IRM A Class Now In Production! Here's why you should get your pre-orders in sooner than later...

[jhb171achill]

Can't wait to get mine! Absolutely top notch!

[Warbonnet]

1 hour ago, BSGSV said:

And they still are!

Indeed, both original and toughened. Have we modelled both? Of course...  

[Patrick Davey]

1 hour ago, jhb171achill said:

Can't wait to get mine! Absolutely top notch!

Hear hear!

Notch - a subtle pun there JB....?  Or is my steam head way off.........?  

[jhb171achill]

2 hours ago, Patrick Davey said:

Hear hear!

Notch - a subtle pun there JB....?  Or is my steam head way off.........?  

Notch nine and sixteen fifteenths!

[popeye]

I was never a fan of the silver livery but the silver model does look very good.

Must go and count the savings. 

[jhb171achill]

4 hours ago, popeye said:

I was never a fan of the silver livery but the silver model does look very good.

Must go and count the savings. 

Ahhh - nostalgia. I had savings once….

[Warbonnet]

Super Train time!

One of the iconic A Class liveries and heralding a new and optimistic age for Irish railways, the Supertrain livery is a must for anyone modelling the 1970s-late 1980s. Check out 018 in this classic paint job. 

Naturally this has been a very popular livery and a great era for both passenger and freight. Personally I cant wait to see these weathered up! Grab yours here  https://irishrailwaymodels.com/collections/a-class-locomotive

[scahalane]

Now we're sucking diesel!!! Beauty!

[ttc0169]

1 hour ago, Warbonnet said:

Super Train time!

One of the iconic A Class liveries and heralding a new and optimistic age for Irish railways, the Supertrain livery is a must for anyone modelling the 1970s-late 1980s. Check out 018 in this classic paint job. 

Naturally this has been a very popular livery and a great era for both passenger and freight. Personally I cant wait to see these weathered up! Grab yours here  https://irishrailwaymodels.com/collections/a-class-locomotive

Saving the best for last-fantastic

[Noel]

Ordered No 18. Looking forward to August! ST was an iconic livery for the A's heralding the super train launch in 1972 with matching livery mk2 coaches rounded coach ends matching the roof profile of the loco. It all looked so modern back then in an Ireland that still played the national anthem when RTE went off air every night, usually around 11pm, and when traffic lights were still black and white. The super train was like a space ship to an Ireland still getting used to morris minor's and ford anglia's   

[ttc0169]

Saving this for the very last I’m assuming?

 

[Warbonnet]

3 minutes ago, ttc0169 said:

Saving this for the very last I’m assuming?

 

We have debated this one ourselves. Would people buy a special edition in this livery? 

[DoctorPan]

36 minutes ago, Warbonnet said:

We have debated this one ourselves. Would people buy a special edition in this livery? 

Stick me down for one as an expression of interest. After all, what's one more after the rake I've already ordered!

[leslie10646]

1 hour ago, Noel said:

Ordered No 18. Looking forward to August! ST was an iconic livery for the A's heralding the super train launch in 1972 with matching livery mk2 coaches rounded coach ends matching the roof profile of the loco. It all looked so modern back then in an Ireland that still played the national anthem when RTE went off air every night, usually around 11pm, and when traffic lights were still black and white. The super train was like a space ship to an Ireland still getting used to morris minor's and ford anglia's   

I must agree with Noel - I have in my possession an official CIE photo (in black and white!) of the Supertrain on Bray Head - and yes, it did look like futuristic.

But, that said, a bit late for me from a modelling standpoint. Still contemplating a green "stripped" one!

I must sell my hoard of Super Train coaches! It'll help pay for all these goodies!

[Bumble_Bee]

i know you folks are probably bored hearing about requests/suggestions by this point but given the similarities.. would a C class be in the works after? Any excuse for an NIR livery haha

[flange lubricator]

2 hours ago, Warbonnet said:

We have debated this one ourselves. Would people buy a special edition in this livery? 

019 never ran in that livery so don’t know how popular it would be.  Personally I would love to see Class leader 001 in supertrain livery with highlighted front numbers and black roof panels  as appeared in those publicity pictures certainly would be a seller for me . 

018 looks great 

[Warbonnet]

1 minute ago, flange lubricator said:

019 never ran in that livery so don’t know how popular it would be.  Personally I would love to see Class leader 001 in supertrain livery with highlighted front numbers and black roof panels  as appeared in those publicity pictures certainly would be a seller for me . 

018 looks great 

001 can also be done with A1 numbering in Supertrain as per the launch service. I think the numbering only lasted a couple of days, but did look different, especially on the buffer beam.

Decisions decisions... lol

[jhb171achill]

Supertrain livery with “A1”? I thought it had 001 on its first ever outing in “Supertrain” livery?

[Westcorkrailway]

1 hour ago, Bumble_Bee said:

i know you folks are probably bored hearing about requests/suggestions by this point but given the similarities.. would a C class be in the works after? Any excuse for an NIR livery haha

After the A class it seems to me with variety of liveries, 2 1/2 preserved examples, and similarity to an A. I think it highly likely that we will see one in years to come. AEC Railcar sets also have a lot for northern irish and irish models so i would place them after. Then followed by a sulzer in likeliness. After that......RTR steam loco, Class 80, D/E/G Shunters, re-run of existing model (071, 141) ect. Are all possibibilities that are about level after that Though im sure this is a debate we have had many a time 

3 hours ago, Warbonnet said:

We have debated this one ourselves. Would people buy a special edition in this livery? 

I think for a "what if" people might be interested. Cant say i would 100 percent get one cause my era is completely different but i got a grey 121 for west cork, so I'm sure late 90s early 2000s modelers could make that situation works

[jhb171achill]

2 minutes ago, Westcorkrailway said:

……. but i got a grey 121 for west cork, so I'm sure late 90s early 2000s modelers could make that situation works

Had the West Cork system remained even three to five more years, grey 121s would have been very likely visitors!

[DoctorPan]

13 minutes ago, Westcorkrailway said:

I think for a "what if" people might be interested. 

I wonder if the ITG could be bribed to turn A39r into that livery and suddenly it goes from a what if to a necassary model for modern Downpatrick ops guv!

 

I'm sure fluffy dice and nanners might do the trick...

[Warbonnet]

1 hour ago, jhb171achill said:

Supertrain livery with “A1”? I thought it had 001 on its first ever outing in “Supertrain” livery?

There are photos of it with A1 numbers between the windscreen and on the buffer beam that popped up in the Facebook groups. Will do a deep dive look and see if I can find them again. Sadly, Facebook is useless for finding old threads of info, why forums are better!

[Westcorkrailway]

12 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

Had the West Cork system remained even three to five more years, grey 121s would have been very likely visitors!

They surely would have visited on an excursion of some sort. There might have been an A class or a few doing regular work it it had lasted until 1967 or so. I think only 2-3 A class locos went onto the west cork all in silver

1 minute ago, DoctorPan said:

I wonder if the ITG could be bribed to turn A39r into that livery and suddenly it goes from a what if to a necassary model for modern Downpatrick ops guv!

 

I'm sure fluffy dice and nanners might do the trick...

Breaking news: A39R is being put into CIE  Green on launch day of IRM A class

 

Now that would be a mighty kick in the hole

[JasonB]

Patiently waiting for images of the IR livery with day-glo panels. Can't be long now. Wearing my disposable underwear as I speak, just incase I soil myself when some pics are eventually posted. It will, without doubt, look that good. 

[jhb171achill]

3 hours ago, Westcorkrailway said:

They surely would have visited on an excursion of some sort. There might have been an A class or a few doing regular work it it had lasted until 1967 or so. I think only 2-3 A class locos went onto the west cork all in silver

 

"A"'s were never used in traffic in West Cork, but a trial run was carried out once or twice.

The traffic didn't warrant them, nor would it ever have been likely to have done, and in places it's possible bridges or track - which by 1955 was indifferent at best - mightn't have been keen on them.

However, had, for example, the Bantry oil terminal required oil trains in the 1960s, and the line survived maybe until the 1975 closures, it's likely you'd have got "A"s on the oil trains and inevitably 141s on passenger.

[seagoebox]

From the Archives!!

[jhb171achill]

3 hours ago, Warbonnet said:

There are photos of it with A1 numbers between the windscreen and on the buffer beam that popped up in the Facebook groups. Will do a deep dive look and see if I can find them again. Sadly, Facebook is useless for finding old threads of info, why forums are better!

New one to me, Warbonnet - I suspect this is like the very first "Woolwich" in MGWR livery, but sprayed GSR grey before even a fire had been lit in her, and that "A" with the yellow band at Inchicore - something which didn't actually see the light of day.

As Seagoebox shows above, at first it had "001"; that pic was a photoshoot before it entered traffic. It will also be seen that the very first examples painted into "Supertrain" livery had their numbers on the ends shaded in orange, same way that the ones on the sides were shaded in black. I saw this on at least one 141 too, but the very first 121s I saw (IN 1972) had plain white numerals on the ends.

[patrick]

Did many of the Super train A's have the roof panels painted black like 001 in the publicity photo?

[DJ Dangerous]

7 hours ago, Warbonnet said:

We have debated this one ourselves. Would people buy a special edition in this livery? 

I'd definitely buy a special edition in this livery, along with the 1995 silver livery of A39R.

[jhb171achill]

58 minutes ago, patrick said:

Did many of the Super train A's have the roof panels painted black like 001 in the publicity photo?

No - in fact 001 might have been the only one; mind you, they often got so dirty they might as well have been. But I think the black roof was like the orange shading on numerals on a black background - the first few only, or in this case maybe only the first one.

 

[flange lubricator]

1 hour ago, patrick said:

Did many of the Super train A's have the roof panels painted black like 001 in the publicity photo?

I believe 044 051 205 183 & 187 but not too sure how long they carried them. Excellent picture of 183 & 187 on the IRRS Flickr site in Cork both ex works sporting black roofs.

 

Edited July 9, 2021 by flange lubricator

[RedRich]

5 hours ago, JasonB said:

Patiently waiting for images of the IR livery with day-glo panels. Can't be long now. Wearing my disposable underwear as I speak, just incase I soil myself when some pics are eventually posted. It will, without doubt, look that good. 

Hold in there Jason it won't be long. Don't chance a fart just incase. Can't wait to see them myself. The Supertrain looks amazing.

Rich,

[josefstadt]

7 hours ago, jhb171achill said:

New one to me, Warbonnet - I suspect this is like the very first "Woolwich" in MGWR livery, but sprayed GSR grey before even a fire had been lit in her, and that "A" with the yellow band at Inchicore - something which didn't actually see the light of day.

As Seagoebox shows above, at first it had "001"; that pic was a photoshoot before it entered traffic. It will also be seen that the very first examples painted into "Supertrain" livery had their numbers on the ends shaded in orange, same way that the ones on the sides were shaded in black. I saw this on at least one 141 too, but the very first 121s I saw (IN 1972) had plain white numerals on the ends.

The original intention was that the A class numbering would revert to A1 to A60 after all locomotives had been re-engined. The 'r' suffix was only to identify the GM-powered locos in a mixed fleet and once all locos had been done it was no longer needed. As Warbonnet says above, A1 did receive that number with the Supertrain livery, but before it appeared out of Inchicore CIE had decided to adopt the new numbering scheme and it became 001.

[minister_for_hardship]

12 hours ago, seagoebox said:

From the Archives!!

One headlamp, identifies as a goods train?

[flange lubricator]

13 hours ago, seagoebox said:

From the Archives!!

Complete with Driver wearing white cap!

Edited July 10, 2021 by flange lubricator