Graham Farish
Chinese-owned brand of N gauge British railway models.
Graham Farish is a Chinese-owned brand that produces N gauge models of British railways. The company, originally founded in the UK in 1928, was acquired by Bachmann Industries in 2000. The following year, all manufacturing shifted to the Kader Group's factory in Hong Kong.
Based in Poole, Dorset, the firm began as a maker of radio parts and kits. After World War II, demand for radios fell, and by the late 1940s it had moved into model railways. Its early 1950s output focused on British OO gauge, including track, wagons, and accessories. Some obscure items, like the 1953 Graham Farish Coronation figures by Russell Gammage, are now collector's items. The OO locomotives originally used an unconventional two-pole DC motor. Many diecast parts were made from impure mazac—an alloy of magnesium, aluminium, zinc, and copper, similar to Zamak—which was the only material available after the war. This alloy later crumbled due to zinc pest.
Graham Farish found its market niche with the arrival of N scale, becoming the main supplier of British-outline N scale models under the GRAFAR label. This happened at a time when the market was shrinking and other OO gauge manufacturers were struggling. The initial 1970 range included the 9400 Pannier Tank locomotive, four-wheel coaches, bogie suburban stock (based on Period 2 LMS suburban stock), and mainline bogie stock (based on Southern coaches), which appeared in Caledonian, LMS, GWR, LNER, and SR liveries.
After Italy-based Lima and German-based Minitrix withdrew from the mass market in the late 1980s, Grafar became the only major supplier of British-outline N scale models. This led to its withdrawal from OO scale due to increased competition in the collector market. Early 1970s products used three-pole armature motors and all-brass gears. In the early 1980s, motors were upgraded to five-pole armatures, and gears were briefly replaced with white nylon ones. Those were soon swapped for thin black plastic gears, which could split and cause poor running. Eventually, thicker plastic gears were introduced, producing a much more reliable and popular range. By the late 1990s, the Graham Farish N gauge range included 350 lines: locomotives, coaches, wagons, buildings, and complete train sets, from starter sets up to the 8-foot by 2-foot-6-inch Magnum Layouts, which came with all track laid and a full set of building kits.
- Founded
- 1928
- Country of origin
- UK
- Owner
- Bachmann Industries (subsidiary of Kader Industries)
- Acquisition year
- 2000
- Manufacturing relocation year
- 2001
- Relocation destination
- Kader's Hong Kong factory
- Initial n scale year
- 1970
Lore & Background
The Poole, Dorset based manufacturer of radio parts and kits entered the model railway business in the late 1940s, after the need for radio sets dropped post World War II. Early 1950s models focused on British OO gauge, including track, wagons and supporting items. Many obscure items such as the Graham Farish Coronation figures from 1953 are considered collector's items. Originally OO locomotives used an unconventional 2 pole DC electric motor, and many diecast items were manufactured with impure mazac, an alloy of Magnesium, Aluminium, Zinc and Copper, which later crumbled due to Zinc pest.
Graham Farish found its market niche with the arrival of N scale, becoming the major supplier of British outline N scale models under the GRAFAR label. The initial range in 1970 started with the 9400 Pannier Tank loco, 4 wheel coaches, bogie 'suburban' stock and 'Mainline' bogie stock. After the withdrawal of Italy-based Lima and German-based Minitrix from the late 1980s, Grafar was the only major supplier of British outline models in N scale, leading to its withdrawal from the OO scale market. Early 1970s products used three pole armature motors and all brass gears; in the early 1980s motors improved to five pole armatures and gears were replaced with white nylon gears, then thin black plastic gears that could split, eventually replaced by thicker plastic gears for more reliable models. By the late 1990s the range included 350 lines including locomotives, coaches, wagons, buildings and complete train sets.
Reader's Guide
Graham Farish's significance lies in its role as the dominant supplier of British outline N scale models during a period when the market shrank and other OO gauge players suffered. The company's takeover by Bachmann Industries in 2000 and subsequent manufacturing move to Kader's Hong Kong factory in 2001 shifted production from the Poole facility. Bachmann has since increased the Farish range by duplicating models introduced to the Bachmann OO range, with an OO scale model typically followed six months to a year later by an N scale Graham Farish model. Products are generally divided into two categories: British made equipment, sought more by collectors for being older and British, and Chinese-built models, preferred by model railway users for being more robust and detailed. UK built models have a yellow sticker on the ends of the box, while Chinese built models have a white sticker. The brand's legacy includes a wide variety of locomotives, coaches, wagons, and train sets that have sustained British N gauge modelling through changing market conditions.
Did You Know?
- Graham Farish was originally a manufacturer of radio parts and kits before entering the model railway business in the late 1940s.
- The initial N scale range in 1970 started with the 9400 Pannier Tank locomotive.
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