VIDEO: First look – Dapol O gauge 'Turbot' wagon

Dapol's bogie ballast engineers wagon is now arriving with stockists in 'dutch' livery suitable for the 1982-2002 period and EWS livery suitable for the 1997-2002 period. The wagons have been produced in six guises, three in EWS maroon and gold and three in engineers yellow and grey.

The Turbot bogie ballast wagons were modified from the earlier Bogie Bolster E wagons, manufactured in the 1960s and intended for the transfer of steel. After a number of years in use, the wagons were found to be too short, but adding a low-sided three door body made them suitable for transporting ballast. The wagons were nicknamed 'Turbot' with the TOPS classification as YCV.

Over 1,000 of the wagons were rebuilt by BR Shildon and RFS Engineering at Doncaster between 1982 and 1988 and they continued in service until the end of vacuum-braked operations in 2002. In 1995, 'Turbot' wagons were acquired and modified for use by London Underground for overground sections of its lines.

Read the full review in the October 2020 issue of BRM, available to download from www.pocketmags.com/brm from September 4.