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

[Georgeconna]

4 hours ago, Warbonnet said:

Hi Gareth,

The cutout should handle radius two curves as it's a kinematic coupling. 

Hi Patrick,

They will be shipped with one coupling fitted as per photos with the second in the accessory pack for you to install if desired. They just clip into the NEM pocket.

Cheers!

Fran 

I'll  do up a short 50 Minute you tube video on fitting this if it suits folks.

 

[Patrick Davey]

Well gents……any news…….?

[Warbonnet]

54 minutes ago, Patrick Davey said:

Well gents……any news…….?

Nope, nothing has changed since the last update of end of August for arrival. Once we have news you guys are always the first to know.. 

[Edo]

Its August...nearly there 

 

 

[WRENNEIRE]

2 hours ago, Edo said:

Its August...nearly there 
But they never said which year Edo!

 

 

 

[BosKonay]

Hehe, we'll have tracking confirmed this week and then know exactly when they will be in hand

[T.Benton]

I'm having problems signing up. I cannot figure out the answer to your question.

I would appreciate some help.

 

Thanks, T

[BosKonay]

Landing a couple of weeks ahead of the locos, the EMD sound chips are now in stock and shipping!

https://irishrailwaymodels.com/collections/a-class-locomotive/products/a-class-emd-sound-decoder

[Patrick Davey]

I got really excited when I saw a notification for this thread........

[Garfield]

With our A Class locomotives now in transit from our factory, we thought it would be a good time to update the sales chart! 036 is the latest loco to completely sell-out and many more have reached critically low levels of availability...

[Patrick Davey]

"....now in transit...." ?

Yeooooooooooooooooo

[Broithe]

It's a long way from China in a Transit. Are you driving in shifts?

[Dempsey]

Great news. Congratulations. 

[Georgeconna]

I feel really sorry for 007 I'd nearly order one...So unloved... Whyyyyyyyyyy!

 

[jhb171achill]

Excellent news, IRM! Very well done!

[murphaph]

1 hour ago, Broithe said:

It's a long way from China in a Transit. Are you driving in shifts?

Joxer comes from Shanghai has a certain ring to it in a Newbridge accent...

[Westcorkrailway]

4 hours ago, Georgeconna said:

I feel really sorry for 007 I'd nearly order one...So unloved... Whyyyyyyyyyy!

 

James bond isint raking in the numbers its expected

 

Fingers crossed it will arrive before september first 

[iarnrod]

Interesting that the black/tan/white early CIE livery were the first locos to sell out for both the A Class and the 121 Class.

Seems to be a bit of a shift here, as IR always seemed to be the most popular modelling period up to recently, based on sales of previously released items from both IRM and MM.

[Garfield]

8 hours ago, Westcorkrailway said:

James bond isint raking in the numbers its expected

 

Fingers crossed it will arrive before september first 

We're looking at delivery around the end of the first week of September, with shipments to customers commencing the following week. 

[johnfromoz]

Hi all,  having ordered one of these beauties in Supertrain, I will eventually fit it with sound.  In the meantime, does anybody know if a basic 21 pin decoder will get it working and if so, will six full functions be needed for lighting or four functions with two logic outputs?

Thanks

John

[Garfield]

1 hour ago, johnfromoz said:

Hi all,  having ordered one of these beauties in Supertrain, I will eventually fit it with sound.  In the meantime, does anybody know if a basic 21 pin decoder will get it working and if so, will six full functions be needed for lighting or four functions with two logic outputs?

Thanks

John

Hi John,

We also sell a standard ESU LokPilot decoder, which is optimised for the A Class, if you don't want sound straight away: https://irishrailwaymodels.com/collections/dcc-decoders/products/a-class-dcc-standard-chip

[DiveController]

On 13/8/2021 at 1:51 AM, iarnrod said:

Interesting that the black/tan/white early CIE livery were the first locos to sell out for both the A Class and the 121 Class.

Seems to be a bit of a shift here, as IR always seemed to be the most popular modelling period up to recently, based on sales of previously released items from both IRM and MM.

That era has repeatedly been underestimated, in the sense that they would not have sold out that quickly if more had been produced. The As have not been produced in equal numbers as I understand it like say there were 504 MM 141 class etc. 

Edited August 14, 2021 by DiveController

[leslie10646]

Kevin makes a very good point above. the Black 'n Tan era is of greater interest for the reason that the locos ran on a railway little changed from steam days - semaphore signals, freight trains with brake vans, , seldom two wagons on a train the same; still lots of sundries and mail traffic, which meant that passenger trains did not just cart people .........

Talks on the era always attract a good audience for that reason and thank heavens quite a few guys took great pictures which have recorded the scene - JB's books (with Barry Carse) are a case in point.

 

[Noel]

11 hours ago, DiveController said:

That era has repeated been underestimated, in the sense that they would not have sold out that quickly if more had been produced. The As have not been produced in equal numbers as I understand it like say the were 504 MM 141 class etc. 

Guess that might be because of nostalgia memory reflecting the age demographics of customers. When I say train to my Uncle he immediately thinks of a steam loco, and all the noise that entails, whereas I immediately think of Green and B&T A classes or Black'n'Tan 141/181s from my childhood traveling on the railways, and B&T AEC sets. I vividly remember travelling to Galway behind grey 121 on more than a few occasions. Its grey livery under the dark station roof looked more like a military shade of grey when appealed to me at the time as a child they grew up on ww2 war movies. Remember W J Owens in Bray selling ww2 transets, with war wells and tanks. Todays kids may think of Green intercity stock behind 201s and 2600 DMUs when they are our age.

Another advantage of the B&T era is it facilitates short wheel base rolling stock which tends to look better of typical layout size curves whereas modern mk3, mk4 coaching stock can look unrealistic overhanging track bends, also limits the length of trains whereas behind a B&T A class or MM 141 20 two axle goods wagons looks seriously long and full of interest due to the variety. Also easy to convert readily available BR (40s-60s) RTR 2-axle wagons to CIE era to make up pick up goods trains formations that once dominated Kingsbridge/Heuston yards as well as Cork.

[Garfield]

12 hours ago, DiveController said:

That era has repeated been underestimated, in the sense that they would not have sold out that quickly if more had been produced. The As have not been produced in equal numbers as I understand it like say the were 504 MM 141 class etc. 

Or has it? 

[DJ Dangerous]

What's the difference between CAWS with protective guards and CAWS without protective guards, a la 017 vs. 048?

Did one come before the other, as in 017 represents the class from X date until X date and 048 for a different date range?

Or was it random for each loco?

 

[DiveController]

11 hours ago, DJ Dangerous said:

What's the difference between CAWS with protective guards and CAWS without protective guards, a la 017 vs. 048?

Did one come before the other, as in 017 represents the class from X date until X date and 048 for a different date range?

Or was it random for each loco?

 

From what I recall the guards were a later introduction to protect the CAWS system from damage but as to timing I have no idea

Edited August 14, 2021 by DiveController

[irishthump]

On 13/8/2021 at 11:34 AM, Garfield said:

We're looking at delivery around the end of the first week of September, with shipments to customers commencing the following week. 

Will there be an option to collect our orders when they are in stock? Or will Covid restrictions still prevent this?

[DJ Dangerous]

15 hours ago, DiveController said:

From what I recall the guards were a later introduction to protect the CAWS system from damage but as to timing I have no idea

Thanks, DC.

I was a little confused but what you say makes perfect sense, as both of the ST / IR hybrid liveries are without, then one of the IR's is with and one without, and both of the IR Day-Glows have them.

 

[BosKonay]

15 hours ago, irishthump said:

Will there be an option to collect our orders when they are in stock? Or will Covid restrictions still prevent this?

We are offering colllection as an option from our Click & Collect point at the warehouse which is just off the m50 in the robinhood estate. 
 

if anyone would like to collect please let us know via email to support@irishrailwaymodels.com and we will pack for collection and email you a pickup barcode once ready. 

[Mayner]

 

48 minutes ago, DJ Dangerous said:

Thanks, DC.

I was a little confused but what you say makes perfect sense, as both of the ST / IR hybrid liveries are without, then one of the IR's is with and one without, and both of the IR Day-Glows have them.

 

The protective guards were fitted to 001 Class locos which received overhauls (which included a repaint) at Inchacore in the early 1990s, CAWS equipment was fitted to all main line locos by 1984 in order to run over the electrified lines in the Dublin area.

[DJ Dangerous]

13 minutes ago, Mayner said:

 

The protective guards were fitted to 001 Class locos which received overhauls (which included a repaint) at Inchacore in the early 1990s, CAWS equipment was fitted to all main line locos by 1984 in order to run over the electrified lines in the Dublin area.

 

Thanks for the answers, @Mayner and @DiveController.

 

For anybody with short-term memory problems like me, here is a list of eleven A / 001 Class withdrawal / withdrawl dates from posts in another thread by @spudfan and @Garfield:

 

IR Livery

017 - stopped 29.09.93

023 - stopped 30-10-91

027 - stopped 09.06.92

030 - stopped 09.02.93

036 - stopped 19.12.94

042 - stopped 09.10.92

048 - stopped 24.05.94

054 - stopped 28.07.93

 

Supertrain / IR hybrid Livery:

007 - stopped 14.10.90

056 - stopped 29.10.92

 

Supertrain Livery:

046 - stopped 21.04.79

 

If anybody wishes to add more dates, that'd be great!

[Ironroad]

On 14/8/2021 at 11:22 AM, Garfield said:

Or has it? 

Please explain this question. It would be interesting to know if the sales chart for sales of the A class is a comparison of "apples to apples"

[BosKonay]

26 minutes ago, Ironroad said:

Please explain this question. It would be interesting to know if the sales chart for sales of the A class is a comparison of "apples to apples"

All of the models in this run of the A are in relatively limited numbers, of between 250 and 300 units. Interestingly the sold out models are all 300 unit runs.

[DJ Dangerous]

2 hours ago, BosKonay said:

All of the models in this run of the A.....

So another run arriving at Christmas with new variants and running numbers?????

Or will it be the IRM 141's before the next run of  A's?

Edited August 15, 2021 by DJ Dangerous
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