New to This!

[fullerne]

Hi, I am a beginner--my dad was given a simple train set sometime in the 80's made by Minitrix. It was never used, but 4 or 5 years ago, my brother and I tried it out and made a simple layout. It hasn't been used since, and wasn't stored very well. Now, it doesn't seem to work well--moves slowly, and not smoothly, and only then with some slight nudging. It was stored with some artificial snow, which was fine in consistency and may have gotten in around the wheels. I cleaned out as best I could with a small pick and blowing, and cleaned the tracks. Basically, I am wondering if I can take the engine apart to check for debris and then maybe oil the gears. Also, wondering if anyone could help me figure out what model I have and when it was made (I can post some pictures). I hope this wasn't too long of a description. I am happy to be part of this community, and any help is appreciated.

[tjcruiser]

Hi Fullerne,

Welcome. I'm not an N guy, so I'll defer to others on offering debugging tips. But do post some photos, along with any specific i.d. info on the loco and transformer that you can find.

It may be that the loco simply needs a good cleaning (brushes, contacts, perhaps), along with proper lubrication of its gearing. Hopefully, some guys here can point you in a helpful direction.

Regards,

TJ

[fullerne]

Thanks tj...hope there are folks out there who have the knowledge, time, and willingness to help. I am posting some pictures of the train and packaging. I cannot find any model # or similar identification anywhere. On the bottom of the engine, I found "Trix- Germany", and on the bottom of the other three cars, I found "Trix-Western Germany". On the bottom of the packaging, I found "Made in the Fed. Rep. of Germany". As you can see in the picture, the packaging also says "Lufthansa". I hope someone can tell me something about this set, and whether I should attempt to disassemble and clean the engine myself. I would love to get it up and running for Christmas!

[T-Man]

You need a number for a search. Engine set or model? Of course brush up on German to search the Trix site. They may be owned by someone else. Marklin has a good site with diagrams. So a number or name would help.
Passenger train model with battery doesn't go far.

Check the prices (http://www.eurorailhobbies.com/erh_list.asp?mn=2&sc=N&ca=1) you may not want to mess with the engine.

[fullerne]

I wish I had more info on the train. I have looked everywhere on the train, transformer, and packaging. Besides what I already described, the only thing I found was the number 1021 imprinted on the plastic inner package. That number as the keyword in the Trix database search brings up nothing, but the site says the search only covers catalog data back to 2003/2004. I know mine is at least from the early to mid 80's. I will definitely do some more research and see what I can find. Hopefully, someone will drop me a clue in the meantime.

[tjcruiser]

Fullerne,

Glad you got the photos uploaded OK.

I wish I could offer more advice here. I don't know that much about Trix N trains. I poked around their website a bit (like you did), but couldn't find anything.

The other thing I tried was to search eBay for Trix trains to see if anything similar/identical popped up. It didn't, but chances are quite good that it eventually will, so I suggest you use that as a research tool. I've often found my best "what is it" or "what does it look like inside" clues on ebay. You might also get lucky and find someone offering an older Trix catalog on ebay ... ya' never know!

In just a quick bit of reading, it sounds like Trix went through repeated ownership changes in the '80's. You might want to poke into the related owners to see if anything in their databases looks familiar.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trix_(company)

Good luck,

TJ