Has anybody openly compared the GraFar and Dapol 66's, having recently received a GraFar 66 I was able to and there's quite some differences aside from those the manufacturer decides to do differently. I'm not sure if all of them were because they were sub classes,
But which one is more accurate?
Hi ,
Try to get hold of "General motors Type 5 class 66 locomotives by Ross Taylor, its ISBN is 978-1-4456-4850-7 price £14.99.
Best part of 200 phots of 66s and covers all UK operators variations on the theme. With at least 4 head lamp variations and 2 coupling variations, cab sidescreens and lifting lug changes let alone the 4 and 5 door "family" version quite a bit to get right or wrong depending on your outlook.
Robert
Quote from: robert shrives on February 04, 2016, 07:45:15 PM
Hi ,
Try to get hold of "General motors Type 5 class 66 locomotives by Ross Taylor, its ISBN is 978-1-4456-4850-7 price £14.99.
Best part of 200 phots of 66s and covers all UK operators variations on the theme. With at least 4 head lamp variations and 2 coupling variations, cab sidescreens and lifting lug changes let alone the 4 and 5 door "family" version quite a bit to get right or wrong depending on your outlook.
Robert
I'll have to see if anybody can lend me a copy, thanks for mentioning it!
:hellosign:
There is my topic about'em..called "the three sister"...Dapo,Graham Farish..and Kato.
http://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=25679.msg275809#msg275809 (http://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=25679.msg275809#msg275809)
Cheers
Marco
The Dapol one is far too light to pull decent length trains IME, I'd go for Farish for that reason alone.
That said, 6 pin sockets are a more recent addition to Farish ones, so if you're DCC it depends a little on your soldering abilities!
I have a mixed fleet of Farish and Dapol, both have their faults, the early Farish has to be hard wired for DCC and the early ones dont have NEM sockets. The early Dapol with the light switch underneath tend to be noisy, the later ones have 6 pin sockets and all have NEM sockets for the couplings. I think there is a greater variety of liveries with the Dapol ones. Basically you pay your money and take your choice.
Geoff
I also have two Dapol ones which have suddenly started stalling on curves. A bit of lateral pressure on the bogie brings them back to life, but the second you let go they stall. Very annoying, as it renders them unusable and I've yet to find out why it happens on locos that previously worked perfectly!
I have a fair mix of Farish and Dapol 66s
None of older Dapol ones
My layout has inclines and the Dapol 66s (new DCC version) are fine with a reasonable length of train
Issues -
Failed light on one Dapol
Stripped top gear on one Farish (the one that connects to the worm) now sorted
Very similar in my view and probably best to be driven by your liking for particular liveries rather than either brand
Quote from: njee20 on February 05, 2016, 04:52:25 PM
I also have two Dapol ones which have suddenly started stalling on curves. A bit of lateral pressure on the bogie brings them back to life, but the second you let go they stall. Very annoying, as it renders them unusable and I've yet to find out why it happens on locos that previously worked perfectly!
Have you had the bogies off and checked the pick-ups?
Yep, they were a little bent on one, other one was perfect, hasn't helped, although I'm sure that is the problem (can't be all that much else!). Got frustrated and walked away whilst twiddling.
Quote from: njee20 on February 05, 2016, 06:40:45 PM
Yep, they were a little bent on one, other one was perfect, hasn't helped, although I'm sure that is the problem (can't be all that much else!). Got frustrated and walked away whilst twiddling.
Is the pick up connection between bogie and body then perhaps?
Much prodding and tweaking took place with zero improvement. I ought to try again!
:hellosign:
I do confirm...my early Dapol dcc ready in Freightliner livery has problems on curves with lenght trains...the latest new in DB Schenker ,also the polish , are great haulers...
Cheers
Marco
Quote from: Rabbitaway on February 05, 2016, 06:29:08 PM
Failed light on one Dapol
Stripped top gear on one Farish (the one that connects to the worm) now sorted
For those not already in the know, a common cause of the stripped top gear is running the loco whilst upside down (whilst wheel cleaning for example). I have mashed up a few before realising what was going on! :doh:
Cheers Jon :)
Thanks Jon
I am aware of the no no about running Farish 66's upsidedown
This one mashed the gear all on its own!
I understand the Class 60 also doesn't like being upsidedown either
In reply to the OP, there was a comparative review of the Farish/Dapol 66s in the 01/06 issue of the NGS journal.
If you can't decide between the two buy the Kato one (different scale) !
Best regards,
Joe
Quote from: joe cassidy on February 06, 2016, 07:49:20 PM
In reply to the OP, there was a comparative review of the Farish/Dapol 66s in the 01/06 issue of the NGS journal.
If you can't decide between the two buy the Kato one (different scale) !
Best regards,
Joe
Cheers Joe,
I had a Dapol 66 to start and recently bought a Farish Stobart Rail 66, having chance to put them side to side its interesting to see the difference considering it's the same prototype. Things like having a proper grill on the roof of the Dapol but just moulded detail on the farish.
If i can get my hands on a copy of that article it would make an interesting read.
FWIW I disassembled one of my Dapol ones that wasn't working today, cleaned everything up, reassembled and it's fine now, which is nice. Added some weight into the cab too while I was at it, which has improved haulage. Still not as good as Farish though.
Quote from: njee20 on February 06, 2016, 10:28:14 PM
FWIW I disassembled one of my Dapol ones that wasn't working today, cleaned everything up, reassembled and it's fine now, which is nice. Added some weight into the cab too while I was at it, which has improved haulage. Still not as good as Farish though.
I did notice that the Farish weight extends down into the fuel tank, is that possible to add weight into the fuel tank on the dapol?
Sadly not - the chassis extends into the fuel tank. I drilled a small hole in the bottom of the cab interior, poured in Liquid Gravity and sealed the hole. Now happily pulls 28 PCAs, which it would struggle with before.
Quote from: Nik96 on February 06, 2016, 10:30:41 PM
I did notice that the Farish weight extends down into the fuel tank, is that possible to add weight into the fuel tank on the dapol?
That's where the motor sits in the Dapol, as njee20 said above, you can usually get a bit of weight into them behind the cab mouldings and just in front of the bogey towers. They are still too light for me though at 75g, the Farish at 105g provide allot better traction.
I originally bought a Dapol 66 (ND-201A) based on the extra detail it had over the Farish version and the fact that it was DCC ready. I was really disappointed though with it's lack of traction. I enjoy running prototypical length trains on our club layout and the Dapol just couldn't cope and eventually the motor gave out anyway which was another particular feature of these models.
I pretty much exclusively use Farish 66s now because of the better traction and chassis quality. Farish pretty much stick to their excellent design and adapt it for different models, rather than doing something different every time and ending up with variable quality.
I do like the fact that Dapol produce Dummy locos and their 66s are excellent.
Cheers, Mark.
The only problem I've had so far (bearing in mind the longest train is four VTG Telescopic Hoods and haulage capability isn't currently important), Is the dapol driveshaft dropped out of location on one bogie. It's not happened since but it does seem odd and was an easy fix.
Hi All
A little experiment with the four Dapol 66s I have
My layout has an off scene180 degree 2nd radius curve on an incline which continues rising as a straight on the scenic area. Rises 5cm over just over 2m, so a challenge for locos.
I tested the locos with 38 PCA wagons and the results as follows
1 with wheel spin and unable to climb to slope
1 with wheel spin and got there
2 climbed no problem or with very little wheel spin
I did try the locos the other way round in case there was more weight over one bogie but there was little difference
All the locos are the light DCC version although running on DC
On closer inspection of the locos I noted that the two successful locos have the courser wheels as fitted to the first batch of DCC 66s. The two with less haulage have far finer wheels
So there would appear to be quite a performance difference between these DCC version locos
38 PCAs? Like I said, none of mine wouldn't pull 30 on the flat, I'm staggered yours would do a 1.5% gradient on a curve!
That was the result of the test
On code 80 track which may have more surface area for wheel contact
I should have tried my Farish 70 as a comparison as it is also a light loco but didn't think about it
A few steam engines do struggle particularly, WD, New 4F, V2, and Merchant Navy and will only pull fairly limited rakes
Farish 66 and Dapol 58 no problem at all with the load
One thing I have noticed is certain track cleaning solutions cause the rails to become very slippery, I used Rail Zip once and even weighted locos would not climb the incline