| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Model railway components |
| Founded | 1983 |
| Founder | David Boyle |
| Headquarters | Chirk, Wrexham, Wales |
| Website | www.dapol.co.uk |
Dapol Ltd is a model railway manufacturer based in Chirk, Wales.[1]
History
Dapol's name is a play on its founders David and Pauline Boyle's names. He owned a model concern Highfield Birds & Models. In 1981 he first tried to buy the Airfix and Mainline ranges.[2]
The Dapol brand name was first used in a Railway Modeller advert of September 1983.[3] The first Dapol wagons (for OO) were announced to become available on 20 November 1983.[4] From 1 March 1984 ex Airfix railway kits became available.[5]
Later in the year Railway Modeller magazine carried a two-page profile of the new concern with the upbeat title 'An exciting new model empire'.[6]
Dapol also dabbled in the slot car sector. It acquired stocks of Matchbox's Powertrack slot car system when that brand exited the slot car market in 1982. Dapol set up a subsidiary called CounterLane Limited and reissued Powertrack under that brand name in similar boxes to its model railway range.[7] During 1985 Dapol successfully bought Mainline (and thereby the former Airfix) model railway ranges from Palitoy.[8] It was announced in the Railway Modeller of February 1989 that Dapol had bought the former Trix/British Liliput range from Ernest Rosza.[9] The Dapol 1989 catalogue also showed that the Model-Land building range had been bought.[10]
In 1994, while the company was moving to Llangollen in North Wales, a fire destroyed the old site at Winsford in Cheshire, and large quantities of products and historical Wrenn material were destroyed. In 1996 Dapol sold many of its inherited model railway lines to Hornby.[11]
In April 2025, Dapol announced they would be suspending all orders from the United States until further notice.[12]
Products
![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding missing information. (September 2025) |
OO Gauge
The first OO scale locomotives to be entirely originated by Dapol were the L&YR Pug 0-4-0ST, the Austerity 0-6-0ST and GWR County 4-6-0 generated in 1984/5.[13][14] The next was the LB&SCR Terrier. This was shown in the 1988 catalogue having been announced at the 1987 Toy Fair.[15][16]
O Gauge
Dapol have released several locomotives and rolling stock in O gauge, including the Austerity J94[17] and Great Western Toad Brake Van. [18]
References
- ^ "About Us". Dapol. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
- ^ Ramsay's British Model Trains catalogue edition 6, by Pat Hammond, 2008 p. 101.
- ^ Railway Modeller, September 1983, p. 6a.
- ^ Railway Modeller, November 1983, p. 12a.
- ^ Railway Modeller, March 1984, p. 25a.
- ^ Railway Modeller, September 1984, p. 364ff.
- ^ "Matchbox Powertrack - DAPOL CounterLane".
- ^ Model Railway Constructor magazine June 1985 page 328 and November 1985 page 565 describe the transition.
- ^ Railway Modeller, February 1989, p. 91.
- ^ Dapol 1989 catalogue page 50ff where the model are labelled Dapoland.
- ^ Rail Express, October 1996, p. 65.
- ^ "U.S Customs Regulation Changes". Dapol. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
- ^ Railway Modeller, January 1984, p. 40.
- ^ Ramsay's British Model Trains catalogue edition 6, by Pat Hammond, 2008 p. 102-103.
- ^ Model Railway Constructor, March 1987, p. 127.
- ^ Ramsay's British Model Trains catalogue edition 6, by Pat Hammond, 2008 p102.
- ^ "New O Gauge J94 Announced At The Guild O Gauge 2022 Kettering Show". Dapol. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
- ^ "O Gauge Models Announced At The SVR O Gauge Get Together". Dapol. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
Further reading
- York, Andy (December 2012). "Behind the scenes at Dapol". British Railway Modelling. Vol. 20, no. 9. Bourne: Warners Group Publications. pp. 30–35. ISSN 0968-0764. OCLC 1135061879.
- "Inside Dapol's factory". Hornby Magazine. No. 15. Hersham: Ian Allan Publishing. September 2008. pp. 38–39. ISSN 1753-2469. OCLC 226087101.
