Barl

3 hours ago, murphaph said:

I went with the Revell granite grey number 69 on the roofs of the rebuilt Dutch vans. I doubt anyone would have a code for the "correct" shade and this looks ok to me.

Just the black to do now

I was trying to find a photo of the roof I had seen before when scratch-building a Dutch Van but of course I couldn't find it anywhere! 

From what I can remember the roof was black but a more matt black then the sides so a very dark grey would probably look similar to a matt black.

By coincidence I was just flicking through my copy of 'Irish Railway Rambler' I found in a box of stuff from home and on Page 86 and Page 88 there's pictures of Dutch Vans and they certainly look matt black - being behind a loco a lot of the time would probably make them black over time anyway I suppose! 

It looks like there's a small few of the A Class locos back in stock on the IRM site if anyone's interested.

I finally bit the bullet and ordered A30 last week and have to agree with the lads, it's even better in person!

I didn't even realise the level of detail on the bogies until I had a quick look at it when it arrived on Friday, the silver really helps to make the details stand out compared to the other liveries.

Now all I need to do is start my new layout so I can run them!

Spotted this on YouTube and hadn't seen it before. The video is as old as myself but very interesting to see, particularly the work on the MK3 coaches.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=s9XrLwA6_3c&feature=youtu.be

It does look mad to see coaches being disposed of like that but there was probably a lot worse dumped around the country! 

As Mayner has said though it was probably deemed the lesser of two evils - asbestos is only considered dangerous when the fibres become airborne where they can enter the lungs. This is why it's normally better to leave it undisturbed or bury it if possible, with removal being the last option if necessary (given the increased risk that it could become airborne).

I'd be more concerned about the leachate from the other materials breaking down and entering the groundwater than the asbestos.

There's no evidence that asbestos (AC) water mains are harmful to human health so they are also retained and only replaced if absolutely necessary.

A hotel I stayed in just before Christmas had a nice LGB Christmas set-up in the lobby which was getting plenty of interest from kids young and old!

They were using a proper Gaugemaster controller too I was surprised to see!

Apologies if this has already been posted.

Interesting video of Inchicore Works and it's history.

https://youtu.be/dqSZoUpsjCA

Looks like more Alstom stock for the network and the return of battery trains!

https://www.rte.ie/news/dublin/2021/1213/1266432-dart-carriages/

54 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

Let's hope so! However, getting a cent out of one government, let alone several successive ones, seems as unrealistic as ever, unfortunately.

That's definitely true! One of the reasons these reports are 'simplified' with colourful charts or provided with non-technical summaries is so those who provide the funding can understand them easier.... Not sure if it makes much difference really though as you say

2 hours ago, StevieB said:

I also thought the two parts of Ireland were looking to consider the rail in the whole country rather than separately.

Stephen

 

There is currently an all Ireland rail review being undertaken by ARUP. It would seem this is to be a detailed study of the network as a whole, rather than just freight.

I would imagine this will inform some of the strategies outlined in AECOM's report - a strategy report is always going to be high level and not overly detailed so criticising it for being simplistic is a little harsh - you wouldn't expect a county development plan to give details on individual planning applications before, during or after the duration of the plan.

I would imagine the target audience for this document isn't those who have a good understanding of the railway network and it's operations, but rather the normal person who would like to see how rail-freight could be used to reduce carbon emissions and provide other benefits and what IE's intentions are going forward.

Spotted this interesting video of Cork City in 1902. It has some good footage of trams and narrow gauge lines also - I'm not sure of the area/station (possibly Blarney Castle?) but others might know.

https://youtu.be/XTLDuFSDP38

15 minutes ago, Mayner said:

Peak use of asbestos was between the 50s and the early 80s when the manufacture and new installation of the Ampiboles (Blue and Brown) asbestos was banned in the UK.

The peak in asbestos related deaths has been forecast to take place in five years since  2000 though the expected peak keeps getting pushed back as the disease and death rate continues to increase. 

Asbestos related cancers have a long latency period approx. 40 years since the date of exposure, tends to show up in people in their 70s and 80s so numbers likely to increase as life expectancy improved in most Western countries between the 1950s and 2010. Earlier generations of asbestos workers would have died off of other causes before the cancers appeared, a Shri Lankan colleague said that there was always a queue of people waiting outside the local asbestos factory on a Monday morning to replace the people that died the previous week.

Its basically worked its way way through the people that worked mining, manufacturing or installing asbestos up to the 70s, but some of the more hazardous forms are still about in buildings and structures with secondary exposures appearing among people who work in buildings that contain offices such as schools, hospitals, officeblocks, department stores built up to the mid 1980s. I make a reasonable living surveying and locating the stuff in 2021 having my first involvement in managing the stuff 30 years ago!

Hi Mayner,

Wasn't there a bit of a scandal in NZ a few years back about asbestos insulation still being used in new locos purchased from China? I vaguely remember hearing about it when over there and the cost associated with removing and replacing it. 

3 minutes ago, Warbonnet said:

Hi @Barl,

All packs should be in the box, we just had a bit of a glitch with one of the barcodes on a small group of orders, hence why they took a few days to ship out. If anything is up with the order let us know via email.

All orders should now be on their way after today.

Cheers!

Fran 

That makes more sense thanks Fran. 

Just got a notification to say my Tara Mines pre-order has shipped. Looking forward to seeing them as I missed the last run of these. Hopefully the current flooding issues at Tara Mines will be resolved soon and won't affect the future operation of the mines.

Out of curiosity, any particular reason why 2 of 3 packs have been shipped and the other hasn't? Or is it just logistical? 

7 hours ago, BosKonay said:

Pop the magnetic roof off then you’ll see four small screw. Undo them and the whole body lifts cleanly away

Thanks Stephen I'll give that a go

I finally got to open my A Class delivery and they really are stunning models, even better in the flesh! The packaging is excellent too, no fear of them being damaged in transit.

Just one question; are there screws under the cab connecting the body to the chassis? There's just a tiny gap (literally tiny, I'm being very pedantic) between the cab and buffer beam on the fan end of A46 but I'd say it just needs tightening. 

I'm told mine were delivered this morning too.  Unfortunately they're still about 200km away so will be a while before I can get my paws on them but at least I know they're there

1 hour ago, murphaph said:

I'm sure everything will be fine, but you can understand a few of us who haven't yet heard anything might be getting a little jittery. Fran did say if we hadn't heard anything and might have expected to have heard something by (I believe) the end of last week, it would be ok to reach out and ask for a status update  Kevin got his answer above (7xxx series orders are likely shipping today) but my order is in the 4xxx range, hence my concern.

 

I'm in a similar boat, was hoping mine (2xxx series) would be delivered by the weekend as I'm heading up home to Kildare and they're being delivered there.

I'll have to try persuade the auld pair to come visit before Christmas

21 minutes ago, Warbonnet said:

Hi everyone,

It's safe to say that the A Class is our most ordered IRM model to date, ever. Pre-orders for our first locomotive dwarfed any wagon release by three times at the very least.

We always knew dispatch would take longer than it did for any wagon run we have done, particularly when considering the weight of the locos and the extra packing required. However, we didn't quite anticipate just how long.

The good news is that the mountain of pre-orders has now become a mere hill, but we still have a good bit to go.

Our warehouse crew have been packing A Classes for over a week now, and such is the deluge of orders we have received we have them working overtime in the evenings and this weekend to get the orders out as quick as we can.

To speed things up further, we approached a temp agency and asked for four additional temp staff members to come and join our drive to get the locos out the door. Sadly, none of them showed up, such is the demands currently for labour in the logistics industry, especially at this time of year with Christmas fast approaching.

So, that's where we are. Our warehouse team estimate that the current backlog of A Class orders will be cleared by next Friday, October 29th. We do apologise for this delay, but we are flat out going as fast as we can. This also goes for any orders that have been requested for collection, as they are in the same queue as postal orders.

We want your A Class turning up properly protected, in one piece and ready for action on you, so we must take the time to pack them properly.

Thank you for your patience, understanding and continued support for IRM, and of course your passion for our first locomotive. We promise that it will be well worth the wait.

Thanks,

Fran (on behalf of IRM) 

Thanks for the update Fran.

It's great to see how popular these have been and must be a good sign for the future of Irish  railway modelling. 

On 15/10/2021 at 12:25 PM, Warbonnet said:

Hi everyone,

Just a quick update; we are powering though the pre-orders best we can, but we can see it taking another 5 working days to clear the backlog, such is the demand for these beauties. We are going as quick as we can, all hands are on deck, but emails asking "where is my order?" is just slowing the process down really. If you havent had any tracking information for your pre-order by this time next week then by all means, email us, but in the meantime we will plough on and get them out as quick as we can. Thank you for your continued patience and we are sure you agree that the finished models are worth the wait! 

Should you be looking to merge orders, than by all means let us know!

Cheers!

Fran 

Hi Fran,

Just out of interest do you know if the 2018 (just) pre-orders are likely to continue to ship this week or more likely into next week?

Before anyone thinks I'm giving out far from it, we all know good things - or very good things in this case- come to those who wait! I'm just trying to sort the logistics of getting my A's from inside the Pale down to the Rebel county!

Cheers,

Karl

1 hour ago, DoctorPan said:

The rail industry in Ireland is increditably small, Irish Rail and Arup are really the only two big employeers within the industry, followed by Motts. We've tried increasing awareness of rail but its hard for it to catch with the students, most want to do Highways. The big breakthrough will come when a college or university offers a rail engineering degree.

Agreed there aren't many consultants in Ireland specialising in rail engineering. In my experience most of the rail design is outsourced to Spanish consultants - as part of a joint venture - who seem to be the opposite and have an abundance of railway specialists. 

I always remember trying to explain to the geometry designer on a scheme I worked on several years ago that the platforms had to be a fixed height above the rail, and I'm not a railway engineer! 

I think at this stage ARUP are so big they have a department for every discipline of engineering and are first choice for a lot of tendered schemes.

I know our consultancy has merged highways, bridges and rail under the 'transport' discipline so hopefully it might help for future project wins.

I picked up these in Dealz today, they might be handy as decorative trees in an urban layout setting with a bit of flock applied.

The pictures so far show what a stunning model this is. Have to say A46 in dark green is my favourite so far and I'm glad I've ordered one, but A30 is looking very tempting too - was someone a little heavy handed with the front handrail on A46? 

Delighted to see the new announcement with the never previously released  blue Tara's. 

I missed out on them before but they only thing is now I have to decide between them and another A class I was just about to click checkout on..

In terms of a brand new 141/181, I think the existing model more than holds it's own when put beside the new 121. It just shows what a great model they were - and still are - when released.

In my opinion, the only thing that really stands out in terms of aesthetic detail would be the windscreen wipers being a little more clunky than the 121 but that's something that's easily fixed.

It may not have a speaker fitted but, as brilliant as it is, not everyone wants DCC sound fitted to their models. 

As said above, a rerun of the Bachmann/MM model would be very welcome, however unlikely in the short term!