Dapol - 2S-007-028 - Locomotive, Steam, 5700 Pannier Tank - Great North of Scotland - 5775

Specific Item Information: Pannier Tanks were used almost exclusively in Britain by the GWR. They were brought into service to replace earlier built and designed saddle tank locomotives. Their design offered the locomotive a low centre of gravity, reasonable range and easier access to the working of the locomotive. In all 863 were built between 1929 and 1950 and sixteen survive into preservation. Eleven 5700 saddle tanks were bought by London Transport for use on shunting duties on the London Underground Network. These were numbered L89 to L99 and continued in service until 1971. The locomotives durability and functionality is attested by the fact that the last locomotive in service was used well into the 1970’s by the National Coal Board at the Deep Duffryn Colliery at Mountain Ash.

Road Name History: The Great North of Scotland Railway (GNSR) was one of the two smallest of the five major Scottish railway companies prior to the 1923 Grouping, operating in the north-east of the country. Formed in 1845, it carried its first passengers the 39 miles (63 km) from Kittybrewster, in Aberdeen, to Huntly on 20 September 1854. By 1867 it owned 226+1⁄4 route miles (364.1 km) of line and operated over a further 61 miles (98 km).From Wikipedia

Free Use Photograph from Wikimedia Commons: Gordon Highlander takes on coal in 1964 - Charlie Stephen (Photograph provided by Mike Cooper)

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).