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| Lone Star Locos All are of purely die cast metal construction and were first made in 1957, Although they were wonderful toys they fell off of the track too easily and could be difficult to re rail by a childs small hands, In 1960 the "Treble-O-Lectric" N gauge range of powered locomotives were introduced which was aimed at older children & adults but the models proved to be unreliable and with much competition from OO scale manufacturers made the range unprofitable, By 1964 the Treble-O-Lectric range had been deleted and the non powered "Lone Star Locos" were renamed "Treble-O-Trains" which were not very successful, I believe production had come to an end by 1970. As a collectable die cast model the Lone Star Locos can't be beaten regarding value for money, Most pieces can be bought for around £5 in mint and boxed condition and unboxed childhood collections can be picked up for a song on ebay, Being that they are such a small scale a lot can be squeezed into a small space and a full layout can be installed into the top of a glass covered coffee table to make a very attractive display. |
 Number 1 in the range was the 0-6-0 "Small Tank Loco" or Tank class 3F which was a 49 ton steam engine, It is usually painted gloss black with the lining , BR (British Railways) motif and the front buffer bar picked out in red, It has also been seen in maroon with red trim and other colour schemes may exist, My two examples both have cast in towing slots but other types may exist. The early issues had a bare metal chassis and wheels, Later the chassis & wheels were given a varnish like finish. |
 Number 2 was the 2-6-2 "Large Tank Loco" or class 3 a 73 ton tank loco, The earliest examples were painted matt black or dark matt blue-grey and they had a tinplate towing eye riveted in, Later model were painted gloss black with red trim to the BR motive and lining and I believe it was also released in crimson lake with red trim or green with red trim. The later issues also had the tinplate towing eye replaced with a cast in towing slot.
Later engines had the red painted cast in B.R. logo and body lines removed and yellow tampo printed lines & logo instead.
The tinplate towing eye and the later cast in towing slot. |
 Number 3 was the "Goods Wagons" which were a 4 wheeled open truck, I believe these were only painted light grey with black trim to the plank detail on the sides, This one had a hook and towing slot cast in to opposite ends. These were sold in pairs in a box |
 Number 4 was the "B. R. Midland Region Coach" which was a twin 4 wheel bogie passenger coach, This one is always found painted in maroon with yellow trim around the windows, The bogies were different castings as one had a hook and the other had a towing slot. |
Number 5 and 6 can be found in the "track & buildings" section, Number 7 was the 0-6-0 "Diesel Shunter" which was a 49 ton B. R. 'Standard' class diesel. The first shunters were painted green with red buffer bar and gold trim to the front grille and the later issues were maroon with gold & red trim, The early issues were made with a tin plate towing eye which was later changed for a cast in towing slot.
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Number 8 was the 4-6-2 "Gresley Streamliner" a B. R. A4 class locomotive and number 9 was its tender, The two parts were sold seperately, The loco was painted in either a pale metallic blue with a black roof and smokebox or silver with a black roof & smokebox. The tender was available in the same colour schemes but with the addition of red trim to the B. R. motif and lining |
Number 10 and 11 were the 4-6-2 "Princess Royal" B. R. class 8P locomotive and tender, Again these were sold seperately, The colour scheme was metallic blue with black roof, smokebox and coal on the tender, The front buffer bar and the B. R. motif and lining on the tender were detailed in red. This one may exist in other colour schemes but at the moment this is the only colour I have seen it painted in. One issue of the tender had the normally red painted and cast in B. R. motif and body lines smoothed off and a decal displaying the lines and motive applied instead, I don't know which type came first.
The tender also had the hook modified at one time, One type is the regular type hook as seen on the rest of the range while another version has a downwards pointing hook which couples the tender much closer to the engine. |
Number 12 was simply described as "American Transcontinental Diesel" which looked quite authentic so it was probably modeled on a real loco, A tow hook was cast into the rear bogie and the front bogie had a cow catcher cast in, It was painted silver with 3 red stripes painted on the sides. |
 Number 13 was the "Brake Van" or guards van which I have an example that is painted grey but other colours may exist. It has been seen painted brown with a silver roof but I believe this was recoloured for the later Treble-0-lectric range |
 Number 14 was the long wheelbase "Cattle Wagon" which is shown here in brown with black trim to the planking detail and a silver painted roof, It is pictured with a blue and silver example from the later "Trebel-0-lectric" range of powered trains, Note that they dont actually couple up as the Treble-0-lectrics have a different but more realistic coupling. |
 Number 15 was the "U. D. Tank Wagon" which I'm assuming stands for 'United Dairys (milk) tanker'. This was the first of 3 colour schemes this model was to appear in, it had a flat white tanker stenciled with a red "U" and "D" towards the ends, The chassis could be painted a either a dark bronze-brown or black. |
 Number 16 was a recolored and reliveried number 15 listed as "B. P. Tank Wagon" which was painted with a very period looking green tanker body with a red "BP" stenciled on to the sides. The chassis was either dark bronze-brown or black. |
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