Farish GWR Castle Class

[Ed-farms]

Rails of Sheffield have 6 listed on a well known auction site, complete with pictures

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GRAHAM-FARISH-N-372-033DS-NUNNEY-CASTLE-GWR-GREEN-LOCO-5029-DCC-SOUND-NEW-/132232353612?hash=item1ec9a9974c:g:dK0AAOSwbtVZR-Eu

[Guest Midland Mole @ Footplate]

372-033DS Castle Class 5029 'Nunney Castle' in Great Western Green with DCC Sound fitted is now in stock on our site.

Alex @ Footplate

[TomE]

Retrieved my sound fitted Castle form the local post office this morning Only had chance for a quick play but quite impressed with what I've seen & heard so far. I'll try and get some video footage of the various sounds over the next couple of days.

 

 

Tom.

[TomE]

A few more photos.

 

 

 

 

When the EP samples were first shown I had concerns about the firebox & boiler shape and in truth I am still not 100% convinced there is quite enough taper on the boiler with the top seeming slightly flat compared to photos.  I'm no GWR expert however, so I'll leave those who are to offer a decisive conclusion on that front! 

 

The gap between the frames and front bogie does stick out when viewed on the level, less so in the angle show in the photos, which is probably how most will be viewed. I'm sure there is a more elegant solution to this problem, but given models in this scale will always be compromised to allow use on 'train set curves' Bachmann have probably done the best they can in appearance vs usability. 2mmFS modellers will no doubt be able to significantly improve the appearance of this area. 

 

Finish & printing is up to the usual very high standard, and in my eyes Bachmann continue to be way ahead of the competition in this area, particularly when it comes to colour accuracy.

 

Running straight from the box was also as good as other recent releases, and will no doubt improve further once it's had the usual period of running in. 

 

So, sound. This is the first sound fitted model in the fleet and having being a little sceptical previously, I have to say I'm impressed. The overall effect is good, and it does encourage you to drive the engine rather than just 'make it go'. There are some areas that could stand improvement, the 'chuff' sounds a little curtailed when running at slow speed and some of the additional sounds are on the quiet side, particularly the driver chat. 

 

The video below shows some of the sounds in action:

 

 

At a time when other manufacturers appear to be retreating from N Gauge, it is good to see Bachmann moving forward with new innovations in the scale so I hope the sound fitted model is a success. Indeed it appears to have already sold out at some of the major retailers, which hopefully bodes well for future sound fitted releases. 

 

Tom.  

[Crepello]

A few more photos.

 

CU0J9543.jpg

 

CU0J9545.jpg

 

CU0J9559.jpg

 

When the EP samples were first shown I had concerns about the firebox & boiler shape and in truth I am still not 100% convinced there is quite enough taper on the boiler with the top seeming slightly flat compared to photos.  I'm no GWR expert however, so I'll leave those who are to offer a decisive conclusion on that front! 

 

The gap between the frames and front bogie does stick out when viewed on the level, less so in the angle show in the photos, which is probably how most will be viewed. I'm sure there is a more elegant solution to this problem, but given models in this scale will always be compromised to allow use on 'train set curves' Bachmann have probably done the best they can in appearance vs usability. 2mmFS modellers will no doubt be able to significantly improve the appearance of this area. 

 

Finish & printing is up to the usual very high standard, and in my eyes Bachmann continue to be way ahead of the competition in this area, particularly when it comes to colour accuracy.

 

Running straight from the box was also as good as other recent releases, and will no doubt improve further once it's had the usual period of running in. 

 

So, sound. This is the first sound fitted model in the fleet and having being a little sceptical previously, I have to say I'm impressed. The overall effect is good, and it does encourage you to drive the engine rather than just 'make it go'. There are some areas that could stand improvement, the 'chuff' sounds a little curtailed when running at slow speed and some of the additional sounds are on the quiet side, particularly the driver chat. 

 

The video below shows some of the sounds in action:

 

 

At a time when other manufacturers appear to be retreating from N Gauge, it is good to see Bachmann moving forward with new innovations in the scale so I hope the sound fitted model is a success. Indeed it appears to have already sold out at some of the major retailers, which hopefully bodes well for future sound fitted releases. 

 

Tom.  

 

That's impressive Tom. I assumed it's DCC controlled. Has anyone tried the sound  on DC?

[TomE]

That's impressive Tom. I assumed it's DCC controlled. Has anyone tried the sound  on DC?

 

In the video the model is being operated on DCC, however I did try it quickly around my running in oval of Kato unitrack on DC and you do get the basic 'chuffing' sounds, plus whistle & drain cocks when moving off in either direction. You also get a selection of some other sounds (coal shovelling, injector etc) at random intervals, although you have no control over what & when they occur. 

 

One thing I did notice is that the Castle needs a significantly higher power setting than a standard DC model before it will move under DC power. On my old Gaugemaster Q series controller, the sound would kick in around 60 on the dial, and then you'd only get movement beyond 70. I can only assume this is due to higher power requirements of the sound chip and I could see this being problematic for DC users who wanted to double head the sound model with a non DCC model. 

 

Cheers, 

 

Tom.  

Edited June 25, 2017 by TomE

[Hailstone]

The sound is quite impressive, certainly at low speeds, the exhaust beats are in sync with the position of the cranks. the only criticism I would make is the "clank" of the rods when coasting. when I was still at Didcot, and both Drsllwyn and Nunney were on shed, any tendency for the rods to clank would almost immediately mean taking them off and remetalling the bearings. unless very worn, Western engines don't sound like Black fives because the engineering tolerances are tighter.

 

Regards,

 

Alex

[Stevelewis]

I have  a  Sound on board  Castle  heading  my  way  at  the  moment  due tomorrow ( unless  it  snows  again!!).

 

The  retailer said he  had  another  in stock,  if any one    wants info please  PM me

 

Edit  16/12  All sound  Castles  now  sold  out at  (Arcadia)  due to  the  power  of  RWEB

Edited December 16, 2017 by Stevelewis

[Vacuum]

I am struck by the fact that there appear to have been no new posts on this thread for nearly six years.

 

Does this mean, as I assume to be the case, that most buyers of this excellent model can find nothing about which to complain? I know there were moans from some quarters about the model's haulage ability but I don't think these were entirely justified.

[5944]

1 hour ago, Vacuum said:

I am struck by the fact that there appear to have been no new posts on this thread for nearly six years.

 

Does this mean, as I assume to be the case, that most buyers of this excellent model can find nothing about which to complain? I know there were moans from some quarters about the model's haulage ability but I don't think these were entirely justified.

Probably yes, plus the fact Farish haven't released any more since the initial batch. They seemed to sell ok and didn't hang around on the shelves for years on end.

[Kaput]

Its one of the odder choices from Farish that they've literally never done a second run of the new tooled Castles. Unless you count the Castle Pullman set as a second run since it was much later released, amusingly enough the Castle in that set seems to have traction tyres to help with the haulage.

[Kris]

My 2 3 work well enough, but I must round to fitting a sound decoder to the second and third ones. With the sound fitted one I have changed the tender body and have given it a BR early livery tender. From a distance the GWR livery on the loco looks like a BR livery. 

 

[johnlambert]

Yes, I've got two Castles (not to be confused with fork 'andles). I am very happy with their performance. If Farish did a stand alone one in post-war GWR livery, or some more British Railways liveries, my fleet would definitely increase.

[Vacuum]

15 hours ago, johnlambert said:

Yes, I've got two Castles (not to be confused with fork 'andles). I am very happy with their performance. If Farish did a stand alone one in post-war GWR livery, or some more British Railways liveries, my fleet would definitely increase.

Ditto.