BosKonay Posted October 14, 2015 Posted October 14, 2015 Irish Railway Models announces first ready-to-run wagon project Posted on October 13, 2015 by irishrailway Irish Railway Models, a new and innovative Model Railway Company specialising in Irish outline 4mm scale products, has teamed up with David Jones of DJ Models fame to bring Irish modellers what they’ve been demanding for many years; quality freight rolling stock to compliment the excellent range of Irish outline RTR locomotives. The first release will be the humble CIE/Irish Rail two-axle ballast/mineral hopper, with the prototype having already been surveyed by David Jones and our design consultant at North Wall freight yard in Dublin earlier this year. The project is now at second CAD stage with corrections still to be made before tooling is cut. The wagons will be manufactured in China and will feature all the high quality detail, finish, and accuracy modellers have come to expect from the ready-to-run market over the past decade. It will be built to scale but will run on OO gauge wheel sets as per Irish RTR locomotives currently available. It will be 21mm gauge-friendly with easy conversion possible. Irish Railway Models (http://www.irishrailwaymodels.com'>http://www.irishrailwaymodels.com) was born out of the Irish Railway Modeller forum (http://www.irishrailwaymodeller.com) and consists of four members who are looking to satisfy the constant demand Irish modellers have for high quality and accurate Irish outline wagons. The project is headed up by Stephen McCarron, owner of the forum, and is supported by Fran Burke, Patrick Conboy, and Richard O’Hanrahan. All four members of the company are undertaking the task in their free time and who won’t make any money out of the project. The ballast wagon will be sold in packs of three directly from the Irish Railway Models website only and each pack will retail for the competitive price of 110 euro. The direct selling approach has been adopted to keep the price at a minimum for customers and the small profit made will be sunk into the next project undertaken by the company; The CI/Irish Rail two-axle bulk cement ‘bubble’ wagon. It is also hoped that Irish Railway Models will expand into other projects such as locomotives in the future, but it can only happen if the hopper wagon starter project is a successful seller. Packs can be bought outright but there is also an installment scheme available for modellers on tighter budgets. The model will be based on a batch of wagons built by CIE/Whessoe Ltd. that features a 12’0 wheelbase and measures 20′ over headstocks. They were built in batches between 1969 and 1977 and were used on a variety of traffic until just a few years ago. The specification for the wagon includes: NEM coupling housing RP25.110 darkened profile wheel sets with 14.4mm back to backs, and 26mm over pin points. Etched steel factory-fitted parts Extra fine factory-fitted detail plastic parts DJModels ‘Quick Load’ ballast load Individual lettering from real wagons for authenticity Speaking about the launch of the new enterprise, Stephen McCarron said: “I’m excited to be heading up a new company which will specialize in bringing highly-detailed, excellent quality ready-to-run Irish outline models to market. We’ve been spoiled in recent times with exquisite Irish locomotives and coaches and we are now working to provide iconic Irish wagons which are unique to our modelling scene.” David Jones of DJ Models is also delighted to be branching out into the Irish outline market: “I’m delighted to have been commissioned by Irish Railway Models to produce some highly iconic OO gauge wagons. Having met the guys behind Irish Railway Models, I am sure all modellers of Irish railways will be delighted by IRM’s eye for detail and choice of prototypes. I am sure this partnership between us will lead to lots of much-needed Irish railway rolling stock and perhaps more.” The release date for the ballast hopper is planned for mid-2016, with orders being taken from the end of October 2015. Packs are limited in number to 333, so it is recommended that customers order early to avoid disappointment. It is hoped to have the cement ‘bubble’ available once the hopper wagons sell-out. For more see http://www.irishrailwaymodels.com Quote
ttc0169 Posted October 14, 2015 Posted October 14, 2015 Well done gentlemen, I'm delighted someone has stepped up to the mark and actually started the ball rolling with this venture,and I will certainly support this project and others, Quote
BosKonay Posted October 14, 2015 Author Posted October 14, 2015 Very kind of you Noel The 'venture' is designed to essentially break even, with the team giving of their time essentially as volunteers - the goal being to produce models, and raise funds to produce more in a nice cycle driven by the community. Quote
shamrock712 Posted October 14, 2015 Posted October 14, 2015 Great stuff guys. As more of an observer and not contributor to the forum, it's nice to see the entrepreneurial spirit alive and well in the community and well done for taking the initiative. I hope this venture goes well and I'll certainly be supporting yourselves going into the future. Quote
Noel Posted October 14, 2015 Posted October 14, 2015 A welcome development. Best wishes to the team with the new business venture. I look forward to looking at some of your new products at the show. It is refreshing to see how young the team is on the 'meet the team' page given the stereotypical age profile one expects in the hobby. The future seems bright. Well done guys. Noel Quote
Dave Posted October 14, 2015 Posted October 14, 2015 Well done lads, filling a much needed niche in the market. Great news! Best of luck with the venture. Quote
irishthump Posted October 14, 2015 Posted October 14, 2015 Well done to all involved in getting this up and running. Hope it goes well and I look forward to seeing the models "in the flesh"! Quote
thewanderer Posted October 14, 2015 Posted October 14, 2015 Well done gentlemen, I'm delighted someone has stepped up to the mark and actually started the ball rolling with this venture,and I will certainly support this project and others, A certain model show, a 2600 and The Wanderer nagging a TTC. I better stay away from Mayo so The CAD design looks fab guys. Best of luck with it. Quote
Riversuir226 Posted October 14, 2015 Posted October 14, 2015 Excellent news lads, its great to see this happening and im looking forward to supporting this venture. Quote
DartStation Posted October 14, 2015 Posted October 14, 2015 Well done Stephen and the team - good luck with the new venture. Paul R. Quote
ttc0169 Posted October 14, 2015 Posted October 14, 2015 A certain model show' date=' a 2600 and The Wanderer nagging a TTC. I better stay away from Mayo so The CAD design looks fab guys. Best of luck with it.[/quote'] Correct wanderer......and two sets later...... Just keep away from Dublin on the bank holiday weekend...!!! Quote
WRENNEIRE Posted October 14, 2015 Posted October 14, 2015 Well done lads, another team to pick up the baton Quote
WRENNEIRE Posted October 14, 2015 Posted October 14, 2015 Just heard on the grapevine that another factory in China has decided to stop producing model railways, seems they lost over $1M last year Quote
aclass007 Posted October 14, 2015 Posted October 14, 2015 This is brilliant news! Best of luck with the venture, lads! Quote
murrayec Posted October 14, 2015 Posted October 14, 2015 Hi Guys Well done, great news for the Irish Railway Modeller and I wish you the best success.... I'll definitely put in an order for the Hopper Wagons Eoin Quote
aclass007 Posted October 14, 2015 Posted October 14, 2015 How close would these wagons be to Dolomite ore wagons? I suppose numbering/lettering might be the most noticeable difference.. Anyway, they'll probably be as close to a RTR Dolomite ore as we'll get, I suppose. Quote
Glenderg Posted October 14, 2015 Posted October 14, 2015 How close would these wagons be to Dolomite ore wagons? I suppose numbering/lettering might be the most noticeable difference.. Anyway, they'll probably be as close to a RTR Dolomite ore as we'll get, I suppose. The only difference is that the hopper sides as they met the angle were rounded rather than straight, and the hopper discharge wheels were finished in red oxide rather than yellow. In fact, one of them is intended as a running number. We'll be working closely with decal suppliers providing artwork and running numbers, so they can supply in that regard. Richie. Quote
enniscorthyman Posted October 14, 2015 Posted October 14, 2015 Very best of luck with this release. I am thinking if a nice rake of Gypsum Hoppers which I persume are the same as the ballast wagons.I will get a few for sure,and the thoughts of a quality rtr bubble sounds great. Quote
aclass007 Posted October 14, 2015 Posted October 14, 2015 The only difference is that the hopper sides as they met the angle were rounded rather than straight, and the hopper discharge wheels were finished in red oxide rather than yellow. In fact, one of them is intended as a running number. We'll be working closely with decal suppliers providing artwork and running numbers, so they can supply in that regard. Richie. Thanks Richie.. I better get my order in for a few packs, then... Quote
Weshty Posted October 14, 2015 Posted October 14, 2015 Well done lads. That is some very impressive, very comprehensive CAD, it would look well on Model Rail Page 4 for new items. I look forward to purchasing a pack or several. No doubt the detail will be nose-bleedingly precise. May there be many more strings to yeer bow. Quote
Warbonnet Posted October 14, 2015 Posted October 14, 2015 It's been very heartening to see the support for the project lads. It's been something we've been working on for months and I dont think any other forum out there has taken on a project like this to my knowledge. And now a request! If any of you have pictures lying around of the wagons at home or on a hard drive, could you email them to us for reference? We got plenty of the wagons currently sitting in North Wall (with full IE permission I might add!), but it would be great to get some older pics especially. If you could email them to fran@irishrailwaymodels.com it would be great. Quote
Glenderg Posted October 14, 2015 Posted October 14, 2015 Very best of luck with this release.I am thinking if a nice rake of Gypsum Hoppers which I persume are the same as the ballast wagons.I will get a few for sure,and the thoughts of a quality rtr bubble sounds great. Yip, exact same. Snapper posted some great photos, http://irishrailwaymodeller.com/showthread.php/536-Gypsum-Wagons-(PWD) another market for the decal wizards! Quote
Kirley Posted October 14, 2015 Posted October 14, 2015 A new and exciting venture, good luck on this new enterprise. Quote
Kirley Posted October 14, 2015 Posted October 14, 2015 Just had a quick look at your Site. Is there a 'Contact Us' page I missed. Also is there an alternative to posting purchases, for example can items be picked at Shows? Quote
Glenderg Posted October 14, 2015 Posted October 14, 2015 Correct Kirley, will ask the lads to fix that now. If you scroll down the main page, beneath "Meet the Team" there should be emails for each of us. Yes, we will be at all the shows once they arrive at the North Wall, and we are in discussions with retailers about stocking them also. R. Quote
Broithe Posted October 14, 2015 Posted October 14, 2015 (edited) Looks very good to me.. Edited October 14, 2015 by Broithe Answered the wrong question initially - doh! Quote
BosKonay Posted October 14, 2015 Author Posted October 14, 2015 The plan is to use ParcelMotel, Shanks Mare, Events, Shows, AN Post, Aunty Mary, and any other means of distribution that works and won't cost much Quote
jhb171achill Posted October 14, 2015 Posted October 14, 2015 Surely a standard "H" van - the vast majority of all goods stock were these throughout the sixties and seventies. Quote
Warbonnet Posted October 14, 2015 Posted October 14, 2015 Surely a standard "H" van - the vast majority of all goods stock were these throughout the sixties and seventies. We'll put it in the suggestion box Jonathan! Quote
aclass007 Posted October 14, 2015 Posted October 14, 2015 Just had a quick look at your Site. Is there a 'Contact Us' page I missed. Also is there an alternative to posting purchases, for example can items be picked at Shows? When you get to the shopping cart during a purchase, there's the option of collecting at shows (for free), or paying for the postage. Quote
Railer Posted October 14, 2015 Posted October 14, 2015 Great to see this type of venture start up among a small community. I hope it goes well and have being longing for some more rtr freight models for a while. Can't wait for the order to be ready and see the final product. Quote
John-r Posted October 14, 2015 Posted October 14, 2015 Fantastic news and a big well done.i can see this being a big success, A proper looking rtr freight wagon being produced by people with an Obvious passion for our hobby. We're do I sign up, well done lads. Quote
Richard EH Posted October 14, 2015 Posted October 14, 2015 This is a fantastic development, well done! Not quite my era.... but, ok, I'll go for a set I think! Richard. Quote
burnthebox Posted October 14, 2015 Posted October 14, 2015 (edited) Irish RTR Wagons, yiiippppiiii, well done one one & all, great news, wishing you guys every success in this new Irish venture, Edited October 15, 2015 by burnthebox Quote
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