This is quick job that I've been meaning to do for a while. The Farish BYA is a really nice model, which has grown on me quite a lot since it was released. It has a couple of faults: the unpainted red plastic used for some of the end details isn't very beautiful; and Farish's take on EWS red is too muddy for my tastes. On the whole, though, it's an excellent effort. As a piece of rolling stock, however, it suffers from the fact that it runs like a dog. I have nine of them and every one of them is the same: it barely rolls at all; and when it does, it often makes a marked screeching noise. This is not good.

The problem isn't the running gear itself. The BYA uses the same US-style swing motion bogies as the HTA and MBA. Farish produce all three types in N and the other two run perfectly well. The problem lies elsewhere. Specifically, the problem lies in the moulded underframe detail on the BYA.

I have mixed feelings about underframe detail in N gauge. I don't mind it on wagons with exposed underframes, when it can be seen from the side: Farish's MBA, for example, is beautifully done. On wagons where it's never going to be seen, though, I really don't care that much: for instance, the Dapol KIA coil wagon has no detail at all underneath and is none the worse for it.

The BYA has a central sill and various cross-members moulded onto the underside. None of this is visible when the wagon is on the track. It's these cross-members that are the problem: the wheels rub against those closest to the bogie pivots, which act as highly effective brakes. The solution is straightforward, if a little drastic: the ribs have to go.

This photo shows what the Farish underframe looks like once the bogies have been removed:

The ribs closest to the bogie pivot are the ones you need to remove. I used a burr mounted in a mini-drill, which was easy enough, but a little wearing. I did two wagons tonight and I wouldn't do more than that in a session. You don't want to damage the bogie pivot; you really don't want to damage the curved bits around the pivot (which give the wagon some stability); and you really, really don't want to accidentally grind away any of the underframe side member.

The finished article looks like this:

Pop the bogies back on and you're good to go. Better yet, the wagon actually will go. The effect on its running is dramatic. All of my BYAs will be going under the knife (well, drill) for this modification over the next week or so.