Just wondered if Graham Farish Loco couplings are compatible with Lima Coach couplings as I've purchased a couple of Lima coaches from ebay.
I checked an old Lima full brake with a newish Farish Mk1 and they coupled together ok.
Hi Plato, and welcome to the forum :wave:
Lima will couple up to Farish locos with no real problems but please bear in mind Lima stuff is 1/160 gauge v Farish 1/148 gauge
Quote from: newportnobby on April 03, 2014, 04:42:36 PM
Hi Plato, and welcome to the forum :wave:
Lima will couple up to Farish locos with no real problems but please bear in mind Lima stuff is 1/160 gauge v Farish 1/148 gauge
That's interesting - I didn't know about the different scale sizes and it had me flumuxed when registering with the AnyRail Forum recently that one of the questions they ask to verify you as a person and not a "scammer" is "Is 1/160 gauge HO or N gauge"!!!!
By the way now that family have gone home will PM you their address & telephone no. as I gave them a copy of my Sony Camcorder software disk for you to collect.
I am new to n gauge so i am happy that the coaches will couple. A bit worried about the scale of the lima n gauge but as long as they don't look ridiculous i can live with it for the short term while i save for farish coaches. It will give my class 25/3 something to pull.
Lima coaching stock is supposed to be 1:160 yes, but take note that if you actually take a Peco British N scale rule to the Lima Siphon G and to the Lima CCT, you'll learn that they actually are very close to 1:148.
I don't own any other Lima, so cannot comment on what else in the Lima range might be close to 1:148. But you'll be fine with the CCT and Siphon G. For all other stock, I'd strongly advise you save and buy Farish, Dapol, or even old Minitrix coaches.
As for the couplings on Lima stock, as has been said, they are fully compatable with the Rapido couplers (that's the name of that style of coupler) that come standard on Farish, Dapol, and Peco locos and stock.
Matt
You're quite correct about the Lima Siphons, Matt.
In selling a few to Jerry Howlett in Italy we concluded the Siphons were almost 'in gauge' as opposed to their passenger coaching stock :confused1:
Quote from: oreamnos on April 03, 2014, 07:02:41 PM
Lima coaching stock is supposed to be 1:160 yes
British Lima is 1:148, or the better bits are. The early stuff is all over the place with some wagons actually more correct if placed on a TT scale chassis.
Continental Lima is 1:160 (again the usual Lima comments of "ish".. apply)
There were a few good items towards the end but not many, and most have been re-issued in some form by others or are due to be.
Good rolling stock to let small children destroy as its basically worthless 8)
[smg id=11440 type=full align=center caption="Lima Coaches"]
Here's an image of the coaches that I have bought.
G'day from Australia, Platothedog! Welcome to the forum!
What's your opinion on the coaches see image.
A quick check with the ruler shows the Lima Mk1 coaches to be 10mm shorter than the GF ones, ie 5 feet.
If you just want something for your loco to haul and they're all Lima they would suffice until your layout
advances.
To be brutally honest, that's all they are good for. :thumbsup:
They will do. Have ordered a couple of farish coaches from ehattons for £9 and £11 respectively. They usually have good bargains.
Apart from the size differences what is the build quality like of the lima coaches as in the image.
They are quite solidly made and run well. They have inset windows unlike the older Farish coaches which
were printed on clear plastic, although on Lima some of the window sills are a bit deep and if scaled up
would be about a foot in real life!
One of the best items in their range was the GWR horsebox which was a pretty decent representation of an N13. The detail is a bit chunky and the roof has too many vents but it can be quickly improved into quite a nice model. I removed the extra roof vents on mine with a knife and fine file, replaced the wheels with some modern Farish ones, gave it a quick repaint and glazed it with Krystal Klear. I will dig it out and take a photo tonight if I remember so you can see the finished result.
Quote from: EtchedPixels on April 04, 2014, 12:00:31 AM
Good rolling stock to let small children destroy as its basically worthless 8)
Not sure about that, Lima Mk1 coaches, at least, seem to fetch surprisingly high prices on eBay even in tatty condition - like this one: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/201060381317 (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/201060381317) - let alone mint + boxed. I'd advise any members who aren't Lima collectors to get rid of theirs on eBay!
Minitrix are a better budget option for Mk1 coaches as theirs are more or less scale in size, with much better chassis and bogies (arguably better than the old Farish ones) and generally sell for a lot less than Lima ones. However to be honest I'd say that you're better off sticking with Farish ones even if like me you're on a tight budget. Most models and liveries (other than the new retooled "Blue Riband" ones) can be found for under £10 second-hand even on eBay.
To be fair i bought my two lima coaches for £10.99 on ebay,awaiting delivery. In the meantime my farish two mk1 chocolate and cream coaches arrived from hattons preowned corridor brake £9 and new restaurant car £11.
Quote from: Karhedron on April 04, 2014, 02:24:34 PM
One of the best items in their range was the GWR horsebox which was a pretty decent representation of an N13.
<snip>
I will dig it out and take a photo tonight if I remember so you can see the finished result.
As promised! :wave:
(http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee199/Karhedronuk/DSCF4967_zps7b84eea9.jpg) (http://s234.photobucket.com/user/Karhedronuk/media/DSCF4967_zps7b84eea9.jpg.html)
(http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee199/Karhedronuk/DSCF4966_zps793d7cea.jpg) (http://s234.photobucket.com/user/Karhedronuk/media/DSCF4966_zps793d7cea.jpg.html)
(http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee199/Karhedronuk/DSCF4965_zps8367a174.jpg) (http://s234.photobucket.com/user/Karhedronuk/media/DSCF4965_zps8367a174.jpg.html)
(http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee199/Karhedronuk/DSCF4964_zps7b41e74a.jpg) (http://s234.photobucket.com/user/Karhedronuk/media/DSCF4964_zps7b41e74a.jpg.html)
Don't buy too many Lima coaches. As already suggested keep an eye out for Farish and Dapol bargains. Lima are compatible and do look ok from a distance but I feel their shape is suspect as well.
Received my lima coaches they are in great condition and run well as mentioned they are slightly smaller and the window sill frame size. They are ok if you don't mix farish with lima. Waiting for a minitrix mk1 br blue £1.05 on ebay.
I will be buying farish coaches in future. Just out of interest my farish restaurant car does not have any interior fittings.