Graham Farish 372-451SF GWR 'Modified Hall' 7904 'Fountains Hall' BR Lined Black (Early Emb.) (DCC Sound)

The Great Western Railway (GWR) was famous for its variety of 4-6-0 steam locomotive classes, and none were more numerous and successful than the 49XX ‘Hall’ Class. The type was later developed to create the 6959 ‘Modified Hall’ Class which continued the successes of the ‘Halls’, operating from the final years of the GWR and throughout the British Railways period until steam ended on the Western Region in December 1965 yet N scale models of these iconic machines have never been produced, until now!

Developed alongside the brand new ‘Halls’ for the Graham Farish range, these masterpieces in miniature have been created through extensive research and detailed surveys of the preserved locomotives, of which there are several. The mixed traffic machines were found across the GWR network and beyond, and the new Graham Farish models will find many stablemates in the Bachmann range – from other locomotives to rolling stock and Scenecraft buildings – all suited to creating an authentic Western scene.

Constructed from a multitude of high-fidelity parts and decorated with an exquisite paint finish, the new Graham Farish ‘Modified Hall’ has an impressive technical specification to match. Employing a powerful coreless motor to drive the wheels through a diecast metal gearbox, electrical pickup comes from all driving and tender wheels and separate metal bearings are fitted to the driving wheel axles assuring smooth and reliable running. The tender houses a speaker and Next18 DCC decoder socket which is pre-fitted with a top of the range Zimo DCC Sound Decoder in this SOUND FITTED model, so you can enjoy realistic sound effects straight from the box on both Analogue and DCC.

• Graham Farish N Scale
• Era 4
• Pristine BR Lined Black (Early Emblem) Livery
• Running No. 7904
• Named ‘Fountains Hall’
• Collett 4,000-gallon Tender
• BR Smokebox Door with Numberplate and Shedplate
• SOUND FITTED – Fitted with a Zimo MS590N18 DCC Sound Decoder – See below the for the function list
• Length 141mm (over couplings)

GRAHAM FARISH GWR MODIFIED HALL CLASS SPECIFICATION

MECHANISM:

• Coreless motor
• Electrical pickup from all driving and tender wheels
• Separate metal bearings fitted to each driving wheel axle
• Metal bearings fitted to each tender wheel axle
• Diecast metal chassis block
• Diecast metal gearbox, with gearing arranged for prototypical running speeds and haulage capabilities
• 9mm (N gauge) wheels to NEM310 standards with authentic profile and detailing
• Traction tyres fitted to the rear driving wheels for assured haulage capabilities
• Valve gear of metal construction
• Discreet fixed locomotive to tender drawbar with integral electrical connections
• Coupling pocket to NEM355 standards fitted to the front bogie
• Removable coupling pocket to NEM355 standards fitted to the tender chassis
• Designed to operate on curves of second radius (263.5mm) or greater

DETAILING:

• High-precision, injection-moulded bodyshell and tender with separately fitted detail parts including smokebox door, dome, sand boxes, lower front lamp irons, steam pipes, whistle, reverser and tool tunnel
• Diecast metal running plate
• Separately applied metal components including handrails, buffers and sand pipes
• Dome, filler cap, water scoop and vacuum pipe added to the tender as separate parts
• Tender fitted with metal coal-effect load
• Brake and spring detail on the chassis
• Detailed cab interior including boiler backhead controls and gauges, brake standard and water scoop standard
• Each model supplied with a set of accessory parts including dummy screwlink couplings, coupling hooks and alternative filler piece for the front bogie for use when the standard coupling is removed

DCC:

• Next18 DCC decoder interface located in the tender

SOUND:

• Speaker installed in the tender of all models for optimum sound reproduction
• Zimo MS590N18 DCC Sound Decoder pre-installed in SOUND FITTED versions
• Sound files produced specifically for the Graham Farish GWR Modified Hall Class using recordings from real locomotives
• SOUND FITTED models operate on DCC and Analogue control as supplied

LIVERY APPLICATION:

• Authentic liveries applied to all models
• Multiple paint applications employed on each model using GWR and BR specification colours
• Logos, numerals and text added as appropriate using multi-stage tampo printing process, employing authentic typefaces, logos and colours
• Named locomotives are supplied with pre-fitted, fully decorated nameplates

SOUNDS

F1 - Sound - On/Off

F2 - Brake

F3 - Cylinder Drain Cocks

F4 - Whistle (Speed Dependant)

F5 - Reverser

F6 - Coal Shovelling

F7 - Injector

F8 - Blower

F9 - Flange Squeal (Speed Related)

F10 - Safety Valves Lifted

F11 - Handbrake

F12 - Water Tank Filling

F13 - Coupling Clatter

F14 - Light Engine Mode

F15 - Fade All Sounds

F16 - Guard's Whistle & Driver’s Response

F17 - Automatic Wagon Buffering

F18 - Unfitted Freight Mode

F19 - Pinned Brakes

F20 - Low Pitch Whistle

F21 - High Pitch Whistle

F22 - Alternative Whistle

F23 - Alternative Whistle

F24 - Vocals

F25 - Vocals

F26 - Guard to Driver Instructions

F27 - Volume Down

F28 - Volume Up

Analogue Users: Please note that normal load running sounds and any other automatic or randomised sounds will also operate when this model is used on analogue control (DC) straight from the box!

GWR CASTLE CLASS HISTORY

The first of the GWR 4073 ‘Castle’ Class locomotives was built in 1923 to the design of then- Chief Mechanical Engineer Charles Collett. The type was intended for express passenger trains and used the 4-6-0 wheel arrangement so favoured by the GWR and built on the success of the earlier Star Class which first entered traffic in 1907 albeit with a new, larger boiler making it more powerful and capable of handling the longest expresses.

Over a period of 27 years a total of 155 Castles were built by the GWR’s Swindon Works, joined between 1925 and 1940 by 16 more that were converted from older locomotives, mostly Stars. All 171 locomotives were named, usually after Castles in the west, but those rebuilt from Stars generally retained their original names although during their careers some Castles carried other names, including those of noble Earls and some named after RAF aircraft used during World War Two.

The Castle Class turned out to be one of the GWR’s most successful designs, they were not as powerful as the later King Class locomotives, however these were restricted to a small number of routes due to their greater weight, a problem not faced by the Castles which could be found hauling many of the fastest and heaviest express workings across a large part of the GWR network.

So impressive was the original design that very few developments were made during their service lives. Streamlining was trialled on one example, but the GWR did not pursue this idea, and several were converted to oil firing for a short period but again this came to nothing. The fitting of a double chimney to 65 members of the class from 1956 was the most significant change as BR bid to improve high speed performance.

The first withdrawal came in 1950 when ‘Star’ conversion No. 4009 bowed out of service, but the type remained strong until 1965 when No. 7029 ‘Clun Castle’ was the last to be withdrawn after it had worked the final steam out of Paddington on 27th November 1965. ‘Clun Castle’ is among eight Castles that survive in preservation today, although the future of one, No. 7027 ‘Thornbury Castle’ which has never been restored from scrapyard condition, remains uncertain.