Dapol class 73/0 JA Electro-Diesel locomotive

The green liveried class 73/0

The end of 2007 and start of 2008 has been an exciting and busy time for Dapol. Not only did they host their first open day for Dapol Nthusiast Club members but launched a new specification standard called ’Platinum’; released a huge number of new products including the bogie steel carrier wagon, Hymek and a 9F 2-10-0 steam loco; attended the Warley national model railway exhibition; redesigned and updated their website; published a new free brochure; took on board the Ndetail.de range; and teamed up with a new Anglo-Aussie venture called Ixion. And one other exciting new product launched was a class 73 JA electro-diesel.

The JA variants of the class 73 locomotive are the six prototype members of the class categorised as 73/0. The model has been produced for the first, and only, time by Dapol as a special limited one off run for, and to be exclusively available from, Signal Box at Rochester. All the previous Dapol class 73 models have been of the JB variants known as class 73/1s (some of which were converted to 73/2s at a later date) and there are several body differences between the two subclasses.

The six JAs were the only class 73s to carry a green livery much loved by transition and steam era modellers. However the green livery chosen by Signal Box/Dapol is a bit of an anathema for steam enthusiasts being nearer to the special depot repaint given to 73003 in the 1990s although in truth it is neither fully accurate for either period.

The 73/0 from another angle

The body is a new plastic moulding and is up to the quality and fidelity of the JB version and includes the necessary changes such as window/grille arrangement and additional looped multiple control cable and socket on the ends - although on my sample these seem a little ‘pinched‘ at the bottom. The incorrect positioning of the short and long horns on the JBs has been corrected for the JAs but these are fragile parts and I’ve already ‘lost’ one of mine.

The chassis is new and is fully DCC ready with a 6 pin chip socket installed. The model is a lot lighter than the previous version as the main metal block seems to have been replaced with a plastic equivalent presumably to have made it easier to convert to DCC. However the model still runs acceptably well - quietly and smoothly - although I‘ve yet to check haulage performance.

Grahame Hedges