Accurascale/IRM NIR Hunslet Sound Preview!

[Blaine]

On 2/6/2026 at 3:47 PM, mfjoc said:

Did the Hunslets ever get beyond Lansdowne road or anywhere west or south of Dublin?

No, Inchicore and Lansdowne Road are the furthest they got

[murphaph]

Were the Hunslets delivered by sea directly to Belfast or through Dublin like the 111s and 201s?

[Galteemore]

51 minutes ago, murphaph said:

Were the Hunslets delivered by sea directly to Belfast or through Dublin like the 111s and 201s?

Direct to Belfast via Preston 

[mfjoc]

2 hours ago, Blaine said:

No, Inchicore and Lansdowne Road are the furthest they got

Did they ever get even as far as Heuston or Inchicore? I have never seen a picture of any of them at inchicore but stand to be corrected.

I do actually have a memory of them on Rugby specials at Lansdowne road during the 70's when I went to Internationals with my dad.

[Mol_PMB]

There was a time when some NIR locos and stock went to the wheel lathe at Inchicore - that would seem the most likely time for one to visit. But I've never seen a photo of one there.

On photos, here's one of 102 on an ITG tour formed of Cravens and BR van. I think it only hauled the train a few miles, but it did happen:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53511562509

And here's one from Ernie on delivery, I think this is at Preston? The Transport Ferry Service (building in the background) normally operated to Larne.

 

[Mol_PMB]

Here's another shot of a Hunslet with CIE coaching stock, possibly another railtour?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53511562459

 

Meanwhile *, during the little-known period in the early 1990s when 800 operated for the RPSI, it is seen here on arrival at Belfast Central 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53511677180

 

 

* Fake News!

[murphaph]

There is a picture or video of one in Inchicore. I can't remember where I've seen it but I made a distinct mental note at the time as it "allowed" me to order these

[DJ Dangerous]

7 hours ago, murphaph said:

There is a picture or video of one in Inchicore. I can't remember where I've seen it but I made a distinct mental note at the time as it "allowed" me to order these

NIR 101 Class Hunslet no. 102, “Falcon”, at the Inchicore wheel lathe building, captured by the late Pearse McKeown, around 1980, on the IRRS Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/IrishRailwayRecordSociety/photos/a-most-unusual-visitor-to-ciés-inchicore-works-nir-101-class-hunslet-locomotive-/1453371561413940/

 

 

[Horsetan]

19 hours ago, Mol_PMB said:

There was a time when some NIR locos and stock went to the wheel lathe at Inchicore - that would seem the most likely time for one to visit. But I've never seen a photo of one there.

On photos, here's one of 102 on an ITG tour formed of Cravens and BR van. I think it only hauled the train a few miles, but it did happen:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishrailwayarchive/53511562509

And here's one from Ernie on delivery, I think this is at Preston? The Transport Ferry Service (building in the background) normally operated to Larne.

 

Those buffer rams and stocks looked a bit undernourished. I wonder if Hunslet used wagon buffer parts?

[murphaph]

15 hours ago, DJ Dangerous said:

NIR 101 Class Hunslet no. 102, “Falcon”, at the Inchicore wheel lathe building, captured by the late Pearse McKeown, around 1980, on the IRRS Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/IrishRailwayRecordSociety/photos/a-most-unusual-visitor-to-ciés-inchicore-works-nir-101-class-hunslet-locomotive-/1453371561413940/

 

 

Yeah that's the one! Nice one DJ

[GSWR 90]

So the Hunslets are being delivered – does anyone have any thoughts on them?

[John-r]

Received my maroon revised arc dcc sound today, haven't been able to check the sound yet, but the loco is just stunning in my opinion, Maroon livery really looks the part, can't wait for my three blue one's now, I'm certainty glad I got them, just brilliant, brings back great memories, thanks for these.

[DJ Dangerous]

On 5/6/2026 at 4:21 PM, murphaph said:

Yeah that's the one! Nice one DJ

Always handy to have some basement-dwelling troll taking screenshots of everything!

 

13 hours ago, John-r said:

Received my maroon revised arc dcc sound today, haven't been able to check the sound yet, but the loco is just stunning in my opinion, Maroon livery really looks the part, can't wait for my three blue one's now, I'm certainty glad I got them, just brilliant, brings back great memories, thanks for these.

So the Hunslets are already shipping?

Damn, my Park Royals haven’t even shipped yet!

[murphaph]

Same here. No Park Royal shipping notification yet. What's the logic behind starting on the Hunslets before the Park Royals are done I wonder? My orders weren't combined.

[DJ Dangerous]

3 minutes ago, murphaph said:

Same here. No Park Royal shipping notification yet. What's the logic behind starting on the Hunslets before the Park Royals are done I wonder? My orders weren't combined.

I DID request grouping both orders together for shipping.

Not combining the bills or anything, just shipping at the same time, and the lads said that they’d ship around the same time anyway.

I wonder what the order for shipping is. Definitely not first paid, first shipped, anyway.

Probably done geographically; Britain first, then Ireland, then the crazies like the US, then Europe, and at the very end of the queue, the massive group of Canarian customers?

[Flying Snail]

35 minutes ago, murphaph said:

Same here. No Park Royal shipping notification yet. What's the logic behind starting on the Hunslets before the Park Royals are done I wonder? My orders weren't combined.

I'm in the same boat - notified about one of my two Hunslets (tbf I ordered the second one after I had paid off the first, so there's a big gap in my order dates), but nothing about my Park Royals yet. I'm in Ireland. Perhaps they're being picked and packed by separate teams?

Edited June 9 by Flying Snail

[Horsetan]

32 minutes ago, murphaph said:

Same here. No Park Royal shipping notification yet. What's the logic behind starting on the Hunslets before the Park Royals are done I wonder? My orders weren't combined.

Logic? It looks like they pack whatever came out of the consignment boxes first and get those away.

I had the black/orange Park Royal turn up on Saturday afternoon (Royal Mail). That was followed by the Hunslet on Sunday (left exposed on the doorstep by DPD), and the green Park Royal some hours after (Royal Mail again).

[murphaph]

2 hours ago, Horsetan said:

Logic? It looks like they pack whatever came out of the consignment boxes first and get those away.

I had the black/orange Park Royal turn up on Saturday afternoon (Royal Mail). That was followed by the Hunslet on Sunday (left exposed on the doorstep by DPD), and the green Park Royal some hours after (Royal Mail again).

Were they three separate orders? DPD have done that to me too! Left 3 boxes full of models out on the drive, despite there being a carport they could have at least put them in. Thankfully it stayed dry that day.

[Horsetan]

1 hour ago, murphaph said:

Were they three separate orders? DPD have done that to me too! Left 3 boxes full of models out on the drive, despite there being a carport they could have at least put them in. Thankfully it stayed dry that day.

Yes, they were three separate ones. I didn’t think it worth trying to combine it all later on.

DPD - and others - regularly leave things exposed if you're not in. I wonder what the theft rate is nowadays. 

[jhb171achill]

27 minutes ago, Horsetan said:

Yes, they were three separate ones. I didn’t think it worth trying to combine it all later on.

DPD - and others - regularly leave things exposed if you're not in. I wonder what the theft rate is nowadays. 

Now this raises an issue.

If any of these privatised delivery companies leave something on a doorstep and vanish, and Mr. Lightfingers happens along and steals it, who is responsible for replacing it or compensating the buyer? The manufacturer who employed this courier, the delivery company, or a perhaps-careless delivery man? And, out of interest, while we are not a legal advice forum here, out of interest - suppose the item was absolutely irreplaceable, and the potential buyer (resident of the delivery address) suffered significant loss as a result of not getting it, can he sue, and who?

[Mol_PMB]

I’ve received most of my Park Royals but the last order hasn’t yet been dispatched. I’m going off on hols soon and had the same concern about it being left outside risking theft or rain damage. 
 

A quick email to Accurascale support, and they have delayed sending the order until I get back home. A prompt communication, very helpful and courteous. 
Risk averted! 

 

[murphaph]

48 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

Now this raises an issue.

If any of these privatised delivery companies leave something on a doorstep and vanish, and Mr. Lightfingers happens along and steals it, who is responsible for replacing it or compensating the buyer? The manufacturer who employed this courier, the delivery company, or a perhaps-careless delivery man? And, out of interest, while we are not a legal advice forum here, out of interest - suppose the item was absolutely irreplaceable, and the potential buyer (resident of the delivery address) suffered significant loss as a result of not getting it, can he sue, and who?

I don't know the legal situation in Ireland but here in Germany if you don't explicity give them the go ahead to drop it off somewhere like behind the bins or in the carport then they are responsible for any theft if it is just dropped off and not handed to the recipient. For this reason I never give them the go ahead to drop it off anywhere when they send that email the day of the delivery. 

[Horsetan]

51 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

....suppose the item was absolutely irreplaceable...

In the case of the Hunslets, they are irreplaceable since there may not be another production run.

[jhb171achill]

42 minutes ago, Horsetan said:

In the case of the Hunslets, they are irreplaceable since there may not be another production run.

That's what I was thinking, but more with 800s in mind.

[DJ Dangerous]

5 hours ago, murphaph said:

Were they three separate orders? DPD have done that to me too! Left 3 boxes full of models out on the drive, despite there being a carport they could have at least put them in. Thankfully it stayed dry that day.

Anybody ordering three boxes of models deserves bad karma.

 

1 hour ago, jhb171achill said:

That's what I was thinking, but more with 800s in mind.

@GSR 800 can hook you up with a 3D printed one, so don’t worry if DPD hide yours in a wheelie bin or whatever.

[GSR 800]

1 hour ago, DJ Dangerous said:

Anybody ordering three boxes of models deserves bad karma.

 

@GSR 800 can hook you up with a 3D printed one, so don’t worry if DPD hide yours in a wheelie bin or whatever.

Could always use a local parcel locker, I've used them a good bit!

[Horsetan]

18 minutes ago, GSR 800 said:

Could always use a local parcel locker, I've used them a good bit!

That option didn't exist at the time of my orders, so....

[Mayner]

Is a 'signature on delivery" option available for UK and EU deliveries?

Quite common in this part of the World even for relatively low value items sent by NZ Post or courier/logistics companies. 

 

[Horsetan]

2 hours ago, Mayner said:

Is a 'signature on delivery" option available for UK and EU deliveries?

Used to be the norm, but this disappeared once the Covid era started, so couriers ended up marking their own homework, so to speak, and that persists to this day.

[Broithe]

I'm still very occasionally asked to "sign" on a screen - it seems a bit of a futile thing, no matter how hard I try, even I wouldn't be able to see which one of three random squiggles was really done by me.

On the Big Island, I have established protocols with a lot of the actual individuals that deliver to me when I'm there, rather than with their employers, and this has been 100% successful.

It does involve an element of reciprocal trust, but it does work better than official systems might - for me.

In Ireland, anything coming by AP is covered by the automatic understanding of my individual habits. The rare event of an outside courier who might not be aware of me before, is covered by a Post-It note next to the doorbell.

[Jonathan Allen]

IT'S ARRIVED! 

And very nice it is too - sadly, one that will sit in a glass case and be admired (drooled over), as it would look somewhat out-of-place on a GWR secondary line. However, it may get the odd run out.

A couple of hopefully helpful tips for those planning to add detail - that light grey roof of 1970 is correct (see: PRU_NIR_101_Connolly_c1970 | [Photographer Unknown] This pho… | Flickr ), but only lasted a few days before exhaust fumes turned the roof various (and darkening) shades of gunge. If you are brave enough, weathering would be appropriate.

NIR drivers of the 1970s ALWAYS wore their uniform jacket (and most also their caps)- they were ex-GNR and brung up proper. A shirt-sleeved driver would just not look right. My photographs also seldom show a second person in the cab - possibly a locomotive Inspector in a October 1970 shot of the "Enterprise" entering Portadown, but certainly rare on the "Enterprise". If there is a second person, it's probably me! 

More common of course on non-"Enterprise" working like PW or spoil trains. 

A really great model and a credit to all at Acuurscale - now, must return to drooling! 

 

[DJ Dangerous]

On 8/6/2026 at 2:45 PM, Horsetan said:

Seems my Hunslet was delivered by DPD to the doorstep yesterday. Regauging should be gas.

 

On 8/6/2026 at 3:01 PM, Mol_PMB said:

I look forward to seeing what's involved - please would you post some pics of your process?

 

On 8/6/2026 at 7:21 PM, Horsetan said:

If it's anything like the "A" and the BR Class 31, it shouldn't hold any surprises....

 

On 13/6/2026 at 2:38 PM, Horsetan said:

Well, here we are now....

The box is massive. Possibly bigger than it needs to be...

There's a bunch of paperwork that you get for free. And a spares diagram that shows around 200 parts went into the thing.

 

On 13/6/2026 at 3:03 PM, Horsetan said:

As someone who generally only goes for models of preserved stock, I went for 102 Falcon in fairly late NIR livery.

It has been said in the past that the Hunslets owed their styling to BR's Class 52 Westerns, but I'm not so sure. The general look of the Hunslet has much in common with metre-gauge diesels that were supplied to South East Asia, particularly Thailand and Malaysia, and there's a bit that seems to resemble the 5'6" engines that went to India and Sri Lanka.

For something relatively compact, the model is quite heavy. There's a mass of fine detail, much of it underneath, and a small bag containing even more detail to be fixed to the model.

Both bogies have chains, actual miniature chains, attached to brake levers on the bogie and on the underframe. These are likely to pose a problem if you’re opening up the bogies for general maintenance or regauging, as it means that you only get a certain degree of clearance to get into the geartrain or to remove the wheelsets.

 

On 13/6/2026 at 3:13 PM, Horsetan said:

Once we get underneath, there's a lot to like, but also a lot to be wary of.

The good news is that the bogie outside frames are easy to lever off. Mine lifted off in my hand, no screwdriver necessary.

The bad news is that the frames can only be lifted as far as the brake chains will allow. An initial try does suggest it's possible to lever the driven axles out without necessarily damaging anything.

Less certain are the brake rods that surround the lower part of each wheel - they're fine for standard OO, but unhelpful for 21mm gauge, so may have to be re-mounted further out or, if not possible, split before repositioning. 

 

23 minutes ago, Horsetan said:

The additional bad news is that if you lever the driven axles out, the current pickup strips may part company with the exterior of the gear casing and fall off - this happened to me earlier today, so it's going to be a gas gluing them back in place....

The 2mm driven axles are plain ended, and pressed into insulating bushes which in turn are pressed into the wheel hubs. Completely different to the "A" class: you cannot reuse the axles as they're too short for 21mm gauge. For P4 profile purposes, that means all new "live" wheels (12mm dia) from AGW and new longer axles, but that means the wheels will have to be re-bored to  2.4mm or as much as 3mm to take the insulating bushes.

I’m confused on the axles being too short for 21mm conversion.

The original post said 28mm axles:

 

On 26/10/2024 at 11:30 AM, Warbonnet said:

• Single style of 13.33mm solid locomotive wheel, correctly profiled both on the inside and outside to RP25-110 standard, set in blackened brass bearings or contact strips and chemically blackened, and conforming to Accurascale standards of 14.4mm back-to-back on 2mm diameter axles, over 28mm pinpoints (to allow for potential re-gauging to 21mm finescale standards).

View the full article

 

[Horsetan]

Just now, DJ Dangerous said:

I’m confused on the axles being too short for 21mm conversion.

The original post said 28mm axles:

The Hunslet axles are plain-ended and are flush with the face of the OO wheel and don't protrude any further. They are not pinpoints either.

This means they can't be used for 21mm as they are not long enough.

[DJ Dangerous]

9 minutes ago, Horsetan said:

The Hunslet axles are plain-ended and are flush with the face of the OO wheel and don't protrude any further. They are not pinpoints either.

This means they can't be used for 21mm as they are not long enough.

Aw, that’s a shame.

Are the bogies wide enough for longer axles if they can be sourced?

[Horsetan]

6 hours ago, DJ Dangerous said:

Aw, that’s a shame.

Are the bogies wide enough for longer axles if they can be sourced?

Yes, there is space