Dapol

Dapol Ltd is a Welsh model railway manufacturer in N and OO gauges based in Chirk, Wales. The factory where design and manufacturing take place is just over the border in England.

The Dapol trading name is known for its model railway products. Unfortunately in 1994, while the company was moving to its previous location at Llangollen in North Wales, a huge fire destroyed the old site at Northwich near Manchester, and large amounts of products and historical Wrenn material were destroyed.

In 1996 Dapol sold many of its model railway lines to Hornby.

In 1998 the company came under the control of a new board of directors headed by George Smith.

In 2001 Dapol sold the little-exploited Wrenn product line (bought in 1993 from G & R Wrenn) and trading name to three G & R Wrenn collectors.

For a period ending in 2001 Dapol also produced a wide range of Doctor Who models. In 2002 the BBC declined to renew the licence. The Dapol site also hosted the 'BBC Doctor Who Experience' exhibition until 2003.

In 2004 Dapol were awarded the 'UK Small Business of the Year' award.

In 2007 Dapol were awarded the Model Rail (magazine) 'N-gauge Manufacturer of the Year' award.

Products

Dapol manufactures a growing range of N gauge locomotives, coaches and wagons, and is the main competitor of Graham Farish in the British 'ready-to-run' market. Continuous improvement in model specifications has led to the introduction of 40:1 gearing in locomotive drive mechanisms, NEM couplings on all stock, and LED lighting strips for coaching stock (yellow for 'older' coaches, to represent incandescent illumination, and white for more modern coaches and EMUs to represent fluorescent fittings).

N gauge

SR Locos:

• LSWR M7 tank engine

LMS locos:

• Ivatt 2MT tank engine

GWR locos:

• 14xx (2 versions, the second having minor tweaks and NEM couplings)
• 45xx 'Small Prarie'
• 38xx 'Heavy Goods' (future release)

LNER Locos:

• B17 (appeared in 'Book Set' with 3 Gresleys as well as singly)
• B1 (future release)

BR locos:

• 9F (Platinum range)
• 9P 'Britannia' (future Release)
• Class 86 electric (future release)
• Class 43 (future release)
• Class 56 (Romainia built version) (future release)
• Class 35 'Hymek' (Platinum range)
• Class 22 (future release)

Privitization locos/MUs

• Class 153 DMU
• Class 220 'Voyager' and 221 'Super Voyager'
• Class 67 (future release)

GWR Coaches/Passenger rated

• Collett, available in brake 3rd, 3rds and composite (composite uses same body moulding as 3rd)
• Autocoach (available individually and in book set with 14xx)
• B set (brake vehicles only)
• Siphon G and H

LNER coaches

• Gresleys (available as Brake composite, 3rd, 1st (and in BR Maroon only) Buffet)

SR & LMS Coaches

• None have appeared, though Dave Smith (Dapol Employee) stated that SR Maunsell stock, highly rumoured to be selected, was not going to be produced because of poor sales figures for the Maroon Gresleys.

BR coaches

• Mk3 stock, available in Loco hauled (with buffers) and HST format (no buffers) (future release)

Grouping wagons

• Gunpowder
• 7 plank
• GWR 20T Coal truck (appeared incorrectly as GWR Coal, as the model has an end door).

BR wagons

• Grain hopper (incorrectly appeared in GWR and LMS liveries)
• 'Silver Bullet' China Clay wagons (future release)

Privitization Wagons

• Spine Container Wagons
• Megafrets
• 'Monsterbox' and 'Mini-Monsterbox' bulk loose material wagons (in EWS Livery)

OO Gauge

In 00 gauge, Dapol manufactures ready to run wagons and kits. Newly introduced wagons are the 'Fruit D' (available in GWR, BR and BR parcels liveries), square tank (from pre grouping era, in a number of private company liveries) and BR parcels van (previously released in N, and appearing in fish, express parcels and Shirebrook Packing liveries).

Kits are moulded in grey plastic and the range features buildings, road vehicles, wagons and locos (the kits using some moulds bought in 1993 from the Airfix company).

References

• Ness St Cottage, a site with the current and past few Dapol catalocgues

External links

• Dapol official website

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