QUOTE (PaulRhB @ 24 Apr 2008, 23:17)
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>They started in OO but abandoned it around the 1970's to concentrate on N gauge. Absorbed into Bachmann industries a few years back.
There are still quite a lot of their OO coaches around at toy fairs and on ebay.
My first venture into 00 was with a Graham Farish boxed set bought by my parents round about the mid 50s. It comprised a " black five" loco and a couple of pullman coaches. Extra items included a goods wagon set. The track was ' over scale' (heavy) and made up into a regular circle about 3 or 4 ft in diam.
The set included a mains transformer and controller.
The quality of the finish overall, as I remember, was pretty poor but the loco's performance was first class and very reliable and in fact it was still running on Peco track work some 10 years ago. It was tender powered and the motor was a most ingenious affair ....instead of a commutator it had a system of make and break contacts activated by cranks on the armature shaft .
The Farish coupling system I have to say was very poor indeed, I suppose it has a name, but basically it was an oversize hook and bar which tended to 'foul hook' when reversing.
I later bought another Farish 00 loco, a Prairie tanker which sadly was a very poor runner. I believe a third loco in the Farish stable at that time was an LNER Gresley Pacific.
Too late now to weep, but I wish that I had not parted company with this stuff which, in it's time must have been quite innovative. And probably a collector's item by now.
Tiebar