Go Dapol!

Dapol dropped a bombshell at the N Gauge Society AGM with the news of their next models for this year:

• Class 66 locomotive
• Dogfish ballast hopper
• Six wheel milk tanker

Future plans include a class 150 DMU, which will be a very useful model provided it has nothing to do with their horrible OO model from a few years back.

There has been a lot of criticism on the Ngauge mailing list for their decision for do a class 66, on the grounds that Bachmann had announced one. But the critics ignore one obvious fact! Bachmann have been promising a 66 for years now, with no release in sight. Bachmann have announced all sorts of things, with release dates put back so many times that nobody takes them seriously any more. Some have even suggested the announce things as 'spoilers', to discourage rivals. Following on from Peco with the HAA coal hopper, Dapol have decided to call their bluff. Good on Dapol! Perhaps this will prompt Bachmann to get their finger out. The prototype 66 is in service with several operators with a combined fleet approaching 400. It's the essential model for anyone wanting to model the contemporary British scene.

If someone had asked me for the ideal wagons for Dapol to produce, I would have suggested the Dogfish and the milk tanker! Both are very long-lived prototypes with a wide geographical spread, sellable to both diesel fans and boiler bunnies. Both tended to run in block rakes. Any British layout set from 1948 through to about 2000 could make use of a rake of a dozen or so Dogfish. Although there is an etched brass kit available, they're a pig to build, and way beyond my ability to produce an acceptable model from. Any many layouts set from the 1930s to the 1980s can find a home for a milk tank or six, especially those much loved west country branches.