Warbonnet

Thanks for the feedback so far everyone! It's at polar opposite to the British market currently, with their consensus being 'dont tell us till its here', but with so many broken promises in that market it's not hard to understand why they prefer that tactic. Ah Gareth, you love being awkward! In all seriousness though, the plan would be to announce what we are doing in early Feb, and of course keep you updated on each project as it moves to the next stage, basically like we did with the ballasts and bubbles. I think that would work best? Keep letting us know folks, We have set a deadline of Feb 1st for everyone to have their say.

Hi everyone, We have been looking at how we announce future projects and models for Irish Railway Models after receiving a number of requests for information, both by email and by phone. Customers have inquired what exactly is coming this year so they can prepare modelling budgets and plans for the next 12 months. We were looking to adopt a strategy of only announcing a model when we have a production sample we are happy with to cut down on waiting times for new model. So, what is the best strategy to take? Do you want to know what we are going to release this year so you can plan ahead, or do you want to wait for the surprise? Voting closes on February 1st!

I would say so....

I think RTR with a die cast chassis would make the most sense myself. Reminds me of the kit built v RTR thread elsewhere on this forum. But sure...

I had a chat with a prominent kit builder on the Irish scene at the Raheny show last year who stated that if he was to build a kit of a wagon for a punter it’s 30 quid, 20 quid to paint it, and another few quid to weather it. That’s on top of buying the kit in the first place, so yes, RTR is cheaper. But then I might be a tad biased towards RTR for obvious reasons. the way we look at it is if the stock is provided to high standards it means it can be simply modified or detailed in the minimum time, allowing you to get on with building the layout and buildings etc. After all, finding the time to achieve your goals is one of the most difficult things to do.

Did these not come after split frame chassis era? It might not have a DCC socket, but I don't think they're split frame.

indeed, they're also too long for most stations outside the Eurostar route. I remember seeing the shorter 'Three Capital' sets in their GNER days and they barely fit the longest platforms in Kings Cross. Also highly complex mechanically and power hungry. They also couldnt go north of Newcastle due to loading gauge issues. Probably the biggest waste of money of them all was the Nightstar sleeper stock. Coaches and class 92s were built, but the growth of low cost air meant that the service was never launched. Coaches remained unused for many years before being sold to Canada and a lot of the 92s saw minimal use elsewhere and spent most of their lives stored out of use, with some being reactivated by GBRf in the last couple of years for Tunnel freight and the WCML Caledonian sleeper service after a refurb. Still, always thought the Eurostar looked superb in GNER livery. Eurostar 3302 At Doncaster. by Neil Harvey 156, on Flickr

A number of them are currently being scrapped at Kingsbury, while a few are being refurbed to work alongside the new Siemens Valero sets. As Patrick said, they’ve been intensively used at very high speeds and are worn out. They were also incredibly complex (ran off three voltage systems IIRC) including 750 DC third rail which is no longer required due to HS1. i remember the fanfare around them when new, hard to believe so many years have passed. There were a few shorter sets in use internally in France (the former GNER sets) which were stored a few years ago. The above might be one?

Thanks Robert, glad you like them! The reference didn’t come from an official IRM source, so would file it under “wishful thinking”

I'm sure you all know the info in this blog as you all know us so well at this stage, but we've just published our first Accurascale blog outlining who we are and all that jazz . It might be of interest! https://accurascale.co.uk/who-are-accurascale/ Cheers! Fran

Our orange bubbles arrived just under a month ago, and already we've sold just over 60% of them. Thank you to everyone who placed an order so far, it's great to see that they've been so well received! You can read more about the orange bubbles here: https://irishrailwaymodels.com/orange-bubbles-are-here/ Make sure you don't miss out!

We will have a stand at the show and will have IRM goodies for sale on the day (as well as some pre-production models all going well!) Look forward to our trip to the sunny south east!

Hi Dave, York, Peterbrough and Doncaster are also supposed to be good. The Great Electric Train show sponsored by Hornby Mag (I think), Ally Pally are all fairly big shows.

As you may have seen elsewhere, we were in the UK last week surveying another prototype for a future Accurascale model. January is not the time of year to be doing these things! Anyway, here is an exclusive first look of the prototype!

There's a wee review of the bubbles in there too, and lots of BR blue and sector. Right up my street!

This is what happens when items are rare and you miss them first time round. When they’re for sale grab them if you want them, you save money in the long run, it’s the same with IRM stuff. Glad I’ve got my 112, she will always be a favourite!

We will be there of course with ballasts, ivory and orange bubbles for sale. Drop by and say hi!

Hey everyone, I was doing a bit of a tidy around IRM Towers and found a couple of pack B ballast wagons so have stuck them up on the site for sale on a first come, first served basis. These are the very last we have of them so don't miss out before they become impossible to find! https://irishrailwaymodels.com/shop/freight-stock/cieirie-two-axle-ballast-wagon-multi-pack-2/ Cheers! Fran

Brilliant as always Dave, I get more misty eyed over these old Lima catalogues and sets than anything else. I assume that Lexie Tynan is no longer with us? He would be a great man to talk to for an insight into those days.

I think there is a lack of imagination in the marketing and product development too. The trusty British trainset from the established names lack any additional play value and attention grabbing features compared to say, the Triang days. Marklin are doing it properly with their "My World" series, offering durable models of glamourous prototypes like the ICE and TGV, fun freight trains with tipping logs, working cranes etc, and then the wireless remote. It's one of the most popular toys in Germany and with good reason.

Didn’t think they did pints of Jemmy??

Thanks for all your votes so far everyone! Means a lot!

It's okay lads, vote for whichever you think is best. We'll just have to settle for Manufacturer of the year!

PLEASE VOTE FOR US! We're honoured to be nominated for "OO Gauge Model Wagon of the Year" for both our ballast wagons and cement bubbles as well as "OO Gauge Manufacturer of the Year" and "Overall Manufacturer of the Year" in the RMWeb 'Model of the Year' poll! Please give us a vote if you can, it would be an amazing crowning glory for 2017 if we were to get high up in the vote! http://www.rmweb.co.uk/poll/index.php?sid=15451&lang=en

You could always buy some more and have a pristine and weathered rake to run, we wouldn’t object! (in all seriousness we’ve had customers specify that they are doing that.) Joking aside, lovely job Noel. We are loving the sight of people personalising the models!