Trix Twin Railway
©
Copyright 1998 - 2012
Garry Lefevre
Exhibition Layouts from around
the World
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Trix
as a teenager !
1948 to 1965
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The first picture of a professional layout I have after the war is
this one taken in 1948. This was at the Central Hall Westminster,
London at the annual model railway show. It shows on the right Siegfried
Kahn and Franz Bing, whilst on the far left is Bill Best manager of Trix Ltd. The layout is similar to the
one below without scenery. |
The above layout was first shown at the BIF in 1950. Afterwards it went on tour round department stores
in the UK. With minor modifications it was used in 1951 and 1952
exhibitions.
The gravity fed
shunting yard can be seen clearly in this picture. I remember how fascinated I
was as a young boy to see the locos run forward and back (never stalling) and
pushing goods wagons down the slope where after auto uncoupling they ran into
one of the sidings, each point operated by remote. The times were displayed for the next full
show as in between the locos had to be serviced. Something we collectors of TTR know all about
to day
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A Britains
Lilliput collector : George Burton added the
following information about the picture on the right : This is
interesting from the Lilliput viewpoint in that it shows the Fordson Tractor, Hurdles and Sheep in front of the
station in the centre. Beyond the station are what
look like the fronts of Lilliput cars. There are also two horse-drawn items
which look like the pre-WW2 Britains Gas Cylinder
Trailers modified to have a Lilliput horse pulling them. Lilliput was not
introduced until 1951 - the earliest reference found so far is an advert in
the Meccano Magazine for the Tractor in March 1951.
The supposition is that Britains supplied Trix with
these prototype items for this display. Although the horse drawn trailers
were not put into production, the Britains’ Archive
material (originally housed in the Bethnal Green Museum) did contain Trailers
finished in civilian colours (blue and yellow). In my collection I have an
unusual Lilliput Sports Car with, so far, a unique wheel type and no
manufacturers name underneath - I am now wondering if this might be one of
the pre-production/prototype samples used on this layout |
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The picture on the left
is of a layout first shown at the British Industries Fair in the Spring of 1953 then subsequently at the annual Model
Railway show at Westminster Hall in London.
The first event was for trade only whilst the second was the major
public show of the year for all Model railways enthusiasts. I remember seeing
this, having queued up in the rain outside the show for an hour or more. So many people went that the queue had to
controlled by several police officers |
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Above the 1953 Trix Twin layout
with Trix Express items such as the Diesel Flier |
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Above
: Official Trix
exhibition layout in April 1954 At Westminster
London |
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An Early 1950’s Continental Trix layout
All bakelite layout with a diesel
flier and the post war 20/59 in the background. The goods shed in the front made by Trix is
much sort after by collectors |
An unusual picture taken from the
inside of the Bassett-Lowke shop in High Holborn in
the 1950’s shows a demonstration layout on the left.
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A Trix Express layout in Germany shown in 1953 at a trade show in Nürenburg |
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Unlike the English
layouts the German ones had detailed scenery to add realism. These pictures must
have been introducing the new fibre based track which can just be seen in the
front of the layout, whereas the rest is bakelite. |
Above one can see a
harbour scene. In the foreground on the left are two E94’s |
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A 1954 layout from Nürenberg Alongside is a rare
colour photograph of a Trix Express
layout designed to sell Trix to the Continental public. This was presented at the annual Toy fair
still used to day as the place to announce new products. |
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The layout on the left is from 1961 At yet another
trade show Trix Express presented this fine layout. It is interesting
to note the track plan displayed above the layouts surrounding the “TRIX”
name |
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