Irish Royalty - Park Royal Coach Next For IRM

[MOGUL]

2 hours ago, Horsetan said:

That's the one that's been sent out first to me. The green one follows after that and, hopefully, there'll be a payment reminder for the Hunslet soon.

I suspect parts 42, 43 and 61 will be much in demand for 21mm gauge rewheeling and other types of coach....

Payment reminders went out about a week ago before the stock arrived. If you haven't received one your best option is to contact us on the usual Accurascale support channels and the team can email you over an invoice

[Horsetan]

17 minutes ago, Mol_PMB said:

I've just had a shipment notification for 101, 1383 and 1387. 

Still waiting for the other two. My orders are three separate ones, rather than a unified one.

[Horsetan]

22 minutes ago, MOGUL said:

Payment reminders went out about a week ago before the stock arrived. If you haven't received one your best option is to contact us on the usual Accurascale support channels and the team can email you over an invoice

E-mail duly sent.

[Crossley]

6 hours ago, MOGUL said:

Payment reminders went out about a week ago before the stock arrived. If you haven't received one your best option is to contact us on the usual Accurascale support channels and the team can email you over an invoice

I made the payment back in October , surely I do not have to get in contact to remind .

[BosKonay]

38 minutes ago, Crossley said:

I made the payment back in October , surely I do not have to get in contact to remind .

If you’re paid and all looks well in your account you should get confirmation of dispatch and tracking details in the comings days!

[Horsetan]

7 hours ago, Horsetan said:

Still waiting for the other two. My orders are three separate ones, rather than a unified one.

Second coach is now in post....

[jhb171achill]

Got my notification today. It'll be interesting to compare them with the two IFM ones I already have.

[leslie10646]

See that you put piccies up, @jhb171achill - I have three IFM ones and don't want to buy more if they look massively different - but a Snack car might be nice to have .......

[Mayner]

I ordered two Park Royals. First one pre-order with IRM a couple of years ago & a second through Accurascale when the Palvans went on pre-order earlier this year.

Yesterday (Friday this part of the World) received notification that both orders had been shipped. 

Original IRM order via Royal Mail, Accurascale order by DHL delivery expected 9 June. 

[Patrick Davey]

My two are on the way - unfortunately I won’t be there when they arrive.  Hate when work gets in the way of the important stuff. 

[Darius43]

Snack car delivered today.

Cheers

Darius

[DJ Dangerous]

Park Royals looking stunning!

Received notification that my order was being prepared the other day, so hopefully have it in the next few weeks.

[Mol_PMB]

Spot the differences! One fresh out of the box, the other one now no longer eligible for its lifetime warranty:

 

[Darius43]

Cheers

Darius

[DJ Dangerous]

On reading the following post in THIS thread:

 

17 hours ago, Mol_PMB said:

On the IRM photos of these models I'd been thinking that something didn't look quite right, and it took me a while to realise that you could see right through the vestibule area. IRM have modelled the longitudinal seats in the vestibule, but have fitted shorter seat backs (compared to those in the saloon) so they don't block the windows. But they should block the windows! Photo from Ernie here, when new:

And from Neil Smith, in the late 1980s:

It's odd that IRM have gone to the effort of fitting some absolutely beautiful luggage racks above the windows in a position where they are almost impossible to see from any angle, and yet have omitted the vestibule seat backs. 

Fortunately it's easy to shape and paint some bits of plasticard to resolve the issue. I stuck them inside the bodyshell to ensure the positioning was correct relative to the window openings - make sure they don't foul the top of the moulded seats. This is a cruel close-up but shows my first attempt:

Here's a comparison of a modified coach and an unmodified one:

 

One thing I have not addressed on this model is the roof detailing. I might correct that on one of the green ones where I will need to repaint the roof.

I have also not yet tried to remove any of the glazing, and looking at the quantity and placing of the glue I think this will be impossible without breakage. It will require some tedious masking for the coach I plan to repaint entirely. 

 

It got me wondering about the internal floor plans, and how they’d have been modified over the years?

Would there have been many changes?

Would there have been many individual curiosities or would changes have been kind of uniform?

Or wouid modificatons have been route-specific?

[Georgeconna]

On 7/6/2026 at 2:51 PM, Mol_PMB said:

Spot the differences! One fresh out of the box, the other one now no longer eligible for its lifetime warranty:

 

just read the thread, I would not have known myself!

Edited June 10 by Georgeconna

[Mol_PMB]

6 minutes ago, DJ Dangerous said:

On reading the following post in THIS thread:

 

 

It got me wondering about the internal floor plans, and how they’d have been modified over the years?

Would there have been many changes?

Would there have been many individual curiosities or would changes have been kind of uniform?

Or wouid modificatons have been route-specific?

It's a very complex story!

As built there were 2 variants, suburban with 82 seats (12 of which were in the vestibules) and main line with 70 seats (toilets in both vestibules, no seats there). Then...

• Two were converted by 1957 for the W&T, one with 97 high-density bus seats, the other was a driving trailer, with a large van area for prams.
• Two were converted to ambulance coaches in 1966, one of these had been the driving trailer.
• In 1968 six were converted to snack cars.

In the 1980s, there was a comprehensive rebuilding programme including asbestos removal, which involved stripping them right back to a shell and some re-panelling. As part of this programme, the ambulance coaches and snack cars were converted back to 'normal' vehicles although in some cases their origins could be detected. However, this rebuilding programme did not produce a 'standardised' fleet as there were many variations:

• Some retained the original suburban layout, 82 seats.
• Some acquired a toilet in one vestibule but not the other, with 76 seats.
• Others had a different toilet arrangement, with 3 seats opposite the toilet. These had 79 seats.
• Some which had previously been fitted with toilets had them removed.
• Some were fitted with a small guard's compartment in one vestibule. Some of these are listed with 76 seats, others with only 60 seats, suggesting that there were two variants.

So it's very complex, and any present-day survivors have been through a major rebuild at some stage.

 

 

 

[DJ Dangerous]

4 minutes ago, Mol_PMB said:

It's a very complex story!

As built there were 2 variants, suburban with 82 seats (12 of which were in the vestibules) and main line with 70 seats (toilets in both vestibules, no seats there). Then...

• Two were converted by 1957 for the W&T, one with 97 high-density bus seats, the other was a driving trailer, with a large van area for prams.
• Two were converted to ambulance coaches in 1966, one of these had been the driving trailer.
• In 1968 six were converted to snack cars.

In the 1980s, there was a comprehensive rebuilding programme including asbestos removal, which involved stripping them right back to a shell and some re-panelling. As part of this programme, the ambulance coaches and snack cars were converted back to 'normal' vehicles although in some cases their origins could be detected. However, this rebuilding programme did not produce a 'standardised' fleet as there were many variations:

• Some retained the original suburban layout, 82 seats.
• Some acquired a toilet in one vestibule but not the other, with 76 seats.
• Others had a different toilet arrangement, with 3 seats opposite the toilet. These had 79 seats.
• Some which had previously been fitted with toilets had them removed.
• Some were fitted with a small guard's compartment in one vestibule. Some of these are listed with 76 seats, others with only 60 seats, suggesting that there were two variants.

So it's very complex, and any present-day survivors have been through a major rebuild at some stage.

 

 

 

Wow, a lot of info and a lot of variety, thanks!

Is it possible that some had lower seat backs as per the models?

May have been a necessary manufacturing compromise to cater for both seated and unseated vestibules?

[Mol_PMB]

Just now, DJ Dangerous said:

Wow, a lot of info and a lot of variety, thanks!

Is it possible that some had lower seat backs as per the models?

May have been a necessary manufacturing compromise to cater for both seated and unseated vestibules?

As built, photos indicate that all the suburbans had the higher seat backs (the main line ones didn't have seats there, but had a toilet compartment).

After the 1980s total rebuilds, anything is possible. Most photos I have seen still show the high seat backs, but some may have been different. I posted a link to a Neil Smith image of two post-rebuild vehicles with the high seat backs in the vestibules. They had lost their portholes in the rebuild. 

 

Originally the Park Royals had 10 pairs of roof vents and lots of small roof panels.

The 1980s repanelling included re-skinning the roofs with larger panels, changing the number and position of the panel joints, and perhaps altering the vent arrangement. I'd be amazed if they all ended up the same. The IRM model may well be accurately based on one of the survivors.

[DJ Dangerous]

I’m sure more photos will pop up over time, showing coaches with and without taller seat backs at various stages.

Personally, it’s not that big an issue for me - once the buffers and bogies are wide enough, I’m happy, and from the various photos and videos people have posted so far, these look stunning!

[Mol_PMB]

6 minutes ago, DJ Dangerous said:

I’m sure more photos will pop up over time, showing coaches with and without taller seat backs at various stages.

Personally, it’s not that big an issue for me - once the buffers and bogies are wide enough, I’m happy, and from the various photos and videos people have posted so far, these look stunning!

They are stunning, and I wasn't intending to complain, more to illustrate how I backdated mine. Apart from regauging (which thankfully was relatively easy), the vestibule seat backs were the only physical modification I felt was necessary. 

I entirely understand that the biggest part of the market for these is the 1980s/1990s era, and the detail references have to be based on the survivors which are no longer quite the same as when they were first built.

[Patrick Davey]

Now that I have my two, I'm seriously tempted to get a 3rd but they are all still showing as sold out so presumably that's still because the pre-orders are being filled first?

Will check back each day!!

They are like chocolate caramel digestives......2 is hardly enough.....

[Mol_PMB]

3 minutes ago, Patrick Davey said:

Now that I have my two, I'm seriously tempted to get a 3rd but they are all still showing as sold out so presumably that's still because the pre-orders are being filled first?

Will check back each day!!

They are like chocolate caramel digestives......2 is hardly enough.....

Nearly half the variants were sold out before they reached the UK, but hopefully there are a few left for you. 

[west_clare_wanderer]

57 minutes ago, Patrick Davey said:

Now that I have my two, I'm seriously tempted to get a 3rd but they are all still showing as sold out so presumably that's still because the pre-orders are being filled first?

Will check back each day!!

They are like chocolate caramel digestives......2 is hardly enough.....

 

52 minutes ago, Mol_PMB said:

Nearly half the variants were sold out before they reached the UK, but hopefully there are a few left for you. 

 

I'm the same Patrick. Ordered one and quite fancied a second. I presumed that, as they are all showing as sold out, that was it and there would be no further stock (unless a second run was done one day). I am working on the basis that all sold out on preorder. 

 

PS - your digestives are safe. I prefer a hobnob! 

 

Edited June 8 by west_clare_wanderer
Spelling

[Mol_PMB]

4 minutes ago, west_clare_wanderer said:

 

 

I'm the same Patrick. Ordered one and quite fancied a second. I presumed that, as they are all showing as sold out, that was it and there would be no further stock (unless a second run was done one day). I am working on the basis that all sold out on preorder. 

 

PS - your digestives are safe. I prefer a hobnob! 

 

While they are dispatching pre-ordered stock, IRM/AS usually set all the models of that batch to show 'sold out'. There will probably be some that become available again once dispatch is complete. They may not have been sold out in the first place, and/or some people may not pay for their pre-order and those models then become available to others. So you still have a chance - just keep an eye on the website.

It is likely that there will be a run of the toilet-fitted main line variants in the future.

 

[west_clare_wanderer]

21 minutes ago, Mol_PMB said:

While they are dispatching pre-ordered stock, IRM/AS usually set all the models of that batch to show 'sold out'. There will probably be some that become available again once dispatch is complete. They may not have been sold out in the first place, and/or some people may not pay for their pre-order and those models then become available to others. So you still have a chance - just keep an eye on the website.

It is likely that there will be a run of the toilet-fitted main line variants in the future.

 

 

Thanks, that's useful. I'll have to keep my wits about me over the coming weeks!

[exciecoachbuilder]

3 hours ago, Mol_PMB said:

As built, photos indicate that all the suburbans had the higher seat backs (the main line ones didn't have seats there, but had a toilet compartment).

After the 1980s total rebuilds, anything is possible. Most photos I have seen still show the high seat backs, but some may have been different. I posted a link to a Neil Smith image of two post-rebuild vehicles with the high seat backs in the vestibules. They had lost their portholes in the rebuild. 

 

Originally the Park Royals had 10 pairs of roof vents and lots of small roof panels.

The 1980s repanelling included re-skinning the roofs with larger panels, changing the number and position of the panel joints, and perhaps altering the vent arrangement. I'd be amazed if they all ended up the same. The IRM model may well be accurately based on one of the survivors.

The roof panels were never changed. They had 8/ 10 inch straps riveted over the original roof panel joints. I have posted before that the original plan was to strip the complete coach. But cost, and time was a factor. So the powers that be, wanted new panels fitted over the existing panels. It was a bit of a Mickey mouse job to be honest, to get coaches back into traffic quickly. 

Paul..

[Horsetan]

3 hours ago, Patrick Davey said:

...They are like chocolate caramel digestives......2 is hardly enough.....

I only wanted the preserved examples, so two were quite enough.

Regauging is the important thing. 

[Metrovik]

MGWR j26 departs Tramore with the 13:00 to Manor street made up of a then new park royal bogie delivered mere weeks earlier and 2 6-wheelers of unknown origin, possibly MGWR. 

While never happened, it was nearly possible. 

[jhb171achill]

I wonder if the PRs were all repainted black’n’tan relatively sooner than other stock?

Of the few green coaches in my early memories, I’m pretty sure I never saw a green PR…..

 

Just now, Metrovik said:

MGWR j26 departs Tramore with the 13:00 to Manor street made up of a then new park royal bogie delivered mere weeks earlier and 2 6-wheelers of unknown origin, possibly MGWR. 

While never happened, it was nearly possible. 

Superb scene! 

(Nearest designs to those six-wheelers would be GSWR….!)

Is the loco a scratchbuild?

[Metrovik]

13 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

Superb scene! 

(Nearest designs to those six-wheelers would be GSWR….!)

Is the loco a scratchbuild?

It's actually an early test 3d print of one of @Bullet_Wanderers incredible files. It's static and unpainted, hence the black and white authenticity hiding the fact.

[Mol_PMB]

8 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

I wonder if the PRs were all repainted black’n’tan relatively sooner than other stock?

Of the few green coaches in my early memories, I’m pretty sure I never saw a green PR….

Having entered service in 1954-1956, mostly in brilliant green, they were due for repaint 6-7 years later, around 1960-62. A few were repainted in light green with black ends and roofs around 1959-60. In my thread on the early BnT livery (from September 1961 for just a few months) there are quite a few Park Royals, suggesting that they were going through the paint shop at that time. Most got the normal BnT in 1962/3. 

IRM haven't done any in the early BnT scheme but I have. 

I haven't yet received my green ones, and I'll make a judgement on the colour when they arrive. I think they are light green. I plan to backdate and repaint one in brilliant green which will provide an interesting contrast between those liveries.

One thing the light green ones with black ends are definitely missing is the class digits on the doors. And the dimension plates on the ends should be red. But again, an easy fix with transfers.

Two received a special BnT livery with advertising slogans along the cantrail. This is reported in contemporary journals and there's an IRRS photo of one of them. At present I have no plans to model this short-lived scheme.

[Horsetan]

Looks like the green one was delivered today.

[Mayner]

My two Acurrascale Park Royals arrived today one by DHL this morning on by Royal Mail International Tracked this afternoon! Both shipped from James & James Fulfilment on 4 June! Quite an achievement 6 days Northampton to the Waikato by RM International , currently NZ Post investigations are struggling to trace an important document I sent by Courier to Ireland nearly 3 weeks ago.

Was charged a recently introduced "Low Value Regulatory Tax" (goods less than $1000NZ in value) on the DHL shipment but no customs charges on the Royal Mail shipment. The new tax appears similar to Trumps 2025  ending of De Minimis exemption for 'low value" goods to enter the country free exempt from duty and import tax. The new tax does not appear (at this stage anyway) to apply to goods arriving by post. 

Can't complain the new tax amounted to $2.21 on an order of over $500, no import tax or DHL clearing fee charged. Several years ago when I went through a phase pase of buying Large Scale locos and stock, was charged 5% import duty, 15% GST (VAT) + clearance and bio security fees &approx ($40) on shipments of over $1,000 in value.

 

[Flying Snail]

3 hours ago, Mayner said:

Was charged a recently introduced "Low Value Regulatory Tax" (goods less than $1000NZ in value) on the DHL shipment but no customs charges on the Royal Mail shipment. The new tax appears similar to Trumps 2025  ending of De Minimis exemption for 'low value" goods to enter the country free exempt from duty and import tax. The new tax does not appear (at this stage anyway) to apply to goods arriving by post. 

 

Similar taxes on low value items from outside the EU are being implemented in Ireland (and across the EU) too. From July theres a €3 plus VAT charge on each individual item in parcels worth below €150 coming from outside the EU to Ireland (and that includes from the UK  ) https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2026/0609/1576806-online-shopping-customs-duties-ireland-eu-regulations/

Edited June 9 by Flying Snail