IRM Steam Speculation

[Gabhal Luimnigh]

Interesting comment from Fran when he said that the Irish oo gauge market is barely viable, I hope it stays viable enough to keep us fed, can't be easy though!

[DJ Dangerous]

1 hour ago, Patrick Davey said:

Excellent interview here from Fran, with plenty of coverage of the IRM brand and mention also of the forthcoming Irish steam release:

https://www.world-of-railways.co.uk/news/interview-of-the-week-accurascale-part-1/

 

 

Thanks for posting that, @Patrick Davey! Great interview from @Warbonnet.

Although, I'm rather heartbroken to hear him say that my idea for making an O Gauge A Class more viable won't work!

 

22 minutes ago, Gabhal Luimnigh said:

Interesting comment from Fran when he said that the Irish oo gauge market is barely viable, I hope it stays viable enough to keep us fed, can't be easy though!

 

In fairness, the IRM lads have said that repeatedly here on the forum, that IRM would barely be sustainable without Accurascale. Although not a British modeller, I have been buying some Accurascale models, to do my bit for the future of the Irish market.

 

 

I was quite struck by what Fran said near the middle of the clip, something like "The best modelmaker in the world is @Darius43 and we have him locked in a basement in China".

Also funny to hear that there was outrage over the Ruston 88D not being " big" enough for their first O Gauge loco! I missed the outrage, but do have one pre-ordered via Hatton's, again to do my bit for the longer term future of the Irish market.

 

[John-r]

So you got a purple one DJ, I'm really on the fence about this livery, but it looks so good, like yourself I try and support Accurascale  were I can, between themselves and IRM and hopefully the jeep making an appearance, the future looks good

[jhb171achill]

1 hour ago, John-r said:

So you got a purple one DJ, I'm really on the fence about this livery, but it looks so good, like yourself I try and support Accurascale  were I can, between themselves and IRM and hopefully the jeep making an appearance, the future looks good

BR blue is the only show in town for this yoke, as far as I'd be concerned! Indeed, the only show in town for most British stuff.........

[DJ Dangerous]

On 18/11/2023 at 11:44 PM, John-r said:

So you got a purple one DJ, I'm really on the fence about this livery, but it looks so good, like yourself I try and support Accurascale  were I can, between themselves and IRM and hopefully the jeep making an appearance, the future looks good

 

Yeah, the purple just looks fab! Don't think it's very useful from a prototypical standpoint, but every time I say something like that to myself, I then challenge myself with the following question: How long would a prototypical TLC be if scaled-up?

 

On 19/11/2023 at 1:16 AM, jhb171achill said:

BR blue is the only show in town for this yoke, as far as I'd be concerned! Indeed, the only show in town for most British stuff.........

 

Oh come on, Intercity Swallow (Hello Irish Enterprise, we know who you copied!) and NSE are also delightful!

[BosKonay]

On 18/11/2023 at 4:58 PM, Gabhal Luimnigh said:

Interesting comment from Fran when he said that the Irish oo gauge market is barely viable, I hope it stays viable enough to keep us fed, can't be easy though!

To be honest IRM has been loss making since day 1 lol. 

[Gabhal Luimnigh]

1 hour ago, BosKonay said:

To be honest IRM has been loss making since day 1 lol. 

[Westcorkrailway]

4 hours ago, BosKonay said:

To be honest IRM has been loss making since day 1 lol. 

Not entirely suprising tbh. As ye guys have said time and time again. Accurascale carry’s the buisness majorly. Let’s hope that IRM can continue to not loose so much money it becomes unjustifiable…

 

Because if Todd andrews was in in charge….lol 

Edited November 20, 2023 by Westcorkrailway

[Ironroad]

"He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named"

[Horsetan]

On 20/11/2023 at 8:59 AM, BosKonay said:

To be honest IRM has been loss making since day 1 lol. 

Not a surprise. The real profit in IRM comes for those who snap the new stock up and then flip it on for twice or three times the RRP.

Edited November 22, 2023 by Horsetan

[DJ Dangerous]

57 minutes ago, Horsetan said:

Not a surprise. The real profit in IRM comes for those who snap the new stock up and then flip it on for twice or three times the RRP.

 

I'm actually BosKonay, this is my second account...

So, you wanna buy an A Class for €400 to re-wheel?

I know a man, with a container, at IRM Towers.

[Patrick Davey]

So the Bangor show is coming up.  I wonder might there be any announcements which would have relevance to this thread………

Edited February 4 by Patrick Davey

[Patrick Davey]

Time to give this one some traction again....... only because over on the Railway Modellers Ireland Facebook group, Fran revealed that there would be an 'all-new' IRM announcement in the next few weeks.  The Bangor show is approaching so could it be timed to coincide, could it be a long-awaited steam announcement (aren't there actually at least two of these?) and might there be a northern connection (surely a BCDR connection is too much to hope for )?

I'm still thinking one of the steam announcements will be RPSI-related.....

No active countdown widget on the IRM site at the moment......

 

Edited February 28 by Patrick Davey

[Horsetan]

19 hours ago, Patrick Davey said:

....I'm still thinking one of the steam announcements will be RPSI-related...........

Guinness saddle tank.

[jhb171achill]

On 28/2/2024 at 6:59 PM, Horsetan said:

Guinness saddle tank.

I'd be happy enough with the Guinness............

[jhb171achill]

Gotta be a Jeep

[Horsetan]

On 5/3/2024 at 12:01 AM, jhb171achill said:

I'd be happy enough with the Guinness............

 

[Darius43]

And for “afters”…

Cheers

Darius

[Horsetan]

32 minutes ago, Darius43 said:

And for “afters”…

 

Don't forget to sprinkle some Mr. Curry curry powder over it

[Darius43]

…and brew a pot of Punjana ️ 

[leslie10646]

Right, now that I've almost finished packing stuff for Bangor, apart from a few boxes of books - I have time to make mischief.

I've just looked at the IRM website.

With a week to go to the Bangor Exhibition, I see no sign of a "Count down" to the steam loco announcement.

Put us out of our misery - even if it's two years away!

[DJ Dangerous]

9 hours ago, Darius43 said:

…and brew a pot of Punjana ️ 

 

I'm picking Punjanaaaa...

That's picking the finest tea!

[jhb171achill]

On 16/3/2024 at 1:12 AM, DJ Dangerous said:

 

I'm picking Punjanaaaa...

That's picking the finest tea!

There's the clue. What steam loco hauled Punjana containers?

(Gotta be a jeep or a midland something)

[meathdane]

Is it safe to say Bangor was a bust for a IRM steam announcement? Or are they holding out for a Sunday surprise?

[Patrick Davey]

3 hours ago, meathdane said:

Is it safe to say Bangor was a bust for a IRM steam announcement? Or are they holding out for a Sunday surprise?

Unlikely, as the lads aren't there this year, feels unusual not seeing the IRM stand!

 

[Noel]

Funny by chance I just pre-ordered an AS pannier tank with DCC sound

[DJ Dangerous]

Much as I WANT it to be an 800, or a Merlin, this quote from @Garfield has me swinging more towards a WT:

 

On 24/8/2013 at 12:04 PM, Garfield said:

Spoil wagons... used in the construction of a road (M1? Can't remember right now...). Rakes of them were topped and tailed by WT class dream locos (Jeeps), which by that stage were the last steam engines in use on any mainline in the UK or Ireland.

 

 

Something to haul those beautiful RPSI Cravens sets and Mk2 sets:

https://www.steamtrainsireland.com/rpsi-collection/4/no4

[jhb171achill]

1 hour ago, DJ Dangerous said:

Much as I WANT it to be an 800, or a Merlin, this quote from @Garfield has me swinging more towards a WT:

 

 

Something to haul those beautiful RPSI Cravens sets and Mk2 sets:

https://www.steamtrainsireland.com/rpsi-collection/4/no4

At some stage, you'd expect a "Jeep" to be a good candidate for a RTR loco.... not a favourite type of mine by any means, but I'd feel compelled to get a couple!

On 15/3/2024 at 2:43 PM, Darius43 said:

And for “afters”…

Cheers

Darius

I hope this is an AI image! Crisps and chocolate seems to me to be a bit like broccoli with raspberry jam, or coffee cake with jalapenos.....  or bread with fish and germolene.......

[Colin R]

A lot has happen in a few months, but personally I would not mind seeing an OOn3 loco on 12mm track what with both 009 becoming popular and Hornby now producing their TT system I wonder if it might be a good time to think about this.

For may sins I would suggest an Industrial 4wheel deisel; based on those of the Bord na Mona or if you want to the various Donegal and West Clare Railcars as for locos why not include the West Clare Bo-Bo deisels, Ok not everyones favorite and it may not be suitable, but If I knew it was going to be done then I would order three of them.

The thing is for 00n3 you need a reliable motot bogie and if the design can be used for other tt scale models, us OOn3 modellers can benifit so be it.

As for OOn3 steam locos as i see it you have three Irish size locos, tramway locos such as the Cork and Muskerry them middle ground Tralee and Dingle/ Cavan & Leitrim, then the larger stuff of West Clare, Donegal, Swilly and also the Ballymena and Ballycastle lines.

What I didn't include in this are two other scale gauges:-

1st HOm meter gauge French and German lines.

2nd HOm or what ever the Americans currently call it HO 3ft gauge.

I am not sure just how big these markets really are but it might be worth taking a look to find out and see if there is any commanality that could be involved.

As for developing N gauge most 009 modellers crave chassis's for their kits, mainly steam 0-4-0 or an 0-6-0 would be a good thing if you are looking at numbers.

Just to rap this all up, I don't know if any of the above is commercial viable or not since I am not in the model manufacturing game, but there again that my two pennies worth.

Regards

Colin Rainsbury

[jhb171achill]

39 minutes ago, Colin R said:

A lot has happen in a few months, but personally I would not mind seeing an OOn3 loco on 12mm track what with both 009 becoming popular and Hornby now producing their TT system I wonder if it might be a good time to think about this.

For may sins I would suggest an Industrial 4wheel deisel; based on those of the Bord na Mona or if you want to the various Donegal and West Clare Railcars as for locos why not include the West Clare Bo-Bo deisels, Ok not everyones favorite and it may not be suitable, but If I knew it was going to be done then I would order three of them.

The thing is for 00n3 you need a reliable motot bogie and if the design can be used for other tt scale models, us OOn3 modellers can benifit so be it.

As for OOn3 steam locos as i see it you have three Irish size locos, tramway locos such as the Cork and Muskerry them middle ground Tralee and Dingle/ Cavan & Leitrim, then the larger stuff of West Clare, Donegal, Swilly and also the Ballymena and Ballycastle lines.

What I didn't include in this are two other scale gauges:-

1st HOm meter gauge French and German lines.

2nd HOm or what ever the Americans currently call it HO 3ft gauge.

I am not sure just how big these markets really are but it might be worth taking a look to find out and see if there is any commanality that could be involved.

As for developing N gauge most 009 modellers crave chassis's for their kits, mainly steam 0-4-0 or an 0-6-0 would be a good thing if you are looking at numbers.

Just to rap this all up, I don't know if any of the above is commercial viable or not since I am not in the model manufacturing game, but there again that my two pennies worth.

Regards

Colin Rainsbury

I suspect lack of commercial viability would be the case here, but RTR Isle of Man tanks, Tralee 2.6.0Ts, or Donegal 5As, plus Walker railcars (West Clare / CDR / IOM) would certainly give a boost to 00n3 modelling, I am sure.

[Mayner]

9 hours ago, jhb171achill said:

I suspect lack of commercial viability would be the case here, but RTR Isle of Man tanks, Tralee 2.6.0Ts, or Donegal 5As, plus Walker railcars (West Clare / CDR / IOM) would certainly give a boost to 00n3 modelling, I am sure.

OOn3 never reached the same level of popularity among British/European modellers as OO9/HOe, I remember speaking to Pete McParlin of Branchlines many years ago sales of his Irish OOn3 kits were disappointing and he shifted focus to more profitable OO9 kits mainly Welsh prototype. While Bachmann and Heljan have introduced high quality rtr 009 models

No one appears to be prepared to 'test the market" with rtr IOMR 3' gauge locos and stock, let alone an Irish prototype

Suitable 12mm track and point systems have not been a problem for many years Bemo, Tilling and more recently Peco have produced HOm track and points systems which would be suitable for the Irish 3'.

American 3' gauge is modelled in HO as HOn3 on 10.5mm gauge track. Colorado Narrow Gauge tends to pre-dominate locos tended to be imported brass models from Japan or Korea or recently high end  DCC sound equipped die-cast models from Blackstone https://www.blackstonemodels.com/index.php

Potentially looking at $4-500USD for a setam loco.

In the larger scales Accuracraft UK announced a 1:20.3 scale live steam or electric model on a C&L 4-4-0T about 6 years ago but does not seem to have progressed to the manufacturing stage.

[Colin R]

16 hours ago, Mayner said:

OOn3 never reached the same level of popularity among British/European modellers as OO9/HOe, I remember speaking to Pete McParlin of Branchlines many years ago sales of his Irish OOn3 kits were disappointing and he shifted focus to more profitable OO9 kits mainly Welsh prototype. While Bachmann and Heljan have introduced high quality rtr 009 models

No one appears to be prepared to 'test the market" with rtr IOMR 3' gauge locos and stock, let alone an Irish prototype

Suitable 12mm track and point systems have not been a problem for many years Bemo, Tilling and more recently Peco have produced HOm track and points systems which would be suitable for the Irish 3'.

American 3' gauge is modelled in HO as HOn3 on 10.5mm gauge track. Colorado Narrow Gauge tends to pre-dominate locos tended to be imported brass models from Japan or Korea or recently high end  DCC sound equipped die-cast models from Blackstone https://www.blackstonemodels.com/index.php

Potentially looking at $4-500USD for a setam loco.

In the larger scales Accuracraft UK announced a 1:20.3 scale live steam or electric model on a C&L 4-4-0T about 6 years ago but does not seem to have progressed to the manufacturing stage.

Hi John I do agree with you over all of this. I guess the only way this will take off is if someone were to go down the kiddy toy route and produce a very cheap 12mm gauge fund toy train set which has to be very cheap

[David Holman]

There is no doubt that railway modellers have never had it so good in terms of the sheer range of stuff now available. Trouble is, there more we have, the more we want! 

 Certainly do not blame anyone for this, because if I was starting again, I'd be going along the route of ready to run for locos and stock, but enjoy being creative with buildings and scenery because the quality is so good.

 Or would I? 

 Returning to the hobby after pushing up the value of brewery shares, chasing girls and eventually settling down to married life, I found I already wanted something more than just opening the boxes. My route was to go EM gauge right from the start because I reasoned the extra effort would limit my spending (not sure about that!), though the one bit of discipline I have applied over the years is only to build one thing at a time, with no drawers or cupboards full of unmade kits. Gradually developing my experience and skills I eventually gained the confidence to build my own stuff. The process isn't quick, but eventually you realise that if there isn't something available that you want, you can, with effort and a few rude words, make it yourself.

 It can be annoying when, soon after scratchbuilding a model, one appears rtr - in my case a 7mm W&M railcar - but hey, I still had the satisfaction of building my own.

 Indeed, were I able to start again, knowing what I know now, then S gauge would be my route, being an ideal size between 4mm and 7mm scale, with a wonderfully quirky track gauge of 63/64ths of an inch for 5'3. 

 What am I wittering on about? I suppose if you really want something, sometimes you have to do it yourself. On the other hand, when there are so many tempting things out there, why not enjoy them if you can?

[DJ Dangerous]

1 hour ago, David Holman said:

Returning to the hobby after pushing up the value of brewery shares, chasing girls and eventually settling down to married life, I found I already wanted something more than just opening the boxes. My route was to go EM gauge right from the start because I reasoned the extra effort would limit my spending (not sure about that!), though the one bit of discipline I have applied over the years is only to build one thing at a time, with no drawers or cupboards full of unmade kits. Gradually developing my experience and skills I eventually gained the confidence to build my own stuff. The process isn't quick, but eventually you realise that if there isn't something available that you want, you can, with effort and a few rude words, make it yourself.

Indeed, were I able to start again, knowing what I know now, then S gauge would be my route, being an ideal size between 4mm and 7mm scale, with a wonderfully quirky track gauge of 63/64ths of an inch for 5'3.

 

1:64, the scale of Hot Wheels and the scale of kings! Yes, S Gauge would definitely be nice!

An interesting point that you raise is the age / life / work demographic that we all slot into, and how that affects what we can / will do.

Personally, I hardly even have time to run trains, never mind think about kits and stuff, and I suspect that a decent enough portion of the fanbase are in a similar position.

When I was fifteen, I was hacking together bits of cardboard and plastic, spraying HO containers into CIE-ish orange, repainting Matchbox trucks etc, but that all went by the wayside as soon as I turned sixteen and started working while still in school.

And, sadly, it's all still on hold, so many decades later.

Maybe that's partially why the whole RTR thing seems so amazing to me. IRM and MM, along with a few other sharp tacks, offer something that I can enjoy straight out of the box, even if it's only to marvel at how it looks.

Twenty odd years ago, the whole Irish RTR thing seemed like pie in the sky, but now, to be anticipating a RTR Irish steam loco, after seeing first-hand how lovely the Manors are, is kind of like a light at the end of the tunnel, another milestone for IRM, and a dream come true for us workaholic idiots.

[David Holman]

Interesting editorial from Karl Crowther in the latest Model Railway Journal. Musing on the future of the hobby, he wonders whether the quality of ready to run models these days "makes the question of gauge superfluous".

 Coming from a magazine that, over the course of 300+ issues, has always been a champion of fine scale modelling (EM, P4 etc), that is quite something. 

 Suspect the mailbag in the next issue could be bulging with protests, but food for thought maybe?

 Back in the day, RM editor Cyril Freezer once said that you can't count the spokes on loco driving wheels when they are going round. Mind you, he also once wrote that you don't notice a lack of scenery if you are running an intensive service. Less sure about that one...