Warbonnet

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.

Hi folks, We were offered these but decided against them as they just didnt fit in with what we would like to do livery wise. Good to see that they were picked up elsewhere. Cheers! Fran

It's been a little while since we gave a firm update on our lovely tank engine family of the J67/J68/J69 "Buckjumper" family. But, as these photos from the factory will attest to, the models are very nearly finished and are starting to roll off the production line! As you can see, great progress and the finishing line is now in sight! We've been informed that production will be complete in the coming weeks, and once they have passed our checks and QC tests with the final production samples, they will then be green lighted for delivery. Should all that go according to plan, then you will take delivery of your Buckjumper in Q2, 2025! Pre-order yours today via your local stockist, or direct via the link below! Pre-Order Your Buckjumper Here! View the full article

Hi Paul, Technically we never close out pre-orders on something. We only close them when we're sold out. I'm afraid as it's a new order no discount would be applied. Cheers! Fran

We took you all by surprise last week by announcing that we have teamed up with Rails of Sheffield to bring you the ultimate Electrostar family in OO gauge! We have opened expressions of interest to see what the demand for this large family of units is, and so far the response has been encouraging. However, we aren't there yet, and still need some more expressions of interest before our March 28th deadline. We know that almost £500 is a significant outlay, and sometimes it can be hard to manage within your hobby budget. We really cannot make them any cheaper than they are, and we have pulled the price down as far as it will go. However, we still want to help, so how about this? We have talked to our payment partners Partially, and we can now offer you flexible payment terms of up to 12 months on your electrostar pre-order! How Does It Work? When choosing your electrostar, hit the "Split Up To 12 Months" button as per above. You will then pay an initial 10% deposit, and can pay the balance anywhere between 1 and 12 months, at no extra cost! This means you can fund your Electrostar from just £37.50 per month on DCC Silent, or £53.33 per month for DCC Sound Fitted over 12 months. There is no additional interest to pay, no other fees, you still just pay the retail price of £499.95 or £599.95 respectively! Now, that does make things a bit easier. You do not want to miss out on these units. Pre-order via Rails of Sheffield, or below direct! Pre-Order Your Electrostar Here! View the full article

No sooner had batch 2 of our first Class 31 production arrived in stock (and mostly sold out again, we've very little left!) that we had received production samples of Batch 3, which contains all our exclusive models and all the limited editions for Rails of Sheffield, Model Rail Magazine and Key Model World/Hornby Magazine. Those outlets will reveal their production sample Class 31s in due course, but for now allow us to show off 31105 in Network Rail yellow, 31407 in Mainline Freight aircraft blue and 31466 in EWS maroon and gold. Photos of 31285 will be revealed separately, so keep an eye out for those soon! Batch three is approx. 3 weeks away from arrival, so make sure your invoice is paid up so we can get your locos dispatched to you promptly! As you can see from above, they're rather special. We are currently sold out, but if you do like the look of these, make sure you sign up to emails on the website to notify you of more stock going on sale, as it is likely that we will have a few spare too! Browse and sign up via the link below... Browse Class 31 Range Here View the full article

Ah, new model delays. It seems something that is always talked about in our hobby. And nobody has been more guilty about than us. We have been learning from our previously optimistic timelines though, and put some improvements in place to better gauge delivery times. Our O gauge Ruston for instance was delivered on time from our initial announcement. And now, we've gone crazy, and will deliver a model EARLY! Yes, our ICI hoppers which we billed as being due in Q3 of this year? Well, they're finished, and will leave the factory in the coming days. So, they will now land in Q2! While not every project forevermore will be like this, and indeed we are sure some will be late again in the future despite our best efforts, it does show that sometimes a project can come together nicely. A special mention to our factory too, who made these for the first time but to an excellent standard and finish. Let's indulge in some photos of the production samples! Twin packs of these in-demand wagons are priced at £74.95 each, with 10% off when you buy two-four packs and 15% off when you buy five or more packs! They are available direct from our website only, with limited stock remaining. Make sure you don't miss out, order below! Pre-Order Your ICI Wagons Here! View the full article

Hi Phil, Yes, it's going to take about a week to sort everything. Thanks for your patience! Cheers! Fran

Obligatory boxes pics!

You may have noted in recent days that we have sent you an email from accurascale with an account being set up for you. This isn't spam or a scam. We are just making some changes to IRM and how we work as we grow. We've been running two warehouses and two different websites, and it takes a lot of work and manpower to cover it all. So, what we are doing is merging it all into one, with warehousing and websites now being hosted in one central location. This means that you will be ordering your IRM goodies via the accurascale website, and your goodies will be sent from the UK. "But what about customs???" You may ask. Well, there is no need to worry. All of that is now taken care by us when you order, so you will not be charged anything on your doorstep if you live in Ireland. We will also maintain our current shipping rates. Loyalty bonus points from the IRM accounts will also be transferred to your new account on the accurascale website so you don't lose out either. However, to facilitate this, we need you to open the emails we've sent you and "activate" your account following the instructions in the email. Overall, this transition will have no impact on you. All you will do is now buy from Accurascale, but still in euro prices. You will also be able to use your IRM points on Accurascale products, should something British outline take your fancy. Pricing will remain exactly the same, in Euro with Irish / EU VAT as applicable, so there are no changes there! If you have an accurascale account already then you don't need to do anything, you are already set up! Over the next week all your IRM orders that are open will be in the same log in. Thereafter, you can still type in irishrailwaymodels.com and find the accurascale website, but you will need to activate your new account to login and keep your points. We look forward to seeing you at accurascale.com! View the full article

"We need more EMUs!" "More modern stock please! Nobody is making four car units!" Well, we've listened, and here is what so many of you have been calling for. We're teaming up with Rails Of Sheffield to produce the ultimate Electrostar. And we mean ultimate. We're looking for expressions of interest in producing the ultimate model of the Electrostar family of modern 4 car EMU units in 00/4mm scale. The project follows hot on the heels of our successful Class 89 partnership, which is now nearing completion of manufacture. For our next joint project, both companies decided on yet another stand-out candidate, and something that will both impress on a technical level but also be something much desired within the hobby. One area that has been underrepresented when it comes to new models is the 4 car multiple unit area, particularly EMUs. The Electrostar family has been identified as once such area that requires a Ready-to-Run model, so we set to work on this ambitious project a number of years ago (pre-COVID!) Our Development Team identified the opportunity to include all variants of the Class 375, Class 377, Class 379 and Class 387 Electrostars, which will make up the tooling suite of our first EMU. The sheer variation and myriad of detail differences across this large family of units makes it our biggest project to date in terms of tooling and cost, as well as development lead time. Excited by the prospect of being associated with such a groundbreaking and technologically innovative model, Rails of Sheffield was keen to partner up with us to bring the Electrostar to market and became involved in the embryonic stages of the project. The launch of the project is being considered over two separate production runs. The most technologically complex dual-power versions, namely the 375/6s, the 377/2s and 377/5s, the 379s and the 387/1s and 387/2s will form the basis of the project. Should these be successful, other members of the Electrostar family will then be modelled at a later date. History In Autumn 1999, just as our Electrostar Project Manager Paul Isles was about to leave his job in London and finish with the daily commute from the Kent coast, rumours began to circulate that the slam door stock that we loathed as commuters (and loved as enthusiasts) would soon be replaced by a new class of more modern (and hopefully, more reliable) Electric Multiple Unit. The occasional 4-car Class 465 Networker EMU ventured down to Dover, but on the whole, Kent Coast commuters were still living the life of travelling in noisy, draughty, weatherbeaten and past-their-best 4-CIGs and 4-VEPs. But when the Class 375 Electrostars finally arrived on the routes in 2000, everything changed for the better. The Electrostar story spans a manufacturing period of 18 years, seven different classes, a multitude of sub-classes, three different manufacturers’ names above the door, over 650 sets in service and a geographical spread across southern Britain, and still the story continues. The privatisation of the United Kingdom’s rail market in the mid-1990s was more akin to the 1889 Oklahoma land rush, with a horde of new franchises poised to take over the rail network, and manufacturers saw the opportunity to create more modern passenger train designs to fulfil their needs, with Siemens, Alstom and ADtranz being the prominent players in the market. ADtranz, in particular, saw the potential in creating a modular design based on a common body to suit both suburban and outer-suburban markets, with differing seating layouts, traction sources and train lengths, and to meet this concept, the Turbostar (diesel powered) and Electrostar (AC/DC powered) families were created. Bodies were built as aluminium monocoques, with steel ends for energy absorption (the cabs being GRP and steel), with one piece aluminium roofs and the underframe equipment being suspended from a ‘raft’, allowing for flexibility in equipment layout. Two pairs of bi-parting doors on each side of the vehicles allows for rapid entry/exit of passengers and an integrated seating rail in the body design allows for different seating configurations of 2+1, 2+2 and 2+3 laterally, or even longitudinal seating. Traction for the Electrostars can be via 750V DC bogie mounted Third Rail provision, or 25kV AC overhead power collection via the pantograph and where AC power is not required, the pantograph equipment is simply omitted, leaving a blank well on those TSOL vehicles. The bogies themselves were ADTranz’s own design, being the P3-25 powered bogie, or the T3-25 trailer bogie. The first of the Electrostar family built were the Class 357 4-car sets, constructed by ADTranz and entering service in 2000, and these were followed by the Class 375 family of 3-car 375/3 units, and 375/6, 375/7, 375/8 and 375/9 4-car units, being built by ADTranz (subsequently Bombardier) for the Kent Coast services under Connex, then SouthEastern. At the same time, the South Central franchise (later Southern) also required replacements for its slamdoor stock and although these Tightlock equipped sets were initially delivered as Class 375, a change to Dellner couplings resulted in a change of classification, becoming the Class 377 family of 4-car 377/1, 377/2, 377/4 and 377/5 units, and the 3-car 377/3 units. Subsequently, Southern also added 5-car units to the fleet in 2013 to cover delayed Thameslink stock, resulting in the addition of 377/6 and 377/7 variants. Electrostars were also built to serve the high volume services in South-East London, North Kent and London Overground, resulting in the 5-car Class 376 sets and Class 378 ‘Capitalstar’ sets of the mid-2000s. At the end of the 21st century’s first decade, National Express East Anglia ordered Electrostar sets for the Stansted Express and Cambridge services and with their extended luggage accommodation and low density seating, these 4-car sets became Class 379, setting the standard for the last of the Electrostar family to enter service. The final member of the family was the 4-car Class 387; a development of the Class 377 and Class 379 fleets that was capable of running at 110mph and suitable for long distance workings. Originally ordered for Thameslink as Class 387/1, the Class has extended to another two variants; 377/2 and 377/3 as the type have gone on to serve Great Western Railway, Gatwick Express, Heathrow Express, Great Northern, c2c and recently, Southern. The Model Such is the level of research required to execute these units correctly, we employed a new approach to scanning. In addition to the common exterior scans to create an overall cloudpoint model, our Development Team also employed the services of a rail head scanning specialist for the bogies and underframe, to ensure that those areas which are normally in a digital ‘shadow’ were covered to give the ultimate in underframe detailing. This ensures that the underframe detailing and cabinets are very visible from side views and to get placement perfectly aligned, We needed to scan the underframe ‘raft’, with and without equipment attached. How in-depth are we going? Let Paul show you in our launch video! Extensive drawing sets being provided and the number of surveys undertaken. The Alstom team at Ramsgate depot were on hand to provide 100s of drawings, and photographic/measuring surveys were undertaken at Ramsgate, Ashford, Brighton and Reading depots, as well as at Alstom’s Derby works. This has resulted in a whole new approach to UK outline multiple units, with an extensive tooling suite to cover the exhaustive list of detail variations over the life of these units. Our vision for our first UK outline multiple unit is equally ambitious, with a desire to bring the highest specification possible to the Electrostar model. The model will feature DCC operating pantographs, operating CDL lights, motors driving the leading and trailing axles of the DMCOs, which also have working magnetic front mounted Tightlock, or Dellner couplings (depending on variant). Each sound fitted unit will have a speaker mounted in every car to give a full surround sound experience of the real trains. Full interior lighting with each car having a power bank of capacitors for flicker free lighting. Each unit will have correct seating arrangements depending on class and operator, and all the DCC functions will be controlled by one central DCC decoder only. Our tried and trusted method of helical gearing, unique in UK outline, will be employed in these units too, giving a constant mesh and offer smooth, near silent, running. Fully directional lighting, with full range of light options for day/night running and shunting/yard configurations, and of course, separate cab lighting at each end along with front and side lit destination boards. A total of ten running numbers across three different operators and from Classes 375 and 377 form the first run, with Classes 379 and 387 arriving in the second run. Express Your Interest And Pre-Order A project of this scale of tooling variation, complexity and intricacy incurs a significant cost and therefore, considerable risk is taken. To ensure that this risk is mitigated as much as possible, both Rails and ourselves are calling for concrete “expressions of interest” to be placed for this model, with a £50 reservation fee required when placing an order per unit before Friday, March 28th 2025 at 5pm. Should we decide not to proceed with the project after this deadline, then all reservations will be refunded. Should the project go ahead, the reservation fee will be deducted from the final price and will not be refundable. If this project gets the green light from modellers, the CAD, which is ready to go to tooling, will be submitted to the factory and tooling will commence straight away after the March 28th deadline. As part of our regular production updates, an expected delivery date will be available after the first, working sample is delivered and tested extensively, but we ask modellers to bear in mind that delivery is likely to be 2-2.5 years away at least due to the complex development of the extensive specification required. As per the Class 89, the models will be available exclusively via the Accurascale and Rails of Sheffield websites, and the Rails of Sheffield shop. Total price is £499.95 for DC/DCC Silent Fitted 4 car unit, and £599.95 DCC Sound Fitted, with £50 reservation fees deducted from this total amount should the project go ahead. The balance will be taken once the models arrive in stock. DC modellers will be able to use either configuration on their layouts, with limited sound functionality with the DCC sound variants. You can place your expression of interest and browse the first proposed first production run on both the Accurascale and Rails of Sheffield websites. Pre-Order Direct From Accurascale Here MODEL SPECIFICATION: Die-cast metal chassis, with ABS plastic body Low mounted, high quality 5-pole skew-wound motor, with single flywheel, driving the lead bogie of the DMCO only. This means that each 4-car unit is powered from the front and rear cars Helical gear box for maximum performance and slow speed running Gearing arranged so unit can achieve a scale maximum top speed of 100 mph (128.75 km/h) as a 2 x 4-car unit Supplied as DCC Silent Fitted, or DCC Sound fitted (Both Will Run On DC) Scale lengths: DMCO: Scale length of 262.24mm over body ends, and 36.745mm wide MSOL and PTSOL: Scale length of 258.4mm over body ends, and 36.745mm width Bogie centres at 186mm, allowing operation over a minimum radius of 438mm (2nd radius set-track) Single style of 11mm solid wheel, to the new profile blackened 00 Gauge RP25-110 standard, set in blackened brass bearings or contact strips and conforming to Accurascale standards of 14.4mm back-to-back, on 2mm axles over 26mm pinpoints. Brake discs to be inset separate items Fully detailed die-cast underframes with all cylinders, battery boxes, cabinets and piping applied separately Seating layouts modelled to specific classes/sub-classes Leading Cars (DMCO) have working magnetic front mounted Tightlock, or Dellner couplings (depending on variant) Inter-car connection by 10-pin custom designed male/female connectors, allowing the operation of all functions, across all cars, from A SINGLE DECODER MSOL and PTSOL/TSOL are un-motored (or dummy) cars, but retain full lighting features, being DCC ready with PowerPack capacitor for uninterrupted power PTSOL to feature DCC operated Pantograph, a slimline roof mounted development of the successful Accurascale unit used in the Class 92 and 89 projects Eroded metal, plastic and wire detail parts, including (but not limited to) roof details, handrails, door handles, kick plates, lamp brackets, brake gear, brake discs, draw gear, vents and louvres Prism free flush glazing Easy access to PCB for decoder fitting Designed to work with the ESU LOKSOUND V5 21-PIN Decoder with easy access. Blanking plate to carry switches for limited DC lighting options Fully directional lighting, with full range of light options for day/night running and shunting/yard configurations Separate cab lighting Full passenger interior lighting in all vehicles, set at correct colour temperature, with hidden stay-alive capacitors Operable Central Door Locking (CDL) lights on bodysides Supplied DCC Sound Ready, with fitted ESU 22mm x 42mm x 8.0mm rectangular 4Ω speakers and Passive Radiators, in all vehicles View the full article

As we grow as a company we have been slowly ticking off our "firsts" as we go on year by year. First wagon, first loco, first coach, and so on. One "first" we have yet to achieve is a train pack. However, we're delighted to announce that we are about to change that with the announcement of our first ever train pack, based on the Longmoor Military Railway (LMR) sphere of operations. It will feature on of our rather lovely Hunslet Austerity locomotives and a pair of our delicious Mark 1 Suburban coaches. History of the LMR Starting life as the Woolmer Instructional Railway in 1909, for sixty years the British Army operated a railway dedicated to training soldiers how to operate a complete strategic rail supply system. A self-contained system, the Longmoor Military Railway became ever more popular with rail enthusiasts, culminating in the hugely popular open days and special trains to the site during the 1960s that influenced the appearance and allocation of internal rolling stock. Post-war, as training commitments reduced, worn out rolling stock was replaced, rather than repaired, with British Railways’ rolling stock being purchased by 1 Rly Gp Royal Engineers and in the mid-1960s, mindful that higher capacity passenger trains were required for Open Days and Special Events, this included surplus Mk.1 Non-Gangway compartment stock; these ex-BR vehicles even being painted into the LMR Oxford Blue livery to maintain appearances. The Locomotive Hunslet Engine 3796 was completed in 1953 to the wartime Austerity design. Deemed surplus almost immediately, the locomotive was placed in store at Longmoor and then at Bicester. The locomotive entered traffic in 1955 and spent time working at Honeybourne, Bicester and Longmoor variously until it was called upon for its first filming role. In 1965, the Longmoor military railway was chosen as the set for the filming of the “Great St Trinians train robbery”, and 3796 was painted black and numbered as 68011 to represent a BR J94. After filming, the number 196 was reinstated as was the typical Longmoor Military railway lined blue livery (although 68011 was still visible, painted on the smokebox door!) The second starring role for 196 happened in 167 when once again the Longmoor railway was used as a set. This time for the movie “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”, 196 appeared in blue this time but had GWR lettering on the tank to cover the LMR, it also had its dome cover painted brass and a farcically tall chimney extension. Of interest here is that the real car that the story was based upon, was owned and raced by Count Louis Zborowski, a railway enthusiast who had a passion for 15 inch gauge railways and partnered with Captain J E P Howey to build the Romney Hythe and Dymchurch Railway (sadly Zborowski never saw the railway completed). In January of 1968, 196 was chosen to carry the name of Major General Errol Lonsdale who was the then chief of Army transport. 196 became the last locomotive to be named at Longmoor and was given the full white wheel treatment ahead of gaining its nameplates. When Longmoor closed in 1970 the 196 was purchased by the Kent and East Sussex railway before moving to the Mid Hants railway in 1976 and was rededicated with its Errol Lonsdale nameplates in 1978. Latterly it spent time running in BR black at the South Devon railway, numbered as its film star role, 68011. By 2009 the locomotive was again out of traffic and was sold to the Stoomcentrum in Maldegem, Belgium where it has been restored to full working condition and painted in its original WD Green livery The Coaches Records from the LMR show that 13 ex-BR Midland Region Mk.1s were transferred to Longmoor in either 1965, or 1968, comprising 11 x Brake Seconds and 2 x Seconds, although cross-referencing this list against Hugh Longworth’s book tells another story. According to the LMR, the Brake Seconds were M43231, M43233, M43234, M43235, M43239, M43245, M43258, M43269, M43275, M43286 and M43296, while the Seconds were M46069 and M46070. However, according to Longworth, 18 ex-BR Midland Region Mk.1s were transferred, these being Brake Seconds M43231, M43233, M43234, M43235, M43239, M43245, M43249, M43254, M43258, M43259, M43289, M43291, M43296 and M43309, along with Seconds M46069, M46070, M46075 and M46079. Of these, M43233, M43234 and 43235 were never renumbered into the LMR’s numbering scheme, while the remaining coaches received either the AD prefix (1965 transfers), or the later ARMY prefix (1968 transfers). The AD prefixed coaches later assumed the ARMY prefix from 1968. On arrival at the LMR, the coaches were all in BR lined Maroon, most still carrying their ‘condemned’ cross within a circle. M43233, M43234 and 43235 were never repainted, and although M43245 received AD and ARMY prefixes, there is no record of any livery changes. The 1965 arrivals remained in their BR Maroon until being repainted into LMR Oxford Blue in 1967/68. Of the 1968 arrivals, only M46070 wore LMR Blue, the others going straight into Olive Drab after arrival. Upon closure in 1969, the surviving Mk.1 stock was either transferred to other MoD outposts, such as Radway Green or Marshwood, or listed for auction. Those not sold were scrapped on site at Longmoor, while others sold into preservation have since mostly been scrapped, although there have been some notable exceptions, such as M43289 (ARMY 5310) which is preserved on the Great Central Railway. Our two LMR Mk.1 models represent Brake Second ARMY 5301 (ex-M43231) and Second ARMY 3302 (Ex-M46070) in 1968, when both were wearing the LMR Oxford Blue livery. ARMY 5301 was built at Doncaster under Lot 30093 in 1954, originally being numbered as M53231 until a conflict with DMU numbering led to British Railways renumbering the 53xxx vehicles into the 43xxx range to avoid confusion. Taken out of service in October 1964, the vehicle was transferred to the LMR on 22 February 1965, being numbered as AD 03031 in 1966, before renumbering as AD 3031 in 1967 and ARMY 5301 in 1968. Initially painted Olive Drab in 1966, it was repainted into LMR Oxford Blue in 1967. At closure of the LMR, the coach was preserved first at the East Somerset Railway, and then at the Keighley & Worth Valley, before finally being scrapped in June 1982. Second ARMY 3302 (ex-M46070) was built at Derby under Lot 30051 in 1954 and was also taken out of service in October 1964, the vehicle transferring to the LMR in early 1968 and being numbered ARMY 3302 from the start. Repainted into LMR Oxford Blue at the same time, the vehicle was sold to the East Somerset Railway upon closure of the LMR, but was scrapped in February 1971 at Liss. The Set Based upon two of our latest model ranges, the LMR train pack consists of two of our fabulous Mark 1 suburban coaches, widely lauded as some of the finest coaches ever produced in 00/4mm scale and one of our very cute forthcoming Hunslet Austerity tank locomotives. An Accurascale Exclusives release, and therefore only available direct via our website, this special limited edition set will of course come in our much loved and coveted special presentation packaging and features etched nameplates and additional features such as distressed coach roof printing and running numbers that will never be available outside of this set. Both DC/DCC ready and DCC Sound Fitted sets will be offered, priced at £299.95 and £399.95 respectively. Delivery is Q2 2026. Pre-order yours only direct via our website below! Pre-order Your LMR Train Pack Here! View the full article

Building on the success of our 78xx Manors, which of course was our first steam locomotive, we announced our large family of 57xx/67xx and 8750 range of the GWR/BR Pannier tanks to great fanfare at the final Warley show in late 2023. Since then we have moved swiftly from tooling samples to painted samples as we showed off in the Autumn, including our lovely pair of officially licenced Accurascale Exclusive pair of London Transport panniers. It was not until we put some colour on our panniers that it was noted that a couple of details were not quite right. These were identified and discussed at length on our thread on RMWeb, where several experts provided assistance to help us with a couple of detail corrections. Our original samples were black, which is the one colour we dislike having samples in, as it can "hide" some errors, making them more difficult to spot. The splash of colour of LT maroon and GWR green helped bring these to the fore. It was noted that the straps on the smokebox door were too close together and that the dome was slightly angled and not vertical at the sides. We discussed the latter with the factory, and it was confirmed that this was to assist with mould release, a part of the manufacturing process to help the part release from the injection moulding machine correctly. Many, many steam models have a very, very gentle slope, almost unrecognisable to the eye to assist in this process. However, if it was noticeable in our photos published of these samples then we felt it stuck out too much. So, we went back to the factory and after some head scratching and brain storming, they came up with a fantastic solution to active a perfectly vertical angle so the dome could be replicated correctly on our model. We have since received a sample showcasing these improvements and we are blown away with the subtle but definitive difference it has made as can be seen above (all the other images in this blog feature samples with the incorrect details). It can always be easy for manufacturers to "blame" the factory for anything that goes wrong. Of course, they can make mistakes like us all, and they're only human too, but their expertise, knowledge, talent and engineering skills are unbelievable and when they can come up with solutions like above they should be duly commended for their efforts. Naturally, the tooling changes left us with a dilemma that we often face. Do we ignore, plough on, and deliver on time? Or, do we take the time to correct it and add in a slight delay to delivery? These delays can be frustrating for customers, and have massive financial implications for manufacturers as it means waiting even longer to recoup your return on investment. And this investment is huge, indeed without much change from half a million quid. You can see why some models proceed without errors being corrected as a result. However, detail issues and mistakes can be even more frustrating for modellers, and we know our customers would rather the best pannier they can have, rather than the quickest. After all, it will be in your collection and in service on your layout for many years to come, you want it to be right. Right? We would find them frustrating too. So, we bit the bullet and made the corrections. So, what does this mean for the timeline, as they're supposed to be arriving in Q1 2025 which is between now and the end of March. Well, they will now arrive in late Q2, which is looking at late June of 2025. We apologise for this delay, but we hope the above offers some clarity. Our exquisite panniers will be a wonderful model when they land on your layout, and at just £139.95 DC/DCC ready and £239.99 DCC sound fitted they also offer exceptional value for money in todays market. Pre-order via your local stockist, or direct below! Pre-Order Your Panniers Here! View the full article

The new arrivals keep rolling off the production line and into our hands here at Accurascale Towers as we continue to catch up on our backlog and finally see some light at the end of the tunnel. Back-log is rather apt, as today we reveal our production sample Class 50s! Demand for our hoovers has been huge. So much so, we had to extend the size of the first production run of these iconic beats twice over. This resulted in the delivery delay (as well as some tooling refinements throughout the process) but we are delighted to announce that production is now complete on our EE Type 4s! We received the production samples just before Chinese New Year began last month, and have been assessing them ever since. Overall, the decoration, fit and finish, as well as build quality and performance are excellent and we are delighted with how they have turned out. We have observed some minor fettling points such as fit of the removable roof hatch and some smaller details, and have asked for these to be improved before delivery. This will be fed back to the factory once they open next week, but we do not foresee it causing any major delivery delays. Once we hear back from the factory as they assess our feedback and make a plan of implementation, we will have a confirmed delivery date which we will then share with you. But, they're very close to setting off from the factory to our warehouse! In the meantime, let's check oogle our vacs! With the recent arrival of our Mark 2c coaches, these 50s make a very timely appearance in our quest to build out full train formations in a joined up range of models. We are currently sold out pre-order, but will likely have some stock back on sale after they arrive with us, and your local stockist may still have availability too, so be sure to check them out! Watch out for a more accurate delivery date within the next two weeks, but look forward to a spring delivery for your hoover! View the full article

Hold on, I’ll get my crystal ball out and check….