N Gauge Forum

General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: Roman Kochnowski on March 28, 2013, 09:17:05 AM

Title: Class 20 as
Post by: Roman Kochnowski on March 28, 2013, 09:17:05 AM
I want to buy Graham Farish Class 20.The question is if this engine was used as a passenger trains loco?
Happy Easter
Roman
Title: Re: Class 20 as
Post by: AndyGif on March 28, 2013, 09:34:53 AM
yes, but not very often and only in certain areas of the country

see some examples here, http://www.hondawanderer.com/Class_20.htm (http://www.hondawanderer.com/Class_20.htm)
Title: Re: Class 20 as
Post by: EtchedPixels on March 28, 2013, 01:37:57 PM
They lacked train heating so would sometimes be used (usually in pairs) when there was a shortage of other suitable motive power, but generally only in summer.

Mostly they worked freight - in the early days singly, but they were really underpowered for a lot of freight work. They also had terrible visibility problems for the drivers. They were very reliable (and still are) so most of them were coupled togetheir in pairs with the cabs facing outwards and spent their entire lives basically pretending to be a single 2000hp articulated locomotive.

Nowdays the remaining few sometimes work singly with other classes or either end of things like flask trains or rail head treatment trains. They have a fairly low axle load so can go places many of the new heavy locomotives are not allowed. They however look somewhat different having been fitted with modern lighting, extra fuel tankage and in some cases video cameras on the nose to help with the visibility problem.

I suppose the classic trains for them might be

single 20 in green livery with a few wagons and brake van

pair of them in blue with a long like of merry go round coal hoppers

and on the odd summer saturday on a holiday route a pair of them in blue with a train of mark 1 coaches.

There are kits to modify the old versions of the Farish model to the refurbished one but not the current model (yet anyway).

Alan