fezza Posted October 4, 2020 Share Posted October 4, 2020 If anyone is contemplating buying one of the new 47s you might want to ask for a test run first. The first one I looked at in the shop stuttered, the second was very noisy and the third was okay and I bought it. I may have been unlucky with the first two but that is a bit worrying... At £134 one should expect top quality running without issues. One always wonders how many get returned? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGR Hooper! Posted October 4, 2020 Share Posted October 4, 2020 I've noticed that many retailers who have photographed the models seem to show the LEDs sticking out a bit. Looked odd to me. Thankfully the ones I want are not out yet. Fingers crossed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
grahame Posted October 4, 2020 Share Posted October 4, 2020 6 hours ago, fezza said: If anyone is contemplating buying one of the new 47s you might want to ask for a test run first. The first one I looked at in the shop stuttered, the second was very noisy and the third was okay and I bought it. I may have been unlucky with the first two but that is a bit worrying... At £134 one should expect top quality running without issues. One always wonders how many get returned? You used to need to run them in. It helps distribute any lubrication and seat the gears and brushes. I've found that, especially for Farish, it also helps wear the blacking on the treads and where the pick-ups rub to improve conductivity and running smoothness. Do the instructions still advise running-in? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zunnan Posted October 4, 2020 Share Posted October 4, 2020 I've had a few of the 'new' 47s over the years. The only real pickup issues I've encountered has been with the way contact is made between the various surfaces as power passes from the wheels up to the PCB and on to the motor. There is no soldered wire connection, the path provided for current is via several sprung contacts, which generally speaking is good enough to do the job. I have had to strip models down to clean excess oil/grease which has found its way into the pickup system though. These have mostly been second hand models, but my very first class 47 of this type (Titan) had these contacts literally filled with the factory lubricant/packing grease and would barely run from new. Cleaned up and lubed properly it ran flawlessly before the wheel blackening had chance to wear down, so I'm not entirely sure that the wheel blackening should be that much of an issue; it certainly is an issue for lighter models with fewer wheels, but it should be a minimal problem for something larger like this. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
grahame Posted October 4, 2020 Share Posted October 4, 2020 I'm not so sure that the white packing/transit grease that is often found caked in on Farish models is meant as a lubricant - what is recommended by Bachmann for lubrication is far less viscous oils. I usually pick and scrape out the grease - not that it's easy to completely clean out - as it seems to add drag. But I have found that generally performance improves with appropriate running-in. And that with use the blacking does wear. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
grahame Posted October 4, 2020 Share Posted October 4, 2020 7 hours ago, fezza said: One always wonders how many get returned? Bachmann have published/stated return rates for Farish in the past which are significantly lower that many assume. And presumably they find that level acceptable, although, no doubt, would be happier to see it reduce. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fezza Posted October 4, 2020 Author Share Posted October 4, 2020 Yes I suspect the transit grease is the main culprit. I have cleaned it off a couple of locos I bought unseen second hand and it can certainly be a factor in poor running. Running in is still recommended. Over the years I have found this makes a difference to some models but not others. Obviously much depends on what the problem is in the first place. Personally I won't buy now unless they run almost perfectly at the point of sale. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fezza Posted October 4, 2020 Author Share Posted October 4, 2020 6 hours ago, MGR Hooper! said: I've noticed that many retailers who have photographed the models seem to show the LEDs sticking out a bit. Looked odd to me. Thankfully the ones I want are not out yet. Fingers crossed. Yes they are more prominent and not as good as previous releases. I decided I could live with them but no doubt some people will try to recess them or look for alternative flatter LEDs. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebem Posted October 4, 2020 Share Posted October 4, 2020 Ive had a couple of farish 47s and theyve always run smoothly, only slight niggle is sometimes the rapido can catch on the large oleo buffers. I fancy the railfreight grey one, it looks like the bulbous marker lights on latest batch are only on one end and can simply pushed in, has anyone tried? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Steven B Posted October 5, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 5, 2020 I've recently bought 371-249 Class 47/0 47018 in large logo grey. It's only had a test run so far but no sign of excess noise or poor running - every bit as good as the other class 47s I have. Steven B. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve1023 Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 7 hours ago, Steven B said: I've recently bought 371-249 Class 47/0 47018 in large logo grey. It's only had a test run so far but no sign of excess noise or poor running - every bit as good as the other class 47s I have. Steven B. Likewise the large logo one I have. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium John M Upton Posted October 5, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 5, 2020 (edited) I have had four new tooling 47's. The Titan and green 47522 ex set one have run like a dream, a second hand one I acquired was a total bag of spanners and the ScotRail 47/7 refuses to go round left hand corners.... Edited October 5, 2020 by John M Upton Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fezza Posted October 5, 2020 Author Share Posted October 5, 2020 I had one a few years ago that didn't like corners. It turned out to be misaligned pick ups that were acting as brakes at slow speeds. Pick up problems were quite common on one batch - they had been assembled incorrectly. Another possibility is split gears, although these are rarer now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
47475 Posted October 6, 2020 Share Posted October 6, 2020 14 hours ago, fezza said: I had one a few years ago that didn't like corners. It turned out to be misaligned pick ups that were acting as brakes at slow speeds. Pick up problems were quite common on one batch - they had been assembled incorrectly. Another possibility is split gears, although these are rarer now. I have a handful of Farish 47s that prefer corners to straight sections! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGR Hooper! Posted October 6, 2020 Share Posted October 6, 2020 1 hour ago, 47475 said: I have a handful of Farish 47s that prefer corners to straight sections! That is just crazy.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
drduncan Posted October 30, 2020 Share Posted October 30, 2020 Dear all, I’ve recently been given a farish 47 for my son’s n gauge railway and one of the gear trains is binding every revolution. Any suggestions on a way forward - it’s way out of warranty... Here is the troublesome gear tower: Regards, DrDuncan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
grahame Posted October 30, 2020 Share Posted October 30, 2020 No doubt one (or more) of the axle mounted gears has split. It will need replacing. Search for split gear replacement for advise on how to. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium John M Upton Posted October 30, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 30, 2020 I would concur with the split gear theory, also (unless it is a photographic illusion) there looks to be a hell of a lot of oil there... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
drduncan Posted October 30, 2020 Share Posted October 30, 2020 There is a massive amount of oil in there! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebem Posted October 30, 2020 Share Posted October 30, 2020 On the latest batch, the gears are different, they are white and appear to be made out of a different plastic. Perhaps its worth contacting Bachmann to see if you can order a spare bogie (or a pair). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Kris Posted October 30, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted October 30, 2020 You can order replacement gears from here. https://www.farishnspares.co.uk/graham-farish.html?page=5 or here https://www.farishnspares.co.uk/graham-farish-by-Bachmann.html?page=13 depending on the age of the loco. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
drduncan Posted October 31, 2020 Share Posted October 31, 2020 Yes it’s a split gear. Thanks for the advice. Duncan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scruff Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 I've got a few 47's from Farish, all bought new and every single one of them was smothered in oil from the factory. 47535 managed to split 5 out of 6 axle gears. Apart from that they are all good runners.. Cheers Mark Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris M Posted November 3, 2020 Share Posted November 3, 2020 (edited) I've just got two duffs bought new 2 to 4 years ago. Both very good runners. Smooth quiet and pull well. I always give locos a good run in. I keep oiling to just one drop per axle and not too often. Over oiling is quite probably the main cause for faults on N gauge locos. I managed to over oil a couple of locos, they started to run badly so I oiled them a bit more. This was a stupid thing to do and I ended up stripping them down and cleaning all the axles, bearings gears etc.. It does seem to me that the more regularly N gauge locos are used the better they run. I was told a couple of years back that the return rate for both Farish and Dapol is around 5%. In conversation with someone who used to repair Bachmann locos a while ago he reckoned that a lot of the returns were due to misuse/owner error rather than a fault on the model. I also heard that if they are aware of a problem across a batch of locos Bachmann will fix the whole batch before sending them out to shops but this is extremely rare. Edited November 3, 2020 by Chris M 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowley 47521 Posted January 9, 2022 Share Posted January 9, 2022 Afternoon everyone. This seems like the best place to post this. The last time I used my Farish class 47 (47209) it made a slight electrical popping sound and then stopped dead. I’ve just had a look at it now finally and swapped the DCC decoder for another one that I know works and it still won’t move although the lights are working as they should. I’m not really of the ability to strip the thing apart (actually no. I could strip it apart no problem but I doubt I could put it back together again!). What would be the best course of action here, would anyone be able to recommend someone to send it off to or should I look at buying a new chassis from Bachmann? Just to add that it won’t work on DC either by the way. Any advice much appreciated. Nick Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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