OO Gauge 28xx / 2884 2-8-0

Dapol is delighted to be able to announce the launch of their brand new OO Gauge 28xx / 2884 model range. The model has been launched at the Cotswold Festival of Steam on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway. We are excited to announce that as well as producing a range of general release models (that you can pre-order through your preferred Dapol Stockist) we will also be producing a Dapol exclusive model of 2874 with a financial donation being made to The 2874 Trust for each completed sale of this model. 

2874 Dapol Exclusive Model

Dapol in conjunction with The 2874 Trust are producing a model of 2874 which will be available exclusively through Dapol. At this time we are deposit free expressions of interest for DCC Ready, DCC Fitted and DCC Sound Fitted versions of this model. You can make your interest known by filling in the attached PDF from and either e-mailing it or posting it back to Dapol. We will contact you for payment when the models arrive. Dapol will make a financial contribution to The 2874 Trust for each completed order.

The model of 2874 will have the following characteristics: Great Western Railway Green, with "Great Western" lettered on the Churchward 3500 gallon tender, original style chimney and safety valve bonnet, port hole windows in the top of the spectacle plate and inside steam pipes.  

You can return your expression of interest by post to: Sales Manager, Dapol Ltd, Gledrid Industrial Park, Wrexham, Chirk, LL14 5DG. or by e-mail to sales@dapol.co.uk  the title of your e-mail must be 2874 Expression Of Interest.

28xx / 2884 Prototype

The GWR prototype 2-8-0 locomotive 2800 (originally No 97) was built in 1903 and underwent two years of trials before further production began which resulted in 84 of the class being built. The design was much in advance of its time and this class and the slightly modified 2884 class were built from 1903 until 1942. They remained the standard freight design on the GWR for the rest of the Company’s existence and were used on the heaviest freight trains. 

Ben Brooksbank / A '2883' 2-8-0 fresh from repair, outside Swindon Works / CC BY-SA 2.0 

Model Features

General Specification  

Many original GA drawings were used in the development of these accurate and authentic models.

Building on the many developments from the Dapol Mogul and Manor Class models including Dapol's award winning slide in PCB in the boiler for tool free DCC fitting and sugar cube speaker enclosure (for sound models) and conductive drawbar providing tender wheel pick-up and connections for high bass speaker.  

The locomotive will have all of the usual refinements that are expected to be found on all Dapol models including: 

• A diecast compensated chassis 
• Detailed cab interior 
• The front pony truck is also sprung and operates on a cam so the model will negotiate R2 curves with ease
• Churchward top feed boiler  
• Original and later Boiler support/motion bracket
• Churchward vertical drop & curved drop Footplates 
• Churchward (tapered) & Collet (Straight) sprung buffers 
• Smoke boxes with inside or outside steam pipes GWR & BR smoke box doors (with separately added number plate)

Technical Specification   

• A slide in PCB offers simple ‘tool-free’ installation of a NEXT-18 DCC decoder and a ’no-solder’ speaker connection. 
• This board slides through the smoke box door and connects directly to the locomotive mother board. 
• The tender to locomotive drawbar includes reliable electrical connections moulded within the close-coupling push-fit coupling. This eliminates wired plugs and unreliable wiper style connections. 
• The locomotive and tender have electrical pick-up on all driving and tender wheels  
• An optional base reflex speaker can be fitted into the tender.  
• Firebox glow (synchronised with sound*) 
• Dapol’s proven slow speed mechanism and high torque motor 
• Enhance your driving experience with our feature RealDrive* 

Proposed Liveries

• 4S-009-001          OO Gauge 28xx / 2884 2831 Lined Great Western Green 
• 4S-009-002          OO Gauge 28xx / 2884 2804 Great Western Green 
• 4S-009-003          OO Gauge 28xx / 2884 2854 Great Western Green
• 4S-009-004          OO Gauge 28xx / 2884 2884 Shirt Button Green 
• 4S-009-005          OO Gauge 28xx / 2884 3819 GWR Green 
• 4S-009-006          OO Gauge 28xx / 2884 3802 BR Early Emblem Black 
• 4S-009-007          OO Gauge 28xx / 2884  2851 BR Late Crest Black 
• 4S-009-008          OO Gauge 28xx / 2884 2874 Great Western Green       

4S-009-008 -OO Gauge 228xx / 2884 2874 Great Western Green is exclusively available from Dapol, all other models are available to pre-order from your preferred Dapol stockist      

Recommended Retail Price

Project Update

The Project is in the design phase at the moment. We will provide updates when they are available included the CAD images.  We anticipate the 28xx/2884 models will be in shops towards the end of 2024.