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

[murphaph]

On 4/12/2024 at 8:48 PM, murphaph said:

Bullet bit. One of each set ordered. I'm sure I'll figure out a way to widen them  Are EU deliveries not free anymore or is that just a glitch? The order process says €7.50 delivery charges are due.

Just bumping this. If it's a glitch should it be corrected before payment is due?

[BosKonay]

17 minutes ago, murphaph said:

Just bumping this. If it's a glitch should it be corrected before payment is due?

Depending on order value there may be a small fee. We’ll check it out before the goods land. 

[murphaph]

Cheers Stephen. Previous order for 3 Hunslets has no delivery charge associated with it. This one for 3 packs of the oil tanks has the €7.50 charge. 

[DJ Dangerous]

1 hour ago, murphaph said:

Cheers Stephen. Previous order for 3 Hunslets has no delivery charge associated with it. This one for 3 packs of the oil tanks has the €7.50 charge. 

 

My Hunslet order also has free shipping, but my wagon order doesn't. Maybe the Hunslets were an exception and all have free postage.

[BosKonay]

1 hour ago, DJ Dangerous said:

 

My Hunslet order also has free shipping, but my wagon order doesn't. Maybe the Hunslets were an exception and all have free postage.

More a case of we are reviewing the rising cost of shipping while trying to keep the retail price of our models as low as feasible. 

[DJ Dangerous]

3 hours ago, BosKonay said:

More a case of we are reviewing the rising cost of shipping while trying to keep the retail price of our models as low as feasible. 

[seagoebox]

From the CIE rail-freight wagon book, drawing no 13...

[MOGUL]

1 hour ago, seagoebox said:

From the CIE rail-freight wagon book, drawing no 13...

Never seen a pic of one with that livery, only the Blue.. Was it different liveries for different fuel, or was the Blue a later livery does anyone know?

[Mayner]

1 hour ago, MOGUL said:

Never seen a pic of one with that livery, only the Blue.. Was it different liveries for different fuel, or was the Blue a later livery does anyone know?

Two wagons were introduced in red & white for petrol and four in blue for fuel oil traffic between the Burmah Tivoli and Limerick terminals. The red and white Burmah scheme appears to have been a variation of the red stripe on a silver or light grey tank tank barrel for hazard Class A (highly flammable liquids) tank wagons.  

2 hours ago, seagoebox said:

From the CIE rail-freight wagon book, drawing no 13...

Nice to see a page from the CIE Railfreight diagram book, I got to have a look at it a couple of times in the 70s. 

It would be great if the Diagram Book was made available throught the IRRS or published as it included both diagrams and photos of wagons, containers and swapbodies in service at the time.

The Burmah tank wagons were used for Mollasses traffic in the 1990s along with tank wagons originally introduced for Oil from Foynes to the Limerick and Drogheda cement factories during the 60s. Although on a similar 20T vac braked chassis the "Irish Cement" tank wagons appeared more conventional in design on a purpose built chassis the tanks having conventional anchor mountings.

Mollasses Tank wagons stored Foynes c:2000. 26638 possibly built for Cork-Ballinacourty oil traffic similar design to Burmah Class B tanks. 26570-26589 series tank car introduced for Oil traffic to Cement Factories 1966.

CIE Diagram Charles Roberts 1959 built ESSO Tank Wagon 970-1013.  Interestingly diagram notes that 995-999 are not in this group.998 appears to have been a "Jumbo: Bitumen wagon, While the majority of ESSO tank wagons had the long barrel that extends over both ends of the underframe (headstock) I saw at least 1 wagon with the shorter tank barrel modelled in the Airfix and Dapol kits during a visit to East Wall yard but was more interested in the older tank wagons stored/dumped in the yard at the time and did not take photos or numbers!

Edited December 8 by Mayner

[Rapid130RS]

@Mayner interesting and detailed post. 

Am curious: why 35mph? Would other wagons not have had issues at higher speeds? A 35mph limit seems drastic...how this would have affected schedules etc. 

 

[Mayner]

5 hours ago, Rapid130RS said:

@Mayner interesting and detailed post. 

Am curious: why 35mph? Would other wagons not have had issues at higher speeds? A 35mph limit seems drastic...how this would have affected schedules etc. 

 

The speed limit of the ESSO tank wagons appears to have been progressive reduced from 50 to 35mph in response to de-railments of empty ESSO tank wagons at Donamon & Moyvalley. 

Similar restrictions were imposed on other types of 4w wagon, I had a painting diagram of the 22'6" Flats used for Asahi Acrylonitrile traffic which indicates that the maximum speed was progressively reduced from 50 to 40 to 35mph. 

The effect on passenger train schedules would have been minimal as apart from the Cork Line trains speeds and frequency had not increased since the 1970s. On the Sligo and Mayo Lines the main issue was the easing of schedules due to an increasing number or speed restrictions as a result of deferred track maintenance from the late 70s onwards.

The down ESSO & Claremorris Liners tended tended to depart Dublin in the evening after the departure of evening Sligo & Heuston passenger services and return in the mornings in the quiet  period between morning arrivals from the provinces and early afternoon departures from Dublin.

Interestingly the Foynes-Ballina Asahi Oil & Coal trains (35mph 4w wagons) were scheduled to operate via the Nenagh branch  (when the Limerick-Claremorris line was out of service during the mid 1990s) rather than via Limerick Junction in order to avoid delaying up Cork line passenger trains scheduled to operate at up to 100mph. 

[Signal Post]

Roughly what time period would wagons in this livery have been used from? I see in some of the earlier photos on this thread that these wagons seem to have carried ESSO plates mounted on lugs when they first arrived, then later on without the plates (but with the lugs still present on the tanks) and finally with the lugs removed as per this model, just wondering when did they lose the plates and lugs or was it a very gradual process over the long lifetime of the wagons?

[Mayner]

15 hours ago, Signal Post said:

Roughly what time period would wagons in this livery have been used from? I see in some of the earlier photos on this thread that these wagons seem to have carried ESSO plates mounted on lugs when they first arrived, then later on without the plates (but with the lugs still present on the tanks) and finally with the lugs removed as per this model, just wondering when did they lose the plates and lugs or was it a very gradual process over the long lifetime of the wagons?

Livery wise the IRM ESSO tank wagons appear correct from Mid-1980s onwards with max speed of 35mph, addition of Hazchem markings are reflector stripes on tank ends & tanks with modified bracing

There are two Seanus Lattimir photos dated Aug 86  of 1003 in this condition at Mullingar the tank retaining lugs for the Esso shield in the IRRS Flickr collection. https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53509330394/in/album-72157661623942928

 

Interestingly there is a July 72 Tom Wall photo of an ex-works (possibly Chas Roberts) photo of 994 at Inchacore in as introduced condition with ESSO shield & electrification warning on a grey tank body & top of underframe original tank mounts, black underframe (incl buffers) red solebars and yellow roller bearing caps.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53511632134/in/album-72157661623942928

There is a Paddy O'Brien a Mar 74 photo of 998 and other tank wagons in this livery at Claremorris.

The ammended tank bracing appears to be a 1980s modification, there is a 1979 photo of the Oranmore-Claremorris oil train in JHB & Barry Carse 'Rails in the West" with the original tank bracing and withoutout reflective strips on the tank barrels.

Modifications including ammended tank bracking and ammendments to the tank barrel are likely to have been carried out on a phased bassis when wagons were undergoing scheduled heavy repairs in the Works. Some of the wagons may never have carried the ESSO logo or plate while in service in Ireland, there are several Paul Bartell photos of the wagons in service in the UK with lugs no logo or plate. ESSO tank barrels with lugs no plates were stored for several years during the 1970s in the "Railway Village" outside The Works.

Edited Sunday at 03:15 by Mayner

[Signal Post]

Thanks John,

That's great info. Having looked at the photos on this thread that was the impression that I had come up with, but your answer takes the guess work out of it, the info about the modified bracing is particularly useful, my main period of modelling is the 1970s but I also have some stock for other periods also.

Thanks again for your informative reply.

Edited 19 hours ago by Signal Post

[DJ Dangerous]

14 hours ago, Mayner said:

Livery wise the IRM ESSO tank wagons appear correct from Mid-1980s onwards with max speed of 35mph, addition of Hazchem markings are reflector stripes on tank ends & tanks with modified bracing

There are two Seanus Lattimir photos dated Aug 86  of 1003 in this condition at Mullingar the tank retaining lugs for the Esso shield in the IRRS Flickr collection. https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53509330394/in/album-72157661623942928

 

Interestingly there is a July 72 Tom Wall photo of an ex-works (possibly Chas Roberts) photo of 994 at Inchacore in as introduced condition with ESSO shield & electrification warning on a grey tank body & top of underframe original tank mounts, black underframe (incl buffers) red solebars and yellow roller bearing caps.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53511632134/in/album-72157661623942928

There is a Paddy O'Brien a Mar 74 photo of 998 and other tank wagons in this livery at Claremorris.

The ammended tank bracing appears to be a 1980s modification, there is a 1979 photo of the Oranmore-Claremorris oil train in JHB & Barry Carse 'Rails in the West" with the original tank bracing and withoutout reflective strips on the tank barrels.

Modifications including ammended tank bracking and ammendments to the tank barrel are likely to have been carried out on a phased bassis when wagons were undergoing scheduled heavy repairs in the Works. Some of the wagons may never have carried the ESSO logo or plate while in service in Ireland, there are several Paul Bartell photos of the wagons in service in the UK with lugs no logo or plate. ESSO tank barrels with lugs no plates were stored for several years during the 1970s in the "Railway Village" outside The Works.

 

Wasn't there also something about the brakes or suspension?

These IRM / Heljan models have the 1980's brakes or suspension whereas somebody else (Bachmann?) released one with the original 1960's fittings?

[Mayner]

5 hours ago, DJ Dangerous said:

 

Wasn't there also something about the brakes or suspension?

These IRM / Heljan models have the 1980's brakes or suspension whereas somebody else (Bachmann?) released one with the original 1960's fittings?

The springs/suspension of the Heljan model like the Airfix/Dapol kit appears to be based on the original late 1950s fittings, from the early 1960s onwards wagons appear to have been fitted/built with modified suspension with spring dampers. The ESSO tank wagons used in Ireland appear to have spring dampers.

Paul Bartell's pages of ESSO Vac Braked tank wagons includes photos of wagons with original 1959 and modified 1960s suspension and how the wagons weathered in service, he also has a page on ESSO tank cars converted to carry bitumen. https://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/essoatankwagonvb

The Bachmann "ESSO" tank wagon is a model of a larger 1960s built airbraked tank wagon which effectively rendered the 1959 designed tank wagons obsolete, freeing up a batch of wagons for use in Ireland to replace older loose coupled ESSO tank wagons.

 

[DJ Dangerous]

51 minutes ago, Mayner said:

The springs/suspension of the Heljan model like the Airfix/Dapol kit appears to be based on the original late 1950s fittings, from the early 1960s onwards wagons appear to have been fitted/built with modified suspension with spring dampers. The ESSO tank wagons used in Ireland appear to have spring dampers.

Paul Bartell's pages of ESSO Vac Braked tank wagons includes photos of wagons with original 1959 and modified 1960s suspension and how the wagons weathered in service, he also has a page on ESSO tank cars converted to carry bitumen. https://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/essoatankwagonvb

The Bachmann "ESSO" tank wagon is a model of a larger 1960s built airbraked tank wagon which effectively rendered the 1959 designed tank wagons obsolete, freeing up a batch of wagons for use in Ireland to replace older loose coupled ESSO tank wagons.

 

Thanks, @Mayner!

I had it the wrong way around in my head.

[Mol_PMB]

There are some nice photos of derailed Esso tanks on the NLI archive here:

Search Results - "Railroad accidents Ireland Westmeath 1970-1980"

They include some other interesting wagonry such as a GSR/Ranks grain hopper.

[Signal Post]

Fascinating photos, thanks for posting the link. Interesting to see the wheelsets detached from the grain wagon, looks more like "workbench" thread from this forum!

[Garfield]

On 12/12/2024 at 7:43 PM, Rapid130RS said:

@Mayner interesting and detailed post. 

Am curious: why 35mph? Would other wagons not have had issues at higher speeds? A 35mph limit seems drastic...how this would have affected schedules etc. 

 

The Essos were combined with the Sligo liner on occasion, especially during the 1990s. I can still hear the swearing from Sligo crews waiting on the platform waiting to take over from their Connolly counterparts when they spied a cut of tankers on the rear. It meant they were in for a longer shift...

[ttc0169]

50 minutes ago, Garfield said:

The Essos were combined with the Sligo liner on occasion, especially during the 1990s. I can still hear the swearing from Sligo crews waiting on the platform waiting to take over from their Connolly counterparts when they spied a cut of tankers on the rear. It meant they were in for a longer shift...

Imagine the annoyance when reading the freight manifest prior to departing from Athlone to see a single stores oil two axle wagon was being sent to Ballina for the Bus Eireann garage-it was the longest part of the 31 mile journey from Claremorris to Ballina-especially when the 071 locomotive never went above three notches on the controller-and spent a lot of time in the zero position. 

[Mayner]

9 hours ago, Garfield said:

The Essos were combined with the Sligo liner on occasion, especially during the 1990s. I can still hear the swearing from Sligo crews waiting on the platform waiting to take over from their Connolly counterparts when they spied a cut of tankers on the rear. It meant they were in for a longer shift...

Apparently in Midland days 'the authorities' became alarmed with very fast running(speeding?) of the 'Night Mail' from Sligo regularly arriving in Mullingar ahead of schedule. Reminders & notices to run to schedule appeared to have no effect, eventually departure from Sligo was delayed so that crews could not make it to Mullingar before pub closing time. Although running speed was unlikely to have exceeded 40-50mph with short wheelbase 4w non-passenger stock of the day (8'6" wb Horseboxes & Vans) running must have been pretty lively, particularly before the 1920s relay of the Sligo Road with 60' rails on baseplates that saw the line through until re-laid with CWR in the 1990s.

Going back to the Esso oil trains, I one saw a laden oil train stabled on a siding at Maynooth on a Saturday morning late 90s/early 2000s. Spoke briefly to a driver who had taken it from the North Wall, who did not know when the train was likely to depart for Sligo.

Reminded me of the American practice of a Yard Crew would make up a train and then move it to a location well clear of the yard to be picked up by a Road Crew who would arrive by Crewbus or Taxi.