murphaph

I can't wait to hear that demo. One thing I'd really like is the ability to obtain a sound project from IRM by email, locked to a particular decoder. Some sound project businesses do this where you give them the serial number of the decoder along with the payment and they email you a locked file that will only work in that decoder. There are no postal costs/risks. Completely digital business. Failing that, I would also be happy if I could buy the physical IRM decoder but receive a backup sound project locked to that particular decoder. Why? Because I want to be able to play around with my decoders without fear of losing an irreplaceable sound file through a false click. I can back up the settings stuff but not the sound part. Please at least bear these options in mind for the future I'm aware that there is an overhead involved but IRM could put in a disclaimer that once the file is emailed it's up to the owner to back it up in a safe place and that IRM will not provide endless backups to careless owners.

Maybe I'm tone deaf but the ESU v5 file for the 12-645 NT variant sounds close enough to the A for me! It certainly has that throaty growl.

Listening to videos of both of these locos there is a distinct whine with the 071 as compared to the more gutteral sound of the A. Both had (by the mid 90s) the same basic prime mover in the 12 cylinder 645. Is the difference just a turbo in the 071s or something more? There seem to be T and NT versions of this engine's sound on the ESU site. I am assuming this stands for turbo and non-turbo (rather than the more usual "normally aspirated" terminology). These files seem to correspond to the real thing insofar as the T version sounds like an 071 while the NT version sounds like the A.

There was an update performed yesterday. Almost always better to use up to date software

We're cattle only transported to docks for onward live shipment or were they also transported to meat factories in Ireland by rail?

Yeah great post, even for someone not particularly interested in the era!

Thx a lot guys.

So the consensus is via Clonmel?

Best of luck to Paul in his new role.

How were the Bell liners routed from Cork to Waterford?

I'm confused too. An expert on the lighting arrangements of these locos is required! Anyone?

That's a reasonable position IMO. There's other stuff to make that is more viable than a GSV right now and that helps to continue to grow the market in the meantime. As the market grows, the more niche vehicles become more viable. Though I would reiterate that the weedspray van will always be significantly less viable than any GSV. MM has already released EGVs and restaurant/buffet cars so such 'one per rake' vehicles are quite possibly viable already, notwithstanding the fact that IRM have other priorities and a finite amount of time to manage projects. It's a bit of an anomaly that the Cravens didn't have a GSV but that's presumably down to the lack of a Cravens GSV in the prototype. Trains using a mkI GSV can be much shorter than anything using a mkIId EGV and still be prototypical so a mkI GSV should be more viable than a mkIId EGV.

I believe the mkI GSV would be a lot more viable than the spray van, which is a one off on the network whereas every Cravens rake, no matter how short, would need a GSV to be prototypical. More viable doesn't necessarily mean viable of course but I'd buy half a dozen!

So the headlight can't be controlled with F8 like the 201 for example? Any cab light?

@Arran maybe you could reply here for the benefit of the wider forum?

Can anyone advise which of the C Rail containers would carry the correct livery for a mid 90s layout? I'm guessing not all of the available containers would have actually been seen on Irish rails.

Yep but two wrongs don't make a right lol! For TLCs the difference is probably irrelevant though. It kicks in when you start using the likes of Kadees where the knuckles can slip by each other if not at the same height.

The Park Royals would make a fair bit of sense. They had long careers, like the Cravens and even serve in preservation so you can have a modern RPSI train pulling a couple of them in the rake. I would certainly take 2 rakes of PRs if they were ever released in RTR. I would second Noel's comment about the NEM pocket height. If you look at the Kadee FAQ it says to the question "Why don't you make offset NEM couplers?"-"NEM pockets should already be at the correct height. Offset couplers look wrong so we don't make them". Hard to argue with them though the reality, especially in the UK (rarely with continental stock) is that NEM pocket heights can be hit and miss so I wish Kadee would sully themselves and just make the damn offset couplers lol.

Same here. The mkI version is too late for me. I'm going to have to somehow get the Bredin one. I bought the Weedspray train to strip the tanks and container off and place them on the 20' 4w flats that I'm sure IRM will release in a higher quality RTR model some day The 42' flats will be hauling containers!

It is hard to get 00 scale typically (cheap) Irish cars from the 80s and 90s. Cars in Ireland back then were invariably crappier than in the UK. A lot more Opel Kadetts and Fiat Ritmos than Rover 2000s or Ford Granadas. The typical van was a Hi-Ace or Lite-Ace, rather than a Transit, know what I mean? In fact a lot more jap cars full stop than the UK. This is reflected in the lack of these things in the Oxford range. Perhaps some day IRM can fill the void. I know you can get some of the stuff in h0 with the steering wheel on the wrong side but it's not the same.

Ah I don't but market forces and all that Dave. I would be surprised if nobody releases new and improved models over the coming years. The market seems to be growing as evidenced by the rapid selling out of niche models like the weedspray. I've an acquaintance in Potsdam and one in Berlin (both Germans) who own MM/IRM stuff. Perhaps I'm overly optimistic about how large the market can get though!

Some fairly greedy sellers looking for mad money on their buy it nows but funnily enough it's invariably the auction stuff that gets out of hand as people see the red mist when outbid at the end. I can only recommend that people use a bid sniper and set their genuine max price they'd like to pay and then ignore the auction until it's over. You'll win some and lose some but you won't overpay. Oh and ignore the mad money buy it nows of course! The market for Irish stuff is clearly growing. This stuff will all be released again at some stage or indeed improved versions thereof.

I assume the factory is now working on the remaining 121s or is that a naïve assumption? I'm interested in the 6 tippex ones specifically.

Great to see such a good uptake. I'd love to see 1990s Bus Éireann stuff, especially older CIE "patched" yokes.

If anyone has any WTTs from the mid 90s to sell I'd be interested in hearing from you. I'm interested in traffic movements in the Limerick area specifically so I don't need anything that doesn't cover that area. Feel free to PM me if you have any. Thanks!