New Announcement - New Improved Fert Wagons at Lower Prices!

[flange lubricator]

18 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

I suppose there's "Rule 1" which would allow a JM Design G2 2.4.0 or an 00 Works J15 in front of a rake of 'em!

I’d would imagine as far as IRM are concerned if you buy them you  can put the Titfield  thunderbolt at the front of them ! 

[Galteemore]

24 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

I suppose there's "Rule 1" which would allow a JM Design G2 2.4.0 or an 00 Works J15 in front of a rake of 'em!

Dead easy, given 186 was used as a station pilot by NIR for a while c1968, so there’s a prototype for a J15 in ‘modern’ company service. Just ‘imagineer’ 184 being restored at Inchicore c1978 and doing some running in turns…. 

[DJ Dangerous]

1 hour ago, jhb171achill said:

Aaarrrghghg me too........

Stuck as I am in the 1950s and 60s on Dugort Harbour, I might be tempted this time! I always liked the look of those ferts. I'd need something in "supertrain" livery, though, to haul them, and everything I have is silver, green, black or black'n'tan; the latter would, of course, do OK.

 

For some reason, the Ferts are probably my favourite wagon to date. Close to a tie with the blue Taras.

Find an excuse!!!

[irishthump]

Oh this is tempting....

What formations did these wagons run in? How many in a rake and did they run mixed with other stock?

[NIRCLASS80]

Great news. These have always been my favourite IRM wagon release. 

[Bob229]

3 minutes ago, irishthump said:

Oh this is tempting....

What formations did these wagons run in? How many in a rake and did they run mixed with other stock?

Some were dedicated ferts only from Shelton Abbey plant,  I have seen photos of ferts, kegs and bagged cement wagons probably returning empty

[Westcorkrailway]

2 hours ago, jhb171achill said:

Aaarrrghghg me too........

Stuck as I am in the 1950s and 60s on Dugort Harbour, I might be tempted this time! I always liked the look of those ferts. I'd need something in "supertrain" livery, though, to haul them, and everything I have is silver, green, black or black'n'tan; the latter would, of course, do OK.

You can see even here in the thumbnail of this video, Black and Tan and ferts do make sense

 

im oh so very tempted to buy the earliest pack. Probobly the last wagons that ever got onto West Cork Tracks (technically speaking anyways)

 

skip to the middle of this video for a higher quality digitisation of the first video

 

Edited July 4, 2022 by Westcorkrailway

[ttc0169]

45 minutes ago, irishthump said:

Oh this is tempting....

What formations did these wagons run in? How many in a rake and did they run mixed with other stock?

Ten bogie fertiliser was the normal formation as a block train 

They operated as an “add on” to other liner trains which conveyed containers,Guinness,oil and cement wagons,

e.g-a typical formation during the late 1990s were-two bogie fert wagons,five bogie container,two bogie Guinness wagons,then a mixture of two axle cement,Guinness,or oil wagons,

I intend to get a pack of two wagons to add on to my Bogie Guinness and oil/cement liner  

 

[Westcorkrailway]

17 minutes ago, ttc0169 said:They operated as an “add on” to other liner trains which conveyed containers,Guinness,oil and cement wagons,

e.g-a typical formation during the late 1990s were-two bogie fert wagons,five bogie container,two bogie Guinness wagons,then a mixture of two axle cement,Guinness,or oil wagons,

I intend to get a pack of two wagons to add on to my Bogie Guinness and oil/cement liner  

 

So effectively a mixed goods train…that’s pretty cool 

 

by the way isn't it mad that this is a “small announcement” nowadays. Wagons everyone wanted back, fixed of any previous issues and now at less then the price Bachmann sell small 4 wheel goods vans for per wagon ….

If so, plenty more small announcements chaps…. 

[ttc0169]

Back in the days of the fert operation,a block train of ten laden wagons would operate to Ballina from either Foynes or Shelton abbey,after being unloaded-(on overtime normally on Saturdays)-the train would work back empty to either location,

During the weeknights,two wagons would be attached to the 19:00 or 20:45 liner trains to Ballina,the formation was; Locomotive(s)-fert wagons,bogie container or Guinness wagons,

On arrival in Ballina the laden fert wagons were shunted off and two spare LX or LP wagons were added to make up the eighteen wagon return to North wall,

When the morning branch passenger set arrived from Manulla Jctn the locomotive was used to shunt the fert wagons to the Crossmolina road siding behind the bus Eireann garage where a local farm supply business (Barrett’s),unloaded the wagons,

The wagons were then collected in the afternoon and pushed up the down siding at the Manulla end of Ballina freight yard for collection by the 22:10 or 02:50 liner that night. 

Great memories,and thanks to IRM they can be recreated now in miniature.

[meathdane]

All 4 packs ordered! Fantastic lads!

I don't know about anyone else but between the Tara's and the Ferts, these reruns have been a godsend for the likes of myself returning late to the railway game!

Keep it up lads, you're smashing it!

Thanks,

Dane

[RedRich]

2 hours ago, DJ Dangerous said:

 

For some reason, the Ferts are probably my favourite wagon to date. Close to a tie with the blue Taras.

Find an excuse!!!

Have to agree DJ they really are a superb model. They just look amazing in a full rake. I have to say that I love the ballasts also.

 

[murphaph]

7 hours ago, meathdane said:

All 4 packs ordered! Fantastic lads!

I don't know about anyone else but between the Tara's and the Ferts, these reruns have been a godsend for the likes of myself returning late to the railway game!

Keep it up lads, you're smashing it!

Thanks,

Dane

IRM's commitment to re-runs earns them a huge gold star. It means nobody is under "pressure" (imagined or otherwise) to buy for renumbering. They can just wait until the next run and buy one rake again. That's my plan anyway. One rake from each run and then wait patiently for the next one.

[murphaph]

8 hours ago, ttc0169 said:

Back in the days of the fert operation,a block train of ten laden wagons would operate to Ballina from either Foynes or Shelton abbey,after being unloaded-(on overtime normally on Saturdays)-the train would work back empty to either location,

During the weeknights,two wagons would be attached to the 19:00 or 20:45 liner trains to Ballina,the formation was; Locomotive(s)-fert wagons,bogie container or Guinness wagons,

On arrival in Ballina the laden fert wagons were shunted off and two spare LX or LP wagons were added to make up the eighteen wagon return to North wall,

When the morning branch passenger set arrived from Manulla Jctn the locomotive was used to shunt the fert wagons to the Crossmolina road siding behind the bus Eireann garage where a local farm supply business (Barrett’s),unloaded the wagons,

The wagons were then collected in the afternoon and pushed up the down siding at the Manulla end of Ballina freight yard for collection by the 22:10 or 02:50 liner that night. 

Great memories,and thanks to IRM they can be recreated now in miniature.

Fascinating details that the working timetable doesn't provide Noel. Thank you for them!

Was Ballina the only destination for block fert trains or did they also go further south? Has anyone got more detailed pics of the actual pallets? I am working on some custom transfers based on net nitrate pallet loads I've found on the internet but the pics are few and far between. The first attempt was simply a cut out of a jpeg from an old IFI brochure I found online but the resolution was very poor so I created a vector graphic in GIMP to get something a little sharper and from 2' away it's absolutely fine now. The first (very pixellated) attempt can also be seen for reference:

 

[DoctorPan]

54 minutes ago, murphaph said:

Fascinating details that the working timetable doesn't provide Noel. Thank you for them!

Was Ballina the only destination for block fert trains or did they also go further south? Has anyone got more detailed pics of the actual pallets? I am working on some custom transfers based on net nitrate pallet loads I've found on the internet but the pics are few and far between. The first attempt was simply a cut out of a jpeg from an old IFI brochure I found online but the resolution was very poor so I created a vector graphic in GIMP to get something a little sharper and from 2' away it's absolutely fine now. The first (very pixellated) attempt can also be seen for reference:

 

That's brought back memories of helping the father spread fert on the family land. The smell of the bags and the white dust. Fond memories

[iarnrod]

Less than 24 hours up on the Irish IRM site and almost 50% sold. That must be an IRM record surely!

[Mayner]

2 hours ago, murphaph said:

Was Ballina the only destination for block fert trains or did they also go further south? 

 

 

Up to the mid 1990 block fertiliser trains regularly operated from Shelton Abbey, Foynes, New Ross, and occasionally Galway possibly from Belfast and Cork to destinations around the CIE/IE Network the majority of depots were served by a loop or siding so a train could be unloaded clear of the Main Line.

The 1980 WWT had 3 bagged fertiliser paths daily to and from Shelton Abbey which appear to have operated regularly two from Shelton to the South & West and One to Cabra which acted as a staging point for other destinations.

An 09:35 Shelton-New Ross via Kilkenny path is listed in the WTT this may have been used for block fertiliser trains serving Carlow, Kilkenny or Waterford. I remember seeing a block fertiliser being unloaded in the yard on the north side of the running lines in Kilkenny in 92/3 while a bagged cement train was being unloaded in the yard in on the south side present station building.

Albatros fertiliser traffic from New Ross is likely to have been covered in the "Weekly Notices" with no scheduled trains or paths listed on the New Ross branch where laden fertiliser trains were operated in two portions between New Ross and Waterford because of grades.

The 1980 WTT lists one Galway-Farranfore  (private siding) and two Shelton-Tralee paths.

 

[Patrick Davey]

Is it true that the fertiliser trains mostly ran after dark, to take advantage of the cheaper nitrates?

(Getting me coat........)

[connollystn]

I recall block fertiliser trains being a regular occurrence on the Sligo line. On one occasion I witnessed a fertiliser train being hauled by a class 121 and A, I always remember because it seemed unusual at the time.

[murphaph]

Maybe a failed train of empties being rescued? Don't think a single 121 would have been able to haul a laden train like that.

[jhb171achill]

32 minutes ago, connollystn said:

I recall block fertiliser trains being a regular occurrence on the Sligo line. On one occasion I witnessed a fertiliser train being hauled by a class 121 and A, I always remember because it seemed unusual at the time.

Certainly was! Doubtless one loco had rescued the other after it failed - they didn’t double-head in traffic ever. So that was a nice catch for you!

13 minutes ago, murphaph said:

Maybe a failed train of empties being rescued? Don't think a single 121 would have been able to haul a laden train like that.

A single 121 could certainly handle ten empties. Ten laden might have been a different story, though.

[jhb171achill]

For those who only have a few ferts, or only want a few, don't be put off by a "need" to buy a dozen! You could see them in smaller numbers as part of a mixed goods train along with cement and Guinness, as often the case on the North Wall - Dundalk - Belfast (Adelaide), and Dundalk - Derry goods back in the day. There were times when that train might only have 3 or 4 fertiliser wagons, with a few 4-wheeled Guinness flats in two. So if you've just one pack of bubbles and one of ferts, thats fine for a goods train within the realms of accuracy!

 

[meathdane]

3 hours ago, jhb171achill said:

For those who only have a few ferts, or only want a few, don't be put off by a "need" to buy a dozen! You could see them in smaller numbers as part of a mixed goods train along with cement and Guinness, as often the case on the North Wall - Dundalk - Belfast (Adelaide), and Dundalk - Derry goods back in the day. There were times when that train might only have 3 or 4 fertiliser wagons, with a few 4-wheeled Guinness flats in two. So if you've just one pack of bubbles and one of ferts, thats fine for a goods train within the realms of accuracy!

 

Or just rule 1 it and have your flying snail hornby 0-4-0 pulling one around at a scale 200mph! 

Too good an opportunity to miss these! You'll only kick yourself

[mphoey]

On 4/7/2022 at 4:06 PM, BosKonay said:

To clarify, there are 100 on IRM.com and 100 -more- on IRM UK. 

SO we're doing about 800 twin packs. 

 

(joys of Brexit mean we can no longer share stock)

madness for you what happens if the irish lot sell out quicker then the uk lot can you transfer over some

[Georgeconna]

if it were as easy as that!

[Westcorkrailway]

20 minutes ago, mphoey said:

madness for you what happens if the irish lot sell out quicker then the uk lot can you transfer over some

Nope….as far as I could see, you’d have to go to the uk website and pay the customs

Edited July 5, 2022 by Westcorkrailway

[Irishswissernie]

3 hours ago, jhb171achill said:

For those who only have a few ferts, or only want a few, don't be put off by a "need" to buy a dozen! You could see them in smaller numbers as part of a mixed goods train along with cement and Guinness, as often the case on the North Wall - Dundalk - Belfast (Adelaide), and Dundalk - Derry goods back in the day. There were times when that train might only have 3 or 4 fertiliser wagons, with a few 4-wheeled Guinness flats in two. So if you've just one pack of bubbles and one of ferts, thats fine for a goods train within the realms of accuracy!

 

Nice mixture on a Dublin - Cork Liner here at Limerick Junction June 2001

[BosKonay]

Luckily, since the stock is still in China, we can allocated as we need.

The trouble is when there is physical stock stuck in one place or the other. Then IRM has to buy it off Accurascale, do the import, pay Import VAT, do the paperwork, pay the fees, and then put it into stock in Dublin.

Thanks Brexit! The gift that keeps giving!

[K801]

What's the IRMUK website address?

[murphaph]

https://irishrailwaymodels.co.uk/

[StevieB]

3 hours ago, BosKonay said:

Luckily, since the stock is still in China, we can allocated as we need.

The trouble is when there is physical stock stuck in one place or the other. Then IRM has to buy it off Accurascale, do the import, pay Import VAT, do the paperwork, pay the fees, and then put it into stock in Dublin.

Thanks Brexit! The gift that keeps giving!

Blame it all on the politicians for giving in to pressure to hold a referendum, the leaving the EU and finally negotiating a diabolical trade deal. Sorry if that goes against the rules of the forum but the downside of Brexit keeps being brought up.

Stephen

[jhb171achill]

1 hour ago, StevieB said:

Blame it all on the politicians for giving in to pressure to hold a referendum, the leaving the EU and finally negotiating a diabolical trade deal. Sorry if that goes against the rules of the forum but the downside of Brexit keeps being brought up.

Stephen

Well, this stuff is now well-recorded and blindly obvious fact, so fair game........!

[Rob]

6 hours ago, Irishswissernie said:

Nice mixture on a Dublin - Cork Liner here at Limerick Junction June 2001

Great pic- real mixture of the 'old' mixed liner to Cork with the 'new' of a 201.     

They kind of look odd together in a way!

[Sean]

11 hours ago, jhb171achill said:

For those who only have a few ferts, or only want a few, don't be put off by a "need" to buy a dozen! You could see them in smaller numbers as part of a mixed goods train along with cement and Guinness, as often the case on the North Wall - Dundalk - Belfast (Adelaide), and Dundalk - Derry goods back in the day. There were times when that train might only have 3 or 4 fertiliser wagons, with a few 4-wheeled Guinness flats in two. So if you've just one pack of bubbles and one of ferts, thats fine for a goods train within the realms of accuracy!

 

These are exactly the kind of trains  my layout will be catering to, with a particular focus on the tipp liners as they were prototypically very short and i am limited to a fairly small run around loop so it makes sense. stock wont be prototypical to any one particular line though.

I try to focus on stock that could have plausibly ran on the infrastructure of my layout so avoid things like cement bubbles for which i have no loading facilities for and focus very much on palletised  and containerised stuff as it suits my kinda layout.

 

safe to say my saving up for a couple of tara packs has turned into saving for a couple of fert packs, and its why im crying out for curtainside cements and some sort of 20ft flat chassis.  

 

8 hours ago, meathdane said:

Or just rule 1 it and have your flying snail hornby 0-4-0 pulling one around at a scale 200mph! 

Too good an opportunity to miss these! You'll only kick yourself

A much slated loco but i have been thinking about it lately and i actually just love mine too much to sell, it has super crawl performance for the motor supplied and im going to DCC my one for when the RPSI mk2's are out and they will be shared between this and a grey 121

 

They actually look half decent towing a rake of grey dapol boxes as well.  I dont really care too much about accuracy when running steam stuff so its pretty much all rule 1 there!

[murphaph]

Hi guys...Quick question about the price displayed on the website here in Germany. Is the €89.95 the price in Ireland with 23% VAT included? I ask because when I go to order my rake I am seeing a price of €90.85 even though German standard rate VAT is actually 4% lower than Ireland at 19%. Am I missing something or is something not configured correctly perhaps?