Ironroad

Steam engines were still in use and when the A class was introduced in silver livery, and steam was still around (phasing out rapidly) when the green liveries appeared. I think you can safely run A's in these liveries hauling similar rolling stock as was hauled by steam. Much has been said elsewhere on this site about the variety of rolling stock in use in that period, there was little standardisation.

I have no idea and would also like to know the reason. Why run three Tara's daily when it could be reduced to two, or even one? This is an extract of regulations published in 2019 on train lengths (full document in in the resources forum), but no reason is given. Except where specifically authorised, the number of vehicles attached to fully braked freight trains must not exceed 36 Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs). For the purpose of calculating train lengths, one 18.6 m (62’ 9”) bogie wagon or one 22 m bogie pocket wagon is counted as 3 TEUs, all other bogie wagon types are counted as 2 TEUs and 2-axle wagons are counted as 1 TEU. On a selfish note I'm not complaining because a great reason for modelling Irish railways is that prototypical train lengths is possible.

Did anyone notice the drivers cab door on 072 at 6.59, 11.33 and 13.54 in this video?

My preference is for the early configuration with 121's. that's an image fixed in my memory.

I'm open to correction, but I thought they were used on the outer suburban services between Wicklow and Dundalk, I remember seeing them un Tara St in the late '80's

I agree it may be premature of Hattons to advertise these items and indeed for anyone to pre order without ultimately knowing the bottom line but the frenzy of buying at the point of release of of Irish models is difficult to deal with and I prefer to try to secure what I want ahead of that. Missing out is disastrous and leaves us at the mercy of mercenaries on EBay. But a word of caution, a preorder with Hattons is not necessarily secure. It would seem they don't have the courtesy to advise they are sold out on pre-order nor do they operate on a first come first served basis. For example I pre-ordered eight 121s as early as April 2019, I only got six of these. One was cancelled arbitrarily by Hattons the other is still recorded as being on pre-order and Hattons are still insisting the will supply when they get it, but that is nonsense. One other thing to be aware of is that if you update your credit card information in your profile on the Hattons website, this does not change the credit card details associated with your pre orders and you must also separately update the credit card info on each order.

I agree and say this with a heavy heart as a customer of theirs for over 40 years. I have no complaint about packaging but they arbitrarily cancelled one of my pre orders for a 121 while another one is still recorded as being on pre order and still pending delivery and they insist that is the case despite the fact this version has long since been released to the trade by MM.

The fact is the UK decided to leave the EU. And in fairness to the rest of the member countries there is no way the EU can grant concessions to the UK that only come with membership. The UK cannot have it both ways. So it is what it is, something very divisive and all of us need to come to terms with that.

For what it's worth, the registration number on the model is TZI 205 (Dublin 1966). I doubt that was picked out of the air.

This may be of interest https://www.ebay.com/itm/353399356527?ul_noapp=true

Is this another one https://www.ebay.com/itm/303899449654?ul_noapp=true

That makes a lot of sense and is akin the the concept introduced by the Tramways Act of 1883 which allowed Baronies (forerunners of the County Councils) to underwrite interest on capital and working losses on lines in their districts. In effect local ratepayers got to decide the fate of a line not central government (either directly or indirectly) and this neatly steps around the idea that one place is being disadvantaged at the expense of another. These subsidies were legislated out of existence in 1924 and taken together with various actions over time including the abolition in the 1980's of domestic house rates had the effect of making Dail Eireann a big county council rather than a national government. (we don't need 160 TDs). It would have been more pertinent a few years back to ask whether the County Councils had any relevance than a referendum of the relevance of the Senate. While national strategies are a necessary part of planning infra-structure, local authorities must be properly funded and given proper power to manage their districts according to the wishes of their inhabitants. And funding should not be dolled out by central government, rather some level of funds relative to population size currently raised in each county district should be retained by the councils rather than going directly to the central exchequer. This redistribution does not necessarily entail an increase in overall taxation.

I'm interested

Difficult to advise without knowing the plan. If all that's needed is a flyover, then you can split the gradient between both lines, with one descending and the other rising. This reduces the distance required to get the required clearance and allows for easier grades. However, this is not possible with a flat solid top baseboard You should consider an open frame with the track bed supported on stilts from the framing (in places it may sit directly on the framing) and I would suggest 12mm plywood for the track bed. An open frame has the advantage of being lighter and lot of options for landscaping.

And in a lot of liveries

Absolutely

Very Interesting results; Definitely makes the case for Anhydrous Ammonia Tankers and the vote a CIE guards van augers Well for the forthcoming release from Mayner. Given the choice of locos, 7 diesels versus 2 steamers, the steamers scored 35%. Including a jeep in the choices might have edged the steamers up a lot more, that's really food for thought. And despite the strong support for more modern coaching stock, it should be noted that Park Royals, Laminates, CIE GSV and AEC 2600 rail cars combined secured 40% of the vote. So maybe there is more support for the period 1950 - 1970 than many assume.

Hi Fran, I expressed disappointment because your question implied that a steam locomotive is not even on the horizon. From the point of committing to produce one to delivery realistically takes three years and it's clear that are further out than that. I think the market has changed radically from what it was 20 years and comparing the sales of the Murphy/Bachmann Mogul back then with the current almost immediate sell out of anything Irish is not fair. (incidentally I have four of these locos). And they had the disadvantage that suitable rolling stock for them to pull didn't exist If the interest is in modeling Irish railways, and all that is on offer is diesels then diesels will sell, but it shouldn't be assumed the focus is that narrow. There was crossover period when Diesels and Steam occupied the rails together. We have diesels in liveries that have no suitable RTR rolling stock for them to pull that fit in the crossover period. To my mind there is a very big gap. As has been noted on this forum the most interesting period for Irish railways is probably late '50's to early '70's. Would you consider producing a train set (steam loco and appropriate coaches) that might broaden the appeal for a loco and the rolling stock? Remember Bachmann did exactly that with the Mogul on the US market.

Very very true, well said. The market isn't limited to diesels, there's been virtually nothing else on offer.

I most certainly would, I'm surprised and slightly disappointed you are even asking the question. I suspect more would be purchased by collectors than modelers.

Funny but very true

LOL, keep saying that DJ and it just might happen. That's very encouraging and helpful. Between them. starting with MM and more recently with IRM, they have they have created a market where there really wasn't one previously and having done so assurances that the appetite for their products that has been created will be met is very important, thank you PS so tell us more!!!

Hi DJ, I doubt we will go back to the days of orange and black Hymeks and I have no doubt that more RTR models of Irish locomotives will be produced in the future. I agree that In essence that a market for things Irish has been created by the production of items not previously produced but that is still a very niche and small market. Accordingly there will be long periods between offering from producers and that includes re-runs or entirely new models. I may be completely wrong but we are probably at least five years away from any new offerings of items that have previously been marketed. It takes time for the market to develop sufficient appetite to make it worthwhile for a producer.

I'm in the same boat but not worried. If IRM only got their allocation on Friday so I'd expect it will take till this week for them to arrive in Liverpool.

Hi DJ, the mathematics are not on your side of this debate. A few people with deep pockets bidding against each other for a few no longer in production items on E Bay is not indicative of a market for a re run of these items. As Wrenneire has pointed out the initial production runs were relatively small in the order of 6.000 items but that doesn't mean there were 6.000 customers, at best the likelihood is there were probably less than 3.000 customers because those that did buy them probably brought multiples. For example I bought 9 x 201's, 8 x 071's, 7 x 141's & 7 x 181's. Also consider how many people are serious enough to sign up on this forum, in the scheme of things it's a very small number. It's tempting to believe that because the tooling still exists that re runs are viable, but it is unlikely that there is a market for the the volumes needed to sell re-runs at the sort of price that would be affordable for most of us. Whoever undertook such a venture would have to be content with holding unsold stock filtering off the shelves slowly over many years and there is no return on investment in that. I'm more concerned with where we go from here. With the release of the A class next year all of the most ubiquitous diesel locomotives that ran on Irish rails from the late '50s to the present time will have been produced as RTR models and while that is quite amazing to me, I think there is a dilemma for IRM or any other producer as to where to go next. I say this because if my reading of comments on this forum generally are correct, there are sharp divisions as to preferences for period. That in itself further dilutes the market even more for any possible future offerings. If I were to hazard a guess we are more likely to see offerings of rolling stock rather than locomotive power because they sell in much greater multiples.