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

[DJ Dangerous]

3 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

 

Yes, it and C231 (now preserved) appear to be the only ones to get this one-off variation. The rest were all in the lighter green, like carriages and railcars after 1955.

An outstandingly attractive livery, I must say, looks great with the green Bachmann coaches.

[Westcorkrailway]

3 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

 

Yes, it and C231 (now preserved) appear to be the only ones to get this one-off variation. The rest were all in the lighter green, like carriages and railcars after 1955.

For how long did the livery last/is there any photos, particular colour photos on the internet/IRRS flicker?

 

I have been told of a few other wierd livery variations recently yet struggled to find photos of these variations at the moment  

[jhb171achill]

7 minutes ago, Westcorkrailway said:

For how long did the livery last/is there any photos, particular colour photos on the internet/IRRS flicker?

I have been told of a few other wierd livery variations recently yet struggled to find photos of these variations at the moment  

The light green was introduced about 1957/8 to cover up the absolutely ghastly mess that the "silver" had become; I think, actually, that the very last few "C"s commenced service in green rather than silver.

The orange and black commenced in 1962. However, just like the survival of the (awful!) Mlime green, white and navy blue on 29 class railcars today, it took quite a few years before all were repainted from green to black'n'tan, or after 1964 or so, all-black. There was still the odd green "C" to be seen up to about 1967. Exact same story for the B101s and "A" class.

What other livery variations were you told about as a matter of interest? I'm unaware of any, to be honest, other than the famous yellow and (separately) orange buffer beam experiments.........

[DJ Dangerous]

5 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

However, just like the survival of the (awful!) Mlime green, white and navy blue on 29 class railcars today, it took quite a few years before all were repainted from green to black'n'tan

 

The 29000's are now black and tan???

[Westcorkrailway]

26 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

The light green was introduced about 1957/8 to cover up the absolutely ghastly mess that the "silver" had become; I think, actually, that the very last few "C"s commenced service in green rather than silver.

The orange and black commenced in 1962. However, just like the survival of the (awful!) Mlime green, white and navy blue on 29 class railcars today, it took quite a few years before all were repainted from green to black'n'tan, or after 1964 or so, all-black. There was still the odd green "C" to be seen up to about 1967. Exact same story for the B101s and "A" class.

What other livery variations were you told about as a matter of interest? I'm unaware of any, to be honest, other than the famous yellow and (separately) orange buffer beam experiments.........

Yellow/orange buffer beams on a C class? Didn’t know about those

 

Recently while surfing through a private collection I came across is a photograph of C234 With a flying snail on the side….all I was told was was told they weren’t there long before they started cracking due to the heat (they were not metal snails like the A class) I couldn’t find another photo of this variation on any other loco nevermind C234….possibly a “republic of glanmire road job” as you call it

[DJ Dangerous]

4 minutes ago, Westcorkrailway said:

Yellow/orange buffer beams on a C class? Didn’t know about those

 

Recently while surfing through a private collection I came across is a photograph of C234 With a flying snail on the side….all I was told was was told they weren’t there long before they started cracking due to the heat (they were not metal snails like the A class) I couldn’t find another photo of this variation on any other loco nevermind C234….possibly a “republic of glanmire road job” as you call it

@jhb171achill, this is your mission, should you choose to accept it.

[jhb171achill]

13 minutes ago, Westcorkrailway said:

Yellow/orange buffer beams on a C class? Didn’t know about those

Recently while surfing through a private collection I came across is a photograph of C234 With a flying snail on the side….all I was told was was told they weren’t there long before they started cracking due to the heat (they were not metal snails like the A class) I couldn’t find another photo of this variation on any other loco nevermind C234….possibly a “republic of glanmire road job” as you call it

One “C” (or possibly an “A”; I’d have to look it up) very briefly had an orange buffer beam instead of red; it was a black loco at the time. Another, while in the black-with-yellow-end livery, briefly had the yellow patch on the ends extended down to cover the buffer beam. 
 

I’m unsure of C234 carrying a “snail” while actually in traffic - have you a photo?

[Westcorkrailway]

37 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

One “C” (or possibly an “A”; I’d have to look it up) very briefly had an orange buffer beam instead of red; it was a black loco at the time. Another, while in the black-with-yellow-end livery, briefly had the yellow patch on the ends extended down to cover the buffer beam. 
 

I’m unsure of C234 carrying a “snail” while actually in traffic - have you a photo?

No I don’t have the photo. Although I do wonder if this loco was working out the skibbereen and Baltimore or Clonakilty branch would it have been well photographed or noted at all. 

[jhb171achill]

On 24/1/2023 at 4:55 PM, Westcorkrailway said:

No I don’t have the photo. Although I do wonder if this loco was working out the skibbereen and Baltimore or Clonakilty branch would it have been well photographed or noted at all. 

I'm sure it would. No diesel loco in the silver livery ever carried the "snail" in traffic, other than the "A" class, on which the attached metal cut-out symbol, like the number, was painted light green.

As for C234, if anyone can unearth a photo of it in use with this thing on it, I will be surprised.

Edited June 28, 2023 by jhb171achill

[Georgeconna]

On 21/1/2023 at 11:07 AM, murphaph said:

I've probably not run my A's long enough to see the failure George. I am interested to hear what it turns out to be though. Hopefully just a dry joint somewhere in the chain. Have you tried a different decoder first? The ESU stay alives are a three wire job I think so in theory the decoder could be gone bad as well. It's not a simple capacitor connected across the potential of the rails AFAIK. There's a bit more too it because big fat capacitors work as stay alives but they also swallow the ack pulses from the motor when programming so they have to be switched out of the circuit then. The three wire ones use some charging and discharging circuitry on the decoder and therefore don't need to be isolated during programming like simple caps do.

 

Good news is that got some help from FB, The CV value for 113  was 0, Strange as I had not done any programming on this at all. Anyway set it to 127 and it works again so happy days.

[murphaph]

That is strange indeed. Good to know it was something easy to fix though. I will make a mental note of it lest I encounter the same issue

Edited January 25, 2023 by murphaph

[mmie353]

Quick question, @Warbonnet or @BosKonay I was just thinking, is there any update on the sound decoder for the A Class Crossley sound decoder? Figured I would poke the question. 

[BosKonay]

On 10/5/2023 at 3:57 AM, mmie353 said:

Quick question, @Warbonnet or @BosKonay I was just thinking, is there any update on the sound decoder for the A Class Crossley sound decoder? Figured I would poke the question. 

We are working on a solution, hopefully not too much longer to wait!

[mmie353]

@BosKonay awesome thanks for the update

[Warbonnet]

Hi everyone,

Just a quick update re Crossley sound decoders; we currently have one in testing. Tweaks will be required but it's shaping up nicely. Once we have tweaks completed a delivery date will be confirmed and pre-ordering shall commence.

Cheers!

Fran 

[Sean]

Go on, give us a wav preview  

[Warbonnet]

Don't worry Sean, once we're a bit more happy with it a full video will be provided of it! 

[Sean]

cant argue with that  

 

are you able to tell us where the prime mover sounds came from? I had always assumed  it would have to be Australia but with mention of a crossley engined diesel shunter earlier on in the thread you have me pondering now .

[Warbonnet]

1 hour ago, Sean said:

cant argue with that  

 

are you able to tell us where the prime mover sounds came from? I had always assumed  it would have to be Australia but with mention of a crossley engined diesel shunter earlier on in the thread you have me pondering now .

After 4 years of trying we have given up on Australia and it's from historical recordings, some of which were recently unearthed. 

Cheers!

Fran 

[Noel]

4 hours ago, Warbonnet said:

Hi everyone,

Just a quick update re Crossley sound decoders; we currently have one in testing. Tweaks will be required but it's shaping up nicely. Once we have tweaks completed a delivery date will be confirmed and pre-ordering shall commence.

Cheers!

Fran 

Fran, thank you very much for that information. Much appreciated. Looking forward to them. Noel

[leslie10646]

Like Noel, looking forward to this retrofit to my Silver "Bullet". Yep, that's what we called them back in the Day.

Where do I put the SMOKE unit in, to make the model really true to life ........

[DJ Dangerous]

I'm a bit ignorant of sound files and decoders and stuff, so sorry if the terminology is wrong here.

Let's say IRM release a sound decoder for the A Class next summer.

Then, two or three years later, for whatever reason, be it technological advances or unearthing more recordings or a running Crossley being found somewhere, IRM decide to record a new sound file.

Does that new sound file get released as a patch or an update or something via the ESU website?

Or would it only be available via a completely new sound decoder, hardware and all?

[aclass007]

Has anyone tried the A Class - EMD Sound Decoder on a DC layout? I know the functions will be limited, but I'm wondering how well it sounded, and performed in general....

[DJ Dangerous]

On 31/12/2021 at 10:35 AM, Georgeconna said:

You can see I have some silicon grease is added to the 42's to help this but no luck. I can't figure out why the couplings are not going back to the center.

 

Regarding lubricant (shut up about the weekends, @JasonB!!!), and not just for the stiff couplings on the 42' flats, what is "silicon lubricant" suitable for and what is it NOT suitable for?

How did you solve this, @Georgeconna?

I cannot get graphite powder, here, and no retailers will post it.

I slathered the stiff couplings on some of my 42' flats with 3 In 1 oil and it worked a charm, but I understand that it may cause damage to the plastic long-term.

The only thing that I cab find here that's even close is "silicon lubricant", designed for rubber, wood, vinyl and plastic, according to the label.

Also, on that topic, three products recommended for locomotive maintenance are "light oil", "light grease" and "sewing machine oil". None of these are available here, and no retailers will post them. There is no model railway scene, no RC car scene, no antique sewing machine scene, so what are the alternatives, in general hardware store products, not specialist niche products?

 

On 30/12/2021 at 4:00 PM, BosKonay said:

We hate tension locks.

While included, the MK2s and MK5's include magnetic couplings, the caldrons have magnetic chain couplers, and we're working on a range of magnetic and knuckle based systems that will offer compatibility with NEM and those that really want Tension Locks, will be able to continue using them

 

Aside from grabbing both pieces of rolling stock to pull them apart, is there any trick for more subtle uncoupling of the IRM magnetic couplers?

Like, tapping them with another magnet or something?

[Mike 84C]

Can you not get graphite for lubricating door locks? thats the stuff Kadee sells for lubricating their couplers. A little bottle has lasted me a lifetime.

Plastic compatible oils should be ok. Stay well away from any mineral oil however "light" it is.

[DJ Dangerous]

1 minute ago, Mike 84C said:

Can you not get graphite for lubricating door locks? thats the stuff Kadee sells for lubricating their couplers. A little bottle has lasted me a lifetime.

Plastic compatible oils should be ok. Stay well away from any mineral oil however "light" it is.

 

Yes, Leroy Merlin (large hardware shop) sell "3 In 1" brand door-lock lubricant. Will check the label on the back next time I'm there.

Thanks for that, would never have thought of it otherwise. I just assumed it was regular 3 In 1 oil in a smaller tin with a fancy label.

 

 

[Mike 84C]

If that 3 in 1 is mineral oil as in from a hole in the ground, avoid!!!!!!  If its graphite like in powered pencil lead , thats the sort of stuff I have used.

  I once used 3 in 1 on a loco with rim insulated drivers. The oil got onto the insulation and shorted it out . Could I get more drivers? No!! So there began an operation that involved cutting spokes with a fine coping saw, Araldite Epoxy and repeat. 40 yrs ago and loco is still running! So I never recommend 3 in1 now.  Or WD 40!  

[DJ Dangerous]

OK, down a bit of a rabbit hole, there.

Found 3 In 1 Antigrip (cylinder lubricant) on the Leroy Merlin Spanish site. Not listed on the Canarian website. No label to show contents.

Then found Silca Antigrip on the same site.

Label does show...

It's graphite powder lubricant for locks. No shipping here as that's for Spain, not the Canaries.

Then found the same product on Amazon.

Amazon.co.uk don't ship here but Amazon.es do!

€4 for an 18g tube with free shipping...

Now onto "light oil", 'light grease" and "sewing machine oil".

Thanks, @Mike 84C!

[Georgeconna]

Hi DJ,

sorry to say I did not, the IRM Massive advised to use Coupling bars which tbh worked fine and eradicated the derailing,  but then you have a fixed rake which is a pain.

I am packing all my stuff back up as the Portacabin is going and I noticed that the plastic the Tension couplers and bars are made from what I feel is of a slightly poorer plastic compared to the other manufacturers and I when I replaced and re installed them you can see White Fracture marks on them so they wont last too much handling wise. Not to mind when trying to extract them the plate push fitted over the coupling pops off. Lots of fun.

 

 

 

[Sean]

when i looked into this a few months ago the consensus seemed to be that these three terms are used generically by manufacturers to allow them to avoid listing specific specs of lubricant to buy and best practice would just to be to go out and buy specific lube and grease from your local model shop.

that said  there are a few things ive learned over the years that might help.

Silicone oil should be fine - I used to use it to oil my airsoft guns and in particular a part called the "hop up" which was an adjustable piece of very soft rubber that the BB strikes at full velocity before travelling down the barrel to add back spin. this was a specific recommendation and we were to NEVER use wd40 (dont wd40 your model train either lol)

"sewing machine oil" seems to just be a different terminology for 3 in 1, I have the bottle of singer machine oil here and when you read closely it seems to just be 3 in 1 in a fancy bottle. same nozzle etc.

in the end i tried a little bit of hair clipper oil as the hair clipper has lots of plastic parts and it seemed to fit the description of a light machine oil perfectly. I later read that this too is probabaly mineral based  so could also be unsafe but so far things have been grand and if i need to relube ill use something more specific but it seems fine for now.

[DJ Dangerous]

4 minutes ago, Georgeconna said:

I am packing all my stuff back up as the Portacabin is going...

 

Heading to sunnier climes?

I know a good spot.

[Sean]

.

Edited July 27, 2023 by Sean

[DJ Dangerous]

I'm getting the impression from reading online, that sewing machine oil is lighter than 3 In 1, circulates better, leaves no residue and contains no acids, but that it is also known as "light oil".

[Broithe]

A set of these four will cover pretty much anything that model railways will need, I find.

This information is presented as a public service, to avoid your search history being full of 'lube' searches.

[murphaph]

You could just use a pencil rather than graphite powder. The powder is very messy I found. A bit of fine sandpaper and a pencil will also produce graphite powder if direct application using the pencil doesn't work.