Dapol - 2F-071-053 - Wagon, Open, 7-Plank - London, Midland and Scottish - 302087

Specific Item Information: Open wagons were the first wagons used on the railroad. From the mid 1800s these developed and evolved into a wide range of styles and sizes. In 1923, the Railway Clearing House prepared a set of standards for open top wagons which included load limits and standards of construction. These standards applied to all company and private owner wagons. The Dapol 7 plank 10ft wheelbase model is based on this 1923 standard end door version, indicating its main use for coal distribution. Tens of thousands of these wagons were produced with many being used well past nationalisation into the 1960s. There are numerous examples on various preserved lines throughout the UK.

Road Name History: The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railways into four. The companies merged into the LMS included the London and North Western Railway, Midland Railway, the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (which had previously merged with the London and North Western Railway on 1 January 1922), several Scottish railway companies (including the Caledonian Railway), and numerous other, smaller ventures.

The resulting company was an unwieldy construction, with numerous interests other than railway operation. Besides being the world's largest transport organisation, it was also the largest commercial enterprise in the British Empire and the United Kingdom's second largest employer, after the Post Office. The LMS also claimed to be the largest joint stock organisation in the world.

In 1938, the LMS operated 6,870 miles (11,056 km) of railway (excluding its lines in Northern Ireland), but its profitability was generally disappointing, with a rate of return of only 2.7%. Under the Transport Act 1947, along with the other members of the "Big Four" British railway companies (GWR, LNER and SR), the LMS was nationalised on 1 January 1948, becoming part of the state-owned British Railways.

The LMS was the largest of the Big Four railway companies serving routes in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

From Wikipedia

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).