Dapol - 2F-027-009 - Tank, Silver Bullet, Clay - ECC International - 3387 789 8 077-5

Specific Item Information: The ICA China Clay slurry wagon has been nicknamed Silver Bullet due to its distinctive shape and colour and was designed for the efficient transport of China Clay slurry, typically from Cornwall to the paper mills of Scotland. These wagons were first produced by Arbel Fauvet in France between 1989 and 1990 but a later batch was manufactured in 2007 especially for the Channel Tunnel traffic between Belgium and Scotland.

Brand/Importer Information: Dapol Ltd is a Welsh model railway manufacturer based in Chirk, Wales. The factory where design and manufacturing take place is just over the border in England. The company is known for its model railway products in N gauge and OO gauge. Dapol's name is a play on its founders David and Pauline Boyle's names. He owned a model concern Highfield Birds & Models. In 1981 he first tried to buy the Airfix and Mainline ranges. The Dapol brand name was first used in a Railway Modeller advert of September 1983. The first Dapol wagons (for OO) were announced to become available on 20 November 1983. From 1 March 1984 ex Airfix railway kits became available.

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).