Warbonnet

Sprung buffers cost no extra to do on a model either, despite what some other penny pinching manufacturers would have you believe

Now that all our Class 31s have landed (except 31285 which is in customs, but due in our warehouse next week!) it's time to turn our attentions to the next locomotive due to arrive, our lovely Class 50s! As reported in our recent Class 89 update, we sent a delegation to China to oversee the production completion of several locomotive projects, including the Class 50. As well as company Director, Patrick and Production Manager Steve, Class 50 Project Manager Gareth was on hand to check out the final details of our hoovers first hand as they roll off the production line. When it came to analysing testing of the models, it came apparent that the wrong type of resistor had been used on the circuit boards. So, these are all getting replaced to ensure the correct functionality of the models. It was great to be there directly and work through this with the factory engineers who brought it to our attention. A simple thing that makes a big difference. Overall, we're delighted with our vacs, and they're looking splendid overall! With the rectification work on the PCBs, production is now due to be complete next week, when they will ship to our warehouse in the UK and arrive with us in late May. We're pretty much sold out of our 50s, but we do have run 2 lined up to launch pretty soon, and we will always have some spares, so make sure you register with the website to get those availability emails on the running number you want. Make sure you check out your local retailer too for availability! REGISTER YOUR INTEREST HERE! View the full article

The thing is we have said several times now it will take time to sort out and to stick with us. We are working on it still and we cant say when it will be complete. When it is complete, we will announce that it's done, and then you can contact us if you have an issue on your account. Let's work to that principle please. Cheers! Fran

Hi everyone, Thanks to all of you for your interest and orders! Response has been beyond our expectations and the order book is looking healthy already! We reckon some of these may well be sold out before delivery, so make sure you get your pre-order in soon to avoid missing out. Cheers! Fran

We're delighted to announce that James Makin is now a member of the growing Accurascale family, joining us in the capacity of Customer Experience & Online Marketing Manager. A lifelong railway modeller, James specialises in weathering and detailing rolling stock, having showcased a number of Accurascale products in our ‘Let’s Get Involved’ series, giving practical tips and hints on how you can personalise and bring your models to life. James has a strong background in customer loyalty and marketing, having built significant experience in roles within the financial services industry and a long career at International Airlines Group (IAG) working across the British Airways, Aer Lingus and Iberia loyalty programmes. His passion to continually innovate and push the boundaries to improve the overall customer experience is perfectly aligned with Accurascale’s strategy to continue to deliver industry-leading products to a fast-growing audience of model railway enthusiasts across the world. James will undertake a key role to continue cementing relationships with our Accurascale retailer network, as well as overseeing special projects, commissions and delivering a varied range of ‘How-to’ guides to help our customers get the best from our releases in the years to come. Speaking about the prospect of working with Accurascale, James said: “I’m immensely excited to be joining the team, Accurascale are at the forefront of pushing change and innovation within the hobby, and I cannot wait to help build on the excellent work that’s already led to Accurascale to be recognised as winners in so many industry awards to date.” Likewise, Accurascale/IRM Managing Director Stephen McCarron added; “We’re extremely pleased to welcome James to our family here at Accurascale. He brings a real passion for improving the customer experience at every touchpoint, and has a wealth of relationship-building experience that will allow us to really go to the next level in supporting our retail partners. With our exciting plans over the coming years, James adds a dynamic new element to our skill set. Watch out for the latest ‘Lets Get Involved’ guides from Accurascale coming soon! View the full article

In 1939, the entry into service of the first of Inchicore’s Class B1a 4-6-0 locomotives; 800 Maeḋḃ (Maedhbh), broke all of Ireland’s previous locomotive building conventions, and has led to the GSR Class 800 locomotives achieving a legendary status not far short of their illustrious namesakes. But is this down to the engineering excellence of the Class, or a legacy of potential unfulfilled? The three 4-6-0 Class 800 locomotives; 800 Maeḋḃ, 801 Maċa and 802 Táilte, were designed by the Great Southern Railway’s Chief Mechanical Engineer Edgar Bredin and his chief draughtsman, H.C Beaumont and represented a quantum leap forward in Irish locomotive design, being the first three-cylinder express locomotives built in the country. By the mid-1930s, the top link Dublin – Cork services had reached a critical loading point, where the existing fleet of 4-6-0 locomotives were stretched to their capabilities and beyond, particularly on the steep climb out of Cork. A larger, faster class of locomotive was needed. The safe bet, based on weight and loading gauge, would have been to take the existing two-cylinder Class 500, add a larger boiler and tender and bring it up to a more modern standard, but Bredin had his eyes on a different approach. A 4-6-2 Pacific design would have been possible, but the extra length would have proved too long for the turntables, and so another solution was sought, that being a three-cylinder 4-6-0 with a 21 ton axle loading; a ‘super’ 2C. Such was the difference from existing Irish 4-6-0 types, it has long been assumed that Bredin drew inspiration from British locomotive design, but this is not necessarily the case. While appearance would suggest a design based on Stanier’s LMS Royal Scot or Jubilee types, the Southern Railway mechanical designs of fellow Irishman Richard Maunsell and his assistant Harold Holcroft, especially relating to the Lord Nelson and Schools classes, may have been an influence, especially as Maunsell retained informal links with Inchicore and Holcroft was an expert on three-cylinder design. It is also possible that the work of Frenchman André Chapelon in draughting design was an inspiration, as it was for Bulleid and Gresley, especially as the fitting of double chimneys was far from common at the time. Wherever Bredin and Beaumont drew their inspiration from, it was inspired, and the B1a provided the GSR with one of the most completely handsome 4-6-0s ever built, a locomotive with the presence of a Pacific, but the powerful stance of a Stanier 4-6-0 on steroids. The large 6-wheel 8 ton, 5000 gallon tenders were sat on stylish frames, with the raves curving in gently, which sat well with the spacious cab of the locomotives. At 9’ wide, and with an extended rearwards roof section, the crews were not only protected from the elements, but also from the effects of turbulence which could cause coal and dust to intrude into the cab area. In front of the cab, a large Belpaire firebox provides balance against the parallel boiler (albeit that the boiler cladding itself is tapered), which sits on massive frames, constructed to prevent any flexing. The smokebox, neither too long or too short, sits in balance with the steam pipes and valve chests and the curve of the front frame adds a graceful introduction to the locomotives. 800 Maeḋḃ (or Maedhbh) entered traffic in April 1939, with 801 Maċa (Macha) doing so in November that year, followed lastly by 802 Táilte (Tailtiu) in June 1940 and despite the outbreak of The Emergency in September 1939, all three performed with excellence, their speed and haulage capacity being especially noted, along with their frugal fuel consumption. The demonstration run for 800 Maeḋḃ was on July 17, 1939, and the locomotive and crew achieved an 8 minute gain on the published schedule, which was a 30 minute gain on the previous haulage timing. The maximum speed achieved on this run was 92mph and later runs with 802 Táilte saw a sustained maximum speed of 95mph being achieved over a 6-8 mile stretch. Haulage capacity on the Mail trains could vary, but OS Nock recorded a run with a 450 ton train in August 1939, with 800 Maeḋḃ still achieving an 8 minute gain on the published schedule between Maryborough and Dublin. Having only experienced a few months of ‘normal’ running, slower schedules became an operating necessity during The Emergency, as fuel supplies were curtailed and this situation continued post-Emergency, as the 800s struggled to re-attain their top link status but in October 1950, Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ) revised the Enterprise service to operate Belfast-Dublin-Cork, with a locomotive change at Dublin’s Amiens Street station, and the 800s were again rostered to run non-stop from Dublin to Limerick Junction, a distance of over 100 miles. Unfortunately, CIÉ was an early adopter of diesel on mainline services and the introduction of the A Class relegated the 800s to secondary and freight services, an ignominious epitaph for a thoroughbred locomotive and 802 was withdrawn from service in 1955, 801 in 1957 and 800 in 1962, although fortunately 800 was preserved, and now resides at the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum at Cultra. Although built as a class of three locomotives, there is some interesting circumstantial evidence that more locomotives were planned for the class. Four boilers were built under Order 3056, and in a bigger class, operating as a fleet over large distances, this would not normally be unusual, but given the nature of the traffic undertaken by the 800s, and their diagramming, a fourth boiler as a spare seems a little extravagant, and would seemingly support the notion of a fourth locomotive being constructed, had The Emergency not taken place. Of even greater interest is the allocation of two tender numbers in the number range associated with the 800s. Tender numbers 80, 81 and 82 were allocated to 800, 801 and 802 respectively, but the GSR tender list also includes two ‘spare’ numbers of 83 and 84, which logically would suggest allocation to locomotive numbers 803 and 804, making a class of five locomotives. Rumours regarding names for additional locomotives in the class, based on lists from ‘sources’, suggest possible names of Aífe (Aoife), Derdriu (Deirdre) and Gráinne, all of which follow the theme of Irish mythological naming. Over the course of their short lives, there was a degree of variation with liveries and plate background colours, starting with 800 Maeḋḃ in fully lined photographic grey, with details picked out in white and carrying the legend G and S either side of a mounted GSR Crest. All three locomotives; 800 Maeḋḃ, 801 Maċa and 802 Táilte went on to have a fully lined GSR Mid-Green livery and blue backed nameplates, with the tenders variously showing either the legend G and S either side of a mounted GSR Crest, or just the mounted crest, or just the G and S legend! Under CIÉ in the 1950s, 800 Maeḋḃ, 801 Maċa and 802 Táilte received lined CIÉ Standard Green, however 802 Táilte first received an experimental Light Green livery with solid black edging, before getting the Standard Green. Both 801 Maċa and 802 Táilte had their nameplates backed in red for a period, before reverting to a blue background, however those on 800 Maeḋḃ remained constantly blue. The tenders received the CIÉ’s Flying Snail emblem reasonably quickly, but by withdrawal this was missing from 801’s tender. There were very few changes to the external appearance of the three locomotives, and those most obvious were in the smokebox area. As built, all three received double chimneys, however 802 Táilte carried a single chimney between 1949 and the end of 1951, while 801 Maċa carried a single chimney from 1954 until withdrawal. There was also a difference in rivet patterns on the leading edge of the smoke boxes, as well as the join angle, in the later years. Across all three, there was also a difference in grab handle positions and styles; a useful identifier in case of obscured numbering. Both 800 and 801 certainly received speedo sensors under CIÉ, but whether 802 did is unclear from reference material available. The 800s, short lived and under-utilised as they were, had a presence and style that not only gave pride to the GSR in its final years, but also to CIÉ, with the publicity departments of both companies featuring them in publications far and wide, making them instantly recognisable to the Irish public, a symbol of class on Ireland’s railway. View the full article

In 1939, the entry into service of the first of Inchicore’s Class B1a 4-6-0 locomotives; 800 Maeḋḃ (Maedhbh), broke all of Ireland’s previous locomotive building conventions, and has led to the GSR Class 800 locomotives achieving a legendary status not far short of their illustrious namesakes. But is this down to the engineering excellence of the Class, or a legacy of potential unfulfilled? The three 4-6-0 Class 800 locomotives; 800 Maeḋḃ, 801 Maċa and 802 Táilte, were designed by the Great Southern Railway’s Chief Mechanical Engineer Edgar Bredin and his chief draughtsman, H.C Beaumont and represented a quantum leap forward in Irish locomotive design, being the first three-cylinder express locomotives built in the country. By the mid-1930s, the top link Dublin – Cork services had reached a critical loading point, where the existing fleet of 4-6-0 locomotives were stretched to their capabilities and beyond, particularly on the steep climb out of Cork. A larger, faster class of locomotive was needed. The safe bet, based on weight and loading gauge, would have been to take the existing two-cylinder Class 500, add a larger boiler and tender and bring it up to a more modern standard, but Bredin had his eyes on a different approach. A 4-6-2 Pacific design would have been possible, but the extra length would have proved too long for the turntables, and so another solution was sought, that being a three-cylinder 4-6-0 with a 21 ton axle loading; a ‘super’ 2C. Such was the difference from existing Irish 4-6-0 types, it has long been assumed that Bredin drew inspiration from British locomotive design, but this is not necessarily the case. While appearance would suggest a design based on Stanier’s LMS Royal Scot or Jubilee types, the Southern Railway mechanical designs of fellow Irishman Richard Maunsell and his assistant Harold Holcroft, especially relating to the Lord Nelson and Schools classes, may have been an influence, especially as Maunsell retained informal links with Inchicore and Holcroft was an expert on three-cylinder design. It is also possible that the work of Frenchman André Chapelon in draughting design was an inspiration, as it was for Bulleid and Gresley, especially as the fitting of double chimneys was far from common at the time. Wherever Bredin and Beaumont drew their inspiration from, it was inspired, and the B1a provided the GSR with one of the most completely handsome 4-6-0s ever built, a locomotive with the presence of a Pacific, but the powerful stance of a Stanier 4-6-0 on steroids. The large 6-wheel 8 ton, 5000 gallon tenders were sat on stylish frames, with the raves curving in gently, which sat well with the spacious cab of the locomotives. At 9’ wide, and with an extended rearwards roof section, the crews were not only protected from the elements, but also from the effects of turbulence which could cause coal and dust to intrude into the cab area. In front of the cab, a large Belpaire firebox provides balance against the parallel boiler (albeit that the boiler cladding itself is tapered), which sits on massive frames, constructed to prevent any flexing. The smokebox, neither too long or too short, sits in balance with the steam pipes and valve chests and the curve of the front frame adds a graceful introduction to the locomotives. 800 Maeḋḃ (or Maedhbh) entered traffic in April 1939, with 801 Maċa (Macha) doing so in November that year, followed lastly by 802 Táilte (Tailtiu) in June 1940 and despite the outbreak of The Emergency in September 1939, all three performed with excellence, their speed and haulage capacity being especially noted, along with their frugal fuel consumption. The demonstration run for 800 Maeḋḃ was on July 17, 1939, and the locomotive and crew achieved an 8 minute gain on the published schedule, which was a 30 minute gain on the previous haulage timing. The maximum speed achieved on this run was 92mph and later runs with 802 Táilte saw a sustained maximum speed of 95mph being achieved over a 6-8 mile stretch. Haulage capacity on the Mail trains could vary, but OS Nock recorded a run with a 450 ton train in August 1939, with 800 Maeḋḃ still achieving an 8 minute gain on the published schedule between Maryborough and Dublin. Having only experienced a few months of ‘normal’ running, slower schedules became an operating necessity during The Emergency, as fuel supplies were curtailed and this situation continued post-Emergency, as the 800s struggled to re-attain their top link status but in October 1950, Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ) revised the Enterprise service to operate Belfast-Dublin-Cork, with a locomotive change at Dublin’s Amiens Street station, and the 800s were again rostered to run non-stop from Dublin to Limerick Junction, a distance of over 100 miles. Unfortunately, CIÉ was an early adopter of diesel on mainline services and the introduction of the A Class relegated the 800s to secondary and freight services, an ignominious epitaph for a thoroughbred locomotive and 802 was withdrawn from service in 1955, 801 in 1957 and 800 in 1962, although fortunately 800 was preserved, and now resides at the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum at Cultra. Although built as a class of three locomotives, there is some interesting circumstantial evidence that more locomotives were planned for the class. Four boilers were built under Order 3056, and in a bigger class, operating as a fleet over large distances, this would not normally be unusual, but given the nature of the traffic undertaken by the 800s, and their diagramming, a fourth boiler as a spare seems a little extravagant, and would seemingly support the notion of a fourth locomotive being constructed, had The Emergency not taken place. Of even greater interest is the allocation of two tender numbers in the number range associated with the 800s. Tender numbers 80, 81 and 82 were allocated to 800, 801 and 802 respectively, but the GSR tender list also includes two ‘spare’ numbers of 83 and 84, which logically would suggest allocation to locomotive numbers 803 and 804, making a class of five locomotives. Rumours regarding names for additional locomotives in the class, based on lists from ‘sources’, suggest possible names of Aífe (Aoife), Derdriu (Deirdre) and Gráinne, all of which follow the theme of Irish mythological naming. Over the course of their short lives, there was a degree of variation with liveries and plate background colours, starting with 800 Maeḋḃ in fully lined photographic grey, with details picked out in white and carrying the legend G and S either side of a mounted GSR Crest. All three locomotives; 800 Maeḋḃ, 801 Maċa and 802 Táilte went on to have a fully lined GSR Mid-Green livery and blue backed nameplates, with the tenders variously showing either the legend G and S either side of a mounted GSR Crest, or just the mounted crest, or just the G and S legend! Under CIÉ in the 1950s, 800 Maeḋḃ, 801 Maċa and 802 Táilte received lined CIÉ Standard Green, however 802 Táilte first received an experimental Light Green livery with solid black edging, before getting the Standard Green. Both 801 Maċa and 802 Táilte had their nameplates backed in red for a period, before reverting to a blue background, however those on 800 Maeḋḃ remained constantly blue. The tenders received the CIÉ’s Flying Snail emblem reasonably quickly, but by withdrawal this was missing from 801’s tender. There were very few changes to the external appearance of the three locomotives, and those most obvious were in the smokebox area. As built, all three received double chimneys, however 802 Táilte carried a single chimney between 1949 and the end of 1951, while 801 Maċa carried a single chimney from 1954 until withdrawal. There was also a difference in rivet patterns on the leading edge of the smoke boxes, as well as the join angle, in the later years. Across all three, there was also a difference in grab handle positions and styles; a useful identifier in case of obscured numbering. Both 800 and 801 certainly received speedo sensors under CIÉ, but whether 802 did is unclear from reference material available. The 800s, short lived and under-utilised as they were, had a presence and style that not only gave pride to the GSR in its final years, but also to CIÉ, with the publicity departments of both companies featuring them in publications far and wide, making them instantly recognisable to the Irish public, a symbol of class on Ireland’s railway. View the full article

2025 marks the 10th birthday of IRM! That's right, it's been 10 years since we first made a public appearance at the Dublin show in Blackrock with some CAD drawings of a ballast wagon and some leaflets on a school table. We've come on a bit since then! It's a major milestone for any business, and we've had some interesting challenges thrown our way over the years, but a lot of success too. That's down to you, and your support for us and what we want to do. So, with that in mind, we really wanted to mark our first decade with a truly special model. An icon of the Irish rails. We also wanted to produce the first highly detailed, ready-to-run, authentic Irish steam locomotive. There was only one place we could go to; the GSR B1A Class, or the 800s/The Queens as they are better known! Despite the high profile of the three B1a locomotives, and even with 800 Maeḋḃ, being preserved since the 1960s, we found ourselves in the position of having very few dimensioned drawings to work from, with just Rod and Pipe side elevation and front elevation official drawings being sourced. Thanks to the late Ken McElhinney, a few more drawings were shared which at least gave a starting point, but to really get to grips with the subject, it was decided to 3D scan the loco. Fortunately, we’d already decided to make a start on the Hunslet 101 project and so we found ourselves at the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum in Cultra one April morning in 2022 with two locomotives to scan; our British based scanning company partners having made the trip across the Irish Sea for the occasion. A full photographic and measurement survey was also undertaken at the same time, which gave us the necessary information to begin the CAD process. As ever, a master drawing needed to be completed from the cloud point data and from there, using as many archive photos as could be sourced, the variations across the three locomotives were also drawn up, allowing the factory to complete the process by adding in the requested 5-pole, fly-wheel motor and the gearing, prior to tooling. There were two particular areas that we particularly wanted to address in the model; the realism of the sound and the connection of the tender to the locomotive. Steam tenders in the modern era of railway modelling tend to be connected to the locomotive by a fixed coupling, with a loose wiring loom connecting to the PCB via a ‘devil’s plug’ connection. We wanted to avoid this, and so tender and locomotive will be connected by a multi-pin connector integrated into a kinetic coupling, which will allow push fit/pull apart connection and, hopefully, a better tender to locomotive close coupling distance, with the cab fall plate covering the gap prototypically. Early testing has proved positive in this respect, and the full DCC fitted deco samples should refine this further. We also wanted to improve the sound ‘experience’ for customers, so in addition to the new ‘megabass’ main speaker that has been fitted into the tender (with suitable outlets for the sound to ‘escape’), a secondary sugar cube speaker has been mounted in the smokebox, directly beneath the chimney, and this should replicate the distinctive exhaust ‘bark’ of the B1a locomotives. The sound project has been built from the ground up, using a combination of newly recorded 4-6-0 3-cylinder sounds, which our sound engineer has then married to the sound curves taken from archive recordings of 802 Táilte. This should provide for a complete authentic sound file, with great drivability. With assessment of the first EP now completed, and very few issues, the artwork files are currently being finished off and passed to the factory to produce the deco samples. The PCB schematics have been completed by ESU as well, which means that the deco samples should also be fully sound functional, an exciting development in the project. Once the decorated samples arrive with us we will continue to test ahead of production of this very limited run. Like our NIR Hunslet locomotives, this is planned to be a very exclusive production run due to the nature of there being three class members in various guises during their all too short careers. We cannot guarantee that there will be a future production run of these locomotives, so we would advise anyone who wants a museum quality 800 Class locomotive in OO gauge to get ordering ASAP from this production run. With a large amount of diecast construction, a wealth of detail, separately applied parts, a museum quality finish, a vast tooling suite to cater for detail variations and a high quality drive and sound system, we feel that we will do the first ever, authentic highly detailed Irish outline steam locomotive justice! Due to the highly limited nature and quality level of this model, it is priced at €349.00 DC/DCC Ready and €449.00 DCC sound fitted. This is in line, and in some cases cheaper, than large British outline steam locomotives of similar or poorer quality, despite them benefiting from larger production runs and sales. Delivery of our Celtic Queens is slated for Q3 2026. You can reserve your loco below with a €40 reservation fee via the link below. Pre-Order Your GSR/CIE 800s Here! MODEL SPECIFICATION: Die-cast metal locomotive chassis and footplate, with ABS plastic body. Locomotive/Tender weight of 498g. Centrally mounted, high quality 5-pole skew-wound motor, with single flywheel. Helical gear box for maximum performance and slow speed running. Gearing arranged so locomotive can achieve a scale maximum top speed of 100 mph (128.75 km/h). Scale lengths: Locomotive: 163.917mm over buffers. Tender: 104.916mm over buffers. Operation over a minimum radius of 438mm (2nd radius set-track). Blackened 00 Gauge RP25-110 standard 11.3mm bogie wheels, 25.8mm driving wheels and 14.8mm tender wheels, set in blackened brass bearings or contact strips and conforming to Accurascale standards of 14.4mm back-to-back, on 2mm axles. Fully fitted brake rigging, aligned to wheel centres for 00 Gauge. Fully detailed die-cast underframes with all cylinders, linkages and piping applied separately. Eroded metal, plastic and wire detail parts, including (but not limited to) handrails, lamp brackets, running gear, brake gear, draw gear, nameplates, cab side plates. Prism free flush cab glazing. Duel-LED flickering firebox. Locomotive/Tender connection by multi-pin custom designed male/female connector. Designed to work with the ESU LOKSOUND V5 21-PIN Decoder. Decoder and main speaker located in the tender, for easy access. Supplied as DC Sound Ready, or DCC Sound fitted (based on archive recordings). Fitted 25mm x 25mm x 7.50mm rectangular 8Ω ‘Megabass’ speaker in tender, with separate ‘Sugarcube’ speaker fitted in smokebox. View the full article

Hi folks, You can watch the launch video here later on for those of you not able to attend this evening: We will of course have it on our website and on here too! Cheers! Fran

Hi everyone, If you managed to register your details on the form, then you're on the list. If you didn't, then you aren't. We will be showing a video announcement on the Accurascale YouTube channel on Monday evening for all of you who cannot make it. Link is below! Cheers! Fran

Hi folks, Indeed, all the wagons are now back on sale and available here: https://www.accurascale.com/collections/irm-wagons Remember, your VAT etc will be looked after and there will be no hidden nasty charges for Irish or indeed any European customers, so get buying with confidence! Cheers! Fran

With our Class 31s now landing with customers and the final batch arriving in stock, attention now turns to our other current locomotive projects. It has indeed been a very busy period for us and we have four locomotives coming close to completion at the factories in China. Namely, the Class 50, Class 60, the J67/J68/J69 "Buckjumpers" and the subject of todays update; the Class 89. With so many locomotives coming to the end of their production cycle, we decided to send a delegation to China to oversee the final stages of these locos at the various different factories that are producing them, so we can bring you a real time update on where we are at with them. So, Accurascale Director Patrick Conboy, Production Manager Steve Nicholls, and Senior Project Manager (and man responsible for the Class 89!) Gareth Bayer have travelled to the Far East to make sure everything is how it should be. This factory in particular is working on several of our projects, including the HYA wagons. Upon receiving the first production samples earlier this year (more on that later!) we identified a couple of minor tweaks required to the locomotives to reach that museum quality level we required from these stand out models. We're happy to say that the factory have been busy implementing these, and they're almost complete. One key area for attention is the operation of the raising and lowering pantograph. We have refined this operation and look following on from our Class 92, and while the original design worked, it left the pan head in an non-prototypical position. Our friends at Making Tracks were able to assist us in this feedback, and although the Class 92 and Caledonian sleeper train was hitting the highest mileage of any locomotive on the layout, it was the one area they said they'd love to see improved. We've worked hard to improve the finesse of the 89 pantograph after such feedback, with features such as a metal, scale head and new hidden 'clip-down' technology for DC users, but as as result the fine tuning in the set up, notably with the wonderful ESU mechanisms, has been a slow and iterative process. However, working closely with the internal and external engineers, we have now nailed this, and the new design is currently being manufactured ahead of fitting to the otherwise finished Class 89s. See how the springing and the pan head in particular now swivels to stay in contact at all times. These are a highly intricate and complex part, that need to be highly calibrated and hand-tuned at the factory, and cannot be rushed. This now puts delivery of the 89 to our warehouse to Q2 2025. While this slight delay is regrettable, this is likely the only chance the British modelling public will ever get to obtain a top tier model of the Badger, so we are determined to make it as perfect as it can be. One variant we have yet to show was GNER livery with gold lettering, but we are delighted to present it now in its production sample state. We still have pre-ordering open for the Class 89, as do our counterparts at Rails of Sheffield, but please note that we will close them very soon as delivery edges ever closer. So, if you want one, place your pre-order today with a £30 deposit via Rails, or below, to avoid disappointment. Pre-Order Your Class 89 Here! View the full article

Hi folks, We've now hit capacity and have no places left I'm afraid. Thank you to everyone who signed up, and we look forward to seeing you on Monday! If this goes well we will run more events in the future and aim for bigger venues. Cheers! Fran

Hi everyone, 2025 marks the 10th year of IRM, and we thought we would celebrate this significant milestone in style! So, Accurascale/IRM cordially invites you to the launch of our latest locomotive project at an exclusive event at the Fry Model Railway Museum at the Casino, Malahide, Dublin, next Monday, March 10th from 7pm. This exciting event sees Accurascale/IRM launch our most ambitious locomotive yet to celebrate our 10th Birthday in 2025, and we want to share it with our supporters. It will feature a short talk from Paul Isles, Project Manager from Accurascale/IRM, and celebrated railway expert and historian Jonathan Beaumont, as well as a demonstration of the locomotive on the Casino layout. Places are strictly limited due to venue capacity and catering that will be provided. Because of this, anyone who wishes to attend the event MUST RSVP by 6pm on Wednesday, March 5th 2025. Failure to do so means you will not be permitted entry to the venue on the night. Due to the limited capacity, places are offered on a first come, first served basis. Please fill out the form below ASAP to avoid disappointment and note that you may still miss out if you complete the form. Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScRFC_bIU_sAublSZfPZ3myJQ43HMO72hr7fDGRxGUAIY6HLQ/viewform We will confirm your attendance to the event via email later this week. We look forward to seeing you there and let the wild speculation begin! Cheers! Fran

There really is absolutely no need for comments like that.