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Dapol Fruit Van


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Recently aquired an OO gauge Dapol B011 fruit van, an unpainted body which is allegedly a GWR vehicle. It says on the bag that it came in (from Dapol) that it has an 11 foot chassis. Is there a chassis kit to fit this vehicle or is it an old duffer that should really go in the bin? It looked like a nice mini project for winter to build a chassis and paint up for it.

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This is based on the cattle wagon conversions the GWR carried out in the 30s. The Dapol model utilises the former Hornby Dublo cattle wagon and indeed has an 11' wheelbase which Dapol produce. The model is basically accurate but not up to current detail standards.

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They are a reasonable take on the standard GWR Fruit van with a 10ft wheelbase, 17ft 6in over headstocks, standard RCH vacuum brake type. Very few wagons - CAttle and Izal palvan - have 11ft wheelbase. just check the measurements.

 

Paul

 

It would appear that the Dapol B011 is, in fact, a representation of a GWR Y10 fruit van conversion of a W10 cattle wagon.

 

Knowing Dapol's form in these areas, I'm guessing that this is a mould adaptation of the old Hornby Dublo cattle wagon.

 

Now what the pedigree / accuracy is of the HD cattle wagon, or for that matter, the Dapol fruit van, I cannot say - not having an example to hand.

 

If it is accurate, the body 'should' fit an 11' WB chassis - but I'm not holding my breath!

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

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It would appear that the Dapol B011 is, in fact, a representation of a GWR Y10 fruit van conversion of a W10 cattle wagon.

 

Knowing Dapol's form in these areas, I'm guessing that this is a mould adaptation of the old Hornby Dublo cattle wagon.

 

Now what the pedigree / accuracy is of the HD cattle wagon, or for that matter, the Dapol fruit van, I cannot say - not having an example to hand.

 

If it is accurate, the body 'should' fit an 11' WB chassis - but I'm not holding my breath!

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

The chassis provided does scale to an 11' wheelbase, though it's a typically outdated one-piece moulding. Your guesswork as to its origins is spot-on.

 

OK so long as one doesn't inspect it too closely next to the better modern stuff like Hornby's horseboxes, SR cattle wagons etc. though weathering and adding a vacuum cylinder and cross-shaft improves the look, as do a set of self-contained buffer castings.

 

Assuming the body length is accurate (not a certainty given its Hornby Dublo ancestry) the obvious replacement chassis with better detail could presumably come from a Airfix/Dapol Cattle wagon kit, though I haven't yet tried it so don't know how easy it is. 

 

IIRC, the HD cattle wagon was based on the BR style rather than the GWR pattern, so the roof curve will be too shallow.

 

John

Edited by Dunsignalling
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This one I assume  https://www.Dapol.co.uk/b011-oo-gauge-unpainted-fruit-van-body-290

 

Unfortunately Meccano Ltd had taken a leaf out of Lines Bros book regarding 'one size fits all' with their Dublo SD6 cattle truck and consequently it shared an underframe with their grain hopper. IIRC it scales 20 feet over headstocks which is too long for for the cattle truck (it should be 18' 6" IIRC) and too short for the other. This is a great pity as they are both excellent mouldings. AFAIK the Dapol wagon is based on this cattle truck moulding (incorrectly as the fruit vans were modified from GWR wagons and the Dublo model is a BR version (principally. but not exclusively, they differ in the arc of the roof.

 

I'll try and find a Dublo underframe and measure it, meanwhile this is the real thing. (The Dublo underframe has clasp brakes so is not really suitable, apart from its other failings.)

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/svr_enthusiast/32877637714

Edited by Il Grifone
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I'll try and find a Dublo underframe and measure it, meanwhile this is the real thing. (The Dublo underframe has clasp brakes so is not really suitable, apart from its other failings.)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/svr_enthusiast/32877637714

 

That is a Y8. The Dapol thing is supposed to be a Y10, which is very different.

 

The Ratio 10' underframe is usually an excellent fit for most Dublo bodies, but it would be useful to know what the 'Y10' body length actually is. The prototype Y10 had an 18'6" body on a 11'6" wheelbase.

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It would appear that the Dapol B011 is, in fact, a representation of a GWR Y10 fruit van conversion of a W10 cattle wagon.

 

Knowing Dapol's form in these areas, I'm guessing that this is a mould adaptation of the old Hornby Dublo cattle wagon.

 

Now what the pedigree / accuracy is of the HD cattle wagon, or for that matter, the Dapol fruit van, I cannot say - not having an example to hand.

 

If it is accurate, the body 'should' fit an 11' WB chassis - but I'm not holding my breath!

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

John

 

The body tooling was done by Wrenn, one of the few new products made by them, and used the same underframe as the old HD cattle truck.

 

Richard

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That is a Y8. The Dapol thing is supposed to be a Y10, which is very different.

 

The Ratio 10' underframe is usually an excellent fit for most Dublo bodies, but it would be useful to know what the 'Y10' body length actually is. The prototype Y10 had an 18'6" body on a 11'6" wheelbase.

 

Oops try this one!  http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/134155-fruit-vans/ post#8

 

The Dublo wagon it's modified from scales to 20 ft over headstocks IIRC. I looked but couldn't find one to measure. I'll have to look a bit harder. I have several.

Edited by Il Grifone
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