Class 121

[WRENNEIRE]

Some info from Wexford St:

 12 models, 5 liveries. 2*CIE grey,(121 & 135) 2*CIE black, 2*CIE supertrain, 3*IR and 3*IE (inc.124 & 134)
 Price tba.
 As with the other GM locos, dedicated DCC and DCC sound chips,(567 &645)
 At this point in time I'm looking at mid-summer delivery.
 As ever with China, nothing is cast in stone!  
 All wheel pick-up and all wheel drive.

 

[StevieB]

Thanks for relaying that info from Wexford St. Just what I wanted to know.

Stephen

[Ironroad]

Fantastic news,  but I'm holding my breath

[Noel]

1 hour ago, jhb171achill said:

I think the grey/yellow and black’n’tan are coming first, with “supertrain”, “tippex” and “3-pin plug” liveries later.

As mentioned above, a couple of number alternatives for each livery is what I heard.

Perfect for 1960s horray!    

[leslie10646]

David

Thanks for bringing us this good news. I had it on my 70th birthday pressie list, but now it'll have to be for my 73rd!

This one has to be with sound - I still remember standing on Portadown platform in the 1960s and watching one accelerate away towards Belfast on the CIE Enterprise. The "vroom, vroom"  as it accelerated away from the permanent restriction is as indelibly in my head as Sir Mick singing "I can't get no" -

I'll be satisfied now.

[WaYSidE]

fantasy going nuclear, all these new engines. A's, 121's

i am so glad i started modelling in past two years, its been a great time, for Irish modelling, a golden era, by the comments of all ye drooling men,  you will all be broke by year end, so cancel the holidays, and if RTE news today is correct, with a mini nuclear power station being touted for moneypoint, sure you'll all be pulling nuclear flasks, with all these new Irish locos.. the though of ammonia trains crashing into nukes in limerick Junction.. now thats what my Kids consider worth modelling

[WRENNEIRE]

Joint project between MM & IRM for April 1st, pic smuggled from Inchicore 

 

[Noel]

Looks like a modified airport tug 

[Railer]

In the mean time the race is still on. Who will get their 121 out the door first, MM or the RPSI and team Inchicore.

[jhb171achill]

12 hours ago, WRENNEIRE said:

Joint project between MM & IRM for April 1st, pic smuggled from Inchicore 

 

The Inchicore Lifeboat is finally launched.

[murrayec]

I'd like one of those for on the road! very handy for those chaps that cut you off in the traffic!

Eoin

 

[WRENNEIRE]

5 hours ago, Railer said:

In the mean time the race is still on. Who will get their 121 out the door first, MM or the RPSI and team Inchicore.

My money is on Murphy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[WRENNEIRE]

 

 

 

No idea who this is but I am sure some of the jokers here will have a handle for him!

 

 

[PJR]

Great news this. Cant wait

[Noel]

I hope RPSI go for the IR points logo rather than the weird IE 3 pin plug logo on the restored 134 assuming it will retain an orange livery, or even CIE broke wheel on B134 if reliveried into B&T.

BTW, I don't see any space inside that loco for a speaker cradle, be nice if it made some noise.  But the buffer beam detailing bits seem just as good as on the MM models.

Edited March 7, 2019 by Noel

[Railer]

The RPSI have requested and confirmed for 134 to be painted in as delivered livery. 

[jhb171achill]

It will be in original light grey and yellow.

[jhb171achill]

2 hours ago, WRENNEIRE said:

 

 

 

“Not to be moved” boards are, ehh, not there; thus moved......

Maybe the Little Yellow Man there knows something about it.

Maybe, indeed, the PC taliban don’t like me calling him a little yellow man......

[WaYSidE]

i think i will cancel my order, and wait for the model of daves photos above with the engine stripped down, looks fab to me

[Robert Shrives]

Well good to see progress and what a tidy works the staff can be proud of that. Is true cannot see space for chip or speaker as it stands but sure it can be squeezed in somehow. 

hopefully the MM 121 bonnet will lift off easily to allow recreation - there are some 3D print engine blocks about as seen on here recently.

Robert   

[JasonB]

On 3/7/2019 at 2:58 PM, Noel said:

I hope RPSI go for the IR points logo rather than the weird IE 3 pin plug logo on the restored 134 assuming it will retain an orange livery, or even CIE broke wheel on B134 if reliveried into B&T.

BTW, I don't see any space inside that loco for a speaker cradle, be nice if it made some noise.  But the buffer beam detailing bits seem just as good as on the MM models.

Have a soft spot for that livery myself,  always loved the Points logo. It would have been great to see 134 carrying it again. But what's more important is that we get to see this legend back where it belongs, no matter what livery it carries. 

[Noel]

On 3/7/2019 at 3:01 PM, Railer said:

The RPSI have requested and confirmed for 134 to be painted in as delivered livery. 

Brilliant that’s good news. It was an iconic livery which some 121s managed to hang on to for quite a few years in the glorious Black’n’tan era. I remember travelling to Galway  behind a grey 121, departing Amiens street or Westland row via old route Mullingar, moate, Athlone, etc.  Some excellent nostalgic YouTubes of that livery running on southern routes. In those days pax trains often had a mix of the silver coaches with some flying snail green coaches and early  B&T single stripe coaches. Great for modelling variety  

 

Edited March 9, 2019 by Noel

[WaYSidE]

is the 121 loco in video in a livery ? it looks so unpainted,

jes i know nothing bout dem trains

[jhb171achill]

They were delivered in light grey and yellow. On first repaint black’n’tan, then subsequent CIE liveries.

As far as I’m aware the last one still in grey was repainted in 1967, so this livery didn’t last long.

[NIRCLASS80]

It will be great to see 134 back. The only down side to the original livery that I can see is the slightest trace of rust could make it look a bit tatty very quickly. 

But congratulations to all involved. Great to see diesel preservation getting the attention it deserves. 

[Noel]

3 hours ago, WaYSidE said:

is the 121 loco in video in a livery ? it looks so unpainted,

jes i know nothing bout dem trains

It is in the original grey and yellow livery, just looks silver because it is dirty and weathered.

[WaYSidE]

thanks Noel. but its not a real photo, is it,  its one of Popeyes models isnt it !!!,

i just reading popeyes workbench during lunch, wow,  i am amazed at the skills about here. flabbergasted. dumbfounded, such a skilled helpfull nice bunch

like you uploading a photo for me.. ta

i needed to stop after two hours bend over soldering tracks, so it was back to the laptop and a cheese sanger, but i drooling over popeyes works not the cheese

7 minutes ago, Noel said:

It is in the original grey and yellow livery

 

[Noel]

@WaYSidE FYI, 121 locos changed the course of Irish railway history. In the 1950s CIE had originally ordered 94 metropolitan vickers (60 x 001/A + 34 x 201/C class) locos to replace the steam fleet which where in effect failures as they were underpowered and proved unreliable. The fifteen US manufactured GM 121 class locos effectively caused CIE to switch from UK manufactured diesels to the reliable US diesels. The little 121s were switchers (ie shunnters in vast US yards), hence only one cab, so when CIE went to order more locos (ie the 141 class) they requested a second cab be added (ie so turn tables would not be needed as crews did not like running bonnet first). The 141 was essentially the same loco as the 121. The later 181 being a more powerful variant with the EMD 645 engine. The A/C class Metrovics were later re-engined with GM EMD motors becoming more powerful and more reliable unlike the original A class crossley powered heaps. Thus the A classes ended up having useful service lifes in the end right up to the mid 90s. CIE continued with GM when the 071 came along and finally the 201 classes, but it all started with that first order for fifteen 121 class locos.

[WaYSidE]

40 minutes ago, Noel said:

121 locos changed the course of Irish railway history.

Noel (or however you get that green name tab you just used) Yes, I am learning about rail history, had read that info, before,  then like most info i read had forget most of it about 10 mins after, so thanks for reminder,

As i am consuming so much train info so fast. i am tending to keeping the stuff that suits my layout, and my ebay or silver fox 121 fits perfect cant wait for MM's.

for me rail is a major part of a wider farm and industrial heritage which i love reading about.. 121 sorta says it all..

[spudfan]

On ‎3‎/‎6‎/‎2019 at 5:42 PM, WRENNEIRE said:

Some info from Wexford St:

 12 models, 5 liveries. 2*CIE grey,(121 & 135) 2*CIE black, 2*CIE supertrain, 3*IR and 3*IE (inc.124 & 134)
 Price tba.
 As with the other GM locos, dedicated DCC and DCC sound chips,(567 &645)
 At this point in time I'm looking at mid-summer delivery.
 As ever with China, nothing is cast in stone!  
 All wheel pick-up and all wheel drive.

 

Summer delivery....gives me time to organise a church gate collection or two

[leslie10646]

8 hours ago, jhb171achill said:

They were delivered in light grey and yellow. On first repaint black’n’tan, then subsequent CIE liveries.

As far as I’m aware the last one still in grey was repainted in 1967, so this livery didn’t last long.

Six years (1961 - 67) would seem like an eternity on today's GB railways.

I'm also delighted to see that 134 will be in the "as delivered" livery which I thought looked well.

Noel is, of course, quite right about the awful British diesels delivered in the 1950s - look at some of the stuff created for the 1955 BR "Modernisation" Plan. However, if my memory serves me right the British electric motors were left in place on the A and C Class with the Yankee diesel engines acting as the generators?

[WaYSidE]

23 minutes ago, leslie10646 said:

However, if my memory serves me right the British electric motors were left in place on the A and C Class with the Yankee diesel engines acting as the generators?

@leslie10646 thanks was there new generator vans too... but before i asked you, i looked up wiki and found... generator vans (sourced from retired Irish Rail MK3

then i thought DMU's sure there not many as described below. "which make up the majority of the fleet" i did not know that. is that correct

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head-end_power

In Ireland, HEP is provided at European/IEC standard 230/400 V 50 Hz (originally 220/380 V 50 Hz.) This is to the same specification as the power systems used in Irish and EU domestic and commercial buildings and industry.

On the Cork-Dublin CAF MK4 sets, this is provided by two generators, located in the driving trailer van and on the push-pull Enterprise sets, this is provided by generators in a dedicated tailing van. Irish DMU trains, which make up the majority of the fleet, use small generators located under each coach.

Historically, HEP and, in older vehicles, steam heating was provided by trailing generator vans containing generators and steam boilers. These were normally located on the rear of train sets. The Enterprise Dublin-Belfast train sets initially used HEP from GM 201 diesel-electric locomotives, but due reliability issues and excessive wear on the locomotives systems, generator vans (sourced from retired Irish Rail MK3 sets and adapted for push-pull use) were added.

Edited March 9, 2019 by WaYSidE

[leslie10646]

No new Generator vans immediately - the single-ended Yankees pulled the little four wheel generator vans around for a while.

Those converted Mk3 generator vans are a pretty recent addition to the Enterprise sets - within the last five years?

After the four wheelers came the "Dutch" heating vans, built by both Verkspoor in the Netherlands and some by CIE themselves and then the BR Mark 1 full brakes converted into generator vans (the RPSI has one).

The wheel has turned full circle, because in GB, steam engines on the main line trail a gennie van (often a Brake / 2nd) to provide heating etc. Health and Safety would not allow anything as dangerous as the steam loco providing heating steam itself via the steam pipes in the coaches  - as it had done perfectly well for 150 years.

Of course, on the preserved lines, we still have "proper" steam heating and the loco fireman couples up the steam pipe when he is attaching the vacuum brake bag. On the Bluebell Railway, we used to cease steam heating on 31 April and restart it on 1 October.

If your Missus says she's cold in May - September - you now have the "official line" - NO heating in "Summer"  - another way to save up for your new locos this year!

Leslie

[WaYSidE]

8 minutes ago, leslie10646 said:

If your Missus says she's cold in May - September - you now have the "official line" - NO heating in "Summer"  - another way to save up for your new locos this year! 

leslie, i  must be a real modeller now, to pay for 2019, i turned off the heating last november,

[Noel]

121 delivery livery 1962 Grey and Yellow with flying snail logo. Black and white photo but colour below.

The A has seen better days