Dapol Class 121 and 122 in OO gauge

[dibber25]

Sorry to disappoint you, Chuffed 1.  When the Gloucester built cars [Class 122] were introduced, in 1958, they were divided between Southall, Reading and Tyseley.  When the Pressed Steel variety [Class 121] appeared in 1960 they too were divided between Southall and Reading except for three which went to Bristol.  The advent of the 121s displaced some 122s which mostly went to Laira with some to Tyseley.

 

As a consolation prize you may like to know that Oxford played host to ex-Great Western railcars at various times in the 1950s but according to the book at my elbow never more than two and none after 1957.

 

Chris 

 

Edit - I forgot to deal with the appearance of Fairford on dmu destination blinds.  It's true, not only of the single cars but also of the 117s.  I don''t know the book Branch Line to Fairford so can't help you there.  Conventional wisdom says that there was never a regular dmu working to Fairford but never say never!

 

It was me who saw the 121 with Fairford on the blind. It was years after the line closed and the unit was painted Rail blue at the time. It was also standing in Paddington! There's no recorded instance of any DMU service over the Fairford branch. The nearest to Oxford was Abingdon and that was served by a car from Reading. I did read recently that Oxford-based GWR streamliners had a working to Witney but not to Fairford. I wonder if the Witney working was, in fact, a parcels railcar, as there was a high volume of parcels traffic from the Witney Blanket Co. (CJL)

[dibber25]

Here's the picture. Sorry about the quality. The DMU roller blinds made provision for services which were expected to be dieselised when the blinds were ordered. Some of the lines were closed before diesels ever went near them, but it was fun for a driver to sometimes roll up a non-existent destination, especially if it was between cars, as in this case. DMUs did go to Witney on a couple of rail tours, but the track on the extension to Fairford had already been lifted by then. Indeed, the rail tour I went on had to use the goods yard as even the track in Witney (new) station had been lifted by that time.

One of the novelties of Southall area blinds was that in 1958/9 there had been a proposal to divert Staines West branch trains over the wartime spur in to Staines Central. This would have closed Staines West and avoided the need for the A30 Staines by-pass to bridge the branch. As a result, blinds ordered at the time simply had STAINES, in order to cover either possibility. Older blinds had STAINES WEST in full. In the event, the SR needed more money to convert Central to accept the extra trains, so it proved more sensible to build the by-pass bridge. (CJL)

Edited February 9, 2018 by dibber25

[Miss Prism]

There's no recorded instance of any DMU service over the Fairford branch.

 

http://www.fairfordbranch.co.uk/Locomotives.htm

[dibber25]

http://www.fairfordbranch.co.uk/Locomotives.htm

 

From the types of unit, I'm thinking those were all rail tours - and I suspect, only as far as Witney. I'm pretty certain it was 117s when I travelled - 'The Witney Wanderer' if I recall correctly. The weather was so lousy that I don't think I took any photos. If I did, there was nothing publishable. I used the term 'service' in my original comment to imply a regular, scheduled, public train. (CJL)

[Chuffed 1]

Thank you all for your input, especially Chris for his photo! So maybe it was one of the bananas (the accompanying photo showsa phalanx of matrons in their finery heading for the opposite platform and the exit - I cannot imagine them crouched in a parcels railcar!)? Certainly the fashions would suggest 1950's and Martin Loaders' excellent website 'The Fairford Branch' shows a banana at South Leigh.

One thing about the Fairford branch was that if often threw up some surprising combinations - I have a picture of 1420 heading an Oxford departure at Fairford comprised of a Centenary third and an ex-LMS Diagram 1778 BG!

 

So I guess I'm going to have to invoke Rule 1 !

[dibber25]

What an impressive thread!  A question for the historically knowledgeable out there. One of the locations on the layout I am building is Alvescot, on the Fairford branch. A lot earlier on this thread someone said they saw a 121 with Fairford on the blind.  In addition to this, in the Middleton Press Branch Line To Fairford there is a photo at Eynsham that purports to show an approaching Flying Banana. Leaving aside that it seems to show a departing unit, considering the disembarked passengers on the adjoining photo, as close an inspection as is possible with a printed picture seems to show a 121 or 122 (or even, perhaps, one of the Oxford-Bedford 108's?).

My question is, did Oxford have an allocation of single units during their first four years?

 

BTW, my own 122 runs like a dream and the green seems about right, unlike the 'whiskers' which are far too thick.  Or did BR paint 'speed moustaches' on their early units??

I've just had a look at that picture - pic 26 - in the printed book and it clearly has a dark roof, light windscreen area and medium-dark lower section, so it is without doubt a streamliner in blood and custard livery. A 122 or 121 would show a white roof and a medium to dark front end. The pictures may not have been taken in the sequence depicted in the book, and could have been taken some time apart, particularly as, though credited to BR, it is not obvious why the railway would have taken them. The whiskers on the Dapol 122 are pretty much spot-on for a Gloucester unit. (CJL)

[dibber25]

Thank you all for your input, especially Chris for his photo! So maybe it was one of the bananas (the accompanying photo showsa phalanx of matrons in their finery heading for the opposite platform and the exit - I cannot imagine them crouched in a parcels railcar!)? Certainly the fashions would suggest 1950's and Martin Loaders' excellent website 'The Fairford Branch' shows a banana at South Leigh.

One thing about the Fairford branch was that if often threw up some surprising combinations - I have a picture of 1420 heading an Oxford departure at Fairford comprised of a Centenary third and an ex-LMS Diagram 1778 BG!

 

So I guess I'm going to have to invoke Rule 1 !

Yes, motive power on the branch was pretty ad hoc, it seems. Good to know that some 'bananas' got down there. Fairford was largely responsible for my interest in GWR rural branch lines, it being the first closed, derelict station I ever saw. I reckon that was not long after its closure, and the track had already been lifted. I have the 'O' from the station name board. The board had broken in half and the 'O' had fallen off. Seemed a shame to leave it there! (CJL)

[adb968008]

Thanks for your post, after reading it I decided to test my Bubblecar - I hadn't a chance since Christmas to get it out of the box.

 

I had the same problem with slow running but found another potential solution if any one else has the same problem.

 

On the rolling road I only had one bogie running and the other off the runners. A bogie on its own worked faster. Then I swopped it around after some running in and did the same with the other bogie. If you give each separate bogie a reasonable period of running in (I only did 10 minutes), then when the DMU is put on the tracks it runs as fast as you would expect.

 

Hope this is of help for those modellers who don't want to take the unit apart

Might be worth checking every couple of days to see if it maintains that ?

I did try a 30 minute session where it seemed to ease up, and it felt quite “warm” afterwards.

But next day it was tight again, and again a 30 min session eased it but not that much.

Third time same again, I figured after 90 minutes running on full power if it was going to get any better for the long term it would have..

 

It is a mystery., as there’s no gunk in the gears, and the gears move freely... one aspect I didn’t consider is the possibility the circuit board being screwed down was squeezing the shaft and restricting its movement sandwiched between the circuit board and the frames.. haven’t checked this .. if someone wants to try ?

 

I’ve just got the Dapol GWR railcar.. works fine out of the box, no issues at all.

Edited February 9, 2018 by adb968008

[Miss Prism]

From the types of unit, I'm thinking those were all rail tours - and I suspect, only as far as Witney. I'm pretty certain it was 117s when I travelled - 'The Witney Wanderer' if I recall correctly. The weather was so lousy that I don't think I took any photos. If I did, there was nothing publishable. I used the term 'service' in my original comment to imply a regular, scheduled, public train. (CJL)

 

Thanks, Chris. I did wonder whether they were in the 'rail tour' category.

[Chuffed 1]

Yes, motive power on the branch was pretty ad hoc, it seems. Good to know that some 'bananas' got down there. Fairford was largely responsible for my interest in GWR rural branch lines, it being the first closed, derelict station I ever saw. I reckon that was not long after its closure, and the track had already been lifted. I have the 'O' from the station name board. The board had broken in half and the 'O' had fallen off. Seemed a shame to leave it there! (CJL)

What a great story! I lived in Alvescot for a few years, long after the branch had gone but even today it has a character quiteunlike anywhere else. They still talk in the villages about the building of the bus shelters on the demise of the railway!

[dibber25]

I hate it when a thread goes completely off topic but I couldn't resist chucking in this shot of Fairford from that very first visit. If I find any more I'll post them in the 'Prototype Discussions' section under a Fairford station heading.

In the meantime - just to be good and get back on topic - I have nearly finished tweaking my first Dapol 121. It has the Legomanbiffo sound installation and I've fitted a crew and passengers. I've also repainted the roof dome cream and I think its a big improvement. I'm aware that white may well be correct for an ex-works car but they didn't stay white for long, even if they started that way, and I remember them as cream, so the cream looks much more correct to me. Sometimes, I think it pays to model what you remember rather than what is strictly correct. (CJL)

[Miss Prism]

I don't think you'll win any prizes for the best landscape photographer, Chris, but that is certainly a useful and uncommon viewpoint of Fairford. Oxfordshire is very flat.

[Coppercap]

I don't think you'll win any prizes for the best landscape photographer, Chris, but that is certainly a useful and uncommon viewpoint of Fairford. Oxfordshire is very flat.

Has Fairford been moved? Last time I went through it, it was still in Gloucestershire...

[Miss Prism]

Whoops!

[dibber25]

I don't think you'll win any prizes for the best landscape photographer, Chris, but that is certainly a useful and uncommon viewpoint of Fairford. Oxfordshire is very flat.

 

My brother and I both had Kodak Brownie 44a cameras. In 1964 (the print is date-stamped June 1964 on the back) I'd have been 17 and he'd have been 14. I think he took most of the Fairford pictures - usually one of us took black and white and the other took colour prints. They aren't great pictures but it's surprising how interesting they are, 50 years on, and how you can tweak even the lousy ones up on the computer once they are scanned. (CJL)

[Chuffed 1]

Great pic of the rear of a EGR building. The concrete posts on that line were interesting, the wartime versions were shorter than the later BR versions and in some cases the original GW wooden posts have outlasted their later neighbours!

On the subject of cab domes, does anyone know if they were left in their original GRP clear (hence the 'cream colour'), perhaps to provide additional lighting, or were they definitely painted?

[Max Legroom]

Finally got around to renumbering my 122 as SC55002.

 

 

I quite like the way this model is put together making it easy to work on. For some reason the roof was out of alignment by a couple of mm and no amount of pushing could persuade it to slide into the correct position so I ended up aligning it from above and pushing up down into place. The Glasgow PTA decals are HMRS and the rest of the numbering/lettering is a specially made set from Railtec. First time I've used them and very impressive service.

 

Now I just need to work on that bodyside weathering, oh, and build a layout for it!

[dibber25]

Great pic of the rear of a EGR building. The concrete posts on that line were interesting, the wartime versions were shorter than the later BR versions and in some cases the original GW wooden posts have outlasted their later neighbours!

On the subject of cab domes, does anyone know if they were left in their original GRP clear (hence the 'cream colour'), perhaps to provide additional lighting, or were they definitely painted?

 

I'm pretty certain they were painted white but they discoloured very quickly in service, both by getting stained and by the white discolouring to a light creamy shade. (CJL)

[Jack Cregan]

Just purchased a Blue one today at Model Rail Scotland. With the controller turned up to max it is still slower than the Heljan class 128 at 50% power. My layout is DC. Anyone else had this issue?

Jack

[davy crockett]

Just purchased a Blue one today at Model Rail Scotland. With the controller turned up to max it is still slower than the Heljan class 128 at 50% power. My layout is DC. Anyone else had this issue?

Jack

Keep running it in at 50% power. it will get better, mine took a hour in each direction.

[royaloak]

Just purchased a Blue one today at Model Rail Scotland. With the controller turned up to max it is still slower than the Heljan class 128 at 50% power. My layout is DC. Anyone else had this issue?

Jack

Lots of people report the same issue, it frees up a bit with running in and some have removed one of the drive shafts from the motor to one of the gear towers which apparently helps as well.

[adb968008]

Just purchased a Blue one today at Model Rail Scotland. With the controller turned up to max it is still slower than the Heljan class 128 at 50% power. My layout is DC. Anyone else had this issue?

Jack

Quite common..

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/65775-Dapol-class-121-and-122-in-oo-gauge/?p=2985254

[Sam Moss]

I wonder whether rather than taking out a drive shaft completely, keep both in place but instead disconnect the drive to the outer axles on each bogie. If gives the same result then it also mimics the prototypes drive arrangement.

[FJ1701]

Just wondered about how Dapol and Bachmann are both producing the same model and if Bachmann are still going ahead even though Dapol released theirs first. I saw online that it’s due out between August and September 2019. Begs the question whether Bachmann will really go ahead with its release. Cheers

Rory

Edited April 20, 2018 by FJ1701

[Johnfromoz]

Hi all,

 

Just a quick question regarding decoders for the 121. Have just popped a Hattons Cheapie 4 function chip into my bubble car. Controls movement superbly, marker lights and then cab lights on F1 & 2 on each end respectively but no interior lights. Obviously this is because its a 4 function jobbie, and have initially assumed that I will need an Imperium or similar to get the internal saloon lighting. However, there is some mention earlier in the thread of someone using the current Bachmann 557 and getting the interior lights on (possibly uncontrolled).

 

Can anyone confirm that the 557controls or even gives saloon lighting and is it to do with new aux outputs?

 

TIA

 

John