Should Dapol Retire The N Gauge M7? | Unboxing & Review

A full review of Dapol's LSWR M7 in N scale!

Thanks for watching!

0:00 Intro
3:17 Unboxing
8:09 Prototype Info
9:22 Detail
16:48 Mechanism
21:16 Performance
25:39 Haulage
31:04 Ratings
36:00 Final Thoughts

[michaelwhite]

I've got a bone to pick with you, since first watching you in 2019 l've become train addicted. It's costing me a lot of money !

[ukjrzcl]

The running board is level to the track on the real M7 and on other Dapol N gage M7 so once again you get the red headed stepchild locomotive. I like to guess what the grade will be, and, in this case, I nailed it with an "E". I do wonder why it loses power in the turns, but I usually put a capacitor in them when this happens. Anyway, great review and video, Jersey Bill

[dretety]

Some people who watch and enjoy your channel, like me have not one jot of interest in buying or becoming a model railway enthusiast, but the level of detail you discuss and the candid reviews are very entertaing.
As for myself...age 7 my dad took me to Dinting railway and i saw Bahamas..and got to stand on the foot plate of a tank engine under steam.
That would not happen today!
So i do enjoy your dulcet tone and often very amusing reviews.
May you and your happy partner enjoy life.
Thanks Sam.

[davidbugler]

'SWR' is correct for the first batch of M7s, when Drummond was experimenting with his new livery. They would have received the 'LSWR' lettering at their first major overhaul mybe 7-8 years later, if that had involved repainting.

[davidstrains]

My dad has one of the old M7s from dapol and when we have his setup out admittedly it’s never been a great hauler, whenever we make up a train for it it does tend to wheelslip quite a bit and struggle but that’s our one plus it’s mainly when using it on heavy coaches, as for whether dapol should retire it no they shouldn’t, it’s currently the only M7 in N gauge available as far as I know and at least it’s been done in N gauge

[chompette_]

On Dapol's website they have a blog post advising to bend the tips of the rabbit ear contactors on the bogie truck, to fix the lean

[JimmyProductions]

As someone who owns a few n gauge locomotives, I'd absolutely love to send you some! Main issue is that I live in the USA, so shipping would be a hassle. However, I mainly use Graham Farish, specifically I have a 64xx, Peppercorn A1, and a few others. Great video though!

[johncunningham]

The original M7s were intended for express passenger work between Exeter and Plymouth, until one left the road at high speed on a curve near Tavistock., after which they were withdrawn from the est Country and relegated to suburban passenger work in London. The Inspector, Lieut-Colonel Yorke, had some criticisms of the design. In the words of L T C Rolt, 'What the great Dugald (Drummond) had to say about this is not recorded...'!
I had one of the original Triang models of the M7, which was a good, fast runner. It also had, IIRC, an opening smokebox door and a lit firebox, and that in the Sixties...!
Incidentally, the bright green of the original Dapol M7 is a pretty close match to the livery of the T3 down at Swanage...

[johnscarsandstuff]

I bought one of the original Dapol M7s knowingly as a non-runner, which I was able to get working. I didn't keep it long, because I wasn't that impressed with it. I think it had two speeds, flat out and stop. It also had pulling power best measured in rice pudding skins. The new version looks a lot better and seems to perform better too.

I think Dapol has issued advice on how to fix the body lean. As the used-car salesman said, "They all do that, sir". Which they shouldn't. As far as I'm aware the original ones didn't have this issue, so maybe it's because the re-engineered chassis doesn't quite fit the old body.

I've always been satisfied by the Dapol 57xx/97xx Pannier tanks (I have several) although other people have had issues. But the most impressive 0-4-0 and 0-6-0 locos in N gauge that I've bought are the Bachmann Percy, Toby and Thomas.

[Chonkulease]

Hi Sam,
You should always include the cost of a tramsfabrik motor replacement whenever you review a Dapol N loco, they are unfortunately a necessity sooner or later.

[kclassproductions]

I will be waiting when you come at me with another review Sam!

[bensalt]

Good little review and know what I am getting in for now as have one in my collection to run. I hope to see some Graham Farish soon as have a Black 5 and Flying Scotsman as well. Work on the baseboards continues...

[williamsquires]

Oh, come on! The yellow one Sam showed at the beginning really stands out, like safety-orange work vests! 😅

[DeafIaint]

There are 2 issues : the body doesn't sit level on the chassis & the boiler's colour doesn't match with the rest.

[RG-Models]

0:38 It looks like a Thomas character without a face 😂

[NationalGuard]

The 2006 version looks like the Joker.

[petertownsend]

It is a simple matter to adjustment bogie pickups by very gentle bending to get the footplate level. With a good quality DCC decoder and a stay alive it is a beautiful runner even at a crawl .

[tbrooke]

I'm not sure if youve done this in the past but id love a budget suggestions video for a bunch of different scales. Similar to how you did the video showing how you'd release new TT models where you broke it down to eras and regions. Great video

[adamwilliams]

When I saw you were reviewing this I jumped onto the forum threads and the first thing I found on the 2023 model was mention of the “forward tilt”, so it seems to be a known issue.

The couplings in the second bag are Dapol magnetic “Easi Shunts” that work with magnets in the track. Not all modes come with them supplied now and they are not cheap separate.

I implore you to look at a Diesel, preferable a bogie design from either Dapol or Farish in N.

In fact I would love to hear your thoughts when comparing the two.

Best.

[Talesfromtherails]

I’ve been looking for British n scale locomotives for so long! Thanks for bringing this to my attention Sam! I think you would enjoy taking a look at a Broadway limited or Kato USA steam locomotive in n scale one day. I think a pacific or mikado would fit your layout best. Any other the northernes challenger, big boy or y6b probably won’t fit those curves.