Review: Dapol Class 59/2 59206 "John F Yeoman" 4D-005-002 DB Schenker livery

The Class 59 tends to sit in the shadow of it's more illustious successor in the shape of the Class 66 and the same more or less applies in the modelling world. Dapols Class 59 is a case in point with many being indifferent to it's smoke capability and preffering to wait for the re-incarnation of the Hattons Class 66 from Accurascale. But are people missing a trick with the Dapol Class 59, and does it perhaps deserve more attention than it's been given? It's time to take a closer look.
00:00 - Introduction
01:12 - Unboxing
09:14 - Close-up Views
11:16 - Running Session
13:58 - Summary
16:28 - Scoring
22:32 - Recommendation
Link to web article that compares the Dapol Class 59 to the original Hattons Class 66: www.rmweb.co.uk/topic/103781-...
Attribution (still photos):
59202
By Murgatroyd49 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
59206
By Geof Sheppard - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
66610
By Eaw458 - Own work, Public Domain, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
66034
By Obhf - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...

[@AllensTrains]

It certainly looks the part! Dapol has improved in recent times, and this loco is a useful addition to your fleet. Thanks for uploading.

[@EuviRail]

Thanks

[@geordielad9636]

Now this will surprise you Eugene? nothing to report fault wise. I have 5 of these Dapol 59s and all of them are fantastic, unlike certain manufacturers. All have worked perfectly straight out of the box and still do. I really like the lighting, especially the Yeoman version which is different to the DB/National Power version. The Bachmann class 66 always bugs me with only two lights. If I have had to criticise on the models the only thing I would say is "the red on the BD Schenker is a bit on the pink side" By having your 59 weathered was a good move. So it's a big thumbs up from me for Dapol's 59s, As always a great review and you coverage of the model was spot on, Bill.

[@EuviRail]

Hi Bill, I think 5 models is a good representative sample so great to hear they've all worked out for you. The National Power was another livery I like for this model along with the GBRF - when it arrives. Dapol have done a god job here overall.

[@stephendavies6949]

Hi again Eugine. The class 59 has always been a fascination for me. It was ground breaking at the time, born out of the frustration of freight users with the unreliability of BR's 56, 58 & 60 locos. It is also more powerful than its 66 sister loco. It is at the very edge of my interest too, but for the reverse reason why it is for you (ie, it's almost too new!). I saw this exact model for sale at Kernow for £119, so having re-watched both your & Sam's Trains review, as well as Everard Junction's comments, I decided to buy one. It's not arrived yet, but I'm looking forward to running it. I just have to buy some early 59 era-relevant wagons now....

[@EuviRail]

Hi Stephen. At that price, you are paying 20-25% more than a Railroad Plus loco for a vastly superior model. Well ware with your new fleet member!

[@marklittlejohn1457]

An excellent model looks really good thankyou for the review and video

[@EuviRail]

Thanks Mark

[@MrMattMWH]

I have a Chiltern 68 and another one pre-ordered. Could be tempted by a 59 tho ., looking good! Agree with the pristine Red finishes. They often look very plasticky out of the box. Dapol , reliable models at a decent price. How Hornby used to be !

[@EuviRail]

Yeah, Dapol's 59 and 68 are very decent models at a reasonable price.

[@stephendavies6949]

If you're quick, Kernow have this very model on sale for right now for £119, and I've just bought one!

[@clivengauge]

Very nice looking loco looks great going round the track thanks for sharing 👍

[@EuviRail]

Thanks Clive

[@TheTrainspotterFromTauranga]

Dapol's 59 is a welcome improvement over the old Hornby version. I've got a Dapol 59 as well; bought from Hattons for somewhere around £130 (can't remember the exact price). Mine is 59005 'Kenneth J. Painter' in Foster Yeoman colours. My only issues with the model are the shade of yellow at each end (looks a little too washed out to me) and the opening cab doors, which feel pretty flimsy.

[@euviga]

Yeah, 100% this is a big improvement over the Hornby. Pity about the Yeoman colours. I'm not a fan of opening cab doors as they can get stuck or worse still break. Thanks for commenting.

[@lucysblade]

Useful review. I have a different Dapol disease.l that also runs superbly. I place high value on this property.

[@mrbluesky2050]

Dapol Disease.... ? what're you taking for it?

[@lucysblade]

😄 Hautoclirock…..diesel

[@davidstrains4910]

An overall, good review here euvirail, I myself have the DB 59 and overall I am happy with it but will admit I have had a couple of issues with mine, one issue is one of the lights not working but I can excuse this as it’s on the end where I have the coupling but another issue that I have which I can’t really excuse is the flickering lights on a low power setting, now I will say I am still using DC but at the same time I have the 68 and 121 from dapol and the lights on those don’t flicker on a low power setting on DC, overall it is a good locomotive and it’s nice to finally have a detailed class 59, I am happy with mine regardless of the small issues I have, I am currently thinking of getting the EWS one in the second batch that dapol are doing, good review overall euvirail, your weathered one looks really good.

[@EuviRail]

Hi David, the lighting is definitely the weak point on this model and this is all down to the bizarre design approach Dapol used which was a mistake in my opinion. Would have preferred a single cab light control and perhaps a dip switch to enable/disable train mode. Removing the LED logic would probably fix the low speed flickering issue as well. Worth checking the forums to see how to get the best operation for your configuration. Thanks for sharing.

[@timpeel4386]

Thanks for the review. After watching this I purchased this model :) Fitted Dapol DCC controller myself. As with many of my models as soon as I touched the model the ladders fell off :(

[@EuviRail]

Thanks for that. Sorry about the detailing falling off but I hope your model is doing the business on the track.

[@timpeel4386]

@@EuviRail I plan to repair the ladders. Waiting another two weeks before I am allowed to use it properly as a birthday present.

[@Mooresbytube1]

I think that for the price this is a really good model. The exhaust on mine was too high so had to be modified which was reasonably straightforward alongside fitting a driver. I’ll definitely be adding a couple more, particularly one in the Hanson livery as and when Dapol get round to producing it. Good video - thanks for sharing

[@EuviRail]

Thanks for commenting.

[@tonysag9626]

I’ve had a couple of new models weathered at Rails during purchase and for the money I’m happy with them.

[@EuviRail]

Thanks Tony. Yeah, this is the second one I went for with this option myself.

[@theeventhorizon-valebridge9512]

Another great review Eugene, thank you. ****WARNING*** What ever you do DON'T attempt to dismantle the bogie base keeper plate to check for lubrication on the gears. These bogies are made differently to all other manufactured bogies, because of the way the rotating hubs have been designed. If you take them apart you will have a devil of a job to put them back together because the wheels are fitted in the base plate and not on the main bogie. Reconnecting the two halves together whilst simultaneously trying to get the pick-up wipers, which are connected to the upper part of the bogie, back behind the wheels is near impossible! It took me an hour of swearing and fiddling on just one bogie to eventually find a way! These 59s pull really well. I show on one of my channel's class 59 videos (video 10 at 5:36) it pulling 46 very large and heavy aggregate wagons! (22 x JHA's, 19 x HHA''s and 5 x PTA's and also a cleaning wagon to boot!) Some models suffer running problems/light flickering out of the box, especially when the DCC is then fitted. This is caused by a lighting board fault, a duff led, and I have a fix for anyone who wants to know the details. There is also a fix to get all the lights illuminating on the forward facing direction. Regards Julian

[@davidstrains4910]

What is the fix for the flickering lights and would it work for on dc, if possible instead of explaining it over a comment could you do a video explaining what you have to do to fix this if it does work for dc users.

[@theeventhorizon-valebridge9512]

@@davidstrains4910 Hi David, I can't do a video at the moment but I will briefly explain. I bought a secondhand faulty Dapol 59 loco to see if I could fix it. On DC the motor worked but the lights flickered. On DCC, after a single lights flash on for about 1 second, nothing worked. I found the problem was one of the LEDs on one of the end lighting boards was faulty and not illuminating. Because of the complexed microchip circuit-board control on this loco, it caused other running issues with the motor control on DCC. The fix is to singularly unsolder a wire feeding each LED (on the main circuit-board's end edges) and then test the loco. If that wire makes no difference reconnect it and go on to the next wire, working your way through all the LED's feed wires one at a time. Do only one wire at a time! The LED feed wires emanate from both ends of the main circuit board. Eventually you'll disconnect the faulty one and loco will work fine, except for that last one disconnected LED. Leave it disconnected and use the loco as is. Mine proved to be a faulty red tail LED on the b end. I wasn't bothered as normally the loco is pulling wagons so you really don't want the rear red LEDs on anyway! The overall fix would then to obtain and fit a new lighting board on the faulty end. I hope this helps. Regards Julian.

[@davidstrains4910]

@@theeventhorizon-valebridge9512 thanks for those descriptions and from the sounds of it you had the same issue I had with one of the lights not working, for me though it is the bright headlight on one end, might try this in the future so thanks for the explanations.

[@EuviRail]

Thanks Julian and thanks for sharing your experiences. The logic they inserted between the Aux outputs and the LEDs created a bit of a dogs dinner. Per the RMWeb stream even Legomanbiffo had trouble with it. Faulty LEDs just make things even worse.

[@stephendavies6949]

Ah yes. Sam @ Sam's Trains mentioned this when he opened up the bogies.

[@irishsixtysixfanGbrf66739]

Mine I custom weathered myself and fitted it with the digitrains 59 sound file on it

[@EuviRail]

Thanks for sharing. Yeah, Modellbahnshop-lippe is a good source. Apart from the drivers Accurascale sell, it can be very challenging finding appropriate drivers (that are in stock).

[@2Wheels1rider]

It’s actually has far more lighting functions If you use a 21 pen, MTC Decoder, as was similar to the class, 68

[@vcs00railway84]

I agree, I have 3 of these models and fitted LoksoundMTC 5 with Legomanbiffo sound, it will cover most lighting functions. I did make some pcb mods but only required on the silver Yeoman with the additional centre lighting

[@EuviRail]

Yeah, the MTC or Legomanbiffo implementations will give you the best lighting results. Maybe someone will come up with tweaks for the TXS decoder as well.

[@Reaper1770]

I bought a slightly damaged model that had a decoder fitted and its probably one of my best running locos that i have

[@EuviRail]

Yeah. that's no surprise. Thanks for commenting.

[@earlfreeman93]

I brought a fully sound fitted version of the locomotive; at present I don't have a layout built so ran it in using a set of rolling road rollers on the top of a piece of Trix C-track and my Marklin's central station 3 plus I got the lights to work and the locomotive to go forward and backward but I wasn't able to get the sounds to work. I have not opened her up to look inside yet; I am new to DCC so I am not sure if I did everything right in setting it up since it was my first time to use my central station 3 and I don't want to have to send it back to England since it me 2 years of waiting to get it in the first place.

[@EuviRail]

Hi Earl, apologies, it looks like my previous reply got lost somewhere. If the lights and motor can be controlled under DCC but no sound, it points to the either a speaker problem, a wiring problem, a PCB problem or a blown sound output on the decoder. The model is easy to open so I recommend you do that and check the continuity from the two speaker solder points LS+, LS- on the main PCB through to the terminals on the speaker. Do any such checks with the model removed from the live track. If there is no obvious wiring or speaker issues, then the bad news is that a return is probably in order as you likely have a PCB or decoder problem.

[@stephenchambers5900]

Great loco but a bit tetchy on what it pulls especially light wagons. I run radius 2 layout. Agree with your fantastic review, good value, well made and great runner.

[@euviga]

Thanks Stephen and thanks for sharing your experience.

[@Mike-kc8rl]

Amazing how this general design has been around since 1984 ! I remember seeing one back then and wondering what the heck it was? I wasn't even aware Dapol made the 59 in 4mm ! As for weathering from the factory, its like marmite you love or hate it! I see what you say about the fact every manufacturer paints them matt or at best a dull satin? I have the Hornby class 66 in DB red, and it does look dreadful, but it's cheap and cheerful. I don't have one of the high enders but I was thinking about a Bachmann version as they are well tried and tested? I do like this Dapol 59 .has it got the same type of couplings system like their 68s I wonder? That is a disaster!

[@andrewcalladine2507]

I have one of these withe the TXS sound profile for the 66 until the 59 profile is released.

[@EuviRail]

Thanks Andrew. Unfortunately it could be a wait. Even a 57 profile would be close to the mark.

[@SimonWitt]

Fantastic, especially for the price point which is quite reasonable in this day and age. I remember of Richard @ Everard Junction's video on his 59 he got which I think was out of the first batch they did the lighting configurations weren't prototypical, I don't know if they've fixed that up for the second batch of locos they did? I've got an ARC livery 59 on the wishlist to go with some ARC PTAs, I'll be excited for it when I finally get one

[@EuviRail]

Thanks Simon. The ARC livery is a nice one alright.

[@stephendavies6949]

I may be a little late with this alert, but Kernow have the model Eugine reviewed for sale at £119 right now.

[@nigelclarke5823]

I tried to use a Hornby TXS controller in a Dapol Class 59, but I couldn’t get it to work the lighting functions correctly. Did you manage to get all the lighting combinations working with your TXS decoder ?

[@EuviRail]

Hi Nigel, I got the basic directional and cab lighting to work but couldn't get all the front lights illuminated (wiring mod required). You'll see comments below on various issues with the lighting and also on the RMWeb link I provided in the description. The issue is more on Dapol's side than Hornby's here.

[@1701_FyldeFlyer]

A number of people have had issues with the large capacitor when fitting the DCC chip. Did you have to move it out of the way or have Dapol corrected this?

[@euviga]

Hi, I had to bend the capacitor legs slightly to allow the decoder to fit. There was plenty of play so it wasn't a problem for me. If the cap was tighter fitting though, it might have been an issue.

[@irishsixtysixfanGbrf66739]

Or pinch one from a 121 or 071 will work too

[@hotdogpilot6319]

To quote Roy Walker "It's good, but it's not right." In trying to give extra functions for DC users ie smoke and lights, they put too much logic on the motherboard. The rest of it is a pretty good fist. Still waiting for the GBRF...

[@EuviRail]

Agreed on the logic. The GBRF was originally due months ago and now it's 2024 unfortunately.

[@irishsixtysixfanGbrf66739]

Get the accurascale drivers paint them up go with the class 92 drivers they are great and really set off the cab

[@EuviRail]

Yeah, they should work nicely.

[@irishsixtysixfanGbrf66739]

​@@EuviRailyes indeed Eugene they sure do

[@irishsixtysixfanGbrf66739]

Class 57 engine works for it Eugene so just ignore the horns as the 59/2 uses the emd 645F3 engine

[@EuviRail]

Yeah, I was going pull a decoder from a Bachmann 57 but decided to go with the TXS to avoid having to swap back and forth. Hornby probably more likely to deliver a 57 profile before a 59 one.

[@class66]

Class 67 very similar as well.. can't tell the difference. Not a £50 difference anyway.. 😮