Graham Farish points on Hornby track?

[Virago496]

At a recent visit to a local heritage railway I found some Graham farish track. Thinking I could save a bundle I bought all the points. Weeks later I see somewhere on the ever truthful internet Graham Farish points are not compatible with Hornby OO gauge. Can anyone shed some light on this?

[TEAMYAKIMA]

At a recent visit to a local heritage railway I found some Graham farish track. Thinking I could save a bundle I bought all the points. Weeks later I see somewhere on the ever truthful internet Graham Farish points are not compatible with Hornby OO gauge. Can anyone shed some light on this?

 

It really depends what you mean by compatible?  Assuming that your Hornby track is reasonably modern (last 35 years or so) then it will be code 100 and so is Graham Farish and so in that sense they will be comapatible.

 

Original Graham Farish ( circa 1963) was dead frog. Huge chunks of plastic in the frog area.

 

Later they developed LIVEWAY live frog points. All metal frogs.

 

Which are yours?

[woodenhead]

Given their age - when did Farish exit 00 gauge - I would steer clear unless your stock is of a similar era.

 

If you want reliable running you need modern reliable points.

[Joseph_Pestell]

The other snag with GF 00 pointwork is very fragile tiebars.

 

And if you plan to use point motors, they will need to be quite powerful and have a locking mechanism.

[TEAMYAKIMA]

Thinking I could save a bundle I bought all the points. Weeks later I see somewhere on the ever truthful internet Graham Farish points are not compatible with Hornby OO gauge. Can anyone shed some light on this?

 

As usual there are conflicting issues pulling us in opposite directions..................

 

Judging by the OP's other posts I think we can all agree that on balance he should not have bought these.

 

Could he have bought items better suited to his purpose - YES, most definitely.

 

Will he need advice/help to make these points suit his purpose - In my opinion , YES

 

On the other hand he is on a limited budget - should he put these in the bin and buy better ?  That's his choice.

 

My advice - visit your local club with the points and let an experienced modeller inspect them - I assume these are not 'NEW/MINT'   and have been re-cycled from a layout. They were not great when they were new/mint so may be far less suitable if they have been used and lifted.

[Il Grifone]

My preferred track!

 

The main incompatibility with modern track is that Formoway is actually 00 scale rather than H0 though the sleepers are a bit closer together than they should be*. The plastic crossings are rather a pain - mine are scheduled for replacement with metal ASAP, but the Liveway should be OK though wiring it up is not all that straight forward. The base of the rail is a bit thinner than Peco code 100, but Peco joiners will work just make sure they are tight to the rail (essential anyway.

 

* Probably not the case for modern track. IIRC the sleepers are set at 9mm intervals.

 

As regards running, there should be no problem with modern wheels. 

 

I replace the rather flimsy tiebars with printed circuit strip, obviously with an insulation gap. 

[Virago496]

First of all, thanks for the reactions. I should have been clearer in my question, so here goes : 

The GF is super Liveway coming out of an existing layout it looks like this :

 

 

The ones in situ have been tested and the trains run across them fine, the fact that the jumpers are cut doesn't bother me as the track is wired to the controller in several places. The thing that has me experimenting  for weeks with these points is motorising them. I have been trying to control them with servo motors, but the wire I'm using (B&Q piano wire 0.7mm) just bends. Today I actually bought some piano wire off Ebay from a modelling shop, hoping it is more fit for purpose. I will keep trying to get them to work with my servo motors and thanks for all the advice guys. It is much appreciated. 

[RexAshton]

First of all, thanks for the reactions. I should have been clearer in my question, so here goes : 

The GF is super Liveway coming out of an existing layout it looks like this :

 

 

The ones in situ have been tested and the trains run across them fine, the fact that the jumpers are cut doesn't bother me as the track is wired to the controller in several places. The thing that has me experimenting  for weeks with these points is motorising them. I have been trying to control them with servo motors, but the wire I'm using (B&Q piano wire 0.7mm) just bends. Today I actually bought some piano wire off Ebay from a modelling shop, hoping it is more fit for purpose. I will keep trying to get them to work with my servo motors and thanks for all the advice guys. It is much appreciated. 

If you're going to use servos I suggest trying the servo mounting kits supplied by Direct Train Spares. I've used them and they have very strong wire. They're also very simple to use. Just a satisfied customer.

[DCB]

We don't use any Farish points any more, they were replaced with Peco some years ago, but we do have several lengths of Farish track and its tight to gauge compared to Peco. Some stock does not like one bit and we use 14.25 mm sliding fit Back to Back to minimise the issue and still allow use on Peco Streamline.

 

Personally I would stick the points on EBay and avoid a whole heap of trouble.

[BR60103]

I used GF track in a few layouts over the years. I think it is TriAng and Hornby Dublo compatible. We also ran more modern stock through it.

Usually we used Wrenn hand levers with it with some stiff omega loops. The points were quite stiff.

[Il Grifone]

They are rather stiff due to the polarity switch. Either stiffer wire (paper clip?) or a return spring to keep everything in tension. Bending the point blades so that one route defaults might be a solution,

 

I've never noticed any tight gauge problem - must check!

Edited July 26, 2018 by Il Grifone

[Joseph_Pestell]

I don't think that gauge or rail profile are a serious difficulty. I suspect that the internet comment that the OP saw related to the geometry.

 

Servos should work with these points but they will need to be quite powerful.

[Rob McM]

I am building my 'final' layout, as a pensioner, and decided to use 'Liveway' points which came from Ebay. I knew about them from many years of interest and some needed restoration. However, I am really pleased with my progress.  Liveway looks good even though it is code 100. The crossings look very finescale (viewers have said) and the layout is running in nicely. The comments on tie bars and switching are correct but one can wire in pole switches which do the job with some extra wiring. I use GEM style point levers without omega loops, just gently throw the points and the levers secure them. I've laid in a small stock in case I decide to extend the layout. Incidentally,  Super Liveway reduces the need for insulated rail joiners but Liveway is the real modellers' system. What a pity Graham Farish did not carry on with their product. I think the latest PECO track is a homage to Liveway but at twice the price!