GWR Hall Loco - Farish vs Dapol, which one is better?

NeilWhite · February 12, 2019, 06:34:02 PM

Hi

The Dapol Hall is much easier to convert to DCC than the Farish one. This may not be an issue for you. The Dapol Hall is DCC ready. The Farish one needs to be disassembled and a digi-kit (or similar) put in.

Neil

Newportnobby · February 12, 2019, 09:14:05 PM

Quote from: ten0G on February 12, 2019, 05:42:50 PM
Quote from: Newportnobby on February 12, 2019, 10:52:01 AMBefore I get accused of Dapol bashing I have 27 of their locos and only one does not whine noisily.

I'd be interested to know which one that is please.

It's the A4, which a lot seemed to dislike

Tonye · February 13, 2019, 08:59:53 AM

There is NO Dapol bashing here , just my experiences of their steam locomotives, take the B17, just awful runner , yes it runs slow but noisy . All my Dapol GWR steam locos run on my exhibition layout but are out performed by GF and UM. All my locos are well maintained .

Paddy · February 13, 2019, 09:51:16 AM

Quite interested in getting one of the Dapol Grange's that is in their February offers. Do they have issues with tight curves as well?

Paddy

longbow · February 13, 2019, 10:26:06 AM

My Dapol Granges and other WR locos will all go around an 11ins radius. The weak spot on the Grange is the design of the 3500gall version tender - poor pick-up and insufficient weight meaning it's prone to vibration.

Doc Pye · February 13, 2019, 10:38:05 AM

QuoteQuite interested in getting one of the Dapol Grange's that is in their February offers.

Sadly the Grange on offer is in BR livery, which doesn't help my GWR collection at all :'(

Paddy · February 13, 2019, 10:41:27 AM

Thanks Longbow - so are they rather poor runners then?

Paddy

longbow · February 13, 2019, 11:56:57 AM

I would not draw too much from my limited experience. The three Granges with a 3500 gall tender I have owned have been disappointing, and others have commented on its design flaws. But my Manors and 38xx's with the same tender all work fine. The 4000gall tender design (Halls and some Granges) seems more reliable.

ten0G · February 13, 2019, 12:42:39 PM

Quote from: longbow on February 13, 2019, 10:26:06 AM
My Dapol Granges and other WR locos will all go around an 11ins radius. The weak spot on the Grange is the design of the 3500gall version tender - poor pick-up and insufficient weight meaning it's prone to vibration.

So will they go around Peco R2 (10⅜") ?

I was actually considering Kato 9¾" radius as the minimum for some of my hidden sections.

Paddy · February 13, 2019, 03:31:27 PM

Yes, HOLLERTON JUNCTION has R1 and R2 curves.

Paddy

GrahamB · February 13, 2019, 05:25:59 PM

I've got a good number of Dapol Manors and 2884's. I have one Hall and it's not good on tight curves. Sometimes it's fine, other days it stays in the box. I have one Grange and it's not my favourite.

Bob G · February 13, 2019, 05:30:50 PM

The 3500 gal tender is the culprit for poor running - because of poor electrical pickup design. Whether that tender is on a Grange or a Manor. It needs weight and a bit more adjusting of pressure on the wheels than the Hall tender.
The 4000 gal Hall tender is the older design (solid wheels rather than spoked) but by far the better for pickup and running, whether on a Grange or a Hall.
I know as I have both

Honestly there is nothing wrong with the Dapol Hall.

PS I dont have tight curves, but I have the same radii issues some have complained about with the Dapol Britannia. That doesn't like curves either!

Bob

Caz · February 13, 2019, 07:10:30 PM

I've got 3 Dapol Halls on Claywell and they all run superbly providing you are careful in how you handle them. A weak point is the wires between loco and tender so if you get bad running suspect them first.

One thing I would say about any of the Dapol tender shaft drive locos is that on 3 of mine which initially ran badly and after much head scratching etc I found the answer was the coupling on the tender for the drive shaft was a little too far down the shaft and was fouling the front of the tender, a careful slide back down the shaft a tad sorted that out and they've been perfect ever since.

ten0G · February 18, 2019, 02:07:12 PM

Quote from: Newportnobby on February 12, 2019, 09:14:05 PM
Quote from: ten0G on February 12, 2019, 05:42:50 PM
I'd be interested to know which one that is please.

It's the A4, which a lot seemed to dislike

Thanks, but I think it would be hard to justify an A4 in west of Carmarthen, even under Rule 1! Lovely looking loco, though.

Do you think the noise is reduced solely by the high-sided tender design, or that there's more to it than that?

Newportnobby · February 18, 2019, 04:21:12 PM

Quote from: ten0G on February 18, 2019, 02:07:12 PM
Quote from: Newportnobby on February 12, 2019, 09:14:05 PM
Quote from: ten0G on February 12, 2019, 05:42:50 PM
I'd be interested to know which one that is please.

It's the A4, which a lot seemed to dislike

Thanks, but I think it would be hard to justify an A4 in west of Carmarthen, even under Rule 1! Lovely looking loco, though.

Do you think the noise is reduced solely by the high-sided tender design, or that there's more to it than that?

You can always quote the good old 'footie special' but I think even that would be stretching things a little!

The A4 was noisy when I got it but has quietened down a lot as opposed to my other Dapol offerings. They do seem to take an inordinate period of running in, though.