Farish GWR Castle Class

[Elvinley]

Any reports on this loco from anyone?

[Andy Y]

Any reports on this loco from anyone?

 

Yes, Jerry Clifford has reviewed it in this month's BRM.

[Chris M]

I'm not at all impressed with the pulling power of my Tiverton Castle. Yes she is very well detailed and a smooth runner. Yes she will pull a reasonable number of modern free running coaches on the flat but cannot handle them on gradients.

Comparative haulage test on one of my undulating circuits, I think the maximum gradient is about 2%. The Castle does not fare well. I am disappointed.

 

 

Farish 2MT - 4
Dapol 9F - 5 ( I never rated this as having much power and it gets very little use)
Farish Castle - 5
Dapol class 22 - 7
Dapol Hymek - 10 got round but was slipping
The following locos all hauled 10 coaches without slipping
Dapol 28xx
Dapol Western
Farish Warship
Dapol Grange

[Hilux5972]

Just wondering why my post answering Elvinleys query about reports in the loco, in which I said Hornby Magazine also has a review this month, has been deleted? Or has RMWeb become so strict that we can not report on any other magazine than BRM?

[Kris]

Mine seems to be rather noisy, but as far as haulage goes, I have yet to try it. 

 

On a separate note, who has fitted a decoder, and which one did you go for?

[Andy Y]

Just wondering why my post answering Elvinleys query about reports in the loco, in which I said Hornby Magazine also has a review this month, has been deleted? Or has RMWeb become so strict that we can not report on any other magazine than BRM?

 

Only because I get a bit peed off when I respond to the question (and promote the magazine which is part of the same publishing organisation) you wish to promote a competitor magazine when I've gone to the trouble of making sure that someone who really knows their stuff has done the review for BRM and that decent images are taken.

 

How about you pop onto their forum and post that there's a good review in BRM? With respect to your second statement please do go and find me some evidence of that; meanwhile there is a reasonable case to promote what goes into BRM without someone piping up that it's in another magazine (which of course it will be; it'll be in all of them) without any other relevant comment to substantiate the need for mentioning it.

[Hilux5972]

Only because I get a bit peed off when I respond to the question (and promote the magazine which is part of the same publishing organisation) you wish to promote a competitor magazine when I've gone to the trouble of making sure that someone who really knows their stuff has done the review for BRM and that decent images are taken.

 

How about you pop onto their forum and post that there's a good review in BRM? With respect to your second statement please do go and find me some evidence of that; meanwhile there is a reasonable case to promote what goes into BRM without someone piping up that it's in another magazine (which of course it will be; it'll be in all of them) without any other relevant comment to substantiate the need for mentioning it.

Thanks for explaining the reasoning behind it.

[Chris M]

It gives me no pleasure to do this but here is a video of various locos pulling eight coaches up my 1 in 39 grade. If you have a flat layout then the castle is fine but if you have gradients you may need to think carefully before buying. The castle is last up on the film but was third to try the bank during the actual test.

 

Edited April 24, 2017 by Chris M

[dpgibbons]

Only because I get a bit peed off when I respond to the question (and promote the magazine which is part of the same publishing organisation) you wish to promote a competitor magazine when I've gone to the trouble of making sure that someone who really knows their stuff has done the review for BRM and that decent images are taken.

 

How about you pop onto their forum and post that there's a good review in BRM? With respect to your second statement please do go and find me some evidence of that; meanwhile there is a reasonable case to promote what goes into BRM without someone piping up that it's in another magazine (which of course it will be; it'll be in all of them) without any other relevant comment to substantiate the need for mentioning it.

 

This is a surprising and disappointing editorial attitude from the leading UK railway modelling forum. Mentioning a rival magazine is hardly tantamount to promoting it.

[NinOz]

It gives me no pleasure to do this but here is a video of various locos pulling eight coaches up my 1 in 39 grade. If you have a flat layout then the castle is fine but if you have gradients you may need to think carefully before buying. The castle is last up on the film but was third to try the bank during the actual test.

Thanks for that.  I have one incline on my layout so hmmm.

Do you know how many of those coaches it will pull up that gradient?  I assume it can haul itself up ok.

 

Regards, CFJ

[Andy Y]

 Mentioning a rival magazine is hardly tantamount to promoting it.

 

In context, he was trying to promote it - which is what I objected to.

[Chris M]

Thanks for that.  I have one incline on my layout so hmmm.

Do you know how many of those coaches it will pull up that gradient?  I assume it can haul itself up ok.

 

Regards, CFJ

 

It all depends on the gradient of course. My layout has various gradients; they were planned to be all the same but the shed floor it stands on isn't exactly level and my carpentry isn't the best.

 

The Castle will pull eight Farish Mk1s around one of my four circuits but not two of the others. Haven't tried the fourth yet. The loco and tender weigh 68 grams in standard form and, without disconnecting the two, the loco appears to weigh 49 grams.  I have squeezed an additional 11 grams of lead into the cab and underneath the loco which brings the loco weight up to an estimated 60 grams has improved things a bit. This compares to 77 grams for the poorly performing Dapol 9F which is an estimated 55 grams for just the loco. Anybody want to buy a weathered Dapol 9F by the way?

The Hymek which pulled the train up the hill and doesn't have traction tyres weighs 76 grams and the 08 which failed but did better than the Castle weighs 47 grams. There is no way I can get enough weight into the Castle to bring it up to the weight of the Hymek; there just isn't enough room. I can see this would be a problem for the manufacturer but traction tyres would appear to be a sensible option. I like the proposal for the DJM King which includes a spare set of drivers with traction tyres so the choice is ours to make. The fact that the lighter 08 performed better than the Castle suggests that the very shiny drivers do contribute to the poor performance uphill. This has been mentioned by other posters but even after a few hours running there is no sign of the shine being knocked of the wheels. Maybe I should give the drivers a rub down with fine emery paper!

 

I'm kind of resigned to accepting the Castle will only run on one route on my layout. So she is accepted as part of the fleet (just about) will receive real coal and a dose of weathering in due course.

[Chris M]

In context, he was trying to promote it - which is what I objected to.

 

Anybody would think that BRM paid for this free to use forum!

[dpgibbons]

The rival magazine review in question raised an important issue about the haulage capacity of the Castle and as such merits being mentioned in this thread. If only BRM reviews can be discussed here then the value of this forum is diminished. 

[Chris Higgs]

It all depends on the gradient of course. My layout has various gradients; they were planned to be all the same but the shed floor it stands on isn't exactly level and my carpentry isn't the best.

 

The Castle will pull eight Farish Mk1s around one of my four circuits but not two of the others. Haven't tried the fourth yet. The loco and tender weigh 68 grams in standard form and, without disconnecting the two, the loco appears to weigh 49 grams.  I have squeezed an additional 11 grams of lead into the cab and underneath the loco which brings the loco weight up to an estimated 60 grams has improved things a bit. This compares to 77 grams for the poorly performing Dapol 9F which is an estimated 55 grams for just the loco. Anybody want to buy a weathered Dapol 9F by the way?

The Hymek which pulled the train up the hill and doesn't have traction tyres weighs 76 grams and the 08 which failed but did better than the Castle weighs 47 grams. There is no way I can get enough weight into the Castle to bring it up to the weight of the Hymek; there just isn't enough room. I can see this would be a problem for the manufacturer but traction tyres would appear to be a sensible option. I like the proposal for the DJM King which includes a spare set of drivers with traction tyres so the choice is ours to make. The fact that the lighter 08 performed better than the Castle suggests that the very shiny drivers do contribute to the poor performance uphill. This has been mentioned by other posters but even after a few hours running there is no sign of the shine being knocked of the wheels. Maybe I should give the drivers a rub down with fine emery paper!

 

I'm kind of resigned to accepting the Castle will only run on one route on my layout. So she is accepted as part of the fleet (just about) will receive real coal and a dose of weathering in due course.

 

The pure weight is not the only issue, but also  how it's distributed over the driving wheels. Diesels will in general out-perform steam as the weight tends to sit in the middle and bear down evenly on all the wheels. Distribution could be a factor as to why the 08 outperforms the Castle. Check that the tender is free-running, I expect it is but you never know. I had a Jubilee where the tender drive was expending most effort in shifting the loco along. Tender alone and it would pull much more.

 

I'm sure roughening the wheels would help, but are you brave enough to try?

 

Chris

Edited April 25, 2017 by Chris Higgs

[Hilux5972]

In context, he was trying to promote it - which is what I objected to.

I wasn't promoting it, I merely stated that Hornby Magazine also had a review.

[Karhedron]

This has been mentioned by other posters but even after a few hours running there is no sign of the shine being knocked of the wheels. Maybe I should give the drivers a rub down with fine emery paper!

 

Rather than resorting to emery paper, would giving them a scrub with the peco wheel cleaning brush be enough to remove the shine without abrading the metal as much?

 

[Stevelewis]

Just  as  a  matter  of  interest,  as  I  have  not  got  one  to  inspect  yet!  what  form  do  the  TENDER  pickups  take?

 

Are  they  wipers  or axle end  type?

[Hailstone]

Just  as  a  matter  of  interest,  as  I  have  not  got  one  to  inspect  yet!  what  form  do  the  TENDER  pickups  take?

 

Are  they  wipers  or axle end  type?

 

They are similar to the latest form of Dapol Western tenders - I have scrubbed all of the wheels on my Castle with a fibre glass pencil - seems to make a bit of a difference but I am still testing....

 

Regards,

 

Alex 

[Stevelewis]

On  our  outdoor  lines  00  & 16mm,  we  used  to  'roughen'  the  rail head  with  emery  paper  on  the  steeper  gradients ..... that  worked  well... just  a  thought

[Elvinley]

The only problem with doing this is that it will lead to more dirt accumulation.

[Andy Y]

The rival magazine review in question raised an important issue about the haulage capacity of the Castle and as such merits being mentioned in this thread. If only BRM reviews can be discussed here then the value of this forum is diminished. 

 

Well if he'd mentioned that fact it would have been merited mention rather than just saying Hornby mag had a review (I'm sure all mags would have a review of it!). Jerry Clifford has tested our review sample with heavy brass-built coaches and it ran for a full weekend on John Birkett-Smith's 'Totnes' layout without problem at TrainWest (Jerry told me that John said he shouldn't have that many coaches behind it as Castle's were limited to 7 coaches over the S.Devon banks without a pilot).

 

I know Bachmann have carried out extensive testing of the models (including gradients) on their test tracks (which I know try to replicate severe usage conditions) without problem and from reviewing and photographing models I know the general construction is the same as the Duchess and the Merchant Navy and I haven't read any problems about those.

 

If a model isn't considered 'right' the best thing to do is to return it to the retailer for replacement or refund as appropriate under statutory rights.

 

As for your second sentence, please give me evidence of that.

[Chris Higgs]

John said he shouldn't have that many coaches behind it as Castle's were limited to 7 coaches over the S.Devon banks without a pilot).

 

That's true. However Totnes is just about the only bit of that line without a steep gradient, sitting as it does between the two main banks. And as far as I know the model faithfully reproduces that flatness.

 

Chris

[Andy Y]

However Totnes is just about the only bit of that line without a steep gradient, 

 

Aller Junction should be near enough level too.

[NinOz]

Rather than resorting to emery paper, would giving them a scrub with the peco wheel cleaning brush be enough to remove the shine without abrading the metal as much?

 

Good call.

At least there wouldn't be any concerns of any sand paper grit or glass fibres getting into the mechanism, which would be nagging in the back of my mind.

 

CFJ

 

Now we just need someone to preach about the "collection of dirt in scratches" myth or hardboard (masonite) is not abrasive.

 

Just a thought: I had a problem with a couple of old Poole steamers where the draw bar was lifting the rear loco drivers a tad.  Possible on the Castle?  There was also the problem with their tenders fitted with pickups where the wheels wouldn't rotate easily because of the ill fitting tender pickups and the loco just dragged the tender around.

Edited April 25, 2017 by NinOz