Home

About

Home
Welcome to the official 10¼” Tri-ang Minic Narrowgauge Railway (TMNR) website. This website was established in 2006 to provide and encourage a definitive source information regarding these rarely documented Tri-ang locomotives.

I always enjoy hearing from visitors, so if you have any comments, feedback or information, please do get in contact on the address below.

With kind regards,
Mike

History

Home
The Broome Garden Railway 1963. © R. Lines Collection
Between 1963 and 1966 Tri-ang introduced a 10¼” gauge miniature railway entitled the “Tri-ang Minic Narrowgauge Railway (TMNR)” produced at the Minic factory in Canterbury, Kent, England.

Originally the brainchild of Anthony Edmondson, the Managing Director of the factory at the time, the idea was to produce a ‘ride-in’ railway that could be run in an average suburban sized garden and aimed at working/middle class families.

The locomotive was inspired by the newly introduced Southern E5001 (Class 71) locomotives that ran the prestigious ‘Golden Arrow’ London-Paris service which ran adjacent the Canterbury factory and was accompanied by Pullman carriages based on the East Coast Metro Cammell sets of the time and a ride on ‘toast-rack’ wagon.

The original designed locomotive (T.M.N.R.1) was powered by a single series wound 3/4hp GEC DC motor and capable of a maximum speed of 8mph hauling a sizeable train and is stated to be able to run up a gradient of 1 in 25 with a light load.

Sectional track manufactured from 16 gauge folded galvanised steel was screwed to Keruing hardwood sleepers with straight panels available in a 6ft length and curves in two radii – twelve feet and eighteen feet. The product line was developed to include points and a right angled crossing and buffer stops.

Track power was supplied by a 35v 20amp trackside transformer and with attentions turning to the commercial market, the twin motored locomotive, with internal (T.M.N.R.3) and external (T.M.N.R.4) control was developed giving 1½ hp supplied by a 35v 40amp transformer.

The price for the TMNR system increased greatly during its production and is clearly evident when comparing the UK Retail Price Lists between 1963 and 1964. In addition to the purchase of individual items, ‘Sets’ were offered in 1963 to include “The Super Golden Arrow Pullman Express Garden Layout (T.M.N.R.202)” which included a single motored locomotive, two Pullman coaches, three plastic covers, twenty-four lengths of straight track, sixteen thirty-six foot diameter lengths of curved track, twenty feet of two core cable and one hundred feet of three core cable (note that no transformer was included) for £292 3s 6d.

Due to the size of the railway, many retailers were unable to accommodate the product in their shops and therefore reluctantly worked on a commission basis with the sets being delivered directly to the customer from the Minic factory in special containers.

This reluctance made the railway difficult to sell so attentions soon turned to the commercial market with the introduction of a twin motored locomotive (both internal and external controlled) and a number of the railways were brought and installed at the Butlins seaside holiday camps and commercial operators.

Production stopped soon afterwards in 1965, as once a railway had been installed there was limited scope for product expansion and therefore was not a continued source of revenue for the company and that last units were sold in 1966 with a total of 89 locomotives having been documented as being manufactured.

Society

Home
The TMNR Society Day at Birchley Railway, Kent. 2010
The Tri-ang Minic Narrowgauge Railway Society was established in 2008 to promote the preservation, encourage the sharing of knowledge and develop a community among interested parties of the TMNR system.


TMNR TIMES
TMNR Times is the publication of the Tri-ang Minic Narrow-gauge Railway Society and features a range of both historic and current articles related to the TMNR system and its operation. Initially produced twice a year, from 2018 the magazine was produced as an single edition. A limited quantity of back editions are available priced at £6 each (excluding postage) by emailing society@tmnr.co.uk

  • Home
    Edition 1 (Spring 2008)
    News
    A Slow Beginning With TMNR (Part 1)
    Sit Up Straight – and smile for the camera!
    Archive Gallery
    A Restoration Project
    A Journey Into TMNR
    TMNR Shop
    Classified Advertisements
  • Home
    Edition 2 (Autumn 2008)
    News
    Four Wheeled Open Truck
    First Annual TMNR Society Day
    Locomotion: Modern Traction Event
    From Margate to Colwyn Bay
    Discovering Tri-ang Minic Narrowgauge Railways
    TMNR Shop
    Classified Advertisements
  • Home
    Edition 3 (Spring 2009)
    News
    Memories of Minic
    The Story of Blisworth’s GeoDor Railway
    A Slow Beginning With TMNR (Part 2)
    TMNR Shop
    Classified Advertisements
  • Home
    Edition 4 (Autumn 2009)
    News
    Commuting Characters
    What A Day!
    More Memories of Minic
    Building A Battery Box Van
    TMNR Shop
    Advertisements
    Classified Advertisements
  • Home
    Edition 5 (Spring 2010)
    News
    Travels Of A Tri-ang
    A Missed Opportunity
    Switching Switches
    A Slow Beginning With TMNR (Part 3)
    Advertisements
    TMNR Shop
    Classified Advertisements
  • Home
    Edition 6 (Autumn 2010)
    News
    Birchley 2010
    My Dad’s Railway Hobby
    The Fancott Miniature Railway Visit
    TMNR Shop
    Classified Advertisements
  • Home
    Edition 7 (Spring 2011)
    News
    Saving Ardmore’s Arrow
    Controllers I’ve Known (Part 1)
    Greendene (Works) Railway Visit
    A Slow Beginning With TMNR (Part 4)
    Advertisements
    TMNR Shop
    Classified Advertisements
  • Home
    Edition 8 (Autumn 2011)
    News
    The Last Day Of The Magna Light Railway
    A Big Day Out At A Miniature Railway
    Controllers I’ve Known (Part 2)
    “Its Only A Train Set”
    TMNR Shop
    Classified Advertisements
  • Home
    Edition 9 (Spring 2012)
    News
    A Saturday Afternoon In Surrey
    Memories Of Blue Waters Park
    The Kettle Hill Railway
    The Brightwalton TMNR Railway
    A Trip To The Hornby Visitors Centre
    TMNR Shop
    Classified Advertisements
  • Home
    Edition 10 (Autumn 2012)
    News
    A Slow Beginning With TMNR (Part 5)
    Repairing Axle Boxes
    All Change! At Choseley
    Steam in Bedfordshire
    Glenthorne’s New Siding
    Competition
    TMNR Shop
    Classified Advertisements
  • Home
    Edition 11 (Spring 2013)
    News
    The 2013 London Model Engineering Exhibition
    Hornby Ticket Competition Winner
    T.M.N.R.141 Bufferstop
    LED Lighting
    My Miniature Railway Memories
    Society Sponsors
    Spares Shop
    Classified Advertisements
  • Home
    Edition 12 (Autumn 2013)
    News
    Greendene Railway Visit 2013
    A Fifty Year Journey
    Even More Memories of Minic
    A Magical Trip Back In Time On The Bluebell Line
    TMNR 50th Anniversary Society Day
    Classified Advertisements
    Spares Shop
    Society Sponsors
  • Home
    Edition 13 (Spring 2014)
    News
    And The Winner Is!
    A Slow Beginning With TMNR (Part 6)
    My Tri-ang Minic Tale (Part 1)
    Folkestone, Hythe and District Model Railway 2013 Exhibition
    By Royal Appointment
    Classified Advertisements
    Spares Shop
    Society Sponsors
  • Home
    Edition 14 (Autumn 2014)
    News
    The Brightwalton Village Fete
    My Tri-ang Minic Tale (Part 2)
    Drawing Z10030 – T.M.N.R. Axle Bearings
    The TMNR Society Day 2014
    Classified Advertisements
    Spares Shop
    Society Sponsors
  • Home
    Edition 15 (Spring 2015)
    News
    The Lymden Lodge Light Railway
    The Day That Changed My Life
    A Slow Beginning With TMNR (Part 7)
    Spares Shop
    Society Sponsors
    Classified Advertisements
  • Home
    Edition 16 (Autumn 2015)
    News
    Braeside Miniature Railway
    Drawing Z4248 & Z4249
    Brightwalton Fete Railway
    Platform Three – Colwyn Bay’s TMNR
    2015 TMNR Society Day
    Axle Boxes I Have Known
    Spares Shop
    Society Sponsors
    Classified Advertisements
  • Home
    Edition 17 (Spring 2016)
    News
    Putting the ‘Mini’ into Minic
    Bosch Powered TMNR
    A Slow Beginning With TMNR (Part 8)
    From Canterbury to the Silver Screen
    Spares Shop
    Society Sponsors
    Classified Advertisements
  • Home
    Edition 18 (Autumn 2016)
    News
    David Holroyde Remembered
    More Than Just A Train Set
    Choseley, Trains and Chocolate Cake
    Drawing ZSK812 Floor Plate
    A Tank Engine for Thomas and Sofia
    Spares Shop
    Society Sponsors
    Classified Advertisements
  • Home
    Edition 19 (Spring 2017)
    News
    Harold at Hastings
    April Oddities
    Tony Palin Evans and the Broome Garden Railway
    In Search of a Lost TMNR Set
    A Slow Beginning with TMNR (Part 9)
    Spares Shop
    Society Sponsors
    Classified Advertisements
  • Home
    Edition 20 (Autumn 2017)
    News
    All Change! at Choseley – The end of the line (for now)
    Buying a Tri-ang Minic Narrogauge Railway
    Building a Wedding Wagon
    Stourport’s Styby
    Trouble at the Zoo)
    Nothing New
    Spares Shop
    Society Sponsors
    Classified Advertisements
  • Home
    Edition 21 (Winter 2018)
    News
    Building A Weed Killing Wagon
    2018 Society Day
    Drawing ZY99 – Sub Assembly of Guide Rollers
    Electric Rails in America
    By Pullman to the Continent
    Spares Shop
    Society Sponsors
    Classified Advertisements
  • Home
    Edition 22 (Winter 2019)
    News
    The Pioneers – A Brief History of the Class 71 Locomotive
    Drawings Z4276 & Z4279 – Motor Shafts
    Pointing in the Right Direction
    The Giant’s Causeway Tram
    A Slow Beginning with TMNR (Part 10)
    Society Sponsors

Contact

Need to get in touch? Contact us below:

For general enquiries and sponsorship opportunities
info@tmnr.co.uk

For society enquiries
society@tmnr.co.uk

For the latest TMNR stock available for sale
sales@tmnr.co.uk

Follow us on Facebook

error: Copyrighted ©2018 tmnr.co.uk