Orcades Ocean Liner (Triang)
| Exhibit |
|---|
Orcades Ocean Liner (Triang) |
 |
| location: |
|
Arch Four , Area 35 1956 |
A boxed plastic electric-motored model/toy of the RMS Orcades Ocean Liner, made by Triang in the mid-1950s.
The ship has a yellow hull and a yellow funnel.
Triang also made a clockwork version of the same boat, otherwise identical other than having a grey hull and red/black funnel, and named "Pretoria Castle".
Dating
The Lines and Hellstrom book shows a page from the 1953/54 Frog Penguin catalogue that includes the clockwork "Pretoria Castle" as "TRI-ANG OCEAN LINER (433S)" (p.75), and also has a page from the 1956 Tri-ang Christmas catalogue on p.81 that shows the electric "Orcades" as TV125.
1953 promotional text (Pretoria Castle):
Here is a wonderful scale model of the Pretoria Castle. This Tri-ang model is 20" (50.8 cms) long, and precision built in tough plastic with a wealth of true-to-life detail. The hull is finished in the correct grey colour with white superstructure and red funnel. Power is supplied by a special super-powered clockwork marine unit. Edinburgh Castle also available. Each ocean liner is packed in a fine colour-printed carton.
The original ships
RMS Orcades
The SS Orcades had its maiden voyage in 1948, and started out as the RMS Orcades ("RMS"="Royal Mail Ship"), but then became a passenger ship and cruise ship, and was used for accommodation during the 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics, which might have raised its public profile and encouraged Triang to select it as the subject for a model.
The ship's yellow ("Orient Corn")-coloured hull was changed to white in its 1964 refit.
HMS Pretoria Castle
Pretoria Castle as a very similar looking ocean liner, which confusingly spent the mid-portion of its career totally unrecognisable, having been converted into a flat-topped aircraft carrier. It was later recoverted back into a cruise ship.
External links
- Tri-ang ORCADES (shipsnostalgia.com)
- Little Liners: Triang RMS Orcades (oceanlinersmagazine.com)
- Scalex Orcades (tri-angforum.com)
- "Orcades" by Triang, retrofitted with remote control (youtube.com) – video
- Went boating: Orcades and Pretoria Castle (tapatalk.com)
