Warbonnet

Perhaps. We shall see in time.

A couple of small ones, yes

Hi everyone, Great news! We have dispatched all of the fully paid up, A Class pre-orders, including A3R. If you have placed an order and not yet fully paid for your A Class, you must pay up by Friday, November 12th. Failure to do so will result in your order being cancelled. With some very nice, sold out liveries being taken up with unpaid orders it will give others a chance to purchase it. You will also lose your €50 deposit. If you have paid up and heard nothing from us, please contact sales@irishrailwaymodels.com ASAP so we can look into it for you. If you have a friend who doesnt do online, or is away, please let them know so they don't miss out! Thanks, Fran

Nom nom nom!

Hi everyone, The great news just keeps rolling in here at IRM, with our Tara Mines wagons now less than two weeks away from arrival. Perfect for our new A Classes, the Taras in their gorgeous original blue livery, or later brown are perfect for our metrovicks. So, if you need some stock to go behind your new locos, look no further! At just €79.95 for a twin pack of wagons they offer amazing value for money too! We have also modified the bogies to feature brass bearings for even smoother running characteristics. Order yours today, with 10% off when you order two or more packs: https://irishrailwaymodels.com/collections/tara-mines Cheers! Fran

A couple of months ago we brought you a Class 92 update featuring decorated samples of their later privitisation era liveries which seemed to go down well. Now we have received a second batch of decorated samples featuring the various styles of Railfreight two tone grey with Chunnel blue roof these locomotives were originally delivered in during the mid 1990s. Doesn't this livery just suit them so well? Our model of 92003 represents our Dysons as per first delivered during the heady, optimistic times of the significant freight growth envisaged by the opening of the Channel Tunnel. With its attractive take on the then standard triple grey livery, but with the added splash of colour with the blue roof, just like the Eurostar at the time, they made for an eye catching sight as they came into service. Of course, the Class 92s were born into a major upheaval to the railways, with privitisation gathering momentum. Soon various brandings were taking place offering some new takes on the classic grey livery. RFD were quick to brand their locomotives in similar fashion to their Class 47s, 86s and 90s with "Railfreight Distribution" script on each side with the addition of small RFD double diamond markings, as depcited in our model of 92022 'Charles Dickens'. After a very brief period in BR service the locomotives found themselves with new owners. EWS took the Dysons under their wing as they purchased RFD along with various other shadow freight franchises in the mid 1990s. With the locomotives being new, and the amazingly hard wearing paint job done on the body shells by Procor Engineering when first built, many wouldn't need a repaint for many years. As the 2000s wore on EWS did take to branding their locos in existing liveries with the large vinyl "Three Beasties" logos, as displayed by our model of 92036, which is still operating trains in this livery today. EWS were not the only company to add their branding to the iconic grey livery. Six locomotives were allocated for "Nightstar" sleeper train duties, sadly a service which would never take off. These locomotives were eventually bought from Eurostar by Europorte, receiving "Europorte 2" Tunnel branding as per our model of 92043 "Debussy". Our testing of the Class 92 is now complete and production has now begun, with our delivery date of Q3 2022 still in place. We have even tested our Dysons in exhibition conditions, with our preproduction model of 92001 playing a starring role on the Making Tracks WCML layout at the recent "Great Electric Train Show" at Milton Keynes, preforming flawlessly on the Sunday of the show. Click on the link below to see her in action! Remember, we have now set our early bird price deadline and it's getting ever closer. With the sheer amount of technology and separate detail in these locomotives a price increase from £159.99 DCC ready to £179.99 DCC ready and £259.99 DCC Sound Fitted to £279.99 DCC Sound Fitted will take place on January 1st 2022. All orders placed before that date and so far will avail of the lower price, including £30 deposits. So, if you fancy one (or more!) of these overhead and third rail beauties for your layout, make sure you place your order soon to avail of the bargain of the model railway world! (Even at the higher price they represent excellent value for money, but who doesn't like saving a few quid?) With two operating DCC pantographs with separate flywheel motors for smooth operation, Legomanbiffo DCC sounds, twin speaker set up including an EM1 style "Accurathrash" speaker, ESU Loksound 5 digital decoder, ESU powerbank capacitors for smooth running and more, all for up to £70.00 less RRP(!) than other high specification electric locomotives on the market, our Class 92 goes beyond the pinnacle of model locomotives and powers on to the summit. So, make sure you grab so much more, for so much less cash. Order your grey beauty today, available direct from Accurascale, or check out our website for the full range. View the full article

It's been a while since we reported anything on our next PFA wagon run, including all the weird, wonderful and bright new range of nuclear containers which will accompany the new run of our favourite little container flat. Back in March, we announced a new range of our PFA wagons with several new weird and wonderful nuclear container options added to the rage, from full height bespoke 20ft ISO containers, to Nova Packs and Dragons, we conducted thorough research on these highly specialised and secretive containers to add a funky new range of packs to our catalogue. Progress had been swift from announcement at the end of March this year, to decorated samples in late June, followed by a further announcement of other PFA wagons, such as the return of the Cawoods and British Fuel containerised coal wagons and the existing low level nuclear waste container wagons once again. Unfortunately, due to the ongoing energy rationing at the factory these wagons have been delayed from their original delivery date of Q4 2021 to Q2 2022. We apologise for this delay, but unfortunately this is something beyond our control. With 75% of the production run already allocated the demand for these interesting wagons has been very strong indeed. Don't miss out if you fancy some, order your packs for just £74.95 per pack of three wagons from your local stockist, or direct right here, with 10% off when you buy two or more packs. View the full article

It's been a while since we reported anything on our next PFA wagon run, including all the weird, wonderful and bright new range of nuclear containers which will accompany the new run of our favourite little container flat. Back in March, we announced a new range of our PFA wagons with several new weird and wonderful nuclear container options added to the rage, from full height bespoke 20ft ISO containers, to Nova Packs and Dragons, we conducted thorough research on these highly specialised and secretive containers to add a funky new range of packs to our catalogue. Progress had been swift from announcement at the end of March this year, to decorated samples in late June, followed by a further announcement of other PFA wagons, such as the return of the Cawoods and British Fuel containerised coal wagons and the existing low level nuclear waste container wagons once again. Unfortunately, due to the ongoing energy rationing at the factory these wagons have been delayed from their original delivery date of Q4 2021 to Q2 2022. We apologise for this delay, but unfortunately this is something beyond our control. With 75% of the production run already allocated the demand for these interesting wagons has been very strong indeed. Don't miss out if you fancy some, order your packs for just £74.95 per pack of three wagons from your local stockist, or direct right here, with 10% off when you buy two or more packs. View the full article

Oh, and one more thing. As it stands we have about 8% of stock left. So, grab them while you can! Cheers! Fran

Hi everyone, Great news! Today sees the light at the end of the tunnel, with the last of the A Class pre-orders, including A3R fully dispatched by close of business today. If you have not received a dispatch email with tracking information by tomorrow morning, then please email us with your order number to support@irishrailwaymodels.com We do have a few orders we do not have full addresses for, so if your order is not yet dispatched, you might be in this pile. We will just need to confirm for you from tomorrow morning onwards. If you have placed an order and not yet fully paid, you must pay up by Friday, November 12th. Failure to do so will result in your order being cancelled. With some very nice, sold out liveries being taken up with unpaid orders it will give others a chance to purchase it. So, if you have missed out on a particular flavour of A Class you wanted, it might come back on the market W/C November 15th! #Justsayin Once again, thank you to everyone for showing us great patience in firing out these orders. In the even it was almost 2500 parcels, which is almost 10 times what we do for typical wagon pre-ordering! Next time we will be a lot more prepared and quicker. Cheers! Fran (on behalf of IRM)

Thanks @DoctorPan, I will pass this on. I know it took longer than everyone wanted to get them all out, but the warehouse gang really have gone above and beyond. They worked all last bank holiday weekend, evenings with up to 15 hour days and will work this weekend too to clear it out. They have done absolute trojan work and wrapped them to a massively high standard. Cheers! Fran

Agreed, I was merely reassuring other customers as well as yourself that there are no worries on multiple loco dispatches being damaged after you raised the concern in your original post. Cheers! Fran

We have yet to have any feedback of locomotives damaged in transit from a multiple loco dispatch. I understand you have been in contact with Stephen regarding your other query. Cheers! Fran

Hi everyone, When an order is held, it is sometimes held from picking (if it hadnt been picked at that point) and goes to the back of the queue until released again. Rest assured all stock is accounted for, so if it's sold out on the website it doesnt mean the order you have with us has been given to someone else, I know some people think we're the worst in the world, but not even I am that mean. We had hoped to clear out the orders today and focus on A3R from Monday (as per the A3R release) but dispatch of pre-orders will spill into Monday and Tuesday now. We're almost there! Cheers! Fran

I believe those orders are due to go out tomorrow. Cheers! Fran

Should be, with A3R landing with everyone from next week.

Hi everyone, As reported previously, there is a misprint regarding DCC functions in the instruction manual for the sound chips. Here is the updated list which you can download and/or print out. Apologies for the confusion! Click here for function list. Cheers! Fran

Following on from our Part 1 blog on the history and decoration images of our Chaldron wagons, we reveal the outstanding packs and chart their histories. These cute hoppers may have been the rail equivalent of the Ford Model T (You can have any colour you want, as long as it's black!) but what they lack in colour they more than make up for with interesting lettering and markings. They also win first prize for the worlds cutest item of rolling stock, right? They really are teeny! Pack E: Wearmouth Coal Co. - Three ex-NER P1 style Chaldrons, dating from the period 1900 to late 1920s/early 1930s. Originally called Pemberton Colliery until 1847, the first shaft was sunk in 1826 on the north bank of the River Wear and the company’s staithes that served the Wearmouth Colliery were almost exactly opposite those of the Hetton & Lambton Staithes. A fleet of early Chaldrons served these staithes until 1900, when the company opened Hylton Colliery and a vast number of ex-NER P1 type Chaldrons were purchased, all being numbered in the 14xx series. Wearmouth Coal Co. had running rights over the NER lines between Hylton and Wearmouth and their waggons were hauled by Colliery owned locomotives utilising their own brake vans, until 1914 when they were restricted to internal use only, being replaced by 10t coal hoppers. The Chaldron fleet disappeared from the books sometime during the late 1920s/early 1930s and the site of Wearmouth Colliery is now occupied by Sunderland AFC’s ‘Stadium of Light’. Pack F: Lambton Collieries (Earl of Durham’s Collieries) - Three ex-NER P1 style Chaldrons in pre-1896 livery. One of the oldest mining concerns in the North East, the commercial extraction of coal was developed by John Lambton on his parkland surrounding Lambton Castle in the Wear Valley. In 1783, the first of seven pits was sunk in the village of Burnmoor which together with Lambton Park, Lumley, Littletown and Sherburn made up the concern of Lambton Colliery. The railway system serving the colliery had its roots with the 1737 built horse-drawn tramway between Fatfield and Cox Green and in 1819 Lord Lambton (the Earl of Durham) bought the Newbottle waggonway, and connected this to the Lambton Railway with a line between Burnmoor and Philadelphia. The company now had a direct route from its collieries to the River Wear, where it constructed Lambton Staithes on the south bank of the river and the waggons were hauled by Lambton owned locomotives and backed by the company’s own brakevans. The Earl of Durham’s collieries purchased vast numbers of ex-NER P1 type Chaldrons, both from private dealers like Cooks Ironworks of Washington and from the NER direct, with the last order of 300 Chaldrons for the company being made in 1896. In that year, the struggling company was bought out by James Joicey and renamed as Lambton Collieries Ltd and the ED legend was gradually replaced by an LC legend in the same style of lettering. Pack G: Stella Coal Co. - A perfect example of how Chaldrons were kept in service, being repaired as necessary, until they were fit only for firewood. Three S&DR style Chaldrons, circa 1950. Coal mining in the Ryton area of Northumbria can be dated back to at least the late 14th century and by the 17th century ownership rested with the powerful Vane family, but various leases expired in the early 1830s and the colliery lay dormant for several years until, in 1839, the lease was taken up by John Buddle, T. Y. Hall, and A. L. Potter, under the name of the Stella Coal Company. The S.C.C’s railway system covered four collieries, those of Addison, Emma, Greenside and Stargate, with Addison being adjacent to the NER and Emma/Greenside being served by two branchlines that converged at Stargate, which was linked to Addison/the NER by a self acting incline until well into the late 1950s. Chaldron usage was mainly limited to supplying coal for the boilers at Stargate and Emma post-1914, as well as acting as service waggons and as runner vehicles on the Stargate incline, but from 1946 until closure in 1961, locomotive haulage replaced stationary engine working and Chaldrons could be seen with both S.C.Co. and NCB legends in this period. Pack H: Londonderry Collieries - Three 4T ‘Black Waggons’, in two body styles, circa 1960s. Pack I: Seaham Dock Co. - Three 4T ‘Black Waggons’, in three body styles, circa 1950s. Pack J: Vane-Londonderry Collieries - Three 4T ‘Black Waggons’, in two body styles, circa 1960s. Seaham Harbour was the final stronghold of the Chaldron waggon fleets and the Vane-Tempest/Londonderry/Seaham Dock Co. fleets could almost be considered to be one, such was the intertwined history of the collieries. The South Hetton Coal Company line served South Hetton, Murton and Haswell pits, while the Vane-Tempest family controlled pits in the Rainton, Penshaw and Pittingdon areas. Through marriage to the Marquis of Londonderry, the Vane-Tempest lineage carried the Londonderry title and ownership of the area’s collieries and the railway became collectively known as the Londonderry system. Such was the vastness of the system, and such was the requirement for Chaldron wagons, that a new improved style of 4t ‘black waggon’ was created during the 1860s; giving rise to the familiar family of rolling stock that is still colloquially referred to as the Chaldron and that was still operating in the Seaham Harbour area until 1976. The VL legend dated from the mid-1880s and lasted until the turn of the century, when new waggons were built with the L legend. With the Seaham Harbour Dock Company being incorporated in 1898 to take over and improve the existing harbour and docks at Seaham Harbour, and which subsequently took over ownership of the dock railways from the Marquis of Londonderry, Chaldrons also appeared with the D.Co. legend and mixed freely with the surviving VL and newer L waggons. In the coming weeks we will have a video demonstration of our gorgeous magnetic coupling system, including the NEM attachment for locomotives and other wagons, so keep an eye out for that! Delivery is on track for Q2 2022. Just click here if you wish to pre-order any of our Chaldron packs, just £44.99 per triple pack with 10% off when you order two packs or more! View the full article

Following on from our Part 1 blog on the history and decoration images of our Chaldron wagons, we reveal the outstanding packs and chart their histories. These cute hoppers may have been the rail equivalent of the Ford Model T (You can have any colour you want, as long as it's black!) but what they lack in colour they more than make up for with interesting lettering and markings. They also win first prize for the worlds cutest item of rolling stock, right? They really are teeny! Pack E: Wearmouth Coal Co. - Three ex-NER P1 style Chaldrons, dating from the period 1900 to late 1920s/early 1930s. Originally called Pemberton Colliery until 1847, the first shaft was sunk in 1826 on the north bank of the River Wear and the company’s staithes that served the Wearmouth Colliery were almost exactly opposite those of the Hetton & Lambton Staithes. A fleet of early Chaldrons served these staithes until 1900, when the company opened Hylton Colliery and a vast number of ex-NER P1 type Chaldrons were purchased, all being numbered in the 14xx series. Wearmouth Coal Co. had running rights over the NER lines between Hylton and Wearmouth and their waggons were hauled by Colliery owned locomotives utilising their own brake vans, until 1914 when they were restricted to internal use only, being replaced by 10t coal hoppers. The Chaldron fleet disappeared from the books sometime during the late 1920s/early 1930s and the site of Wearmouth Colliery is now occupied by Sunderland AFC’s ‘Stadium of Light’. Pack F: Lambton Collieries (Earl of Durham’s Collieries) - Three ex-NER P1 style Chaldrons in pre-1896 livery. One of the oldest mining concerns in the North East, the commercial extraction of coal was developed by John Lambton on his parkland surrounding Lambton Castle in the Wear Valley. In 1783, the first of seven pits was sunk in the village of Burnmoor which together with Lambton Park, Lumley, Littletown and Sherburn made up the concern of Lambton Colliery. The railway system serving the colliery had its roots with the 1737 built horse-drawn tramway between Fatfield and Cox Green and in 1819 Lord Lambton (the Earl of Durham) bought the Newbottle waggonway, and connected this to the Lambton Railway with a line between Burnmoor and Philadelphia. The company now had a direct route from its collieries to the River Wear, where it constructed Lambton Staithes on the south bank of the river and the waggons were hauled by Lambton owned locomotives and backed by the company’s own brakevans. The Earl of Durham’s collieries purchased vast numbers of ex-NER P1 type Chaldrons, both from private dealers like Cooks Ironworks of Washington and from the NER direct, with the last order of 300 Chaldrons for the company being made in 1896. In that year, the struggling company was bought out by James Joicey and renamed as Lambton Collieries Ltd and the ED legend was gradually replaced by an LC legend in the same style of lettering. Pack G: Stella Coal Co. - A perfect example of how Chaldrons were kept in service, being repaired as necessary, until they were fit only for firewood. Three S&DR style Chaldrons, circa 1950. Coal mining in the Ryton area of Northumbria can be dated back to at least the late 14th century and by the 17th century ownership rested with the powerful Vane family, but various leases expired in the early 1830s and the colliery lay dormant for several years until, in 1839, the lease was taken up by John Buddle, T. Y. Hall, and A. L. Potter, under the name of the Stella Coal Company. The S.C.C’s railway system covered four collieries, those of Addison, Emma, Greenside and Stargate, with Addison being adjacent to the NER and Emma/Greenside being served by two branchlines that converged at Stargate, which was linked to Addison/the NER by a self acting incline until well into the late 1950s. Chaldron usage was mainly limited to supplying coal for the boilers at Stargate and Emma post-1914, as well as acting as service waggons and as runner vehicles on the Stargate incline, but from 1946 until closure in 1961, locomotive haulage replaced stationary engine working and Chaldrons could be seen with both S.C.Co. and NCB legends in this period. Pack H: Londonderry Collieries - Three 4T ‘Black Waggons’, in two body styles, circa 1960s. Pack I: Seaham Dock Co. - Three 4T ‘Black Waggons’, in three body styles, circa 1950s. Pack J: Vane-Londonderry Collieries - Three 4T ‘Black Waggons’, in two body styles, circa 1960s. Seaham Harbour was the final stronghold of the Chaldron waggon fleets and the Vane-Tempest/Londonderry/Seaham Dock Co. fleets could almost be considered to be one, such was the intertwined history of the collieries. The South Hetton Coal Company line served South Hetton, Murton and Haswell pits, while the Vane-Tempest family controlled pits in the Rainton, Penshaw and Pittingdon areas. Through marriage to the Marquis of Londonderry, the Vane-Tempest lineage carried the Londonderry title and ownership of the area’s collieries and the railway became collectively known as the Londonderry system. Such was the vastness of the system, and such was the requirement for Chaldron wagons, that a new improved style of 4t ‘black waggon’ was created during the 1860s; giving rise to the familiar family of rolling stock that is still colloquially referred to as the Chaldron and that was still operating in the Seaham Harbour area until 1976. The VL legend dated from the mid-1880s and lasted until the turn of the century, when new waggons were built with the L legend. With the Seaham Harbour Dock Company being incorporated in 1898 to take over and improve the existing harbour and docks at Seaham Harbour, and which subsequently took over ownership of the dock railways from the Marquis of Londonderry, Chaldrons also appeared with the D.Co. legend and mixed freely with the surviving VL and newer L waggons. In the coming weeks we will have a video demonstration of our gorgeous magnetic coupling system, including the NEM attachment for locomotives and other wagons, so keep an eye out for that! Delivery is on track for Q2 2022. Just click here if you wish to pre-order any of our Chaldron packs, just £44.99 per triple pack with 10% off when you order two packs or more! View the full article

And then there was 1.... Thank you to everyone who supported this worthwhile cause!

There were a few surprised faces when we launched our Chaldron waggons as the genesis of our "Powering Britain" series last month, as we opened our range to a whole new era of operation and modellers. Naturally, doing these wagons "The Accurascale Way" means creating several different body, brake and wheel variations to offer a comprehensive coverage of these distinctive and rather cute little hoppers. Oh, and of course, our love for distinctive markings and extra attention to detail! Decorated samples have now arrived for assessment, and over the next week we will reveal all decorated samples. Each of our packs have been themed by colliery, or user, with each waggon depicted being based on photographic evidence and reference to colliery records to confirm the lettering styles, but what of the Collieries and users themselves? Here, we provide a brief outline for each operator, and where the depicted lettering style sits within the timeframe for that operator. Today is packs A- D, so let's get started! Pack A: North Eastern Railway P1 style Chaldrons, circa 1890 On its formation in 1854, the North Eastern Railway inherited a fleet of ‘Chaldron’ waggons from the constituent companies that numbered somewhere in the region of 15,000 vehicles, with the major influx coming from the York, Newcastle & Berwick Railway, who supplied around a third of the fleet. When the Stockton & Darlington Railway was absorbed into the NER in 1863, creating the ‘Darlington Section’, a further fleet of Chaldrons were added to the fleet. By June 1867, the survey of NER waggons recorded a total of 19,587 Chaldrons, with an additional 14,557 being under the ownership of the ‘Darlington Section’, giving a combined figure of 34,144 waggons. From 1858, the NER had committed to reducing its fleet of Chaldrons in favour of 8t waggons, so the influx of more Chaldrons was a hindrance to the NER’s plans and an active policy of either scrapping, or selling on to internal users such as collieries ensued. By 1880, the total had been reduced to 9181 vehicles and by 1904, barely 1000 remained on the NER’s books. The NER legend is taken from photographs of wagons at West Hartlepool and Percy Main, dating from around 1890 and features the distinctive pale area caused by the constant chalking and rubbing out of waggon information by the weighbridge checkers, as clips and labels were not in use during this period on these vehicles. Pack B: Hetton Colliery Railway - ex-NER P1 style Chaldrons in pre-1911 lettering. Built by George Stephenson, Hetton Colliery Railway celebrates its 200th anniversary in 2022, being the world’s first complete railway system that utilised just steam power. The Hetton Coal Company began sinking the first colliery in December 1820, with work being completed during the summer of 1822 and a railway was therefore needed to carry the coal to the River Wear at Sunderland, for onward shipment to London, the main market. Using only steam and gravity power throughout the eight mile length of the line, it was opened on the 18th November 1822 and used two of George Stephenson’s steam locomotives to haul the Chaldrons for the first 1½ miles, before two steam stationary engines took up the strain, hauling waggons to the line’s summit at Warden Law, over 600ft above sea level. Four gravity-worked rope inclines then took the waggons down to North Moor near Silksworth, from where Stephenson’s steam locomotives took them down to the Staithes on the River Wear for shipment. In 1911 the HCC was absorbed into Lambton Collieries, being renamed L&H Collieries before becoming the Lambton, Hetton and Joicey Colliery in 1923 and just over 1800 Chaldrons were in operation over the Hetton system at this point, albeit that some were heavily modified. The fleet lasted in operation well into the 1930s, with some waggons lingering on into nationalisation of the coal industry at the beginning of 1947. The HC legend was superseded in 1911 by L&H, then again in 1923 by the LH&JC legend. Pack C: Seaton Burn Coal Co. - Two ex-NER P1 style Chaldrons and an S&DR style Chaldron, circa 1902. One of the smaller coal companies, but with an extensive railway system that extended to the Staithes on the River Tyne at Howden near Percy Main, and at Wallsend. Sunk in 1838 and in operation by 1841, the Seaton Burn Coal Colliery was sold to C. Palmer & Co. in 1850 and then purchased by the Seaton Burn Coal Company in May 1899. The line to Percy Main was abandoned post-WW1, but Chaldrons continued to be worked over the line to Wallsend until it to was closed in 1942, Seaton Burn Coal Co. having been absorbed into Hartley Main Collieries in 1938. Brenkley Drift was the last producing element of this long worked site and was latterly the smallest National Coal Board pit in Northumberland, but was closed on August 17, 1965. In operation, the S.B.C. Co Ltd legend was carried between 1899 and closure in 1942, the waggons never being noted with a "Hartley Main Colliery" legend. Pack D: Pontop & Jarrow Railway - Two ex-NER P1 style Chaldrons and an S&DR style Chaldron in pre-1932 lettering, circa 1910. The Pontop & Jarrow Railway was a sinuous development of separate colliery lines stretching from Dipton Colliery in the west, to Jarrow on the southern bank of the River Tyne and which eventually became the Bowes Railway; of which the surviving 1½ mile section between Black Fell and Springwell is now a Scheduled Ancient Monument and the world’s only operational preserved standard gauge cable railway system. The line opened on January 17, 1826 using inclines and horses until steam locomotives were delivered in April 1826 and the railway was gradually extended over the years; to Kibblesworth in 1842, Marley Hill in 1853 and Dipton in 1855, the length of the line increasing to 15 miles. At this point the railway was named the Pontop & Jarrow Railway and continued to operate using the same methods of six inclines, (two gravity worked and four powered inclines) and two locomotive worked sections at either end of the railway. In 1932, in honour of the Bowes-Lyons family, the railway was renamed as the Bowes Railway. The P&JR was one of the first lines in the North-East coalfield to withdraw its Chaldrons, favouring the new 10t waggons from 1887 onwards and vast quantities of Chaldrons were disposed of in 1911, being scrapped by burning (this meant that the iron work could be salvaged for scrap). Those Chaldrons that survived the cull continued in limited use working from the line’s western collier ies to Marley Hill Coke Works, many having their PJR legend replaced by an ‘MH’. Just click here if you wish to pre-order any of our Chaldron packs, just £44.99 per triple pack with 10% off when you order two packs or more! View the full article

There were a few surprised faces when we launched our Chaldron waggons as the genesis of our "Powering Britain" series last month, as we opened our range to a whole new era of operation and modellers. Naturally, doing these wagons "The Accurascale Way" means creating several different body, brake and wheel variations to offer a comprehensive coverage of these distinctive and rather cute little hoppers. Oh, and of course, our love for distinctive markings and extra attention to detail! Decorated samples have now arrived for assessment, and over the next week we will reveal all decorated samples. Each of our packs have been themed by colliery, or user, with each waggon depicted being based on photographic evidence and reference to colliery records to confirm the lettering styles, but what of the Collieries and users themselves? Here, we provide a brief outline for each operator, and where the depicted lettering style sits within the timeframe for that operator. Today is packs A- D, so let's get started! Pack A: North Eastern Railway P1 style Chaldrons, circa 1890 On its formation in 1854, the North Eastern Railway inherited a fleet of ‘Chaldron’ waggons from the constituent companies that numbered somewhere in the region of 15,000 vehicles, with the major influx coming from the York, Newcastle & Berwick Railway, who supplied around a third of the fleet. When the Stockton & Darlington Railway was absorbed into the NER in 1863, creating the ‘Darlington Section’, a further fleet of Chaldrons were added to the fleet. By June 1867, the survey of NER waggons recorded a total of 19,587 Chaldrons, with an additional 14,557 being under the ownership of the ‘Darlington Section’, giving a combined figure of 34,144 waggons. From 1858, the NER had committed to reducing its fleet of Chaldrons in favour of 8t waggons, so the influx of more Chaldrons was a hindrance to the NER’s plans and an active policy of either scrapping, or selling on to internal users such as collieries ensued. By 1880, the total had been reduced to 9181 vehicles and by 1904, barely 1000 remained on the NER’s books. The NER legend is taken from photographs of wagons at West Hartlepool and Percy Main, dating from around 1890 and features the distinctive pale area caused by the constant chalking and rubbing out of waggon information by the weighbridge checkers, as clips and labels were not in use during this period on these vehicles. Pack B: Hetton Colliery Railway - ex-NER P1 style Chaldrons in pre-1911 lettering. Built by George Stephenson, Hetton Colliery Railway celebrates its 200th anniversary in 2022, being the world’s first complete railway system that utilised just steam power. The Hetton Coal Company began sinking the first colliery in December 1820, with work being completed during the summer of 1822 and a railway was therefore needed to carry the coal to the River Wear at Sunderland, for onward shipment to London, the main market. Using only steam and gravity power throughout the eight mile length of the line, it was opened on the 18th November 1822 and used two of George Stephenson’s steam locomotives to haul the Chaldrons for the first 1½ miles, before two steam stationary engines took up the strain, hauling waggons to the line’s summit at Warden Law, over 600ft above sea level. Four gravity-worked rope inclines then took the waggons down to North Moor near Silksworth, from where Stephenson’s steam locomotives took them down to the Staithes on the River Wear for shipment. In 1911 the HCC was absorbed into Lambton Collieries, being renamed L&H Collieries before becoming the Lambton, Hetton and Joicey Colliery in 1923 and just over 1800 Chaldrons were in operation over the Hetton system at this point, albeit that some were heavily modified. The fleet lasted in operation well into the 1930s, with some waggons lingering on into nationalisation of the coal industry at the beginning of 1947. The HC legend was superseded in 1911 by L&H, then again in 1923 by the LH&JC legend. Pack C: Seaton Burn Coal Co. - Two ex-NER P1 style Chaldrons and an S&DR style Chaldron, circa 1902. One of the smaller coal companies, but with an extensive railway system that extended to the Staithes on the River Tyne at Howden near Percy Main, and at Wallsend. Sunk in 1838 and in operation by 1841, the Seaton Burn Coal Colliery was sold to C. Palmer & Co. in 1850 and then purchased by the Seaton Burn Coal Company in May 1899. The line to Percy Main was abandoned post-WW1, but Chaldrons continued to be worked over the line to Wallsend until it to was closed in 1942, Seaton Burn Coal Co. having been absorbed into Hartley Main Collieries in 1938. Brenkley Drift was the last producing element of this long worked site and was latterly the smallest National Coal Board pit in Northumberland, but was closed on August 17, 1965. In operation, the S.B.C. Co Ltd legend was carried between 1899 and closure in 1942, the waggons never being noted with a "Hartley Main Colliery" legend. Pack D: Pontop & Jarrow Railway - Two ex-NER P1 style Chaldrons and an S&DR style Chaldron in pre-1932 lettering, circa 1910. The Pontop & Jarrow Railway was a sinuous development of separate colliery lines stretching from Dipton Colliery in the west, to Jarrow on the southern bank of the River Tyne and which eventually became the Bowes Railway; of which the surviving 1½ mile section between Black Fell and Springwell is now a Scheduled Ancient Monument and the world’s only operational preserved standard gauge cable railway system. The line opened on January 17, 1826 using inclines and horses until steam locomotives were delivered in April 1826 and the railway was gradually extended over the years; to Kibblesworth in 1842, Marley Hill in 1853 and Dipton in 1855, the length of the line increasing to 15 miles. At this point the railway was named the Pontop & Jarrow Railway and continued to operate using the same methods of six inclines, (two gravity worked and four powered inclines) and two locomotive worked sections at either end of the railway. In 1932, in honour of the Bowes-Lyons family, the railway was renamed as the Bowes Railway. The P&JR was one of the first lines in the North-East coalfield to withdraw its Chaldrons, favouring the new 10t waggons from 1887 onwards and vast quantities of Chaldrons were disposed of in 1911, being scrapped by burning (this meant that the iron work could be salvaged for scrap). Those Chaldrons that survived the cull continued in limited use working from the line’s western collier ies to Marley Hill Coke Works, many having their PJR legend replaced by an ‘MH’. Just click here if you wish to pre-order any of our Chaldron packs, just £44.99 per triple pack with 10% off when you order two packs or more! View the full article

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to say hi yesterday, it was fantastic to see so many familiar faces once again and meet some new ones too. I was kept very busy on the IRM stand too so thank you to everyone who made a purchase and offered such amazing feedback on the As. Finally thank you to the gang at Wexford MRC who were so welcoming, helpful and who put on a great show in what is still a very difficult time. Everyone had a very enjoyable day. Cheers! Fran

Correct, it represents A3r in her rebuilt 1970s condition. Cheers! Fran

Exactly! We have a man primed and ready to go, but with their strict lockdown it's not possible right now. But we will get it, you can rest assured on that.