had one of these sets, two "Crocodile " sets, and another one similar, but I believe the engine was red and a different set of cars. I was interested but he wanted somewhere around $350 bucks for each. Mike (the owner then) said they were collectible because so few were produced and it came in that pretty wood box. But I would say you got a rare set. I looked for them also and could not find one two years ago anywhere.. I would be interested to know if that is where you found this.. Been lookin for Mike.........
     
  5. Locomotion

    Locomotion TrainBoard Member

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    Can't find any references to this set specifically but it may be an unofficial tie in to the 50th anniversary of Mallards world record run (1938-1988).
    The loco is in its preservation era colours but the coaches are the network corporate colours for late 60's to late 80's.
    They may have used Sir Nigel instead of Mallard to avoid any copyright issues.
    Sir Nigel is the post war steam speed record holder anyway, timed on a scheduled service with full passenger consist.
     
  6. Andrew Hamilton

    Andrew Hamilton TrainBoard Member

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    I bought this on Ebay. Was able to get a second set of cars without the engine or box the same week. Thanks for the info
     
  7. JMaurer1

    JMaurer1 TrainBoard Member

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  8. Andrew Hamilton

    Andrew Hamilton TrainBoard Member

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    Thanks for the try though. :)
     
  9. Andrew Hamilton

    Andrew Hamilton TrainBoard Member

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  10. r_i_straw

    r_i_straw Mostly N Scale Staff Member

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    I got to ride on those old MK1 coaches once. Although not behind steam.:(
     
  11. steamghost

    steamghost TrainBoard Member

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    I first saw these sets sometime in the 1980s, well before getting into N scale; they might date from a bit earlier. There were other wooden box sets as noted above, all historic locos. The locos were available separately, too. One release not mentioned was the Flying Scotsman. EDIT: The Santa Fe set mentioned above is noted by seller as Model Power/Minitrix, so it's earlier than about 1980, after which Con-Cor distributed Minitrix in the US.

    Fairly scarce in the US maybe (I wouldn't say rare), but so were the US buyers. There were always LHSs that had one box set or another as almost the only N scale they had available. The sets weren't cheap as it was a Trix product, but you got the quality as you have noted.

    Now is this one really 1:160 or made to fit an existing 4-6-2 mechanism? I'm guessing the latter.
     
    Last edited: Nov 3, 2015
  12. James Norris

    James Norris TrainBoard Supporter

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    Here is the background on the engine..

    http://www.spookshow.net/loco2/trix2900.html

    Out of interest, when you say "full of errors" do you mean spelling or factual? If its spelling it may be because it is written in English rather than US English. After living in SF for a few years I lent there was a lot of differences! :)

    -James
     
  13. Adrian Wintle

    Adrian Wintle TrainBoard Member

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    It wouldn't be 1:160 anyway, it would be 1:148 to match the rest of the British N-scale. The Minitrix Mk1 coaches are definitely (an interpretation of) 1:148 scale. As the link above indicates, it was also put on an existing mechanism.

    Adrian
     
  14. Andrew Hamilton

    Andrew Hamilton TrainBoard Member

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    Thanks for your input James

    The errors I was referring to are definitely factual. In the Historical Presentation sheet glued in the inside front cover they say " In 1938 this 240 ton Mallard type loco achieved a world speed record of 126 mph. thus capturing the speed record held by the Germans "

    To start with it is not a Mallard Class loco, it is a Class A4 and they are confusing the the two engines and the record set by Mallard on this date. Sir Nigel Gresley is the holder of the postwar steam record speed of 112 miles per hour (180 km/h) gained on 23 May 1959 and carries a plaque to that effect. Personally I think this record is more impressive than Mallard's record because it was on a normal train full of passengers and was not staged under perfect conditions. Just my opinion.

    They went on to later say " In the mid 60s a revived interest took place in this locomotive numbered 4468. "

    4468 was Mallard's number. 4498 is the correct number for Sir Nigel Gresley.

    I think they should have spent a little more time researching the actual facts before printing this. I may do up another sheet that is corrected but I will keep the original one intact to keep the collection original.
     
    Last edited: Nov 3, 2015
  15. Andrew Hamilton

    Andrew Hamilton TrainBoard Member

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    Yes Thank You James!

    I have seen this page and it does shed some light on the engines but unfortunately not the boxed sets.

    I use this site as my N scale reference bible before I buy any used or new engine.

    Thanks again for your input

    Andy
     
  16. gcav17

    gcav17 TrainBoard Member

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    Thanks to Spookshow, many of us have been steered clear of bad choices, learned how a certain model works, or just gave us info to fill our nsane heads.
    Thanks Spook! !!!

    Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
     
  17. James Norris

    James Norris TrainBoard Supporter

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    Hi Andy,

    I see what you mean, yep there facts suck! And yes the Sir Nigel Gresley record is a great one! I guess you already know this, but the person Sir Nigel Gresley was the designer of the Class A4 locomotive, as well as many others.

    Sorry I could not be any more help on the box set, out of interest what is written on the bottom of the coaches?

    -James
     
  18. Andrew Hamilton

    Andrew Hamilton TrainBoard Member

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    Yes I was aware of Sir Nigel Gresley and all the famous things he designed.

    On the bottom of the coaches it says " TRIX Western Germany"

    I also have a set of 5 Gresley Teak Coaches made by Dapol of England. They are really highly detailed cars and have a beautiful look to them. I might post a few pics of them later.

    Thanks for trying to find information on this set for me.
     

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