Good and not so good news on buying Farish Sets :(

[Webbo]

Sorry about my previous post folks. It is mostly a repeat of what I said before a few posts back. I broke my own resolution of not posting or of buying anything on EBay when I've had more than a couple of glasses of wine.

However, my last point about making sure that locos are tested and preferably run in within a year of purchase is one that I would like to emphasise. I'm sure there are many modellers out there who purchase numbers of locos well before they have a running layout (Mea culpa). If they find eventually that there is a problem with a purchase, it may be too late to do anything about it.

Webbo

[FeelixTC]

However, my last point about making sure that locos are tested and preferably run in within a year of purchase is one that I would like to emphasise. I'm sure there are many modellers out there who purchase numbers of locos well before they have a running layout (Mea culpa). If they find eventually that there is a problem with a purchase, it may be too late to do anything about it.

Webbo

That's a very good point.
I had an over-running kitchen project that meant the dishwasher and oven ran out of warranty while they were still in the spare bedroom. How nervous was I when the oven didn't (at first) work???   

[sp1]

This has been putting me off N Gauge for some time:- I have experience of Poole era Farish locos from about 20 years ago (and never had a problem [luckily, not even any split gears!]) and have one or two locos from about the time of the Farish/ Bachmann changeover, plus a few Dapol locos from about the same time (including 14xx with huge 'pizza cutter' flanges.
My project at the time stalled, but all still seem to run ok.

When I see posts regarding poor running it puts me off - I realise these posts are more likely to happen than posts saying 'I just bought one and there are no problems (and I appreciate many people probably but them and have no problems!) but these complaints seem to be more prevalent in N than 00, .... Or is that just my perception?

[Geoff]

This has been putting me off N Gauge for some time:- I have experience of Poole era Farish locos from about 20 years ago (and never had a problem [luckily, not even any split gears!]) and have one or two locos from about the time of the Farish/ Bachmann changeover, plus a few Dapol locos from about the same time (including 14xx with huge 'pizza cutter' flanges.
My project at the time stalled, but all still seem to run ok.

When I see posts regarding poor running it puts me off - I realise these posts are more likely to happen than posts saying 'I just bought one and there are no problems (and I appreciate many people probably but them and have no problems!) but these complaints seem to be more prevalent in N than 00, .... Or is that just my perception?

Hello there and welcome to the forum, one thing please do not be put off, I for one have a number of Graham Farish and Dapol Locos and they all run fine, I think you will find the odd loco that does not perform well and if that is the case then change your loco do not forget you have rights.

I think this post has gone down the wrong path and it does not help any one coming into the hobby.

I am sure you will be fine with the new Farish and Dapol Loco's.

[Newportnobby]

Hi, and welcome to the forum

but these complaints seem to be more prevalent in N than 00, .... Or is that just my perception?

Without any hard and fast figures to back my theory up, I would say complaints are on a par between N and 00 but only joining an 00 forum would provide proof, that or hearing from someone who runs both gauges. You only have to look at the number of pages in our 'Angry Thread' as opposed to the 'Happy Thread' to know that we all like a good moan more than we do giving praise sadly.

[davidinyork]

This has been putting me off N Gauge for some time:- I have experience of Poole era Farish locos from about 20 years ago (and never had a problem [luckily, not even any split gears!]) and have one or two locos from about the time of the Farish/ Bachmann changeover, plus a few Dapol locos from about the same time (including 14xx with huge 'pizza cutter' flanges.
My project at the time stalled, but all still seem to run ok.

When I see posts regarding poor running it puts me off - I realise these posts are more likely to happen than posts saying 'I just bought one and there are no problems (and I appreciate many people probably but them and have no problems!) but these complaints seem to be more prevalent in N than 00, .... Or is that just my perception?

Hello there and welcome to the forum, one thing please do not be put off, I for one have a number of Graham Farish and Dapol Locos and they all run fine, I think you will find the odd loco that does not perform well and if that is the case then change your loco do not forget you have rights.

I think this post has gone down the wrong path and it does not help any one coming into the hobby.

I am sure you will be fine with the new Farish and Dapol Loco's.

Well, speaking from experience I have never had any major problems with new OO gauge locos, but a number of problems with N gauge. In particular, it's normally the circuit boards which are the issue, and I've never had this with OO Gauge. I very rarely buy OO gauge stuff now, but I do have a number of modern locos (Hornby HSTs particularly) with circuit boards, and all have been fine.

[MalcolmInN]

I would have, should have, reported back earlier, except that I have been running them and , waiting, yes waiting for them to go wrong !!* It has taken some of the pleasure out of it and if it had not been for encouragement from the domestic staff, I might have given up   And then I bought a J39 and that needed running a while as well
So, herewith an interim report : all three locos now running very well, very smooth, very nice crawl / slow creep, cant report yet on pulling power cos I have not got enough coaches and/or wagons (yet )

sp1, I dunno what to say, except welcome to the forum,
* 3 duds followed by 3 guduns is my statistic.

[talisman56]

Of the 26 locos I've bought in the past 2 1/2 years, only one has had to go back for replacement (a Dapol Ivatt 2-6-2T). A few have been 'rough runners' at first but a little oil and a good running-in session have seen them improve greatly. I appreciate that other people have had different experiences but it is useful to have a different story to the '(some) N gauge locos are rubbish' scenarios that are usually posted to Forums (Forii?)

[Newportnobby]

posted to Forums (Forii?)

Fora

[Tom U]

posted to Forums (Forii?)

Fora

I thought that is what Italian golfers shouted!

[Webbo]

This has been putting me off N Gauge for some time:- I have experience of Poole era Farish locos from about 20 years ago (and never had a problem [luckily, not even any split gears!]) and have one or two locos from about the time of the Farish/ Bachmann changeover, plus a few Dapol locos from about the same time (including 14xx with huge 'pizza cutter' flanges.
My project at the time stalled, but all still seem to run ok.

When I see posts regarding poor running it puts me off - I realise these posts are more likely to happen than posts saying 'I just bought one and there are no problems (and I appreciate many people probably but them and have no problems!) but these complaints seem to be more prevalent in N than 00, .... Or is that just my perception?

Even though I believe that there are significant QC issues with Farish and Dapol, one should not be put off buying their stuff. I'm certain that the majority of purchases are fine, even though the failure rate is perhaps higher than is desirable. I will continue to buy Farish and Dapol gear because I like British outline and both manufacturers make wonderful looking locos. However, the purchaser does need to be diligent about ensuring purchased locos are tested properly within the return and warranty timeframes. Having to returning dud locos is a nuisance, but it is certainly not a game changer for me.