Tri-ang Australian
Moldex R50/53/258 Princess Class Locomotive
and R30/31/34 Tender
Tri-ang Railways
1959 – 1967
The Australian models had a smaller nameplate than the UK made version and this caused some differences in the names used. The known variants used are shown above with the original version at bottom left.
The name of 46200 was actually “The Princess Royal”, but there was insufficient space for this. Moldex never modified the die to enlarge the nameplate, so the Australian red Princess was always just “Princess Royal”.
“Princess Victoria” should have been numbered 46205, but again the original lettering tool was never updated. The 1962/3 version of the black Princess with a “Princess Elizabeth” nameplate is rare and may be a small batch printed by mistake, rather than an attempt to match the name to the number on the black locomotive.
The approximate dates of the nameplate variations were :-
| 1959 – 61 | Princess Elizabeth 46201 |
moulded, red painted on black body |
| 1962 – 63 | Princess Victoria 46201 | printed, white on black body |
| 1962 – 63? | Princess Elizabeth 46201 | printed, white on black body |
| 1962 – 63 | Princess Elizabeth 46201 | printed, yellow on green body |
| 1964 – 67 | Princess Royal 46200 | printed, yellow on red body |
| 1966 – 67? | Princess Royal 46200 | printed, white on black body |
The inscription on the underside of the body was always R50/53 MADE IN AUST. & NZ and it was not modified when Moldex introduced the red R258 in 1964.
Information and photographs Graeme Brown
