iarnrod

Here is a good shot from 1983 showing both orange and ivory bubbles running in the same rake. Not my photo btw. Just attached the Flickr link, but photo seems to appear in the new forum.

Thanks Richie.

When was the Irish Cement logo first used on the bubbles? I'm guessing around 1986 or 1987 as some Irish Rail cement trucks were also painted in Irish Cement livery around that time. Can anyone give a definite date?

Is 25195 the only wagon that carried the 'Bulk Cement' stencilling or did other bubbles carry that too? Trying to work out which packs to add to my shopping list.

Absolutely outstanding model. Take a bow IRM team.....that is pure perfection.

Hmmmm....have we just uncovered IRM Project 4 or 5 I wonder? Sure to be a winner whenever some one does produce a model of it due to the number of possible liveries, with only two body variations over the life of the entire Class, I think.

Wow. The detail on that is astonishing. An equally detailed A Class would make a nice companion.....just saying.

Potentially more than two wagons per client as these wagons initially had CIE logos applied, then IR logos applied and whatever markings they had/have in IE days. Depends which period people model, but the current batch of ballasts only lend themselves to IE period, unless you want to respray and re-decal them.

Speaking of our ballast wagons; our stocks are running quite low at this stage. Make sure you don't miss out before they're all gone as we wont be doing another run for quite a while. These running numbers wont be repeated. Secure the best Irish wagon model on the market before they run out and start going on EBay at a premium. https://irishrailwaymodels.com/shop/ Lads, interesting results from the survey, and I hope it helps steer you guys to make the correct decisions as to future releases. Can you just clarify something for me.....you mention that you won't be doing another run of ballasts for quite a while. Will there ever be a batch done in CIE era livery in the future or should I buy a batch now and respray? When you guys say quite a while, any indication of a time frame here or what livery/era the next batch is likely to be? Thanks lads.

Nice one Dave. Some good shots there. Thanks.

Would anyone have any photos of Cabra cement depot when it was operational, specifically the silos, signal cabin, office and huts or showing the overall layout of the place. Have found a few online and received some nice shots from one individual, but there are still areas of the site that seem a bit camera shy. Feel free to PM me if you don't want to post photos here. Thanks.

No problem Jonathan. Have spent many hours researching through the G.S.& W.R. Carriage Register and interesting stuff it is too.

160 was broken up at Limerick on 26/2/1916, so that's why it doesn't appear in the 1923 list.

G.S.& W.R. Carriage Register lists 140 as a Post Office Mail Van. 30' long. One compartment. Gas lighting. 6 wheeled with brakes on 4 of them. Built Jan 1894. Fitted with 2 gangways, 1 recovery net, 4 delivery arms and steam heating. Withdrawn 1957. 160 is listed as a Horse Box.

DCC ready

Freightmaster Loco Review books €5 each Freightmaster Timetable books €4 each Power Of The Class 60's €10 British Rail Class 60 Locomotives €10 Brush Type 5 Class 60 Diesel Locomotives €7 Type 5 Freight Locomotives €7 Collection welcome in Dublin area. Postage at cost but happy to use Parcel Motel to keep postage cost low. Payment by cash on collection or PayPal if posting.

New and unused Bachmann Class 66 in Colas Railfreight livery. Outer box sleeve is a little torn and worn looking, but all detailing parts are in unopened bag. Comes with all paperwork. Collection is possible in Dublin area or postage will be at cost. Happy to use Parcel Motel to help keep postage cost down. Selling for €130 but open to a swap for a new unused 141/181 loco in CIE Supertrain Black and Tan livery i.e. MM0142, MM0161, MM0182, MM0190. Payment by cash on collection or PayPal if posting.

Good to hear, Richie. I have every confidence in you guys to turn out something on a par, if not even better, than MM products, and so far, that's looking very achievable, and not an easy achievement by any means. Will be amazing to see the actual productions models arrive in the new year.

Looking excellent on the whole but still with a few issues. 1. We still have droopy buffer syndrome. 2. In the photo you posted last night the vacuum pipe is far from straight as it should be. 3. The add on plastic parts ( brake gear, buffers, bodyside frames) are a distinct difference in shade from the main body colour. 4. In the photo last night and also in today's photos, at least one of the bodyside frames at the ends is clearly sticking out from the body. 5. There's gold in them there wheels 6. The vacuum brake pipe that runs along the body seems to raise up at either end when compared to its position at the centre of the wagon. The above points are constructive criticisms, and I hope are taken as such, as the model overall presents an excellent rendition of the real thing. A big congratulations to the lads at IRM on reaching this milestone, and hopefully the points raised are already on their list to be tweaked before the production model hits the shelves, so to speak.

Pre prod sample by looks of it. Go on.......open the plastic wrapping.

The armoured trucks were fitted with steam locomotive smoke boxes at the GS&WR Works at Inchicore in 1916. The trucks came from Guinness Brewery, and there is a lot of debate as to whether Guinness donated them to the British Army during the Rising, or whether the British Army commandeered them from Guinness. The trucks became the first armoured personnel carriers ever to be used. Not sure what the smaller trucks are supposed to represent.....maybe ex Inchicore fire brigade truck from 1916.

Richie, I would say it is not an easy task getting information on specific wagons. You could well be correct about the introduction of the orange livery initially to distinguish between chassis types, but in my experience, information on CiE wagons is pretty scarce, so we will probably never know for certain. Even the IRRS Archives doesn't appear to hold much material on CIE wagons. I can remember someone telling me that most of the material from Limerick Works was destroyed/dumped at some point. Here is another photo from 1982 with orange and ivory wagons in the mix : http://eiretrains.com/Photo_Gallery/Railway%20Stations%20G/Gort/IrishRailwayStations.html#Gort_20101216_001_CC_JA.jpg

Richie, I think the orange colour goes back further than 1978. See these pics from Boyne Road Cement Works from the early 1970's. I think it was the initial grey livery that only had a short life span. http://eiretrains.com/Photo_Gallery/Railway%20Stations%20B/Boyne%20Road/IrishRailwayStations.html#Boyne%20Road_20100127_0007_CC.jpg http://eiretrains.com/Photo_Gallery/Railway%20Stations%20B/Boyne%20Road/IrishRailwayStations.html#Boyne%20Road_20100127_0009_CC.jpg

Just to add that the wagons also took on a different appearance when wet and dry, as they were caked in cement and muck after all. In the two pictures above, the top wagon is dry but in the second photo, the wagon looks like it had a soaking a while back. Indeed the wagon in the second photo had been stored at Limerick for some time, which may have had an effect on its appearance, as it hadn't been subjected to normal traffic conditions for some time. If weathering replicating the top wagon in the photo could be replicated by the factory, I for one would be more than happy with that, as that is generally how they appeared when in traffic.

Excellent stuff, and then of course some wagons ran without any logo. The choice of logos/no logo allows anyone to model the wagons in the CIE/IR/I.E. era's, which covers most of their working lives. Looking forward to seeing the artwork for these iconic wagons. P.S. Any hints on Project 3?