No. 178 Top Lights, Top Marks, Dapol Mainline City Coaches
Good fortune or a lucky chance meant that I have acquired a pair of Dapol’s new ex GWR Mainline City Toplight coaches. All second ex GWR Toplight in BR livery The advertising literature tells me that these coaches were all withdrawn by 1957 although two or three lived on, on the South Wales Mineral Railway for carrying miners to work. I love the squat appearance and I can imagine that prior to withdrawal these coaches would have been cascaded down and used on some quiet remote branch line. My brake second and all second will form an extra early morning working in place of the routine daily ‘B’ Set. An early start When I first unboxed the coaches I was immediately struck by their heavy weight. The Dapol Toplights weigh in at 175gm compared to 125gm for one of Hornby’s suburban Collett coaches. Even Bachmann MkI coaches only weigh 165gm and they are nearly 50mm longer! It was only later that I realised that Dapol have provided a proper metal chassis, similar ...