connollystn

Seven variants of pre-owned IRM A Class locomotives for sale on Rails of Sheffield website at £249.50 each [circa €291 as of 19/01/2024].

A42 CIE apple green, 007 IR Super Train, 048 IR livery, 018 CIE Super Train, A12 CIE black with yellow ends, A15 CIE Black and Tan, A55 CIE Black and, A30 CIE silver.

Murphy Models MM141 and MM181 (B&T livery) for sale at the same price each also.

Think it was mentioned on here some years ago that some of the 141 class locomotives had their engines (567) replaced with those from the scrapped C201 locomotives so it's likely that 141/181 double headed locomotives sounded the same in the IR/IÉ era. 

I would agree with Fran's [Warbonnet] sentiments. Think this is the ideal set to produce as they're very widespread over the network. I only remember the 2600 class operating in sets of three (six cars) so, in my case, wouldn't be a better price option than the 22,000. I'm sure the 2600 class is in IRM's future plans.

45 minutes ago, Noel said:

If problems persist IRM have excellent warranty service so perhaps send it back to them for repair or replacement. They will pick up the cost of collection/post.

My initial response would have been to contact IRM directly without needing to start a thread here, however, he was willing to tackle the issue himself and seems to have resolved the problem and at the same time a few of us may have learned from the advice provided by others and, I sort of found it interesting. Not sure if the model is a bit of a rarity and how likely is the retailer to have a replacement? Think the buyer wouldn't be best pleased if the only solution was a full refund but, have to wait to see if the model is running well.

@murphaph - Glad your 203 arrived in perfect 'cosmetic' condition but, I'm sure, it'll be in good running order also.

Great picture of the new Enterprise set, not a railcar I'm familiar with - did they last long in service?

Don't have a Murphy Models 201 but problems with the packaging were highlighted on one of Euvirail's reviews on his YouTube channel. Due to the proliferation of online retailing the packaging has been made a lot sturdier so the chances of receiving a damaged item in the post is reduced. Remember, the MM 201s were produced at a time when most of us were going to physical stores to make our purchases - they were the good old days.

You're making me jealous. Had the Trix Big Boy locomotive years ago and, it was big and heavy and knew that, unless I had suitable permanent layout, I'd have no way to operate it - ah, the joys of being a renter. Can't wait until you start posting pictures of them running on your new layout. Good luck with the build and please keep us posted.

@Broithe - Thanks for posting that article, it makes for very interesting reading. Tallow seems to be a substantial town and may have benefited more had the railway been much closer - back in the day it would have been a fair treck to and from the station.

On 25/2/2023 at 9:14 AM, Horsetan said:

You can see from the CAD and test-shot model that Märklin have applied their traditionally robust standards (not greatly changed from what they were doing in the 1980s) , so the valve gear links and pivots have been made overscale whilst the wheels have massive flanges.

Have to agree with Horsetan's observations above and it's the reason I wouldn't be overly enthusiastic about it's production. Had some Marklin/Hamo locomotives in the past and they just didn't seem right but, as Boskonay says; 'Marklin collectors are a special breed'.

Video of the Cavalex Class 60

HM190: Cavalex Models reveals all-new Class 60 for OO gauge - YouTube

Hi Guys, thanks for posting those videos. Your man 'Tim Traveller' seems to have a lot of videos on YouTube so will check out the others on his channel.

1 hour ago, Gabhal Luimnigh said:

Thanks, I never really liked the silvers, I seem to remember the dirty oily black and black/tan better.

I don't remember any of the pre Supertrain liveries but I'm not really beholden to the era I grew up in, just like models which are really nice. Think I'll get someone to weather one of my A30s.

Congratulations, that's a fantastic deal. I have a couple of that locomotive and hoping that soon there will be stock to operate with it. The Crossley engined A classes have a bit more character and really delighted that I got my hands on some of them. The silvers are my favourite and you should consider trying to get your hands on one - the detail really exudes from them.

Congratulations to Accurascale/IRM for getting Richard on board. A big fan of his online reviews - hasn't done them for years but was always the channel to go to if you wanted an honest perspective on new models. Love his easy going approach plus, it didn't take him hours to remove the models from their' boxes.

Certainly would have been nice if the DCDR could have gotten their hands on those railcars, don't think they ever operated as intended. Do remember the 2700s breaking down occasionally on the early morning commuter service to Dublin. Thought the seats were more comfortable than those in the Class 2600 which felt as if they were made for small people.

@ Dave - Very impressive layout. What locomotives will you be operating? I have the Scale Trains SDL39 (Wisconsin Central) and really like them as they're suitable for a small oval track, however, your layout looks like it'll be able to handle the large GE Dash-9s or EMD SD70s.

Great job @ Adrian. I like the way you photographed it together with the non-weathered version, gives a real insight into how a good weathering job can enhance a model.

In my humble opinion it's a horrible livery on an ugly diesel railcar set.

Is there much of a market for 1 gauge (spur 1) models of Irish prototypes?

On 16/2/2023 at 5:53 PM, Noel said:

Baby MM GMs, especially 143 are so rare, you might even get one and a half A classes in exchange!  

The IRM A class is a far superior locomotive.

What a real surprise and wasn't expecting this. It's a good that Accurascale are using the Hatton's original tooling and ironing out the flaws - what a novel approach. Sometimes, that's all what needs to be done with some models. Hatton's hit the crossbar and Accuracale are going to score with this one.

Not the New IRM Announcement I was expecting. It's more of an Old new announcement

1 hour ago, DJ Dangerous said:

I received an email from Rails of Sheffield saying that Cavalex are releasing a Class 60, currently at tooling stage. Wonder if anybody else will beat them to the punch.

Wouldn't be surprised if 'they' did, has been known to happen.

1 hour ago, DJ Dangerous said:

On top of that, there's a loss of confidence in those responsible. If they get this wrong, what else can they be trusted with?

So out with the guillotine!

Wonder if the same applies to someone who says that there's going to be a major announcement 'next month' and that time has almost passed without a whisper.........

Reading through the article you can see that none of the trains were constructed as the manufacturer [CAF] double checked the measurements before they commenced the job. A bit of a storm in a teacup if you ask me.