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Purchased and reviewed by Allen Jackson
Gazette Vol 21 issue 6 - Feb 2021

A LONG-STANDING ORDER ARRIVED yesterday, the Dapol 8750 class pannier tank. At less than £200 they are irresistible.

8784 has the road for the sidings at Brymbo East Junction and the loco is equally at home shunting as well as prodigiously loaded up.

The general impressions are that it is quite faithful of 1933 when it was built. No top feed or whistle shield nor bunker side steps. There is a brass padlock on each toolbox and working Stephenson’s inside link motion, which cannot be seen very well in normal service but like Radio 3 it’s nice to know it’s there even if you don’t listen to it.

The route availability disc is the correct blue and we have had a yellow disc with Great Western lettering from an engine that was copied in preservation from previous producers. The flush-fitting windows complement the generally excellent level of detail.

The cab roof hatch doesn’t slide: One up to the Heljan Prairies then. The green paintwork is a little too light, but I would tone down with a coat of matt varnish. One carp is that the buffer step treads should be black, as with all stepped-on components on GWR engines of this period.

The cab is well detailed, with copper- and brass-coloured fittings as well as red reversing and regulator levers. The side rods are toned down suitably. The coal in the bunker is a simple plastic moulding but is not stuck down. It is soon levered out and replaced by the real thing. The buffer shanks have been silvered as they were plain black as bought.

I would say the coupling shackles are to scale but the hooks are bigger, and therefore much easier to couple than scale hooks. It is also less likely for the shackle to flip off the hook in service, for example with a bit of rough application of the controller or stock pulsing down a steep gradient.

The packaging engineering matches that of the engine. The loco is encased in a plastic frame that is screwed down to be rigid. The loco is further screwed to the plastic frame. The Dapol box and instructions are of similar quality. The locomotive is guaranteed for two years.

The DAPOL 8750 class pannier plus 20 wagons in the fiddle yard at Brymbo East Junction after the 1 in 60 climb at about 6 volts and 0.26A and no slipping or adverse noise.

In DC service the engine runs smoothly and quietly, with an optimum branch line voltage of 5 to 6 volts and current of about 0.1A unloaded. The engine was tried with the heavy Dapol GWR B Set of four coaches and also with a 20-wagon freight. Up a 1 in 60 gradient 25ft long, the passenger train registered 0.36A, about half the tariff of a Heljan Prairie. The freight was about 0.26A, although half the wagons were empties. With these loads and with about 6V selected on a stabilised power supply, there was not a trace of slipping on the bank.

To summarise then, a remarkable level of detail matched only by faultless performance and utility in service at an affordable price.

We showed the review to Dapol, who replied: “The cab roof hatch doesn’t slide, one up to the Heljan prairies then.” However the Dapol cab roof is retained by small magnets so can be easily removed to add crew and admire the interior, a better one up to Dapol?