Bachmann N Class steam loco , 372-935

[geofff]

Hello

I was advised to buy this model a few years ago , but bought a Schools class instead. As the Schools class has stopped running , I have now located a N class. My new purchase has to be this era on the SR/BR as I have 5 Maunsell coaches. Can someone advise the following:

Is it a good runner?
Is the weathering heavy or light?
Is the motor located in the tender?

Thanks


Geofff

[Ali Smith]

The two I have experienced are good runners.
They are, or have been, available unweathered. I pay little heed to catalogue numbers, so I have no idea what 372-935 is like.
The motor is in the locomotive.

Hope this helps,

Ali

[geofff]

Thanks Ali

The one that I have located is the weathered version.

Regards


Geoff

[Newportnobby]

I have a pristine late crest one which is a superb runner.
The weathered one looks suitably 'dusty'

https://www.model-junction.co.uk/product/graham-farish-372-935-n-class-31810-br-black-late/

[geofff]

Thanks Mick

Regards

[Bob G]

I have both pristine and weathered. The weathered ones are subtle and very nice. Great locos.
Enjoy it.

[geofff]

Actually found a non-weathered version on EBay for £70.00 cheaper than new. It's supposed to be in mint condition - we'll see.

[Newportnobby]

Fingers crossed emoji

[Roy L S]

I have a pristine BR black one, a beautiful model and lovely runner.

the chassis is also useful for other projects, I have one under my rather lovely 3D print Atso-Cad V3 tank loco, the tyred wheelset swapped for a non-tyred one. Also used under prints for the K1 and K3 prints from more than one manufacturer I think.

Roy

[Dancess]

I have 3, 2 from the first batch with 6 pin socket and the other with the next 18 socket. All run well and look the part.

[Bigmac]

i bought a s/h olive green one--the basic one with no smoke deflectors.  I cut the defs off a del prado schools and stuck them on.

[geofff]

Thanks to you all for for the help.

[SouthernJohn]

I think you have got plenty of good answers above, but I would definately like to add to the above.

I am a big fan of the Farish N Class, and I have a fair few of them now! They are good runners, both on DC and DCC. I began with DC a few years ago, and my BR example is one of the first locos I converted to DCC.

They are pretty good haulers, with a single pair of traction tyres on the rear wheelset. My experience with the Schools class has been that the traction tyres feel very large and can lift the loco partially off the rains and disrupt the pickups, and sometimes make the loco wobble on the track if they are bulging at all. By contrast the N class traction tyres fit snuggly, and allow the other driving wheels to sit nicely on the track and allow good, slow running, with the bonus of the good haulage.

As others have said above, the motor is in the locomotive rather than the tender, and the loco has a good weight too which adds to the traction and smooth running. I find the tender is a little light, I tend to add some additional weight to it, but this really isn't neccessary, and just personal taste.

Mine are all in pristine, so I can't feed back on that I'm afraid. I may make my BR 31844 a teency bit mucky at some point, but that's a project for another day.



Like Roy I have a couple of chassis currently underneath 3D prints of other locos I am keen to run on my layout. I am about to (finally) get underway with a U1 class 3D print, and the chassis does a fairly good job at looking the part.

Enjoy your N class!

[geofff]

Hello SouthernJohn

Thanks for the video - I really like the scenery, looks realistic.

[Cols]

  I have three of the GF/Bachmann Class Ns. Two from the original issue and one (weathered) from the latest release. All three are superb models both from their appearance and their performance - they will handle 12 coaches with ease on our Club layout, and their slow speed is excellent too. The weathered example (31810) has a speaker fitted for sound in the tender - I'm strictly DC - which means that removing the dummy coal from the tender reveals all the electrical "bits", whereas removing the coal from the other tenders of the other two (31811 and 31844) reveals a prototypical interior which can be used to show a half-full/half-empty tender, though I'd add a little lead to the bottom before adding (real) coal, as, otherwise, the tender is a bit light. Now I have three - I'd really like another N, but I'll wait for Dapol's WC/BB to appear first, (been waiting 12(?) years for this one..).