IRM announce NIR Enterprise Mark 2 Coaches

[jhb171achill]

5 minutes ago, irishthump said:

Hats off to the lads at IRM, these look phenomenal! Honestly though, these are probably outside my sphere of Irish modelling but I may be tempted to go for the BR ones, finances permitting!

I really hope the other model companies are taking notes here. You’ve really pushed the envelope with the design and features of these coaches.

 

 

I think that IRM are by now past masters at envelope pushing (though not in the same way that Bertie Ahern was...).

The "A"s will, no doubt, be a further example!

[Westcorkrailway]

9 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

I think that IRM are by now past masters at envelope pushing (though not in the same way that Bertie Ahern was...).

The "A"s will, no doubt, be a further example!

Hard to believe it’s 2 ish weeks now till they are on our doorstep

[Ironroad]

1 hour ago, DJ Dangerous said:

So a lighting and 21mm bogie kit might be an idea???

You are onto something there,  there is almost certainly a market for full width (5'3")  16.5mm replacement bogies that allow for conversion to 21mm of various types complete with lighting kits.

[Blaine]

3 hours ago, iarnrod said:

Great for anyone that has 111's to hand, but for anyone that doesn't,  I can see any that appear on ebay over the next while most likely going for astronomical prices.

Also, if memory serves me correctly,  there were only 250 done of each of the 111's. As someone already said above, the only prototypical one out of them for these coaches  is 111.

 

512 of 112 and 256 each of 111 and 8113, also 256 each for the current IE Grey 071s that MM did around 2013. Don't forget that there was a period when it was thought that they would not sell in sufficient numbers. A few sat on shelves for a long time and then vanished....

[DiveController]

6 hours ago, Ironroad said:

You are onto something there,  there is almost certainly a market for full width (5'3")  16.5mm replacement bogies that allow for conversion to 21mm of various types complete with lighting kits.

That's been said before about the bogie, the lighting would really make that an attractive kit but no bite so far. Again these NIRs are relatively newer than some of us were hoping for but I have always loved these coaches and I'll be supporting these. Finally something to go behind my MM 111!

These are certainly a niche within a niche. I had contemplated that IRM might do them but dismissed it for that very reason. In that respect it instills a little hope that proper Irish 1950s stock is also feasible.

However, I cannot help feeling that these were only made possible as an adjunct to the Accurascale models and there is certainly nothing whatsoever like the full width and contours of Irish 'laminates'.

The close running is superb and the lighting was a very smart move, sure to be a crowd pleaser.  

[BosKonay]

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  

[Bumble_Bee]

1 hour ago, BosKonay said:

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  

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' 

[BosKonay]

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)

[Westcorkrailway]

30 minutes ago, BosKonay said:

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)

Now that is ambitious. I can’t fathom all the work and pressure involved in that.

[Warbonnet]

11 minutes ago, Westcorkrailway said:

Now that is ambitious. I can’t fathom all the work and pressure involved in that.

No pressure really, we enjoy what we do. It is why all new models are announced with a sample, like these coaches so we we can cut down on waiting times for you guys. We wont be going back to the glacial pace of the 42ft flats and the As ever again as it left you all waiting way longer than we wanted. We learnt our lesson there.

Cheers!

Fran 

[fishplate7]

Wow! Yesterday's IRM announcement has firmly set the bar at its highest ever in terms of quality, finish and innovation! Really well done to everyone involved! NIR is not my era unfortulately, so I'll be stashing my hard earned for the next of the promised announcements, whenever and whatever that may be! 

[murphaph]

19 minutes ago, Warbonnet said:

No pressure really, we enjoy what we do. It is why all new models are announced with a sample, like these coaches so we we can cut down on waiting times for you guys. We wont be going back to the glacial pace of the 42ft flats and the As ever again as it left you all waiting way longer than we wanted. We learnt our lesson there.

Cheers!

Fran 

The announcement yesterday was very slick by the way. You guys had all your ducks lined up beautifully and everything going live in quick succession was like a Swiss watch.

I still can't quite believe such coaches are going to be released RTR. The joint AS/IRM release was also very clever as a way to expose more GB modellers to "our little railway" and its quirks. 

[Westcorkrailway]

15 minutes ago, Warbonnet said:

No pressure really, we enjoy what we do. It is why all new models are announced with a sample, like these coaches so we we can cut down on waiting times for you guys. We wont be going back to the glacial pace of the 42ft flats and the As ever again as it left you all waiting way longer than we wanted. We learnt our lesson there.

Cheers!

Fran 

I was thinking about that, i swear the A class was announced like 3 years ago, so for them to finnally be within touching distance of actually arriving is great. And I do prefer waiting less even if it means ye guys have to hold off on announcing it.

[murphaph]

Just now, Westcorkrailway said:

I was thinking about that, i swear the A class was announced like 3 years ago, so for them to finnally be within touching distance of actually arriving is great. And I do prefer waiting less even if it means ye guys have to hold off on announcing it.

Same here. 

[Warbonnet]

2 minutes ago, murphaph said:

The announcement yesterday was very slick by the way. You guys had all your ducks lined up beautifully and everything going live in quick succession was like a Swiss watch.

I still can't quite believe such coaches are going to be released RTR. The joint AS/IRM release was also very clever as a way to expose more GB modellers to "our little railway" and its quirks. 

Thanks! A lot of work goes into the models of course, but also all the other areas such as financials, web systems and our PR and marketing. It's a full time effort and all hands on deck but we all work well together like a well oiled machine  

We prefer the less waiting time too, so typically when a sample is shown the model will be typically arriving in 12 months from that point. We think that works best all round as you guys can see it exists, plan out saving and not have to wait too long!

Cheers!

Fran 

[BosKonay]

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.

[Blaine]

16 hours ago, gm171 kk said:

I've only ever seen a generator coach at either end of the Enterprise whilst hauled by a 201.

Not so sure about that - heres a pair sandwiching a perfect Mk2B formation, the roof exhausts and 3 compartment windows per side are the giveaways for the Gennys - also (need to clarify) some only had grilles on 1 side

Heres a 208 with 2 Gennys, and the aircon grill bar diner, ex BR coach 546, which now runs in the UK. Can happily say I remember this period vividly

Some 1978 livery footage here, watch for the Hunslet chugging away too, possibly one of the last scheduled uses for them on the Enterprise. Interesting that CIE didnt always use their MK2D's on the 'Beller' - probably as the risk of hijacking etc was still high and the Cravens/Park Royals/Laminates were more expendable.... Theres also 1 shot of a long rake of the 7 compartment former first class stock in a much longer rake than normal, probably a GAA/Horse Racing/Concert special 

Edited August 27, 2021 by Blaine

[enniscorthyman]

5 hours ago, BosKonay said:

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  

HOBS?.

 

[Wexford70]

1 hour ago, Blaine said:

Not so sure about that - heres a pair sandwiching a perfect Mk2B formation, the roof exhausts and 3 compartment windows per side are the giveaways for the Gennys - also (need to clarify) some only had grilles on 1 side

Heres a 208 with 2 Gennys, and the aircon grill bar diner, ex BR coach 546, which now runs in the UK. Can happily say I remember this period vividly

Some 1978 livery footage here, watch for the Hunslet chugging away too, possibly one of the last scheduled uses for them on the Enterprise. Interesting that CIE didnt always use their MK2D's on the 'Beller' - probably as the risk of hijacking etc was still high and the Cravens/Park Royals/Laminates were more expendable.... Theres also 1 shot of a long rake of the 7 compartment former first class stock in a much longer rake than normal, probably a GAA/Horse Racing/Concert special 

In the later videos there seems to be two generator vans on each rake. Was this the norm?

 

[hexagon789]

3 minutes ago, Wexford70 said:

In the later videos there seems to be two generator vans on each rake. Was this the norm?

 

It's probably like the CIÉ/IR Mk2Ds, one generator van would only be sufficient for a certain number of coaches. That would be my guess.

[gm171 kk]

Most NIR Enterprises I've seen have been 111/201 + 9-11 mk2s including a genny at both ends. 

Although I did see a photo last night of a 201 + DVT + 6 mk2s + genny. 

Edited August 27, 2021 by gm171 kk

[jhb171achill]

When NIR’s two 201s started running, the Mk 2s weren’t yet replaced by the DDs.

[DiveController]

6 hours ago, Westcorkrailway said:

I was thinking about that, i swear the A class was announced like 3 years ago, so for them to finnally be within touching distance of actually arriving is great. And I do prefer waiting less even if it means ye guys have to hold off on announcing it.

I had put a deposit on a pair of silver As and recently got an invoice for the balance that stated it was 1015 days overdue!  Not complaining but it was amusing at the time

 

I'm waiting with interest to see the decorated sample on the earlier liveries of the NIR coaches. That color scheme was a silver grey, as a result appearing almost white in old videos not a matt grey. This won't be made more protypical by weathering as might have been the case with orange bubbles or spoil wagons so i hope that can be achieved on these 

Edited August 27, 2021 by DiveController

[BosKonay]

All the A photos are on the website. 

[DiveController]

12 minutes ago, BosKonay said:

All the A photos are on the website. 

The As looks great, no problem there and I'm hoping that will be achieved with the early MK2 and early Intercity (not bumblebee) liveries also (Sorry if my earlier comment was confusing)

Edited August 27, 2021 by DiveController

[BosKonay]

DO’h. Sorry misread!

[RedRich]

Fantastic choice both in a modelling and business sense. Really pleased for modelers of the NIR scene also. Looking forward to more announcements.

Rich,

[Kon Tainer]

Good stuff IRM - the coaches look great and I will definitely be getting some. The lighting element looks fab but it gives me a dilemma. I like to put lights and passengers into my coaches. I use HO figures (from "WISH") for passengers  and a mixture of Train Tech Light Bars and Hornby Maglites (R7338) for lighting. I am unable to have a coach with lighting and not put passengers into it. However, I have this natural talent of partly demolishing a coach trying to get the body or roof off for access. Will the new coaches be easily accessible for passengers i.e. will I be able to achieve this without total destruction? Maybe an instruction leaflet might help me in this regard.

[BosKonay]

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

[DiveController]

10 hours ago, hexagon789 said:

It's probably like the CIÉ/IR Mk2Ds, one generator van would only be sufficient for a certain number of coaches. That would be my guess.

Most CIE GSVs and possible EGVs had dual equipment so that in the event of failure the train carried on as normal. The NIR Mk2s seem to have been like a half brake with reduced passenger seating and a single generator at one end of the van hence the single strengthened B5 bogie at one end only. It's possible either that the capacity of the single generator was exceeded on longer trains like a summer enterprise, that some redundancy was needed with this many passengers or simply that an additional genny was pressed into service to provide additional seating on busy services. The videos in the thread are a joy and show that many IC services were hauling 10-12 coaches including generators and a DBSO being used as a coach only

Edited August 27, 2021 by DiveController

[declan64]

At 60 euro a pop when purchasing 3 sets together, this represents excellent value given the quality of the coaches and the fact that they have inbuilt lighting. Compare these to the price of Bachmann's latest MK2 coaches with DCC controlled lighting at a cool £94.95 RRP and we should be thankful to IRM for a reasonable price to start out with along with the bundled pricing for the NIR coaches which doesn't appear to be getting offered for the BR and NSE coaches. My pre-order is in!

I'll also add my vote for a re-run of the NIR liveries from MM. I'd love to get my hands on a 112 or 113 without having to re-mortgage the house.

[DiveController]

Yes, I have to agree with that. Although I am a little despondent at not having any early Irish coaching stock, these really are a lovely product, thoughtfully done wrt the lighting, lighting control, ultra close coupling and easy access to the interior.

It's clear lessons have been learned from earlier products like the plough vans which suffered from some flickering which will be nullified by inclusion of capacitors on the lighting system.

Purists might argue that we might have to leave those out if early stock is produced for prototypical realism!!  (I seem to remember many flickering lights on coaches as a boy although I don't recall if these were TL or dynamo driven lighting)

Access to the A class and the coaches is much better than MM products (and many modern products, no offense intended to MM products superb for their time). Luckily I picked up some 111-113 at various points after they had sold out, difficult with the limited editions for sure, and there may well be a market for a re-run of these. Looking forward to those MM Mk3 Supertrain livery in all new tooling hopefully to a similar standard as these.

Other than some persisting issues with 21mm reguaging I have to say these are really wonderful, a superb job by IRM, I'd say. 

Edited August 28, 2021 by DiveController

[Broithe]

1 hour ago, DiveController said:

Yes, I have to agree with that. Although I am a little despondent at not having any early Irish coaching stock, these really are a lovely product, thoughtfully done wrt the lighting, lighting control, ultra close coupling and easy access to the interior.

Don't panic!

 

Let them practise with these and get your ones even better...

[mmie353]

17 hours ago, BosKonay said:

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)

I am curious to know if there will be a re-run of anything that has been done so far. I am blown away with the Mark 2s as the samples look awesome.  It must have taken a minute to get the close coupling figured out from what we have seen on these models to what seems to work really well from the video. I do not have anything from NIR, but these have me thinking... 

To turn on the lighting with the magnet is a cool feature. 

[Mayner]

14 hours ago, Blaine said:

 

Some 1978 livery footage here, watch for the Hunslet chugging away too, possibly one of the last scheduled uses for them on the Enterprise. Interesting that CIE didnt always use their MK2D's on the 'Beller' - probably as the risk of hijacking etc was still high and the Cravens/Park Royals/Laminates were more expendable.... Theres also 1 shot of a long rake of the 7 compartment former first class stock in a much longer rake than normal, probably a GAA/Horse Racing/Concert special 

 

CIE stopped using MK2D stock on the Enterprise after the train was de-railed as a result of an attack on the line near Lisburn in the mid 1970s. There is a photo of the de-railed train in an IRRS Journal from the period, coaches remained coupled and upright, I don't know if the de-railment was as a result of a hi-jacking or a bomb being detonated under the train.

Conventional stock was also more operationally convenient for CIE as there seems to be enough Craven, Park Royals and Laminates to strengthen trains to meet seasonal demand while availability of MK2d stock was tight, the 1970s MK2D Enterprise seems to have typically loaded to 5-6 coaches including van.

I prefer the original Maroon & Blue scheme since I first saw the train in Connolly station in 70/71 and later  used to listen to and watch the evening North bound Enterprise climbing towards Killester from Collins Ave while waiting on the bus home from work for most of 78-79.