Jump to content

IRM Bakes Some Danish Delights As We Team Up With Heljan To Deliver Oil Tankers

Rate this topic


Recommended Posts

Posted

We love a good collaboration here at IRM, and we are delighted to team up with our Danish friends at Heljan to bring you a run of the former BR Oil tankers bought by CIE in the late 1960s and modified for Irish operations. 

Esso_Tank_19_600x600.jpg?v=1732795279

Synonymous on the "Sligo Oil" trains, these B Class tank wagons were modified with additional bracing between the tank barrel and chassis which we have tooled up to make these authentic for the Irish variants of these distinct wagons.

Esso_Tank_20_600x600.jpg?v=1732795316

Operating in block trains until 2003, and as part of the Sligo liner for a couple more years, the Sligo oil train operated from North Wall to Sligo at a steady pace of just 35 miles per hour.

To replicate these workings, we have commissioned Heljan to produce 3 packs of four wagons for the Esso train in block formation.

Esso_Tank_22_600x600.jpg?v=1732795377

 

Using photos and other historical data, we have developed a block train formation of these characterful wagons, so you can replicate these iconic workings that were very much an everyday scene of Irish railfreight for many, many years. Coming in 3 packs of 4 wagons, there are 12 differently numbered tankers available in this strictly limited, one off run. Each pack is priced at €169.99 per 4 wagons with 10% off when you buy two or more. As these are a commission from Heljan, they are only available direct via the IRM and Accurascale website.

The tank wagons are now manufactured and will be in stock with us in Q1 2025. Pre-order yours today via the link below!

Pre-order Your Esso Tank Wagons Here!

View the full article

  • Like 12
  • WOW! 5
Posted (edited)

Brilliant news lovely wagons I have some of the Heljan ones and they are super detail . 
One minor point I think they are A class wagons with the longer barrel the B class were the shorter barrel running numbers 995 , 996, 997, 998 & 999 ?? 
I know the classification refers to the type of product carried and latterly the were all B class   

Edited by flange lubricator
  • Like 1
  • Informative 2
Posted

Apologies if this is already stated somewhere, but are these wagons readily convertible to 21 mm as per all other IRM rolling stock. This doesn't look to be the case from the photos, and I'm assuming Heljan only made cosmetic changes to a model they already produce?

  • Thanks 1
Posted
  On 4/12/2024 at 11:43 AM, Fiacra said:

Apologies if this is already stated somewhere, but are these wagons readily convertible to 21 mm as per all other IRM rolling stock. This doesn't look to be the case from the photos, and I'm assuming Heljan only made cosmetic changes to a model they already produce?

Expand  

The bracing between tank and chassis has been tooled up for this specific model, but no changes were made to the (British) chassis and wheel spacing. (and buffer heads)

Posted

For a shot of the Oil Train in action go to 3.10 on this video I took in Enfield back in the day when there was real action on the rails with semaphores, staff/handring exchanges, etc! 

 

  • Like 6
  • Agree 1
  • WOW! 1
Posted

Lovely looking wagons. I doubt many people expected a team up with Heljan! Facinating stuff. As the chassis will need to be cut to regauge, does anyone have a picture of the underside of a BR one?  It would help me assess how easy or difficult that task is likely to be.

Posted

I wonder will this collaboration with Heljan mean we might get the black liveried versions too🤔.... Here's hoping some day. I could consign all my dapol kit built ones to a siding .....

Posted
  On 4/12/2024 at 12:34 PM, murphaph said:

Lovely looking wagons. I doubt many people expected a team up with Heljan! Facinating stuff. As the chassis will need to be cut to regauge, does anyone have a picture of the underside of a BR one?  It would help me assess how easy or difficult that task is likely to be.

Expand  

Hi Phil,

Underside of the model:

EssoTank21.thumb.jpg.06644543e4060f3390a11db33df1c456.jpg

  On 4/12/2024 at 12:50 PM, DB JOE said:

I wonder will this collaboration with Heljan mean we might get the black liveried versions too🤔.... Here's hoping some day. I could consign all my dapol kit built ones to a siding .....

Expand  

Well Joe, if these sell well we can look to other runs in the future. The power is in the hands of the Irish model railway buying public!

Cheers!

Fran 

  • Like 5
  • Thanks 1
Posted
  On 4/12/2024 at 12:56 PM, Warbonnet said:

Hi Phil,

Underside of the model:

EssoTank21.thumb.jpg.06644543e4060f3390a11db33df1c456.jpg

Well Joe, if these sell well we can look to other runs in the future. The power is in the hands of the Irish model railway buying public!

Cheers!

Fran 

Expand  

Well I've done my bit and pre ordered one of each pack!!!

  • Like 1
Posted
  On 4/12/2024 at 1:16 PM, murphaph said:

Did they pass through Kildare on the way or were they routed via Mullingar?

Expand  

Northwall-Kildare-Portarlington-Athlone-Claremorris in later years up to 2003-could take the same route to Oranmore or via Mullingar-Athlone. 

Delighted-will definitely get a few packs-just need the two axle barrier wagon to compliment the tanks now😎

  • Like 2
  • Informative 2
Posted
  On 4/12/2024 at 1:37 PM, ttc0169 said:

Northwall-Kildare-Portarlington-Athlone-Claremorris in later years up to 2003-could take the same route to Oranmore or via Mullingar-Athlone. 

Delighted-will definitely get a few packs-just need the two axle barrier wagon to compliment the tanks now😎

Expand  

2003 was the end of the block train to Sligo, the wagons hung on till mid-2005 on liner trains to Claremorris(via Portarlington obviously) and Sligo.. @Maynerhas some nice shots of them tacked onto the back of a Claremorris liner on this thread 

 

Oranmore ended earlier, although I have yet to find an end date, possibly early 90s? Rails though the West has some nice pics of the Oranmore flow, including a picture of the empties returning to Dublin via the WRC, Mullingar and Athlone, but I don’t have a page number handy as it’s packed away with everything else at the moment.. 

Posted
  On 4/12/2024 at 2:08 PM, Wexford70 said:

How many of these would have been in a typical rake?

Has anyone any more photos of these in the modelled livery?

 

 

Expand  

18+ 2 barrier wagons -I’ll check my guards journal from that period to confirm numbers. 

  • Thanks 1
Posted (edited)

There are some photos in the IRRS archive, but will not be visible to the wider audience. For example:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53509330394

https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53509330399

https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53509328959

The hazard markings carried are 3YE 1270, which would indicate petrol. That would explain the Class A livery.

Edit, correction, thanks to @MOGUL. 1270 is heating oil/kerosene.

Edited by Mol_PMB
marked in text
  • Informative 1
Posted

Also, here are photos of the earlier (1970s) livery when the Esso logos were still carried, and before the extra reinforcements were added:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53527716615

https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53511632134

The only time I photographed them was around 1990 by which time the lettering was mostly in white rather than black:

Mullingar_EssoLiner

I think the tank colour was still the same mid-grey, under the grime. This is one of Ernie's photos dating from 1994 showing the white lettering variant when it was clean:

IR 1994-07-xx Sligo Goods station 121 + 141 class shunt loco fuel tank. Skigo Oil train on left , bagged cement right. ref249024

 

  • Like 3
Posted

Another interesting thing about these wagons they were the first wagons to carry “beware over overhead lines “ as they had been running on BR and when they arrived in Ireland in 1971 we had no lines with overhead wires, which didn’t happen until the Dart in 1979 . 

  • Like 3
  • Informative 1
Posted
  On 4/12/2024 at 2:42 PM, Wexford70 said:

I assume there were used in mixed freight also?

Expand  

Yes-with 7-10 wagons laden or empty

  On 4/12/2024 at 3:06 PM, Davenport said:

Anyone know what type of oil was carried ? Fuel oil, Lub oil ,HFO ??

Expand  

Home heating and diesel oil for the ESSO depot in Claremorris. 

  On 4/12/2024 at 3:35 PM, Mol_PMB said:

...and I've just found another one of my own from the early 2000s:

img651.thumb.jpg.39a4bbf99c2109e6a168bf39d4db2b82.jpg

Expand  

That’s the oil siding in Claremorris. 

  • Informative 3
Posted
  On 4/12/2024 at 4:04 PM, Edo said:

So they werent used on the Magnesite trains or the foynes coal and oil trains?

Expand  

There were many other oil tank wagons which looked superficially similar but were different in detail and dimensions.

  • Informative 1
Posted

I'm astonished at the amount of product spillage on the tank barrels. Drove an oil tanker for a number of years, both top and bottom loading and loading spillages would get you banned from oil terminals.

  • Like 1
Posted (edited)
  On 4/12/2024 at 3:19 PM, Mol_PMB said:

There are some photos in the IRRS archive, but will not be visible to the wider audience. For example:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53509330394

https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53509330399

https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53509328959

The hazard markings carried are 3YE 1270, which would indicate petrol. That would explain the Class A livery.

 

Expand  

UN1202 is diesel, UN1203 would be petrol and UN1270 is heating oil/kerosene.. 

They carried diesel and heating oil for most of their lives, but towards the end were confined to Kero/heating oil only, which may explain the end of the Sligo block train and it being replaced with blocks of tanks on the Sligo liner

Edited by MOGUL
  • Informative 2
Posted
  On 4/12/2024 at 4:30 PM, flange lubricator said:

No they were CIE wagons used on those trains , the 971-1013 wagons we different and owned by ESSO Teo , but operated and maintained by CIE / Irish Rail . 

Expand  

The magnesite used tank wagons, but the Foynes to Ballina Coal/Oil was actually 20ft tank containers on flat wagons

  • Like 1
  • Agree 1
Posted
  On 4/12/2024 at 4:41 PM, MOGUL said:

UN1202 is diesel, UN1203 would be petrol and UN1270 is heating oil/kerosene.. 

They carried diesel and heating oil for most of their lives, but towards the end were confined to Kero/heating oil only, which may explain the end of the Sligo block train and it being replaced with blocks of tanks on the Sligo liner

Expand  

I think as the wagons aged they were downgraded from Class A petrol to finally home heating oil Kerosene. 

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Use