BosKonay

We've long been overdue an update on our Class 55 Deltic, and since we revealed our decorated samples earlier this year there has been a huge effort to ensure all variants are correct before releasing them for production. 

We published an email and social media update in early summer confirming that the Deltics were envisaged as arriving in later Q3 of 2021 rather than early Q3 as originally hoped.

The decorated samples were signed off and we sanctioned production just as Chinese new year was about to get underway. This involves a mass movement of people back from the large industrial centres back to their regional homelands. Once Chinese New Year ended, many of these workers did not return back to the cities and factories due to the pandemic restrictions. This has lead to a labour shortage across all manufacturing activities, coupled with a large amount of social distancing regulations which has further slowed production progress.

Another curveball that was hurled our way is the global shortage of microchips, which are required for our PCBs. This has hit all facets of manufacturing, from game consoles to cars. Thankfully, we were able to secure a source for our locomotives, including the Deltic and Class 92 which are both in the manufacturing process currently.

Undeterred by this blip, we pushed hard for production to get under way post Chinese New Year which we have achieved. However, production pace has been hampered by the lack of labour force and the pandemic restrictions. 

As you can see from these images of what looks like a massive pile of kit parts, the injection moulding part of production is now complete. These parts are currently being snapped from many, many thousands of sprues, cleaned up and then some basic assembly before the painting, pad printing and tampo printing processes begin. This will take into account some changes we made to the decorated samples to ensure they are accurate to the prototypes. 

With the injection moulding now finished the first major and time-consuming hurdle has been cleared. The factory is now confident that the rest of the production process will be turned around in a timely manner, with the printing and painting taking place by November before final assembly and testing being completed and in time for shipping from China by Chinese New Year 2022. This leaves us with a revised delivery date of Q1 2022, allowing for shipping times from the Far East to our warehouse for onward distribution. We apologise for this further delay, but the pandemic fallout has lead to delays across the entire model train industry and wider manufacturing world. 

The Deltic has been a massive learning curve for our young company, and mistakes were certainly made along the way, but in our quest for it "having to be right" we feel that we have made the right decisions to ensure a superb locomotive to enter the market and stay there for the next number of years. We have taken the experience and put it into our other locos to ensure that they fare differently, and with our Metrovick A Class locomotives arriving in stock with our sister brand IRM our locomotives are finally appearing on layouts and in collections. The pandemic was a painful addition to the delay we all could've really done without, but we're now in the final stage of the Deltic development and production programme. The end is now in sight!

With four of our Deltics already sold out and others close to selling out they are certainly proving popular. Don't miss out, pre-order yours with a £30 deposit today by clicking here. 

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33 minutes ago, popeye said:

The wheels on the IRM bogie are 14.4mm and most other manufactures use 12.5mm so this can also increase the height.

Actually, the wheels on the MK2 are 12mm, like most other coaches, the 14.4mm measurement is the Back-to-Back (the gap between the wheels)

B4 Bogies has 3ft diameter wheels, which is 12mm in scale

• Blackened RP25.110 profile wheel-sets with 14.4mm back-to-back measurements, and 26mm over pinpoints

Yes. Drop us a line with what you need. 

14 minutes ago, Westcorkrailway said:

My vision was a broken Citroen van. With the van driver on strike

I drove through Paris once,  north wall to them is a small siding 

Absolutely, the A's squuuueeeeeze onto a single 40 footer

IOSS is the 'Import One Stop Shop\ a pan-european / EU arrangement allowing all businesses in the EU to collect VAT at the relevant NATIONAL rate, and remote all the returns as a blob to their local tax agency, who then sort it out amongst themselves. Previously you had to register for VAT in every EU state you hit the threshold in, now you can just register in Ireland, and collect and remit VAT for every EU state (customs across the EU probably have noticed our sales now charge ES TVA, or French IVA, etc)

Once the samples pop over to us, we'll do a photo shoot alongside some other mk2's , etc, to give a sense.

7 minutes ago, flange lubricator said:

Wow missed that so the three pack of Irish rail 410x series at some point in IE/IR livery ???

If anyone has any photos of the 2bs and / or 2c's we'd be happy to see them!

2 minutes ago, flange lubricator said:

Have had a good look at these and wow what a coach, details like bump stops on the doors are a super detail that is a very small but important part of the MK2b look. I think these coaches will certainly be up there with the best MK2's on the market and definitely worth the money .

Unfortunately for me NIR is not my scene /era so I wont be participating on this occasion , I am quitely hoping that that IRM will do some MK2c's in particular Mk2c FO which ran on IR as 4103,4104,4105,4106,4107and as NIR 903 these along with a  MK2b FK which is being offered by Accurascale reconfigured  would do Irish Rail  4109, 4401 & 4402 perhaps its too much wishful thinking on my part .

https://irishrailwaymodels.com/products/nir-mk2b-pack-corporate-intercity-1?_pos=1&_sid=744924f07&_ss=r

NIR 903 indeed

8 minutes ago, johnfromoz said:

Fran,

any chance of selling the cages in the future?

John

Always a chance of a rerun of the caged loads, but not on the immediate horizon in terms of factory capacity.

29 minutes ago, DJ Dangerous said:

Except for 903, you sly devils!

That's the one that inspires hope in one day seeing some IR / IE packs!

Sometimes paying close attention is very rewarding

These coaches are all mark 2b not 2d, just to be clear 

The coaches are designed for very easy body removal for passenger fitting. 

DO’h. Sorry misread!

All the A photos are on the website. 

The A was launched on 27th October 2018, so delivery will be a shave under 3 years. 

Most of that was learning curve and issues on our end however, as can be seen from these coaches, and other accurascale releases, our policy for the last year has been launch with a sample which will cut down the lead time to 12-18 months at most on all new announcements. 

It also means we 'Put our money where our mouth is' and have concrete examples of the launch in hand, rather than the land grabs that sometimes happen, leaving customers potentially many years waiting for models.

12 minutes ago, Bumble_Bee said:

I know they are probably all different stages of development but was there timescales for announcements?

 

i remember seeing on another post that there would be 'multiple announcements coming soon' 

We'd certainly hope to announce more freight stock, coaching stock and perhaps a unit before year end... with then more in the new year (all with an under 12 month delivery time)

The cross pollination with accurascale makes most of the IRM lines possible to be honest but we do have uniquely Irish items trundling towards sample too at the moment including more stock, coaches, units and locos so never fear  

2 hours ago, DJ Dangerous said:

Will there be a few thousand of the lighting kits available seperately?

I'd like to be able to retrofit my MM Cravens, MM Mk2D's, Bachmann Mk2A/B's, Lima Mk2D's, Silver Fox Mk3's and Silver Fox GSV!

Also, can the wand be installed somewhere on the layout, for example underneath a bridge?

So, as each train passes underneath, the lights alternately switch on and then switch off each time?

Or, does the wand have to be activated by pressing a button or something?

Is the wand bi-directional or do you need to start at one end?

The wand simply has a magnet on the end. The lights are activated by magnetic relay so some neodymiums in a tunnel can activate lights or indeed on a gantry coming into a yard can switch them off. 
 

as the lighting system is integrated with the bogie pickups and stay alive capacitors we’ve not yet explored offering it as an upgrade for other coaches. 

15 minutes ago, Broithe said:

So, when's the next announcement due?

Another one ina couple more weeks. 

43 minutes ago, johnfromoz said:

I have a question for the IRM guys,  I missed out on the 42’ flats the last couple of years, and am not particularly interested in the detachable spoil skips. My question is:  Are the markings and livery on the flats under the spoils inaccurate if I want to use the flats for container liner services??

Thanks

John

Also, I have a set of your Guinness kegs but not the cages used to transport them.  Can the kegs be prototypically placed on the flats without the cages?
 

John

Hi John,

The spoils sit on 'modern' 42 flats, which are just fine for running model liner trains too.

The Kegs only ever ran in cages when on the rails I'm afraid.

We are very proud to reveal the latest addition to our well-received range of rolling stock, the Mk.2b series of coaches! The Mark 2b is one of several 'missing link' sub classes that has never been produced in high quality form in 4mm scale and we are delighted to be able to rectify this glaring hole in iconic BR era rolling stock in 4mm/OO gauge model form. 

History

Built at Litchurch Lane, Derby, during 1969, 111 vehicles were built for British Rail to three designs; Tourist Second Open (TSO), Corridor First (FK) and Brake Corridor First (BFK). A further eight examples were constructed for Northern Ireland Railways for its new 'Enterprise' service between Belfast and Dublin, this landmark service featuring a range of bespoke vehicles that were quite unlike anything then in operation on BR.

The Mk.2b was the third iteration of the Swindon-designed 'integrally constructed' Mk.2 and it saw a number of design changes that resulted in a much more modern appearance over the earlier variants. While the underframe was basically unchanged, the body was lengthened by several inches to provide additional space for planned air-condition upgrades.

However, the major spotting feature was the wider wrap-around doors at each corner - with characteristic sausage shaped bumpers - and the removal of the centre passenger access doors.

The interior was heavily influenced by the XP64 coaches with greater use of glass reinforced plastic (GRP) in the vestibules and toilets - the former finished in a now iconic deep reddish orange colour that will be forever etched into the minds of enthusiasts from that era. Also new were folding end gangway doors, also finished in the same red. The toilets themselves were repositioned, being moved either end of the passenger compartment on the same side, resulting in two very different looking bodysides.

Operationally they matched the previous Mk.2a coaches with air brakes and dual electric and steam heating. They were also delivered in the same classic BR blue/grey livery, still without Inter-City logos - those came a few years later - and complete with region prefixes to the numbers. Most also gained square destination board holders, although these were removed by the end of the 1970s.

The vast majority of the fleet was initially deployed to the Western Region, mixing it with Mk.2a coaches and Mk.1 catering cars on 'Western' and Class 47-hauled services between London Paddington and South Wales. A small number of FK were also allocated to ECML Inter-City services out of King's Cross, being commonly associated with 'Brush 4s' and the Deltics on trains to Yorkshire, the North East and Scotland.

The introduction of air-conditioned Mk.2 variants on to the WR just a few years later saw the Mk.2b coaches bumped to trains between Paddington, Penzance and other South West destinations, while the ER FKs were cascaded to secondary and inter-regional workings. Around the same time the first Class 50s appeared on the WR, beginning the long association of the later EE Type 4s with Mk.2b coaches.

With new HSTs coming on stream from 1975 the Mk.2b coaches further spread their wings becoming a common sight on Paddington-Oxford/West Midlands/Liverpool diagrams as well as inter-regional and North East-South West diagrams between Cardiff, Poole, Paignton, Plymouth and Swansea to Bradford, Edinburgh, Leeds and Newcastle. From 1978 further HST incursions onto traditional Mk.2 territory resulted in large numbers of vehicles being sent to the South Western main line - 'The Mule - between London Waterloo and Exeter St Davids, with other Southern Region destinations also being served.

By the mid 1980s the fleet was spread across all five regions. The majority were employed on trains out of Paddington and Waterloo - and rapidly gaining the colourful Network SouthEast livery - but significant numbers were allocated to InterCity, Provincial and ScotRail services.

Some also gained Trans-Pennine livery for working between Liverpool/North Wales and Cleethorpes/Newcastle/Scarborough. A pair of FKs even joined the Derby RTC fleet in 1987, ADB 977528 and ADB 977529 being used as brake force runners with a wide variety of different test coaches all over the country.

The same period also saw a number of changes to the fleet. The final Mk.2b BFK was taken out of service, joining three others that had been converted as Royal Train support coaches over the previous decade. The other five of the original nine built had already been sold to Northern Ireland Railways in 1980. Meanwhile the majority of first class coaches allocated to non-NSE activities were also considered obsolete, and were downgraded to second class with the new designation SK. Initially used on ECML relief trains the SKs were later transferred to Wolverhampton Oxley for use on cross-country turns between East Anglia and the Midlands and North West, which included the short-lived ‘The Rhinelander’ boat train between Harwich and Manchester Piccadilly.

The 'Sprinterisation' of the late 1980s and 1990s was responsible for the gradual retrenchment of the Mk.2b coaches until only the Waterloo-Exeter, Paddington semi-fasts and a handful allocated to Regional Railways remained. The new Networker 'Turbos' from 1992 and the Class 159s from 1993 brought about the end of NSE loco-hauled, while the last surviving RR TSOs followed shortly after, replaced by ex-NSE Mk.2a coaches!

Fortunately there was a reprieve of sorts just a few years later as the shadow South Wales & West franchise hired in a handful of coaches for various diagrams between Birmingham/Manchester, Cardiff/Bristol and Westbury/Weymouth using EWS Class 37s which ran from 1996 to 1999, with the coaches later being picked up again by Wales & Borders for Rhymney-Cardiff-Fishguard services from 2001-2004, again usually with EWS Type 3 power. Several of these transferred to the West Coast Railways railtour fleet and remain main line registered. Meanwhile, the four heavily rebuilt Royal Train BFKs still see regular use, although two were sold in the early 2000s, joining Network Rail and Riviera Trains.

The Model

The comprehensive range that makes up the first run of Accurascale Mk.2b coaches represents a significant investment in this vehicle family, long considered one of the 'missing links' of classic BR corporate era rolling stock. The lack of Mk.2b has long been a significant impediment to the accurate modelling of Western Region and London & South Western loco-passenger trains, with the 'Westerns' in their latter years and Class 50s being particularly synonymous with these coaches.

The Accurascale Mk.2b have been lovingly researched and designed based on surveys of numerous surviving vehicles around the UK along with works drawings and even a partial 3D scan to ensure that the characteristic tumblehome and shape of the ends is as accurate as possible. The survey
extended to the interiors with particular attention being paid to the iconic winged headrests - each a separate part - that are such a feature of the first and second class seating throughout the early Mk.2s. A variety of running numbers in both BR blue/grey, Network Southeast and Provincial liveries will make up the first run.

Of course, you want to see them in action, right? Check out this video from the smashing chaps at Hornby Magazine to learn more about them!

Specification

Common Features:

• Highly-detailed OO Gauge / 1:76.2 Scale Models on 16.5mm track
• Extremely fine exterior rivet detail on roof and coach ends
• Separately-applied etched metal and high-fidelity plastic parts, including handrails, brake/steam heat pipes, ETH cabling and sockets, footsteps, dummy drophead knuckle coupler, and roof vents
• Prism Free Glazing
• Pre-painted/printed Western Region destination boards and holders plus water filler covers provided for customer to install
• Fully-detailed underframe with numerous separate parts, pipe runs and accurate differences between versions
• The most accurate B4 and B5 bogies ever produced, with provision for re-gauging to EM or P4 (British 18.83mm) gauges
• Blackened RP25.110 profile wheel-sets with 14.4mm back-to-back measurements, and 26mm over pinpoints
• Different buffers for retracted and non-retracted positions
• Accurate interiors with characteristic 'winged' headrests, separate metal interior handrails on the brake and corridor vehicles and fully-detailed guard's compartment
• Full lighting package, including magnet 'wand' controlled interior lighting with 'Stay-Alive' capacitor in all coaches and directional lighting with DC or DCC control (Driving Trailer only)
• Minimum Radius 438mm (2nd Radius Set-track)
• Correct height NEM standard coupling sockets with mini tension lock couplers and kinematic close-coupling

Each Mark 2B coach will be sold separately at a price of £59.95 each and are available to order direct via Accurascale or via your local stockist. A 10% discount is available should you order two or more coaches together direct from Accurascale.

As you can see with the samples above, tooling is complete and the first pre-production samples have been delivered and the project is well advanced. However, there are corrections being made based on the samples which are now being undertaken by the factory. Overall there is a wealth of detail, crispness and they capture the essence of the Mark 2b very well indeed.

Delivery is slated for Q3 2022. However, with the current global difficulties in production and shipping following the COVID19 pandemic and Suez issues (shipping companies estimating FOUR YEARS until sea traffic returns to normal!) this may extend to Q4 2022. Browse the range and place your pre-orders direct by clicking here.

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We are very proud to reveal the latest addition to our well-received range of rolling stock; the Mk.2b series of coaches as used on classic Enterprise services. Welcome to IRM's first ever model of iconic Irish coaching stock!

History

Built at Litchurch Lane, Derby, during 1970, eight examples were constructed for Northern Ireland Railways for its new 'Enterprise' service between Belfast and Dublin, this landmark service featuring a range of bespoke vehicles that were quite unlike anything then in operation in Ireland or indeed on BR, despite being a derivative of a BR design.

The eight Mk.2b coaches acquired in by the newly formed Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) included new types; one First Open (FO), two Brake Driving Trailer Seconds (BDTS) and a single Grill-Bar, the latter being the only purpose-built Mk.2 catering vehicle. The other four vehicles were designated SO although were almost indistinguishable from BR TSOs. Delivered in NIR's blue and maroon scheme with B4 bogies set to the Irish 5ft 3in track gauge, they initially worked in push-pull formation on the Belfast-Dublin 'Enterprise' express service with one of the three Hunslet 'DL' 101 class locomotives for power, or a pair top and tailed or double headed in the summer months.

In 1978 the fleet, which now included five Mk.2c coaches purchased in 1972, was refurbished and repainted in a new silver-grey and blue livery. However the increasingly unreliable Hunslets - despite sharing an engine and many mechanical and electrical components with the BR Class 20s - were replaced in 1980 with General Motors 111 Class locomotives.

The lack of electric train supply on the new motive power required the addition of a generator coach to each 'Enterprise' formation, NIR acquiring five ex-BR Mk.2b BFKs for conversion in 1980. They were joined at the same time by an additional ten secondhand Mk.2b coaches and three Mk.2c. The use of driving trailers on the Enterprise trains ended with the introduction of the 111, becoming hauled as normal coaching stock thereafter.

With additional stock on hand the sight of 'Enterprise' trains away from their usual cross-border route was becoming more common, with formations of between three and five coaches in particular being common on Portadown/Lisburn-Belfast-Bangor and Belfast-Derry/Londonderry trains, usually with a single Hunslet in charge in push-pull formation. By the middle of the next decade a number of the ex-BR coaches were rebuilt as open coaches, while others were converted to strengthen 80 Class DEMU sets or replace bomb damaged vehicles.

In 1987 NIR was split into three operational sectors, the Enterprise coming under the new InterCity division. The result of this was a new livery, a modification of the existing grey/blue with the addition of a pair of white stripes either side of the thick blue band.

However this was replaced the following year by a blue/yellow/black/white scheme that was so well liked that it became NIR's corporate image in 1991 on the abandonment of sectorisation.

The Enterprise welcomed its third major motive power change in 1995 with the arrival of the GM 201 class, although by this point Irish Rail locomotives had become an increasingly common sight leading these trains. The introduction of replacement De Dietrich Ferroviaire-built coaching stock - shared with IR - for the prestige service in 1997 was the beginning of the end for the Mk.2 fleet although they could still be found working the cross-border route into 1999.

The Model

The IRM/Accurascale Mk.2b have been lovingly researched and designed based on surveys of numerous surviving vehicles around Britain and Northern Ireland along with works drawings and even a partial 3D scan to ensure that the characteristic tumblehome and shape of the ends is as accurate as possible. The survey extended to the interiors with particular attention being paid to the iconic winged headrests - each a separate part - that are such a feature of the first and second class seating throughout the early Mk.2s.

The NIR examples presented a particular challenge with numerous unique versions, a much wider track gauge and additional underframe boxes and roof details depending on the type. We even tooled up an Irish gauge B5 bogie - only used once - which was fitted to the generator end of the BGV coaches to accommodate the additional weight. The bogies for the NIR coaches are also bespoke compared to the BR versions, with the prototypical wider frame being faithfully represented allowing for 21mm fine scale conversion. 

Of course, you want to see them in action, right? Check out this video from the smashing chaps at Hornby Magazine to learn more about them!

Specification

Common Features:

• Highly-detailed OO Gauge / 1:76.2 Scale Models on 16.5mm track
• Extremely fine exterior rivet detail on roof and coach ends
• Separately-applied etched metal and high-fidelity plastic parts, including handrails, brake/steam heat pipes, ETH cabling and sockets, footsteps, dummy drophead knuckle coupler, and roof vents
• Prism Free Glazing
• Pre-painted/printed Western Region destination boards and holders plus water filler covers provided for customer to install
• Fully-detailed underframe with numerous separate parts, pipe runs and accurate differences between versions
• The most accurate B4 and B5 bogies ever produced, with provision for re-gauging to EM or P4 (Irish 21mm) gauges
• Blackened RP25.110 profile wheel-sets with 14.4mm back-to-back measurements, and 26mm over pinpoints
• Different buffers for retracted and non-retracted positions
• Accurate interiors with characteristic 'winged' headrests, separate metal interior handrails on the brake and corridor vehicles and fully-detailed guard's compartment
• Full lighting package, including magnet 'wand' controlled interior lighting with 'Stay-Alive' capacitor in all coaches and directional lighting with DC or DCC control (Driving Trailer only)
• Minimum Radius 438mm (2nd Radius Set-track)
• Correct height NEM standard coupling sockets with mini tension lock couplers and kinematic close-coupling

Three livery variations will be catered for in our first run, starting with the classic sliver-grey and blue livery, prefect for blue Hunslet and 111 haulage, the transitional silver-grey and blue livery with Intercity branding, and blue/yellow/black/white scheme, perfect for 111s and NIR 201 haulage, as well as IR locomotives.

There will be three packs covering all coach variations in original sliver-grey and blue livery as well as blue/yellow/black/white scheme, with a single pack of three transitional silver-grey and blue livery with Intercity branding coaches which can be run in mixed formation with either original silver-grey and blue livery or blue/yellow/black/white livery for an authentic 1987-late 80s formation.

Each triple pack is priced at €199.99 and there is a 10% discount when you order three or more packs.

As you can see with the samples above, tooling is complete and the first pre-production samples have been delivered and the project is well advanced. However, there are corrections being made based on the samples which are now being undertaken by the factory. Overall there is a wealth of detail, crispness and they capture the essence of the Mark 2b very well indeed.

Delivery is slated for Q3 2022. However, with the current global difficulties in production and shipping following the COVID19 pandemic and Suez issues (shipping companies estimating FOUR YEARS until sea traffic returns to normal!) this may extend to Q4 2022. Due to these difficulties, factory slots are in high demand so these packs will be made in strictly limited quantities. With the scarcity and popularity of Northern Ireland locomotives these are sure to be a popular and perfect companion while also adding a splash of colour and interest to your layout.

Browse the range and place your pre-orders direct by clicking here.

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