Dapol - 2F-071-084 - Wagon, Open, 7-Plank - Painted/Lettered - 2028

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: Some items are designed to have their owner add whatever company marking they choose, usually in the form of decals or dry-transfers. These items are painted in a generic prototypical fashion but with all company affiliation deliberately left off.
These items can be lettered or numbered, but without any company name on it.

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).