MRSI 2026 Dublin Show - October 24-26th 2026

[Patrick Davey]

4 hours ago, 85 Merlin said:

Hi everyone,

My guesses are more towards the steam side of the spectrum, although I do believe it will be a C Class diesel this year, going by some of the things I've seen on the forums over the past year.

But then again, as a wild card, we could see one of two possible steam locomotives announced instead of a diesel. I believe there are two very strong contenders.

My first contender would be No. 74, Dunluce Castle.

If you remember what IRM/Accurascale wrote in their original 800 Class announcement, they mentioned having to scan the real locomotive to help get the details just right.

Now, if I were in their position, I would certainly take the opportunity to scan a locomotive that I planned, or at least hoped, to bring to market in OO gauge someday.

To me, an NCC tender locomotive would make a lot of sense, especially considering its close relationship to the Midland Railway 2P in the UK. This could open up plenty of possibilities for both the Irish and British markets.

My second strong contender would be the GNR(I) S Class 4-4-0, No. 171 Slieve Gullion.

It's a very pretty locomotive and would look wonderful alongside the many British pre-grouping locomotives that have come to market in recent years.

I think No. 171 and her sisters would be a fantastic choice, in my opinion.

Furthermore, she would look right at home at the head of the wonderful IRM and Murphy Models Mk2 RPSI set. I would absolutely love to see that running around my layout!

But at the end of the day, we all know it has to be the one and only V Class Compound, No. 85 "Merlin"!

I mean, who could possibly say no to that!!!

Anyway, those are my guesses. It will be interesting to see what actually gets announced!

Thanks everyone,

85 Merlin

Interesting thought about No. 74, with a neat connection to the LMS 2P - the latter would undoubtedly be feasible, as all AS steam offerings have been mega popular, but I'm not sure the former would be a runner (boom boom) due to its very limited geographical reach.  Would love it though!!

S class - yip, I've been suggesting that for a while!  Could be a nice special edition fundraiser for the RPSI, as A3r was for the ITG.

No. 85 - also an option for sure.

But also leaning towards a C class here, that's if there actually WILL be a new announcement of course!

[Mol_PMB]

The NCC U2 'Castles' like 74 appear superficially similar to an LMS 2P, or indeed to the MR/LMS '483' class 4-4-0s. Both the latter classes are already available RTR in OO and applying the 'two foot rule', either a 2P or a '483' could pass for a U2.

However, there are many detail and dimension differences between these types, including the driving wheel diameter (U2 is considerably smaller). Also the width, of course. I suspect it would be a difficult compromise to produce an RTR tooling capable of accurately representing both the Irish and English variants.

 

[Patrick Davey]

54 minutes ago, Mol_PMB said:

The NCC U2 'Castles' like 74 appear superficially similar to an LMS 2P, or indeed to the MR/LMS '483' class 4-4-0s. Both the latter classes are already available RTR in OO and applying the 'two foot rule', either a 2P or a '483' could pass for a U2.

However, there are many detail and dimension differences between these types, including the driving wheel diameter (U2 is considerably smaller). Also the width, of course. I suspect it would be a difficult compromise to produce an RTR tooling capable of accurately representing both the Irish and English variants.

 

Well that’s the end of that idea……

[Patrick Davey]

1 hour ago, Mol_PMB said:

The NCC U2 'Castles' like 74 appear superficially similar to an LMS 2P, or indeed to the MR/LMS '483' class 4-4-0s. Both the latter classes are already available RTR in OO and applying the 'two foot rule', either a 2P or a '483' could pass for a U2.

However, there are many detail and dimension differences between these types, including the driving wheel diameter (U2 is considerably smaller). Also the width, of course. I suspect it would be a difficult compromise to produce an RTR tooling capable of accurately representing both the Irish and English variants.

 

And IRM/AS don’t do compromise - accuracy, yes, compromise - no

[DJ Dangerous]

23 hours ago, Patrick Davey said:

Right so what's the story with IRM at the show - they dropped a cryptic hint on Facebook about 'never before seen goodies' so does that suggest an announcement......?  I think Fran hinted a while back that a C class might be on the horizon......

Let's annoy folks with some wild speculation!!!

“O” my goodness, the “O”nly way is “O”…

The real question is which loco they’ve chosen for the first of several O Gauge “powered” announcements.

A two-car DART would be nice in any scale.

[Mol_PMB]

18 minutes ago, DJ Dangerous said:

“O” my goodness, the “O”nly way is “O”…

The real question is which loco they’ve chosen for the first of several O Gauge “powered” announcements.

A two-car DART would be nice in any scale.

The CSE Ruston? 

[DJ Dangerous]

39 minutes ago, Mol_PMB said:

The CSE Ruston? 

An “O” 71 would be better…

[Flying Snail]

1 hour ago, DJ Dangerous said:

An “O” 71 would be better…

You're gonna need a bigger boat bookshelf  

[Si2020]

May have to have a little trip over to see what the IRM lads are announcing!!