Guinness Keg Wagons

[Warbonnet]

Hi everyone,

We thought it would be good to share some good news and optimism in these bleak times. We can confirm that our factories in China are back up and running and as you can see below, our Guinness keg wagons are currently being painted and assembled.

In this first pic you can see the cages, chassis and kegs (which will be painted silver!) in various stages of assembly. 

Here are the kegs, undercoated before silver paint is applied (and upside down in this pic of course!)

As many of you will have seen, we have a fully finished sample of the wagon which we displayed at the Dublin show in Blackrock last October. As the office is currently locked up, I cannot take a pic of it to show you all. However, we did get a part assembled sample before the show which I did snap and is below. Please note that a lot of detail is not present on this sample. 

Finally, prices and ordering. We are not taking pre-orders on these at all. They will only be available to buy once they are in stock in our warehouse. So, you dont have to pay down money in advance. We have also made more of these than the ferts and liners, so there should be more stock too in case you miss out, as Irish outilne seems to be growing in popularity. 

We are not fully sure when these will be in stock, but we are hoping late April. It will depend of course on the freight situation out of China. We will keep you informed of any changes and confirmation before then. 

There will be four packs of two wagons, with a price of €100 per pack. A rake bundle deal of €370 will also be available. The cages and kegs will also be available in a separate line side accessory pack. Details on this will be revealed later in the year.

Cheers!

Fran

[Midland Man]

How many come in the rake bundle deal?

[Warbonnet]

3 minutes ago, Midland Man said:

How many come in the rake bundle deal?

It will be 4 packs of two wagons, so 8 wagons in total. 

Cheers!

Fran

[K801]

excellent model, do the keg cages clip on and off the wagon?

[RedRich]

Man I'm looking forward to these. The accessory packs are a great idea too. 22ft flats with 14ft wheelbase hopefully  will be on the to do list for the future they always looked good with three cages mixed in rakes with the 42 and 47ft flats.

Rich,

[DoctorPan]

Any reason for the change in pre order policy?

[Dempsey]

Can not wait. It look really well up close. 

[Warbonnet]

3 hours ago, K801 said:

excellent model, do the keg cages clip on and off the wagon?

Hi there,

They sure do!

3 hours ago, DoctorPan said:

Any reason for the change in pre order policy?

Hi there,

Yes, we want to move away from you guys paying up front, then waiting to get the models. This way you pay your money and get your model a couple of days later via mail order. It also reduces a lot of headaches from an admin point of view for us as it prevents pre-orders and on the shelf items being ordered together at the same time (you would not believe what a faff that is for us!

Cheers!

Fran

[Ironroad]

1 hour ago, Warbonnet said:

Hi there,

Yes, we want to move away from you guys paying up front, then waiting to get the models. This way you pay your money and get your model a couple of days later via mail order. It also reduces a lot of headaches from an admin point of view for us as it prevents pre-orders and on the shelf items being ordered together at the same time (you would not believe what a faff that is for us!

Cheers!

Fran

Hi Fran, while I can appreciate the issue from your point of view,  I have been quite happy to pay on pre-ordering up front for fear of being left out in the cold in the rush when items do become available particularly if for any reason I'm otherwise distracted. Have you considered the concept of accepting advance orders without payment or even a commitment to pay as Hattons do. They simply send those who have expressed an interest an e-mail when items become available and you can proceed with the order or not at that point. I would have thought that some form of advance ordering would be useful to you in determining demand.

[DoctorPan]

2 hours ago, Warbonnet said:

 

Yes, we want to move away from you guys paying up front, then waiting to get the models. This way you pay your money and get your model a couple of days later via mail order. It also reduces a lot of headaches from an admin point of view for us as it prevents pre-orders and on the shelf items being ordered together at the same time (you would not believe what a faff that is for us!

Cheers!

Fran

While I can understand the logistics behind your decision, I did prefer the ability to preorder and pay upfront/by installment as it allowed me to budget my pennies from month to month whereas under the new system, the likeihood of missing out on stock does increase.

[mmie353]

I have to agree with Doctorpan and Ironrod, paying up front for me is ideal and I am able to collect most of the models i want. If IRM is trying to move away from pre-paying for upcoming releases, are we able to order, when they come available and pay off for the items when we can pay them off by installments?

[Warbonnet]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the feedback on this, and we do get your point of view. We had significant feedback from a number of customers that they do not wish to pay money down on a model and wait till they come in, especially if it is delayed or a significant amount of time, like the liners were. As we cannot guarantee the delivery from China time wise due to the current pandemic, we cannot nail our colours to the mast on a timeline. Right now we are giving you all a heads up that they're on the way, so you can start saving now. We are also making a lot more of these than we did with the ferts, so they will not sell out anywhere near as quick.

We are looking into facilitating installments for these, but we would have to be stringent enough of the term it takes to pay. We also have spoils and weedspray as well as the As coming this year, so it's worth throwing that few quid aside as soon as you can.

Cheers!

Fran

[Ironroad]

4 hours ago, Warbonnet said:

We had significant feedback from a number of customers that they do not wish to pay money down on a model and wait till they come in, especially if it is delayed or a significant amount of time, like the liners were.

Are these the same customers that missed out on the liners because they kept their money in their pockets?  So they get catered to rather than those who demonstrated and kept faith in you.  As I was trying to say in my initial post you need some mechanism to cater to advance ordering. There will always be delays we all know that.

Thank you

[Warbonnet]

2 minutes ago, Ironroad said:

Are these the same customers that missed out on the liners because they kept their money in their pockets?  So they get catered to rather than those who demonstrated and kept faith in you.  As I was trying to say in my initial post you need some mechanism to cater to advance ordering. There will always be delays we all know that.

Thank you

Hi Ironroad,

It wasnt, it was people who paid and then waited a year for them to arrive. As I have stated previously more of the Guinness liners will be made than liners and ferts. You have already been given advance warning of when they will arrive, so you can save from now and prepare and you wont miss out. As I also stated, we are looking into payment mechanisms where stock can be reserved. So no need to panic.

Cheers!

Fran

[patrick]

Personally I appreciated being able to pay in advance when funds are available rather than having to come up with a payment last minute before items are sold out which has a habit of happening immediately after the washing machine has bit the dust. I'm thinking that stocking up on gift cards is the answer.

Edited March 26, 2020 by patrick

[DART8118]

Folks

Let's appreciate what IRM are doing for the hobby and take responsibility for how we pay for what we buy.  Looking forward to adding a few of these to the growing fleet.

8118

 

 

[NIRCLASS80]

Personally I think IRM deserves credit for taking this approach at such an uncertain time. Once again they are taking all the financial risk in a rather unstable world.  
It takes massive confidence in the market to import pallets of wagons when people could be facing redundancy or reduced pensions. 

Congratulations to all for producing yet again what looks like a cracking model. 
 

Most importantly everyone stay safe.  Health and family first, models second!

Edited March 26, 2020 by NIRCLASS80

[popeye]

2 hours ago, patrick said:

I'm thinking that stocking up on gift cards is the answer.

That's the way to go. Just the same as pre pay. 

[ttc0169]

Delighted to hear the good news, I have fond memories of working the real Guinness liners in days gone by, the rattle of the empty kegs in their cages when shunting them over the hand points in Claremorris freight yard and the placing of the laden wagons for unloading was a great experience to have done,

Of course I was (and still am) partial to the odd pint of the black stuff too......

[Warbonnet]

13 hours ago, popeye said:

That's the way to go. Just the same as pre pay. 

Exactly, a great solution! You can buy them here! https://irishrailwaymodels.com/products/gift-card

Though please note you can only use ONE voucher per order. It's a technical thing from the web developers we cannot alter. 

[Noel]

Just my tuppance. Personally I prefer the idea of ordering from stock and paying for it just a few days before delivery. It gives a nice degree of certainty, and avoids the issue of delays which seem part of the specialist hobby supply business. Budgeting seems more the buyers responsibility. The guys have been very good at giving out timely information and news, so planning even with the odd delay should be possible. The gift cards is a good option, but not sure from Fran's answer above of there are any restrictions on use (e.g: if a card had say €500 on it, would it be possible to use €200 of the credit on one order and the balance on another order?, or is it one for one?) @Warbonnet Anyway these keg wagons look the business, saw one in the flesh last year at the SDMRC show, seriously impressed, even though a little out of my era, but just too dam good not to collect a few as they were a quintessential part of the Irish seen for decades.

[Robert Shrives]

Good to see progress, will save pennies ! I am sure it has been said before but if packaging not fully finalised is there room in the box for a spare stack  of kegs to be squeezed in to the cornner as a bonus and help scenic fun ? 

Stay safe 

Robert 

 

[K801]

Hi Fran,  Last question, can the Guinness flats carry the Bell containers and can the Bell container flats carry the keys? 

[popeye]

I was wondering if you take off the keg cages will there be any little yellow lugs supplied to use

for container loads.?

[BosKonay]

Hi all

You can review the range here 

https://irishrailwaymodels.com/collections/guinness-keg-liners

 

[Wexford70]

Hi Fran,

Are all of the wagon numbers on the keg wagons different from those of the bell liner wagons? In other words will we now be able to have 8 uniquely numbered 42' wagons?

[Warbonnet]

28 minutes ago, popeye said:

I was wondering if you take off the keg cages will there be any little yellow lugs supplied to use

for container loads.?

Hi Popeye,

The lugs for the cages are moulded on, so not a separate piece.

When things get back to normal we will look to provide spare container lugs.

Cheers!

Fran

1 minute ago, Wexford70 said:

Hi Fran,

Are all of the wagon numbers on the keg wagons different from those of the bell liner wagons? In other words will we now be able to have 8 uniquely numbered 42' wagons?

You will indeed! They will be new numbers, different markings etc.

[Wexford70]

Would be fantastic to have the spare lugs to accept the containers. 

[Warbonnet]

5 hours ago, Noel said:

Just my tuppance. Personally I prefer the idea of ordering from stock and paying for it just a few days before delivery. It gives a nice degree of certainty, and avoids the issue of delays which seem part of the specialist hobby supply business. Budgeting seems more the buyers responsibility. The guys have been very good at giving out timely information and news, so planning even with the odd delay should be possible. The gift cards is a good option, but not sure from Fran's answer above of there are any restrictions on use (e.g: if a card had say €500 on it, would it be possible to use €200 of the credit on one order and the balance on another order?, or is it one for one?) @Warbonnet Anyway these keg wagons look the business, saw one in the flesh last year at the SDMRC show, seriously impressed, even though a little out of my era, but just too dam good not to collect a few as they were a quintessential part of the Irish seen for decades.

Hi Noel,

regarding gift cards, yes it can be used over multiple purchases as long as there is credit remaining on the card.

1 hour ago, Robert Shrives said:

Good to see progress, will save pennies ! I am sure it has been said before but if packaging not fully finalised is there room in the box for a spare stack  of kegs to be squeezed in to the cornner as a bonus and help scenic fun ? 

Stay safe 

Robert 

 

Hi Bob,

Sorry no can do, but we will be selling cages and kegs as an accessory pack.

54 minutes ago, K801 said:

Hi Fran,  Last question, can the Guinness flats carry the Bell containers and can the Bell container flats carry the keys? 

Hi K801,

They can indeed, once you have lugs for the containers.

Cheers,

Fran

[Robert Shrives]

Hi 

Good news on accessory pack .

thanks

Robert 

 

[Strimmers]

On 3/28/2020 at 3:26 PM, Warbonnet said:

 

Hi K801,

They can indeed, once you have lugs for the containers.

Cheers,

Fran

Can these lugs be purchased anywhere?

[mphoey]

On 3/27/2020 at 8:42 AM, Warbonnet said:

Exactly, a great solution! You can buy them here! https://irishrailwaymodels.com/products/gift-card

Though please note you can only use ONE voucher per order. It's a technical thing from the web developers we cannot alter. 

thats the worst part only 1 voucher per order so you could have 500 in 50 euro vouchers  but need to do 10 orders to use them

[mphoey]

On 3/26/2020 at 6:08 PM, patrick said:

Personally I appreciated being able to pay in advance when funds are available rather than having to come up with a payment last minute before items are sold out which has a habit of happening immediately after the washing machine has bit the dust. I'm thinking that stocking up on gift cards is the answer.

like most here i have a set budget a week which i can increase occasionally i used last years budget to pay for the a class fleet and to date this years is going to the 121s i preferred to advance pay my irm orders as paying out nearly 400 at once raised questions from herself whereas paying 50 to 100 a week didnt . i hope to get my keg trains but would have had them at least half paid for by now under the old system i cant leave money sitting either at home or in a bank account in anticipation of release it would just be seen and spent as a joint account. plus it also helps the lads at irm judge production numbers and to have money ready to pay when their bill comes in for the items

 

[DiveController]

Is there away the vouchers can be loaded onto a payment card or paid into a balance on your  account so you have that credit to use? Nice line of credit for the lads to get stock in and members like mphoey can set that money aside as able  

[Warbonnet]

2 hours ago, mphoey said:

like most here i have a set budget a week which i can increase occasionally i used last years budget to pay for the a class fleet and to date this years is going to the 121s i preferred to advance pay my irm orders as paying out nearly 400 at once raised questions from herself whereas paying 50 to 100 a week didnt . i hope to get my keg trains but would have had them at least half paid for by now under the old system i cant leave money sitting either at home or in a bank account in anticipation of release it would just be seen and spent as a joint account. plus it also helps the lads at irm judge production numbers and to have money ready to pay when their bill comes in for the items

 

Hi Martin,

As you know the best way to discuss payment plans with us is to email us direct. This is also applicable for anyone else looking to do the same. We will make sure nobody misses out.

Cheers!

Fran