Classic UK Minitrix Models

1973 - The Hornby Minitrix Era

The German Minitrix company had been producing Models of British locomotives in Wrexham - using Minitrix chasses made in Germany. Thernglade was a company set up by Mintrix in order to continue this production. By 1973, they had moved their production to Germany and were looking for a company to market their British range of Models. Around the same time, Rovex were looking for a way into the N gauge market, and German Trix were keen to have them as a UK importer and distributor. So on 1st January 1973, Rovex were able to start selling the German N gauge models of British locomotives under the name of Hornby Minitrix. The first catalogue of January 1973 proudly announces the Hornby Minitrix range of 4 locomotives, 2 of which Hornby were able to announce as being brand new to the Minitrix range:

N201 - The 2F 0-6-0 Fowler Tank Engine NEW (51-2052-00)

N202 Class 2MT Ivatt Tender Locomotive

The Black 0-6-0 finally loses it Prussian tall chimney and becomes a Class 2F Fowler Dock Tank with cab number 41760. As well as being sold separately, it formed part of Hornby's N101 train set which also contained an oval of track, 2 goods wagons and a guards van. A remarkably reliable little engine, it had a fair turn of speed, all 6 wheels driven and electrical pickup on 5 wheels - 2 live, 3 earth. It negotiates curves easily and surprisingly for such a short wheelbase, there is no hesitation over points. The body is solid cast white metal and is quite heavy for its size, giving sufficient weight to provide the necessary traction. The motor sits almost vertically in the cab and it is just possible to get a tiny DCC chip into the roof of the cab.

N202 - The Class 2MT 2-6-0 Black Ivatt with Tender NEW (51-2039-00)

N202 Class 2MT Ivatt TenderLocomotive

The Ivatt 2-6-0 with tender is a delight. It is low geared, runs smoothly, and purrs around the track like a well oiled sewing machine. It has traction tyres on one axle and all 3 main axles are driven, with pickups on all 6 main wheels, additional positive pickup on the front right bogey, and both wheels on 2 axles on the tender have both positive and negative collectors. This little beauty isn't going to stall for lack of power from the rails ! The body has a boiler weight at the front and the chassis has a large chunk of metal at the rear behind the cab windows. This and wheels on one axle fitted with tyres, provide the traction, but it is a light engine for short trains only, which may well struggle with a long rake on a gradient. Motors can overheat if not treated carefully, and second hand examples often have blackened motor windings. I have seen one comment which suggests removing the cab windows to allow at least some heat to escape. The valve control gear bears only a passing resemblance to the extremely complicated arrangement of rods and guides on the real thing, but the impression given by N202 of the real locomotive is pretty good.

Am I right in believing that it would be almost 40 years before any other company developed a 2MT Tender Loco for N gauge?

The Minitrix N202 was reviewed in the NGS Journal Dec 73, P 132

N203 - The 4-6-2 Class 7P6F Britannia (51-2037-00)

N203 Early Britannia in light green with disc bogie wheels

This was an amazingly popular model throughout the Hornby Minitrix era. A real heavy duty British steam locomotive, in N gauge. It is sensibly geared, has 3 driven axles and has positive pickups on two of the main drive wheels. All 6 loco axles are connected to the left, negative rail. The tender provides 2 positive and two earth pickups. It runs nicely around tracks, copes with the tight 9" radius of Peco track and even the tighter 7.7" radius of the Minitrix track system. The fixed axles are mounted inside brass bushes and the chassis clearance and the play in the conrods allow the axles to move laterally when negotiating these tight bends. In spite of the tiny disc wheels at the front and the ugly light green paint, this model looks smart on the layout. Like all Minitrix locos, the motor is mounted in the loco itself. The 6 drive wheels are all powered and are kept in sync with brass gears on each wheel and metal idler gears. The pressed steel connecting rods and round piston rods are linked with a metal splined crankpin, and a tiny pressed steel cross head oscillates smoothly back and forth on steel guide rails. As supplied, the end of the crank pin hovers over the centre of the axle, but since it has a spline fitting, it is possible to move it round a notch, to provide a more realistic steam valve motion. This model came in the early lighter green paint. Reviewed NGS Journal Spring 1971 P18 - showing the picture of the OO version from the catalogue.

N204 - The Green Class 27 Diesel Electric (51-2940-00)

The Class 27 - Overscale and crudely detailed, but strong and reliable

This was introduced into the German Minitrix range in 1969. The green model was adopted by Hornby from the outset. The blue model wasn't added to the range until 1980, but it was still available in shops from the pre-Hornby era. This engine was also part of a passenger train set - N102 - and there are lots of good examples still to be had. They made an excellent toy train, made lots of engine like noise, had an incredible turn of speed and were extremely robust. They are very weighty - take the lid off and every space has something metal filling it. There is no need for traction tyres with this weight, and every wheel provides electrical pickup.

Put them on a modern layout and do they look out of place ? Well, yes they do actually - they are decidedly 'chunky' by today's standards - but at the time and for some years later, 1:148 was the preferred scale for British N gauge. The 1970 Minitrix catalogue insists that the scale is 1:160 however !

Minitrix Models - The Quality End of the Market.

With the introduction of the Hornby Minitrix range of models, the UK was treated to a big step forward in the quality that was then available to the N gauge market. Take a Minitrix model apart and it is easy to appreciate the quality of the engineering. The brass worm gears and cogs, the neatness of the electrical connections, the tiny, robust and powerful electric motors, and the intricacy of some of the internal plastic mouldings.

And perhaps more important, the models could be disassembled with a fine screwdriver, a pair of tweezers and a toothpick. And nowadays nearly 50 years on, I find that a magnifying glass helps.

This quality continued to the end of the association with Hornby in 1987, but continues in the range of Minitrix Continental models produced by Märklin. These are truly the quality end of the market.

The early Minitrix models were supplied in plastic cases with clip on lids, but German Minitrix introduced the polystyrene protective case with a moulded recess which comfortably but firmly held the model in place to prevent damage in transit. A card lid with an acetate sheet 'window' slid over the top of the polystyrene and this was coloured yellow with a broad green end to the right of the window. The green coloured end of the box had the model number and a small black silhouette of the side view of the model. It was clearly intended that the boxes, which were all the same size, regardless of the model they were housing, should sit together on the shelf with their green end facing outwards. The locos were placed inside the box facing to the left.

Hornby Minitrix used the same packaging except red was used in place of the green. Around 1980, German Minitrix changed the packaging for a hard plastic case with a full depth lid. Inside was a plastic, blow moulded inset to keep the model in place, and a thick paper insert wrapped around the bottom, sides and ends, with the right hand end folding over the top of the model to replicate the band on the card and polystyrene case. Every single model was provided with a production slip and a technical data sheet showing an exploded drawing of the model with labels and a key to identify replacement part numbers. Often the sheet was headed with the model numbers of the locos to which it related - which made it possible to make a good guess as to the continental model on which the British model was based. The technical sheets were also dated - month and year, which helps to identify which models were being developed and when.

In many cases, the production slips and data sheets have never been found by previous owners. In the card/styrene cases they were slipped inside the inner flap of the side of the lid. In the later plastic boxes, they were placed on the bottom of the case, sandwiched between the coloured paper insert and the protective plastic moulding. An untouched data sheet is easy to spot. They were folded in a very imprecise manner and once removed and read, it was almost impossible to get them back using the same fold lines !

January 1974

The second edition of the Hornby Minitrix Catalogue in January 1974 added two new models to their line-up.

N205 Class 2MT 2-6-0 Tank Locomotive (51-2040-00)

The Ivatt 2-6-2 is heavier than the 2-6-0 and consequently a better hauler

This followed hot on the heels of the tender locomotive N204. Virtually identical mechanically, this loco has no tender, but side tanks and a coal store are located behind the cab instead. The model is much heavier as a result and requires no tyres to provide traction. Two holes in the smokebox door allow light from the bulb inside the boiler to shine through. Later models would omit the lamps and the holes in the smokebox door.

A review looking back at this model appears in 2002 NGS, No 4, P 10 by Fred Hampsall.

N206 BR Type 4 Warship Class 42 (Blue) (51-2942-00)

A resprayed and refurbished Mark 2 version of the Class 42 Warship.
Yes, I know - but you ought to have seen it before I resprayed it !

The photo in the 1974 catalogue shows an earlier, blue D816 'Eclipse', presumably taken before the new model had been delivered to Hornby in the UK. The Warship model that was marketed by Hornby was D823 'Hermes', and by now had had acquired a plastic insert for the battery box, which enabled the lower circuit board to be installed and removed without needing to take the motor out. It retained the articulated buffer which was attached to the bogies - the very obvious gap can be seen in the photo above the buffers. The plastic insert in the battery box makes this a mark 2 chassis, not that you can tell from this angle.

My photo is not an original paint job - no, really it isn't. I stripped it down in Dettol (did you know that the plastic is a chocolate brown ?) and re-sprayed it as a toy loco for my grandchildren. I had read somewhere that Halfords Ford Fjord Blue spray paint was a good match for the blue of these locos. Hmmm. I must remember not to believe everything I read on the internet !

Before actually taking one of these models apart, I had assumed that the chassis would be the same design as the Class 27. It isn't. There are a number of differences. Most significant of which is that no matter which way round you put it together, the chassis is always connected to the right hand rail. On all other British Minitrix models that I have come across, the chassis connects to the left hand rail (when the loco is moving forwards).

UK Hornby Minitrix

An Illustrated History

Front Cover

NGS Journal

1967 British Minitrix

Trix & Courtaulds

Thernglade

A Fleet of Warships

A New Partnership

Heavy Freight

9 New Models

But 4 New Models

Use LHS for all Menus

Use RHS for Page Menus

Maintaining Classic UK Minitrix Locos
The Minitrix trademark is currently owned by Märklin Inc. Gebr. Märklin & Cie. GmbH, Stuttgarter Straβe 55-57, D-73033 Göppingen, Baden-Württemberg