Warbonnet Posted October 25 Share Posted October 25 Another long overdue project update is finally here, and thankfully it's much more positive as we get to reveal decorated samples of our hotly anticipated Park Royal coaches! Firstly, we shall let the images do the talking, as a splash of colour adorns these splendid vehicles. Arriving just in time for the MRSI October Bank Holiday Weekend show in Dublin, we have received decorated samples in green with silver underframe, CIE classic "Black and Tan" livery of orange and black, and IR Orange and Black livery of post 1987 with white pin stripes, the final livery they wore in squadron service with Irish rail. We are delighted to see colour on these models, so we can get a real feel for the coaches and the progression of the coaches. We still have work to do though! When the first engineering samples arrived, we noted that the bogies had been incorrectly moulded in the wrong type of plastic, which would cause significant operational issues and a high failure rate as it is difficult to glue. Thankfully, this has now been sorted, and the iconic commonwealth bogies, a signature of so many Irish coaches from this period, look and perform superbly. Paint coverage needs to be and will be improved and some of the colours will be tweaked before production, along with a general improvement in build quality, but that is typical of samples at this stage. Once this issues are resolved we will progress to production. The revised delivery date of these models is now mid-2025. Drop by our stand this weekend and take a closer look at these beauties. If you have experienced our Mark 2 coaches, then you know how special these are going to be! We still have a limited supply of Park Royals available for pre-order. To add some to your collection, place your pre-order below! Pre-Order Your Park Royal Coaches Here! View the full article 10 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgeconna Posted October 25 Share Posted October 25 Now these are smoking....Well done lads. 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Dangerous Posted October 25 Share Posted October 25 They look stunning! WOW! Just imagine a few of those mixed in with some Cravens! Also relieved that the expected arrival date is pushed back a bit, as it's been an expensive year so far, with H Vans and Grain Wagons still to pay for... And possibly a loco launch to budget for! 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flying Snail Posted October 25 Share Posted October 25 Fabulous - looking forward to seeing these in Clontarf! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Davey Posted October 25 Share Posted October 25 Gulp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgeconna Posted October 25 Share Posted October 25 2 hours ago, DJ Dangerous said: They look stunning! WOW! Just imagine a few of those mixed in with some Cravens! Also relieved that the expected arrival date is pushed back a bit, as it's been an expensive year so far, with H Vans and Grain Wagons still to pay for... And possibly a loco launch to budget for! yep, have the PR paid, just the other Vans now next. Think I am all about coached out max wise now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mphoey Posted October 25 Share Posted October 25 they look spot on so looking forward to them arriving 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil3150 Posted October 25 Share Posted October 25 So where would these suburban coaches have been running in 1967 please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted Sunday at 23:51 Share Posted Sunday at 23:51 On 25/10/2024 at 11:00 AM, Warbonnet said: .... the iconic commonwealth bogies, a signature of so many Irish coaches from this period, look and perform superbly.... Will the bogies be available separately, like the Mk2s? There'll be some who'll want more accurate bogies to go under their IFM coaches, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flange lubricator Posted Monday at 08:49 Share Posted Monday at 08:49 On 25/10/2024 at 9:47 PM, Phil3150 said: So where would these suburban coaches have been running in 1967 please? Yes they were running all over the system at that time . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhb171achill Posted Tuesday at 16:44 Share Posted Tuesday at 16:44 (edited) On 25/10/2024 at 8:47 PM, Phil3150 said: So where would these suburban coaches have been running in 1967 please? Yes, they would. By that stage few if any would still be green - most if not all in black’n’tan. They were still about in ‘77 too, and some weren’t far off making it to ‘87! Park Royals of all varieties had a thirty year span 1955-86 in main service, but in addition a small number, chiefly used in late days (when they got the mid-body stripe) formed the Limerick to Rosslare set until the early 1990s. So a handful of them had an almost 40-year life. Plus, in later years, main line and suburban types were indiscriminately mixed on all services. The green livery only 1955-62. 1962-mid/late 70s, increasingly black’n’tan, with green becoming fewer each year. After approx 1967/8, no more in green. Edited Tuesday at 16:44 by jhb171achill 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Davey Posted Tuesday at 21:30 Share Posted Tuesday at 21:30 They looked fantastic at the show!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mayner Posted Tuesday at 22:52 Share Posted Tuesday at 22:52 (edited) The Park Royals were banned from Heuston based Intercity services because of inadequate crashworthyness around 87 but continued in used on suburban, branch and secondary main line services until replaced by more modern stock in the late 80s possibly early 90s. Dublin-Drogheda suburban services were worked by Park Royal coaches (rake 4-5 coaches + genny van) until replaced with the MK3 Push-Pull sets. I took the train to Drogheda in 89 or 90 hoping to travel in a Push-Pull set but found the Park Royals were still in use. Apart from Waterford-Limerick and the Nenagh Branch, Cork-Tralee trains were also worked by 'refurbished' Park Royals, I travelled from Mallow-Killarney in a Park-Royal set on a Cork-Tralee working during my summer holidays in 88 or 89. The interior was repainted and the upholstery replaced on the 'refurbished' Park Royals resulting in a clean though quite Spartan interior. Its possible the introduction on the 'International Train' and MK2AC stock allowed IE to 'cascade' some Craven stock from Intercity to suburban, branch and secondary services allowing the Park Royals to be finally retired. My longest journey in a Park Royal possibly suburban coach was in 77-78 Heuston-Westport on a packed train otherwise made up of Cravens and the mandatory early 1950s Buffet Car. Train was hauled by a 121-141 combo 071s had not yet entered service. The coach ran quite smoothly at speed apart from some alarming jolts on poorly aligned railjoints near Roscommon Edited Tuesday at 22:55 by Mayner 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhb171achill Posted Wednesday at 18:39 Share Posted Wednesday at 18:39 19 hours ago, Mayner said: ……… continued in used on suburban, branch and secondary main line services until replaced by more modern stock in the late 80s possibly early 90s. I think the VERY last two in use (in Limerick - Waterford) were retired in 1994, though of course most were long gone by then. Comparatively very few survived long enough to get the waistline stripe. I wonder how many were actually still in traffic after this was introduced in late ‘87 - can’t have been many. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ttc0169 Posted Wednesday at 19:11 Share Posted Wednesday at 19:11 26 minutes ago, jhb171achill said: I think the VERY last two in use (in Limerick - Waterford) were retired in 1994, though of course most were long gone by then. Comparatively very few survived long enough to get the waistline stripe. I wonder how many were actually still in traffic after this was introduced in late ‘87 - can’t have been many. Ballina branch trains had refurbished Park Royal’s until they were replaced by Cravens in 1994. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niles Posted Wednesday at 19:18 Share Posted Wednesday at 19:18 (edited) As far as I know 1944 (preserved at Downpatrick) came straight off the last Limerick-Waterford set, with the other two from it, 1400 and 1946, going straight to Clonakility Model Railway Village. In fact she very briefly operated at Downpatrick in IR livery before sidelined for restoration, emerging in 2018 in original 1950s dark green (which some did carry, we have photos to prove it, before I'm shot!). There's a photo somewhere on the interweb of 1944 being hauled to Dublin after. Edited Wednesday at 19:20 by Niles 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhb171achill Posted Wednesday at 19:22 Share Posted Wednesday at 19:22 3 minutes ago, Niles said: As far as I know 1944 (preserved at Downpatrick) came straight off the last Limerick-Waterford set, with the other two from it, 1400 and 1946, going straight to Clonakility Model Railway Village. In fact she very briefly operated at Downpatrick in IR livery before sidelined for restoration, emerging in 2018 in original 1950s dark green (which some did carry, we have photos to prove it, before I'm shot!). There's a photo somewhere on the interweb of 1944 being hauled to Dublin after. Correct. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.png.c363cdf5c3fb7955cd92a55eb6dbbae0.png){kind=logo}
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.