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Farish Class 31


Pandora

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I'm new to N gauge, I'd like to buy a Class 31 by Farish, is this loco a good representation?

 

There are none in the shops to my knowledge to take a look, the Bachmann website has a new issue forthcoming 371-104 D5672 in Green.

Is this a revamp of the original Poole Farish or a new tooling?

I notice from Bachmann website loco is not listed as DCC ready so how goood or bad is the mechanism?

 

Please advise.

 

 

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The Class 31 was I believe the last diesel loco to be tooled and released by Farish prior to the takeover by Bachmann. The body is not up to the latest level of detailing,; the nose ends are separate plug-in mouldings which sometimes don't sit very sell against the rest of the body, leaving a noticeable gap.

 

The MK1 Chinese mechanism is a big improvement over the Poole version, offering smoother running and more substantial gears. However. it was not made with DCC in mind. It can be converted, but in a a semi-destructive way - the motor sits between two electrically live metal frames, and needs to be isolated. The most common way is to remove the metal from the area where the motor contacts are, then room has to be found for the decoder - usually in the gap between the roof and the mechanism.

 

It is do-able, but if you're new to DCC as well as N gauge you may be better off with the Class 24 or Warship, both models have 6 pin decoder sockets, with the benefit of directional headlights. Newer versions of the Class 37 and 47 feature DCC sockets and lights, but the green 47s had an issue with the gap between the bogies and the body.

 

George

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  • 4 months later...
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I'm new to N gauge, I'd like to buy a Class 31 by Farish, is this loco a good representation?

 

There are none in the shops to my knowledge to take a look, the Bachmann website has a new issue forthcoming 371-104 D5672 in Green.

Is this a revamp of the original Poole Farish or a new tooling?

I notice from Bachmann website loco is not listed as DCC ready so how goood or bad is the mechanism?

 

Please advise.

 

Hi

 

Photo of my 31 chassis converted to DCC. It runs very well.

yr9qys.jpg

 

Cheers

 

Paul

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Hi, :) is that the sister dora 31 chasis? would it be possible to fit lights to this model?and what decoder do you use?

Regards Mark.

 

Hi

 

Its the chassis from the Railfreight liveried 31 but all the later chassis are the same. Lights would be difficult to add (though not impossible using surface mount LEDs) as has already been mentioned.

 

Cheers

 

Paul

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I'm new to N gauge, I'd like to buy a Class 31 by Farish, is this loco a good representation?

 

 

Here's some observations of the Bachmann version

 

Good;

 

* One of the few Farish diesels with quarter light cab-side glazing bars.

* The inserted glazing seems clearer and sharper than the original as well as giving a fairly convincing flush glazed look. * Excellent rendition of the roof mounted fan grill with impression of the fan below.

* Overall the plastic body is possibly crisper than the Poole produced models due to the higher moulding pressures used in China.

* New chassis has twin flywheels providing an enhanced performance over the old Farish chassis.

* Bogie side-frames are particularly good representations of the class 31 and include cab steps.

* Fitted with the now standard blackened low profile wheels which helps give a general overall attractive impression.

 

Poor;

 

* Printed on cab-side handrails and front headlights.

* Roof panel lines are rather weak.

* Body-side panel seams including the prominent horizontal one that runs completely around the locomotive at sole bar level are missing.

* The four corners of the roof appear to be far too angular and not sufficiently softly rounded.

* Fitted with crude plastic buffers with moulding lines across the front faces.

* No lights.

* Not DCC ready.

 

HTH

G.

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I remember when it was first announced at Warley, GF didn't appreciate being told the middle axlebox should be slightly lower as the unpowered axle was a smaller size. I suppose I was just being PEDantic....

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On the plus side - its easier to convert to DCC than the 'PCB DCC' stuff Farish did for some locos. In some ways I prefer the original Poole chassis. It needs a lot more adjusting for fine running but there is room for cab detail, lights and just about for sound, unlike the Bachmann chassis block.

 

The buffers are easy to change (and this is probably worth doing) as is replacing the joke printed on high vis lamp on the late liveies with the Peco headlamps (premoulded in yellow so nice and easy)

 

Grahame: I agree the seams are a tricky one - a sharp knife, metal edge and steady hand is required. For early liveries its not a big problem as the stripe nicely hides it.

 

Alan

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The Farish 31 is probably the best of the Poole era diesels. From the start it had a decent chassis and the BachFar one is also a good performer. It's not too difficult to DCC - all you need is a screwdriver, a couple of files and a soldering iron.

 

See here for instructions on how to chip a class 170 which has a very similar chassis design:

Graham Farish split chassis - DCC guide

 

 

Printed front headlamp is easily replaced with the Ratio part and the printed handrails can be scratched off with a cocktail stick and replaced with wire ones.

 

Happy modelling,

 

Steven B.

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The space between the top of the chassis and the roof is very tight as the roof on the 31 is quite flat.

 

If you can't get a Lenz gold or silver mini try the TCS Z2 (The M1 won't fit as it is too thick)

I don't stock lenz any more, so this is what I have used in the Farish 31s I did a couple of weeks ago.

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The space between the top of the chassis and the roof is very tight as the roof on the 31 is quite flat.

 

If you can't get a Lenz gold or silver mini try the TCS Z2 (The M1 won't fit as it is too thick)

I don't stock lenz any more, so this is what I have used in the Farish 31s I did a couple of weeks ago.

 

 

I used a Digitrax DZ125 in my class 31 - running the wires over the top of the chassis to the decoder located in one of the cabs where there's plenty of room. A bit of black paint to cover the red cover of the decoder and it disapears into the gloom of the cab.

 

Happy modelling,

 

Steven B.

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  • 8 months later...

Check how close the chassis approaches to the end of the body including the pivoting of the bogie - I don't have a 31 but my 158 was just possible with SMT LEDs on a bit of copperclad. If there is a bit more room then the smallest conventional LEDs would be easier. Bromsgrove do some 1.6mm ones which are OK for traditional marker lights but probably too yellow for a modern headlight.

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