Dapol announce N Gauge O & K JHA Hoppers
Dapol have provided more details of the O & K JHA Hoppers they announced at TINGS (The International N Gauge Show). With the announcement of the class 59 in N Gauge by both Dapol and Revolution these are sure to be in demand. Consequently, Dapol are planning to release 4 different our wagons and 6 inner ones. These will all be in the Foster Yeoman livery.
The O&K JHA hoppers were manufactured by the German railway engineering firm Orenstein & Koppel. Their introduction coincided with the delivery and entry to active service of the Class 59’s in England. The class 59s were imported from the USA for hauling aggregate trains run by Foster Yeoman. To date they still remain in active service with Mendip Rail Ltd and cover large parts of the south and south west of England primarily.
A standard rake of these JHA wagons consists of two outer wagons and any number of inner wagons depending on the overall length and capacity required.
The notable difference between the inner and outer wagons is that the outer wagons are fitted with screw link couplings as well as buffers on the ends of the train consist. The connection between the inner wagons was fitted with a buckeye style coupling. This allows closer coupling to occur and therefore an overall decrease in length of the train. This was considered an important specification and design issue at the time of introduction.
The model is at the tooling stage for Dapol and they have released a number of CAD images. And, Dapol have advised that these have been prepared from original works drawings.
Specifications
The models will come fitted with profiled wheels as standard. The plan is for them to have a diecast chassis which will help with stability on the track. For those looking for added realism, the outer wagons will also come with a removable non working tail lamp.
Looking further into the specification in the updated Dapol catalogue released on line today shows further details. Probably the most notable is that both types of wagon will be fitted with a kinematic close style coupling to replicate the close coupling seen in real life. Also, the outer wagons will come with fixed buffers on the outer most end. as well as the tail lamp. This end of the wagon will also feature a NEM pocket with standard N Gauge coupling attached. The alternate end is without buffers and comes with a NEM compatible style buckeye coupling.
The inner wagons as standard will come with an NEM compatible dummy buckeye style coupling bar. However, also included is a rapido style for those modellers that require one for tighter curves.
On release these wagons will have an RRP of £39.95. Although, this means a whole consist will prove expensive it is in line with other recent releases. Credit should go to Dapol as they have shown a renewed interest in N Gauge in recent times. Also, their RRPs have for the large part remained sensible and realistic which is good. This may of course be helping with volume, and encouraging Dapol to release more as they have been.
