Mike J Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Hi Roy, Yeah it looks like I've got a mix of two models here. The tender has the correct late crest, and the loco has both the printed (on the smoke deflectors) and the etched name plates (in the bits bag) for Great Central. Only the 60147 number on the cab side is incorrect. My conclusion is that I have a North Eastern loco with a Great Northern tender and smoke deflectors. I've emailed Hattons. Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Al Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Hi Roy, Yeah it looks like I've got a mix of two models here. The tender has the correct late crest, and the loco has both the printed (on the smoke deflectors) and the etched name plates (in the bits bag) for Great Central. Only the 60147 number on the cab side is incorrect. My conclusion is that I have a Great Eastern loco with a Great Northern tender and smoke deflectors. I've emailed Hattons. Mike Is the cab a separate part? If so maybe that's the cause - been fitted with the wrong cab. Cheers, Alan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike J Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Is the cab a separate part? If so maybe that's the cause - been fitted with the wrong cab. Cheers, Alan Hadn't thought of that Al, thanks. I will check and see if a replacement cab is the way forward. Tomorrow! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverlink Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Hey Mike, Just think, you may just have one of the rareist ever Farrish loco's, what price on Ebay? £1000 ? maybe £2000. Seriously its not looking good for this loco is it? seems there are plenty of problems with it. Why can't they get them correct from the outset? after all you're paying enough for them. We '00' modellers have had simular problems with the Bachmann A2 not so much with its running but with wrongly painted bodies & tenders & drooping cabs. silverlink Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roy L S Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Hey Mike, Just think, you may just have one of the rareist ever Farrish loco's, what price on Ebay? £1000 ? maybe £2000. Seriously its not looking good for this loco is it? seems there are plenty of problems with it. Why can't they get them correct from the outset? after all you're paying enough for them. We '00' modellers have had simular problems with the Bachmann A2 not so much with its running but with wrongly painted bodies & tenders & drooping cabs. silverlink Hi Silverlink Afraid cannot agree that it is not looking good for the loco.. The majority seem extremely happy with it in terms of looks finish and performance. Sure. as one would expect issues have been reported here in respect of a few less than satisfactory runners and the issue of the wrong number (reported above) is something that you just cannot legislate for (A good old fashioned c**k up at the factory I suspect). When it boils down to it though how many negative issues have actually been reported as a proportion of those who like me have models (In my case two) that are totally niggle free and are silky smooth powerful runners? Not that many.... My opinion is very different (and I lost my rose tinted specs years ago) it is easily the best British RTR steam loco to date and I would not argue that for the price so it should be. Regards Roy Edit: - Sorry I meant best British RTR steam loco in N to date. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverlink Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 Hi Silverlink Afraid cannot agree that it is not looking good for the loco.. The majority seem extremely happy with it in terms of looks finish and performance. Sure. as one would expect issues have been reported here in respect of a few less than satisfactory runners and the issue of the wrong number (reported above) is something that you just cannot legislate for (A good old fashioned c**k up at the factory I suspect). When it boils down to it though how many negative issues have actually been reported as a proportion of those who like me have models (In my case two) that are totally niggle free and are silky smooth powerful runners? Not that many.... My opinion is very different (and I lost my rose tinted specs years ago) it is easily the best British RTR steam loco to date and I would not argue that for the price so it should be. Regards Roy Edit: - Sorry I meant best British RTR steam loco in N to date. Hi Roy, Agree totally with you on the best RTR 'N' gauge loco yet but then I'm bound to as a mad East Coast main line fan (ask Mike J). With reference my other comments I was only going on the above reports on faulty loco's but of course those are but a handful and taking into acount the amount of models sold will only be a small percentage. I only hope it stays that way and all that buy these loco's enjoy running them as I do with all my '00' A1's Cheers silverlink Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elvinley Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 I have to agree with Al about putting the two axles with traction tyres last. I found this the best arrangement after much trial and error. It now runs smoothly and quietly. When I first ran in the loco it was fine, then developed a shrill screeching noise. I thoroughly oiled the tender and this cleared up. A little later the loco intermittanly started stuttering, which I found was not a pickup problem. I am not sure what the cause was as this has now cleared up after trying various arrangements with the tender wheelsets. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike J Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 As I've got a good runner, I've decided to keep my A1 with its incorrect running number and if I'm really bothered, I'll change the number myself. To be fair to Hattons, they've offered a replacement or a refund, but the replacements are not yet in stock. If you see "Great Central 60147" running on the North of England Line at the upcoming Newcastle, Wigan and Kendall shows, feel free to point out the mistake! It's a good way of opening a conversation. Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elvinley Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 Mine's going back after all. Running backwards it is pretty rough compared to forwards. Slow speed is very rough in reverse as well. I know that others have found this too. Maybe the second run of these will be an improvement, but for now it's going to be a refund. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Al Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 Mine's going back after all. Running backwards it is pretty rough compared to forwards. Slow speed is very rough in reverse as well. I know that others have found this too. Maybe the second run of these will be an improvement, but for now it's going to be a refund. Did you run it in going backwards aswell? If not I'd give it half an hour running in reverse also.... Regards, Alan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elvinley Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 Yes, I did Alan. I now have a replacement which seems loads better so far. I haven't even had the tender keeper plate off and it is running smoothly and pulling plenty of stock. Must have had a duff one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
packetlos Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 I've picked up a replacement from the model shop and I am pleased to say the second example is much better, I can now join everybody in saying that I believe this is the best in N yet. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmthtrains - David Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 I picked up Tornado this morning - a gorgeous model...however, I think this is going back to Farish. The driving wheels keep jamming and there is a nasty screeching sound developing as I am running it in. Here's a look - is this the problem others are reporting? David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
millerhillboy Posted October 1, 2011 Share Posted October 1, 2011 The front motion jamming is most likely to be a piece of the linkage that has been squeezed or just needs adjusted. Thing to do is to rotate the linkage in your hand or push along a bit of track and try and watch where it jams, just rock and back and forward until you can pinpoint the exact point. I'm finding I'm having to do this semi-regularly with all my tender drive steam locos. Another thing is spots of oil on the rotational parts in the linkage can sometimes help. When I say spots I mean the tip of a tiny jewellers screwdriver or something like that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmthtrains - David Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 As one of the linkages has completely fallen off, I am boxing this up to send back to Farish. A great shame, and as this batch seems to have had more than its fair share of problems, I am wondering if this air-freighted consignment was dropped or otherwise battered about a bit. Hopefully Farish can either repair or replace it! David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roy L S Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 As one of the linkages has completely fallen off, I am boxing this up to send back to Farish. A great shame, and as this batch seems to have had more than its fair share of problems, I am wondering if this air-freighted consignment was dropped or otherwise battered about a bit. Hopefully Farish can either repair or replace it! David Hi David Thanks for posting the clip. That sounds truly horrible and I'd not hesitate to send it back if it were mine. The more this thread develops the more it seems pretty clear that the vast majority of the problems have (for whatever reason) been with the Tornado model specifically. That is a real shame as many non steam types made this their first steam purchase and it wasn't cheap. Doubt it relates to a case of the air freight shipment being dropped as all three models would surely have been on the same pallet, more likely I would think, an assembly issue relating specifically to "Tornado". Regards Roy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmthtrains - David Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 Quite, a great shame - this is my first steam loco in N (and currently only planned purchase), and having had generally excellent quality D&E models from Farish, this has been a big disappointment. That being said, I have confidence in Farish's customer service, and expect they will work their magic or simply send a replacement pretty fast. Why Tornado has problems specifically is beyond me, but I do hope that if this is a production fault that it is sorted before the main batch arrives by ship. As a modern image modeller, I have to say though, the sheer complexity of the linkages and valve gear on this (and other) steam loco makes me wonder how on Earth they manage to get them working full stop. Lots of very tiny, bendable bits of linked metal that all have to work in perfect unison... David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
packetlos Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 Arrghh! On my second example the tender drive has started to lock up when running in reverse and is starting to show the symptoms of the first running forwards Edit: Panic over, the bearings which collect the current around the axles have quite a bit of play, one at its very extreme of movement had jammed against the wheel and cast block. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike J Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Although I'm not totally in the dark here, could anyone please confirm where to locate the extras in the bits bag that comes with this locomotive. The cylinder drain pipes, front steps and coupling hooks are fairly obvious to me, but there are other parts that I have no idea about. I presume that the largest rectangular pieces are cab doors, but there is a smaller rectangular stepped piece that I'm not sure about. Is this the front deflector plate that sits below the buffer beam, behind the coupling screw? Also, I have five steam/vacuum pipes and only two holes on the rear buffer beam. Are all five required? (The vacuum brake pipe on the front buffer beam is already fitted) Now, we get to four similar looking parts. These are about five millimetres long with two of them resembling an L shape. The other two are straighter, with a small recess about half way along. I've no idea what these are, and the accompanying instructions make no reference to them. Any help will be much appreciated. Many thanks in advance, Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Al Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Although I'm not totally in the dark here, could anyone please confirm where to locate the extras in the bits bag that comes with this locomotive. The cylinder drain pipes, front steps and coupling hooks are fairly obvious to me, but there are other parts that I have no idea about. I presume that the largest rectangular pieces are cab doors, but there is a smaller rectangular stepped piece that I'm not sure about. Is this the front deflector plate that sits below the buffer beam, behind the coupling screw? One of the plates is indeed for this - it's metal and is the AWS gear protector plate. Obviously if you fit it you can't use the front coupler. Also, I have five steam/vacuum pipes and only two holes on the rear buffer beam. Are all five required? (The vacuum brake pipe on the front buffer beam is already fitted) I think some of these are for Tornado only. Looking at snaps of A1s they have less brake pipes than Tornado does, at least on the front end (presumably because it's air braked). I did not fit any to my BR example. Now, we get to four similar looking parts. These are about five millimetres long with two of them resembling an L shape. The other two are straighter, with a small recess about half way along. I've no idea what these are, and the accompanying instructions make no reference to them. There are valve guides that fit into the back end of the cylinders, above the slide bars. I think two will sit closer to the valve gear than the other two, and are intended for display models only, however I've fitted these and they work fine aswell - a bit of overkill on Farish's part here. I've done this on Jubilees and Scots before too. Cheers, Alan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elvinley Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 I'm beginning to think there may be a serious issue with these locos. My second one is now behaving exactly the same as my first. The problem seems to be when running backwards. I ran mine today for a couple of hours backwards and after a good run, it's backwards slow speed was jerky and noisy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike J Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 Thanks Alan, I've removed the front coupler anyway so I will fit the protector plate. I didn't think that the originals had quite as many pipes at the front end so some will end up in the spares box, and I just might have a go at the extra valve gear parts after I've noted the travel on the rest of the gear. It will also make a change to fit some cab doors without having to make them first! Thanks once again, Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elvinley Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 I have just discovered that a problem with my A1 was caused by the wheel bearings on the loco itself not having any oil on them whatsoever. It is not mentioned in the instructions that these need oil, but they definitely do. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Al Posted October 5, 2011 Share Posted October 5, 2011 I have just discovered that a problem with my A1 was caused by the wheel bearings on the loco itself not having any oil on them whatsoever. It is not mentioned in the instructions that these need oil, but they definitely do. You're in dangerous territory here. These conduct the current, so if you use the wrong type of oil it could cause problems with pickup (as most oils are insulating). If you must, use a conductive oil (eg MaGer) and use it very very sparingly. Regards, Alan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elvinley Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 Thanks for the advice. There was a mechanical issue with the tender in the end on my loco and it had to go back. The same thing that happened to my other one. I would advise anyone with one of these to give it a really decent run to make sure all is in order. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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