Dapol

At the beginning of November 2016, I attended the Alsager Railway Association Exhibition at its new venue at the Legends Conference and Leisure Centre at Bentley motors Crewe. Whilst I was there I had my first viewing of the newly released Dapol Class 08 Shunter, often known by their nickname, Gronk. A member of the Helmthwaite and Chapel Lane layout team had purchased a black variant at the show and was testing it on the layout. I must say when I saw the item it looked and ran very well with excellent slow speed running. Of course this is as one would expect from a shunting locomotive and on the plus side, the detailing was excellent.

I have an affinity with the Gronk, as an ex-BR Person one of whose postings was to the then West Midlands Freight Area based at Bescot in the 1990s. I have vivid memories of being on the footplate of a Gronk on a trip working from Wednesbury Steel Terminal to Coopers Scrap Yard at Bilston. Suffice it to say the permanent way was not in the best condition at the time and the locomotive was like a bucking bronco which lurched from side to side during the journey. When we got to the destination the PW was something of a challenge to say the least. The rails were secured to what could best described as match wood sleepers, probably out of the ark and the ballast was none existent. The entry to the yard was at an angle with the track sloping accordingly that’s why there was a restriction on the type of motive power allowed to work to and from the yard. The speed limit for the whole route was a sedate 15mph no doubt due to the condition of the PW. This is where I became a fan of the Gronk and why I have had a close affection for the Class 08 since that day.

When I saw the Black Gronk at the show I thought well it was worth a trip to the Dapol stand to see what was available. There sitting in a box was a limited edition Dapol black shunter, BR number 13308, with the name Charlie. The stipulation being that I had to become a member of the Dapol Collectors club to obtain the model at a discount off the RRP. I duly parted with my hard-earned cash and became the owner of a black 08. I already have two green Gronks, one built from a kit and one Bachmann Brassworks variant. One of these is DCC and the other DC.

So having compared the new Dapol variant with both the existing Gronks in my fleet, I would make the following comments:-

I found the model to be excellent in both detail and running and when tested at the North East Cheshire Gauge O Guild (NECGOG) group’s test track, it ran well and had no problem with pulling loads of varying lengths and weights. The performance was faultless in both forward and reverse directions and the power to weight ratio was excellent with no wheel slip evident. In terms of value for money, I consider it was both good value and well packaged with no identifiable shortcomings by way of any missing or broken parts when I opened the box. I don’t intend to comment on the history of the Class 08 and the accuracy of the model as there is boundless material and opinions out in the wider world of the model railways on this subject. It is sufficient to say that the model ticks the boxes for my own personal requirements with detailing to a high standard and represents good value for money.