Dapol N Gauge Bulleid West Country / Battle of Britain 1st EP samples revealed

At the 2024 International N Gauge Show, Dapol revealed first EP samples for the eagerly awaited Bulleid West Country & Battle of Britain Light Pacifics, and N Gauge News has taken a close up look.

Only arriving in the UK a few days ago, this is the very first engineering sample to arrive at Dapol from the factory and is subject to inspection and revision by the development team, however even at this stage it makes for an impressive looking model.

First announced in 2011, it's fair to say the model has had a lengthy gestation period, and we understand it has also gone through several redesigns, however with the EP now at hand, Dapol are hopeful that the models will be in shops by the end of 2025/early 2026.

The eagle eyed amongst readers will notice that the locomotive body has reverted to a plastic moulding, rather than the diecast body previously specified, however there is still a weighty chassis packed in to it and the EP was seen to be hauling 11 coaches with ease and without traction tyres, which will be fitted to the final models. The use of plastic also allows for finer detail to be incorporated, and the body moulding is awash with very fine rivet detailing indeed.

The tender to body link will be via a 4 pin socket to allow reliable electrical connection, and this also features a kinematic close coupling mechanism, which along with the GWR Mogul and new Manor is the first time this has been used for the locomotive to tender connection in a UK outline N Gauge steam engines.

The mechanism features a heavy diecast chassis to aid traction and is driven by a flywheel equipped coreless motor. The EP sample wasn't equipped with traction tyres however these will be fitted to the production models. The tender houses the DCC chip and speaker. Fire box flicker is also visible through the excellent backhead detailing.

Dapol will be providing more information on the model and updated features in due course and NGN extends our huge thanks to the Dapol team at The International N Gauge Show for allowing access to the EP sample for photography.