OO Gauge Graham Farish
 

My hobby is restoring old OO gauge locos. I have just purchased an old 50's OO gauge 2-6-2 Graham farish prairie tank. It has a really unusual open circuit electirc motor which still runs really well ... plenty of power. However I have a problem. The parts connecting the motor spindle to the drive cog on the front driving wheels is missing. Can anybody (a) give me a description of how the drive was transferred to the wheels or (b) an original diagram or (c) a photograph....love to get her runnng again. Thanks Gary:)

Now I have no ACTUAL knowledge of this motor but I have heard that they were similar to Hornby Dublo Pancakes so it might be worth checking that out they were really good slow running engines can remember that as a friend had a couple of GWR freight loco's that he used to enjoy putting 35 wagons on the back and doing a snails pace with them

Welcome to the Forum Gary. Interesting question. Sadly don't know the answer. I think the GF motors were good when they worked but a lot of them got replaced.

Best wishes,

John H-T.

Hello Gary and welcome to the forum. Hope you find your answers and hope you enjoy this forum.
All the best
Phil

Welcome to the forum, Gary.

Gary
I'm curently working on two FARISH OO KINGS and a GOLDEN ARROW each and everyone as a slightly different version of their unique motor and transmission , interestingly they seem to have a centrifugal device so the motor spins on after power off giving a kind of coasting but no wonder so many were converted to run TRIANG motors.There doesn't seem to be a dedicated collectors site (go on someone prove me wrong) for GF OO gauge so most of my spare parts are sourced from scrappers found on EBAY,strangely every Black FIve has proved too good to cannibalise,got a Prarie body that could be next but frankly a TRIANG chassis can be modded, to enjoy the look of the thing running,and they do have a certain charm be prepared to compromise on the running gear the chassis suffer terrible problems with mazac fatique Bob. Lowe. (Currently filling my life with the things i couldn't afford 40 odd years ago. TRIX, DUBLO, LPS, GUITARS, all the things we all keep hidden in the shed and tell the wife weve had all along) GOOD LUCK

The early Farish motor was a really strange two pole device which was nothing like the Hornby Dublo motors at all, neither vertical, 1/2" or Ring field. The early OO Prarie Tank had plastic driving wheels and plunger pickups acting directly on the track.
The early two pole motor was used in the King and Merchant Navy locos and in the GP5 a sort of elongated black five, I've never seen it in a Prarie but it's logical that the ones with plastic wheels had the two pole motor. The tender engines had a drive shaft connecting a tender mounted motor to the loco wheels with a crown wheel and pinion like a scalextric car to turn the drive through 90 degrees and not a worm and wheel which makes them run very freely and coast over bad sections of track.
I have parts of a GP 5 and it has traction tyres on the centre drivers and picks up through a split Tender chassis with the wheels live to the stub axles and insuated sleeves between the wheels, like an early bachmann chassis, it works very well and looks awful.
Later in the 70's GF made a 94XX Pannier and a revised 81XX Prarie with a conventional 1/2" armature motor like a cut price Triang X04 with worm and fibre worm wheel, yuck.
I have two of each, the 94XX run on modified Triang Jinty chassis with Romford 18mm wheels, while the Praries use Triang Albert Hall chassis with Hornby Dublo 2-6-4 Tank (or possiby A4 or Duchess) 22mm wheels. I use Triang Princess connecting Rods and Triiang Hall cylinders as the Farish Cylinders have no holes for the piston rods, and fabricate a new front and rear frame extension, including drlling and tapping the bottom of the coal bunker to take a rear mounting and cab floor, I also fit a grain of wheat bulb for a firebox glow!, Maybe I would use Bachmann 43XX chassis today but I did mine 25 years ago. Anyway it makes a very good loco which pulls 25 Hornby Dublo wagons easily, roughly twice as many as a new Hornby one, and one has been my main banking engine for 25 years.

Hi Gary,

I have just found your tread. If it is not too late, I may be able to help. I have a GF Prairie, built by my late father. It has with it the complete instructions including a parts drawing and photos of the motor/gearbox mechanism. I could scan these in or photo the part. What is the easiest way to get them to you?

All best, Tony