Peco N gauge wagons

[Brian-1c]

Are the Peco RTR N gauge wagons good value, in finish and running qualities ? They seem to be well priced.

[Paddy]

Hi @Brian-1c

 

It depends on your point of view.  The finish of PECO's latest wagons is excellent and they do run/couple well.  The issue is more around fidelity to the prototype each wagon is based upon.

 

The PECO wagons tend to be made to a standard chassis (stretched/shrunk to fit).  Also, the wagons tend to be an amalgamation of various real wagon types so should be thought of as "representative".

 

Having said all this, in N Gauge the compromises are less visible from layout distances and the PECO wagons are lovely models.

 

The plus side is that the PECO models are cheaper than similar models from Dapol, Graham Farish etc.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Kind regards

 

Paddy

 

[Brian-1c]

Hi Paddy, thank you very much, that is exactly the information I was seeking.

 

Representative with reasonable looks is quite acceptable to me, as my memory is also at about the same level, with regards to how everything really looked in the early 1960s 

 

As long as there are no glaringly obvious horrors like solid lumps of underframe detail. But other Peco stuff is such good quality, I was hoping the wagons would be fine.

 

Running qualities and coupling are very important and the pictures appear that they have a decent level of detail in chassis' etc.

 

 

[Chris M]

It’s fair to say that if you inspect the wagons  for detail individually you will find that Revolution wagons are best followed by Farish, Dapol then Peco. In a rake of vans I find it hard to distinguish between Peco vans and Farish vans.

 

Photo shows a Sonic van (£19.95) followed by a couple of Peco vans (£7.50 each). I think both brands are good value for what they are but in a passing train they look fine together.

 

 

 

[BernardTPM]

Don't forget that these 10ft w.b. Peco wagons date from the early 1970s (the 15ft w.b. ones are slightly older, from the mid/late '60s). In their time they were very good with things like brake shoes in line with the wheels (normal now, not so then) and the close coupled look in a train. Some are more accurate than others and some do seem to mix details a bit, but they represent good value at the price. The standard 17' 6" length is right for a lot of wagon types, but some of the designs are stretched (the 7 plank and steel minerals should be a scale foot shorter) or shrunk (e.g cattle wagon). Printing is usually well done in matt colours.

[Nile]

Peco have developed new versions of their 9 & 10 ft wb wagons with better detail, particularly the brake gear. They were also working on metal wheels for these. They just haven't gotten round to making any yet, busy times at Beer.

Edited April 18, 2021 by Nile

[Brian-1c]

Thank you all for the additional information, I will certainly now purchase some of them. About 30 of the current range would suit my needs straight away. I wish there was as much variety, with stock available, as our other favourite rolling stock manufacturers.

[Kris]

On 18/04/2021 at 16:44, Nile said:

Peco have developed new versions of their 9 & 10 ft wb wagons with better detail, particularly the brake gear. They were also working on metal wheels for these. They just haven't gotten round to making any yet, busy times at Beer.

These are much needed as the under frames are the real letdowns of these wagons. 

[Steven B]

There will be few N Gauge modellers who haven't had several Peco wagons pass through their stock-boxes at one point or another.

 

The underframes are chunkier than you'll find on wagons from Revolution or Farish (Dapol are mid-way between the two in my opinion). The coupling can be a bit droopy leading to trains splitting unexpectedly.

 

The more recent HAA & CDA wagons (<20 years old is young in Peco's catalogue!) are a well made wagon and the new underframe for the 9' and 10' WB wagons should be good. Being unsprung, the Peco coupling is easier to fit magnetic uncouplers to compared to the older sprung Rapido couplings fitted to Farish and early Dapol models prior to the switch to NEM pockets.

 

As well as the RTR models, most (if not all?) types are available in kit form which saves a couple of quid per wagon.

 

Steven B.

[bluedepot]

looking forward to buying some of the new 9' and 10' wb wagons

 

are they available to pre order yet? 

 

 

tim

[Kris]

I've not seen them advertised anywhere yet. 

[Kris]

On 05/06/2021 at 12:41, bluedepot said:

looking forward to buying some of the new 9' and 10' wb wagons

 

are they available to pre order yet? 

 

 

tim

It would appear that they are in production according to this https://www.kernowmodelrailcentre.com/pg/201/KMRC-Skrifra---PECO-News-Update---Summer-2021

[bluedepot]

thanks

 

will be interesting to see what varieties are offered! 

 

 

tim

[Brian-1c]

I have now a dozen Peco wagons and I find them excellent. What great value and they look fine, couple fine and run without issues so far.

 

Thanks for the advice here, I am very happy with my purchase and will get more.

[Kris]

18 hours ago, Brian-1c said:

I have now a dozen Peco wagons and I find them excellent. What great value and they look fine, couple fine and run without issues so far.

 

Thanks for the advice here, I am very happy with my purchase and will get more.

Have you purchased the ones with the new under frames?

[Brian-1c]

Not as far as I know, existing models, weathered butterly coal wagons and some tanks

 

[Brian-1c]

I spoke too soon, they derail over facing Kato points. Not just the odd one, all of them ! And on Kato crossover, scissors and 481 radius normal points. 

 

All fine on all types of trailing points.

 

Oh well, what are the best wheel sets to replace them with ?

[chriswrightmk]

I think there is a re-livery for NR-42 van as  GW banana van a NR-42b