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Farish new 8F


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On 19/11/2020 at 04:00, bingley hall said:

 

"Straight out of the box it runs whisper quiet......." :laugh_mini:

 

That was before the sound was turned on so that people could (not) hear it running. :no:

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A short running session featuring the all new Graham Farish Stanier 8F 2-8-0, edited with real sound provided by fellow Class members, recorded during visits to various preserved railways over the years. 
Here we see 48608, finished in BR Early Black hauling a short goods train.
Hope you enjoy!

 

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5 hours ago, Derails Models said:

Looks like the sound version is being shipped as we speak, they should start appearing on shop shelves by the end of this week! 

Interesting. The retailer I have ordered my sound one through says that they do not show as part of this week's consignment on the e-mail he has received - did you speak directly to someone at Barwell to establish that they are already being shipped?

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1 hour ago, Roy L S said:

Interesting. The retailer I have ordered my sound one through says that they do not show as part of this week's consignment on the e-mail he has received - did you speak directly to someone at Barwell to establish that they are already being shipped?

 

Certainly did :-) The email I received from Barwell yesterday just notified me of a few items (including but not limited too these) that were being "dropped", which means it's been sent to the pickers and packers for them to do their sterling work. The lead time between dropping an order and shipping is random depending on demand and how the orders are processed, etc, but it ranges from being on the same day to a few days later depending on where you are in the queue, how many pickers are on, etc, etc.

 

You get a delivery note and an invoice when the items are actually shipped, along with the obligatory courier email, so we're expecting that for these anytime now.

 

Hope that helps! :-)

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I managed to pick up an 8F from Tennents Trains earlier, the joys of working in the Clent Hills in the rain and trying to avoid work! I'll be interested to see how this stacks up against the Austerity given the near identical arrangement with its 8 coupled wheelbase and traction tyres. My Austerity is one of the good ones which is capable of putting in a shift with 40+ wagons in tow, so expectations are high. First impressions though are that the 8F has a really nice weight to it, so when I get home I'll have to stick them both on the scales to see which one wins out and hope that the traction tyre fitted axle doesn't suffer from what some have experienced with the Austerity.

 

Its an absolute stunner of a model, for a plain black freight workhorse Farish has really pulled out all the stops. Its right up there with the Fowler 4F for me as an absolute stand out model for the scale. Parts of the valve gear are a bit clunky, as is to be expected from such tiny parts, but no more so than is necessary and it does look like it can possibly be thinned down a touch. That cab interior for an N Gauge locomotive is sublime, but the stance the locomotive takes is its strongest point for me. I've always been a fan of the old Poole 8Fs, they just look rugged, heavy and purposeful; but this new iteration of the class goes above and beyond. I'm not looking forward to having to play the waiting game with the club re-opening before I can introduce this one to its home layout and put it through its paces. There is a 20 tank Bromford Bridge rake ready and waiting to test it to its limits, and I currently only have two steam locomotives capable of shifting that lot.

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Fitted the cab doors; still runs through Peco code 55 small radius points, despite instructions saying for display only.

Does anyone have any hints on fitting the extra injector piping?

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I got round to weighing the 8F vs. the 'other' 8F. Very close indeed, only 2g between them. 

 

1764886713_Stanier8Fweight.jpg.27dc7a569e67d06c5e977e2f0d258b09.jpg

 

2071437724_Austerity8Fweight.jpg.b6610d253c499311af666b71c725e2f0.jpg

 

I caved in and dug out my little running in oval, I decided I can't wait until I have access to the club...The Stanier 8F is a bit noisier in its geartrain than the Austerity, but at present I'd attribute that to the Austerity having over 100 hours running with typically 40 wagons behind it, rarely less. With time I fully expect the Stanier to quieten down as well.

 

More interestingly however was when I loaded the Stanier up to the point where it began to show signs of slip when pulling off. This point reached at 57 mineral wagons plus brake van on a layout which is essentially a mix of setrack curves from 4th down to 1st radius in a bit of an egg shape. The length of the train was quite literally a tail chaser as there was perhaps 14" between the engine and brake van. Then I put the Austerity on...and it walked away with no sign of slip at all! Really quite admirable on such tight curvature in both cases. Needless to say, any plans I had of dual motoring the 8F using a Black 5 tender drive are pretty much redundant. I might try and squeeze a few grams of lead somewhere, but to be honest knowing how the Austerity behaves on the club layout and how both conducted themselves on my little test loop, the Stanier 8F should manage what I'll ask of it without any extra fuss.

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Bachmann’s distribution seems to be rather sporadic at the moment. The LMS I have my sound fitted 8F on order with (& refurb 31) haven’t even had notice their stock of these is on the way yet. 
 

Tom. 

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On 20/11/2020 at 14:08, TomE said:

My BCC 8624 arrived today. What a stunner she is. Running on DC round the test track is superb. 

 

AADE8EE5-0AB4-4AE5-AE0E-D3A3E6BC88A9.jpg.d1abbed1bc5fd31e515d4f784590d196.jpg

 

Tom.  

 

 

 

Showing my  ignorance, as a freight loco did this ever appear in Crimson Lake in reality?

 

It does look stunning though!

 

Cheers

Dave

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17 minutes ago, DaveArkley said:

 

Showing my  ignorance, as a freight loco did this ever appear in Crimson Lake in reality?

 

 

Yes, a crimson 8F is reality. A preservation one off reality where 8624 has carried both BR and LMS emblems while it was in Crimson.

 

https://www.gcrailway.co.uk/the-railway/locomotives/8624-2/

 

It is a stunning machine in that livery, a pity they didn't carry it in service.

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2 hours ago, Zunnan said:

 

Yes, a crimson 8F is reality. A preservation one off reality where 8624 has carried both BR and LMS emblems while it was in Crimson.

 

https://www.gcrailway.co.uk/the-railway/locomotives/8624-2/

 

It is a stunning machine in that livery, a pity they didn't carry it in service.

Ahhhhhhh a preserved one, didn't think of that.

 

Thanks for putting me straight,

 

Cheers

Dave

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6 hours ago, DaveArkley said:

Ahhhhhhh a preserved one, didn't think of that.

 

Thanks for putting me straight,

 

Cheers

Dave

Painted, allegedly, because someone saw it being painted with red undercoat and had a go at the painter, saying you can't paint it red. So they did! 

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Andy Y kindly sent me the review sample of the new 8F for further testing and evaluation on my Bath, SDJR 2FS layout. Although the loco is still N gauge (for now!) I am able to run it from Bath Junction, through the twin tunnels to where the line doubles near the Colliery as there is no pointwork in this stretch although it does include a 1:70 bank on a 600mm radius curve.

First impressions are very favourable, this really is a stunning little model with exquisite detail. The only things that really stand out for me are the somewhat heavy motion, particularly those big hexagonal nuts and the large gap between loco and tender - both points are understandable considering the market for the vast majority of these locos. 

Running is exceptional, the model being smooth and all but silent straight out of the box. The sound is also really good although my ancient DCC system (ZTC or older Lenz) isn't really capable of getting the most out of all the sound files. As others have reported, haulage is more than adequate. Once I'd fitted a DG temporarily in the NEM socket I tried her from a standing start on the bank with the thirty POs and a pair of six wheel brake vans which I built during lockdown 1. She handled these with ease and would almost certainly have taken many more but I ran out of room at the Junction end. I didn't take any pictures as my the 1920s train looked a little out of place with the shiny black 8F - the photos show the loco posed with pretty much my entire collection of 16T minerals amounting to around a dozen! 

Talking of shiny, black engines the single biggest improvement would be weathering, even if only the addition of some real coal in the tender and a light dry brushing to depict a reasonably clean loco as this would highlight the wealth of fine detail, much of which is lost on a black loco.

 

With  my finescale hat on, the abandonment of the Farish split chassis is a shame as it makes converting the loco to 2FS more difficult involving turning the tyres off and replacing them with 2FS tyres available from the Association. A friend whose lathe skills are much better than mine has already agreed to do this for me in exchange for some buildings though it is hoped, in time, that the Association may be able to produce some drop in wheels.

The  other area that would benefit enormously from replacement is the motion and Chris Higgs is already on the case designing an etch to do this. Other than real coal, closing up the loco/tender gap and weathering that would be about it.

 

Overall, this is a superb addition to the Farish range. Hopefully, reports of them flying off the shelves will encourage them to do more 2mm/N steam.

 

Jerry

20201125_103549.jpg.53d63e12f338ecd844d5aad45e881504.jpg

 

20201125_103636.jpg.d4eb2f41cec715afa5dc392e5a91c8d3.jpg

 

 

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Got my hands on my late crest sound model today, totally blown away by it. I think Farish have lifted the bar again with this model, the finish and decoration is exquisite and based on my experience it is the best British N steam loco and steam sound project to date.

 

Like Jerry I hope this encourages Bachmann/Farish to invest in more N Gauge steam locos to this standard as without question the sheer quality and features of this model enable it to sell itself.

 

Roy

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