QUOTE (digitaldave @ 19 Nov 2007, 09:57)
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>Are there any reviews of the Farish class 60s? Or has anyone got one that they can comment on? A quick Google search didn't come up with much
.
Thanks,
Dave.
They were reviewed in several of the print mags when they came out over the summer. Ben Ando's main criticisms (in Model Rail) were that the light clusters were in slightly the wrong position and the cab windows maybe a bit too shallow, but it didn't stop him thinking highly of it and I personally find it hard to get worked up at the size these features are in N gauge. I think there was a thread in another forum comparing it with the TPM kit, concluding that you could get a slightly better model from the kit if you were competent and willing to build and paint it to a good standard. Unlike earlier Farish models the 60 has NEM coupler pockets - a mixed blessing as there seem to be no useable alternative couplers that fit them!
In my own view it is an excellent model, runs smoothly and much more quietly than the Farish 66. This was true straight out of the box, after running in and after fitting a Zimo MX620 decoder. However while the 66 tops out near scale maximum speed the 60 is capable of a scale 120mph or so. Haulage is also great, it takes a 2-metre train up a 1 in 40 gradient including a 180 degree turn at 14 inches radius.
I deduce from your name that you might be into DCC, so mention that it has the same 'fairly-DCC-friendly' arrangement as the 66 and 57, with pads on the PCB to solder decoder wires to - not impossible but fiddly compared with the latest socketed Dapol products. The 66 and 57 really needed some extra insulation on the motor contact strips for DCC operation, but the 60 comes already fitted with this. It is easy also to modify the lighting so tail lights work independently on a 4-function decoder.