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

[John-r]

This Loco goes beyond the wow factor. If I was to leave Tralee now could I meet the train somewhere, it doesn't matter where and get my As from them.

[amdaley]

Quick question here.

Would the sounds in that sound decoder apply to the earlier variants of the loco as well ?

Tony.

Edited August 19, 2021 by amdaley

[iarnrod]

Absolutely stunning looking in that video. 23 coach rake has no effect on it, even at slow speed. Can't wait to get my hands on some of these.

[amdaley]

1 minute ago, John-r said:

This Loco goes beyond the wow factor. If I was to leave Tralee now could I meet the train somewhere, it doesn't matter where and get my As from them.

Would you come down my way & pick me up on the way 

[DJ Dangerous]

Incredible loco, just outstanding.

The performance, the stay-alive capacitors, the magnetic roof catches and the body being screwed in place instead of clipped, all scream that this was a project of passion, made by modellers for modellers.

[John-r]

Get the sandwiches ready I'm on my way

[Warbonnet]

12 minutes ago, amdaley said:

Quick question here.

Would the sounds in that sound decoder apply to the earlier variants of the loco as well ?

Tony.

Hi Tony,

Sadly not. The Crossley engine is proving to be elusive for us at the moment with everything that's been going on in the world, but we are still determined to get it. Hopefully soon. 

Cheers!

Fran 

[amdaley]

27 minutes ago, John-r said:

Get the sandwiches ready I'm on my way

Tea or Coffee 

[jhb171achill]

41 minutes ago, Warbonnet said:

Hi Tony,

Sadly not. The Crossley engine is proving to be elusive for us at the moment with everything that's been going on in the world, but we are still determined to get it. Hopefully soon. 

Cheers!

Fran 

When things do eventually calm down, there’s a preserved XA (Aussie A class) in full working order, Crossley engine included, on the preserved Hotham Valley Railway in Oz.

Six of the class survive, plus bits of another, in various locations in the land of upside-down kangaroos and man-eating spiders the size of “A” class locos, but only the one operating.

Doubtless IRM will set sail, tape recorder in hand, to capture this beast.

Same engine as an A, and a very different sound indeed to a GM “Transplant “.

Look up “WAGR XA” in your YouTube machines…..

[scahalane]

I hadn't seen that video before. Really looks great all round. I didn't know it had that stay alive function, can't wait!!

[Garfield]

18 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

When things do eventually calm down, there’s a preserved XA (Aussie A class) in full working order, Crossley engine included, on the preserved Hotham Valley Railway in Oz.

Six of the class survive, plus bits of another, in various locations in the land of upside-down kangaroos and man-eating spiders the size of “A” class locos, but only the one operating.

Doubtless IRM will set sail, tape recorder in hand, to capture this beast.

Same engine as an A, and a very different sound indeed to a GM “Transplant “.

Look up “WAGR XA” in your YouTube machines…..

Already lined up, @jhb171achill! Unfortunately, Australia is still struggling to cope with Covid and there are still tight restrictions in place, which is preventing us from progressing with this project at the moment...  

[jhb171achill]

12 minutes ago, Garfield said:

Already lined up, @jhb171achill! Unfortunately, Australia is still struggling to cope with Covid and there are still tight restrictions in place, which is preventing us from progressing with this project at the moment...  

Excellent!

[Old Blarney]

A Class Sound

I have a number of A Class Locomotives and Sound Decoders on order.  Each of my locomotives should have a Crossley Sound Decoder, however, as these are as yet unavailable, I have chosen to use the GM version. My reasoning being this: I can hopefully have these re-blown when the Crossley decoders become available.

Is it possible that this facility (re-blown) will be will be provided by Irish Railway Models? 

What would be the cost for such a service?

In the event if IRM not providing this service, will they sanction a third part to do so?

An immediate answer is not required, should these question still need consideration!

 

[JasonB]

Fantastic. Seeing it on the move like this, and with sound is just the business. Loving F5 - Drive Hold. Can't wait to get my hands on these beauties. 

[DiveController]

7 hours ago, murphaph said:

That's awesome with the stay alive. Didn't think it would go anywhere near that far. 

Actually I thought it would but I laughed that he ran out of track and coaches! LOL 

So, .......... would a prototypical A pick up that many coaches, 2 GAA specials at Notch 1?

Very disappointed that the model has been over engineered beyond the prototype 

6 hours ago, jhb171achill said:

Doubtless IRM will set sail, tape recorder in hand, to capture this beast.

What's a tape recorder?

Is that the only way to capture a sound that old?

[Bumble_Bee]

On 17/8/2021 at 1:24 PM, murphaph said:

That's surely a reference to those Guinness tanktainers that IRM are working on lol.

Perhaps a plethora of oo9 stock and loco to run a model of the Guiness brewery railway?

On 17/8/2021 at 1:24 PM, murphaph said:

That's surely a reference to those Guinness tanktainers that IRM are working on lol.

Perhaps a plethora of oo9 stock and loco to run a model of the Guiness brewery railway?

[Georgeconna]

Blimey, all those functions, I have difficulties remembering what 10 did on the early ones, Not a hope with this one. I'd be selecting Guards Whistle and some Dub accent pops up to tell me I am going to sligo or summit and fans, compressors come on etc....I'll try me best!

 

 

[enniscorthyman]

I can see a lot of work has gone into the A class making things easy for decoder installation and sticking in a driver.I think I may go lie down such is the excitement

[Noel]

31 minutes ago, Georgeconna said:

Blimey, all those functions, I have difficulties remembering what 10 did on the early ones, Not a hope with this one. I'd be selecting Guards Whistle and some Dub accent pops up to tell me I am going to sligo or summit and fans, compressors come on etc....I'll try me best!

Yes the primary functions I like to use on DCC sound equipped locos are

• Primer mover engine sound with auto notching + brakes on stopping
• Directional lights
• Head lamps
• Horn
• Coasting and/or drive hold
• Train Braking (gradual deceleration at idle)
• Flange Squeal
• Guards whistle
• Shunting mode and/or train loads
• Cascading train coupling snatch or buffer clash
• Rail clank

Hopefully mapped onto the 1st ten functions for quick one button access on most DCC cabs (ie without need for shift or option buttons).

Other stuff like compressors, fans, couplings, valves, station announcements, door slamming, etc seem like ancillary fluff and don't really enhance the driving experience. Ideally keep the frequently used driving and sound functions mapped to the 1st 10 function buttons. Its also difficult to remember more than 10 useful functions.

What I've never seen but would be a nice addition to DCC projects would be train braking sounds as an rake of coaches come to a stop and the cascading break screech runs down the length of the train as each coach comes to a halt. The sound of a rake of cravens or laminates coming to a stop was iconic. The mk2 and mk3 coaches were not quite as screechy.

[Georgeconna]

"What I've never seen but would be a nice addition to DCC projects would be train braking sounds as an rake of coaches come to a stop and the cascading break screech runs down the length of the train as each coach comes to a halt. The sound of a rake of cravens or laminates coming to a stop was iconic. The mk2 and mk3 coaches were not quite as screechy"

It imagine it will be a matter of Time when coaches will get say mini speakers in for just that effect Noel.

[skinner75]

The use of the magnets for holding on the roof is a great idea - so easy to remove to add the decoder!

[amdaley]

20 hours ago, Warbonnet said:

Hi Tony,

Sadly not. The Crossley engine is proving to be elusive for us at the moment with everything that's been going on in the world, but we are still determined to get it. Hopefully soon. 

Cheers!

Fran 

What livery would these locos have carried when the engines were changed from the Crossley ? 

Thanks. 

Tony. 

Edited August 20, 2021 by amdaley

[Garfield]

6 minutes ago, amdaley said:

What livery would these locos have carried when the engines were changed from the Crossley ? 

Thanks. 

Tony. 

After the Crossleys were replaced by the General Motors engines, the locos were turned out in Black & Tan livery with the 'R' suffix to the running number. Then came Supertrain, and finally Irish Rail liveries.

[jhb171achill]

Or to add to that, Crossley sounds only in silver, green, black, and black-with-yellow-ends liveries, and the early black & tan without the "R" suffix or top headlights.

GM sounds only with "R" after the number, and Supetrain & Irish Rail.

[BosKonay]

I've sent out invoices / balances for those A class orders that are not yet fully paid in anticipation of preparing the packing lists.

If you have not received an invoice within the hour, or have any questions, please drop a line to support@irishrailwaymodels.com and we'll make sure you don't fall back in the Q!

[Irishswissernie]

I must be pyschic (wife says more likely a pyscho) because I paid for my outstanding 2 earlier. Not sure what I'm going to do with the 5 now on the way though. 3 are on the old IRM Irish Account and 2 on the IRM UK account so presume they will arrive separately.

Edited August 20, 2021 by Irishswissernie

[murphaph]

49 minutes ago, BosKonay said:

I've sent out invoices / balances for those A class orders that are not yet fully paid in anticipation of preparing the packing lists.

If you have not received an invoice within the hour, or have any questions, please drop a line to support@irishrailwaymodels.com and we'll make sure you don't fall back in the Q!

Is there a queue, as in will older pre-orders be shipped first?

[Garfield]

25 minutes ago, murphaph said:

Is there a queue, as in will older pre-orders be shipped first?

Yes, we generally ship in that order.

[Georgeconna]

3 hours ago, skinner75 said:

The use of the magnets for holding on the roof is a great idea - so easy to remove to add the decoder!

It Certainly is until the time you turn around after getting distracted by her indoors and just after sticking the Decoder in and say 'Now where did I put that roof" !!!

 

 

[Noel]

4 hours ago, Garfield said:

After the Crossleys were replaced by the General Motors engines, the locos were turned out in Black & Tan livery with the 'R' suffix to the running number. Then came Supertrain, and finally Irish Rail liveries.

Really looking forward to your Crossley Decoder versions, perfect for the green and silver locos I've ordered. Nostalgia gold coming down the tracks to Kingsbridge soon. 

[ttc0169]

2 hours ago, Garfield said:

Yes, we generally ship in that order.

Good idea,the wife would have a fit if she’s sees a large crate of A class locomotives arrive….softly softly will do nicely

[Garfield]

1 minute ago, ttc0169 said:

Good idea,the wife would have a fit if she’s sees a large crate of A class locomotives arrive….softly softly will do nicely

For a 'generous donation' in a plain brown envelope we can make doubly sure this doesn't happen... 

[ttc0169]

2 minutes ago, Garfield said:

For a 'generous donation' in a plain brown envelope we can make doubly sure this doesn't happen... 

Patrick-it’s in the post already

[Garfield]

2 minutes ago, ttc0169 said:

Patrick-it’s in the post already

Those pints will do!  

[spudfan]

On 17/8/2021 at 10:29 AM, Warbonnet said:

Hi everyone,

Great News! Our A Classes are now well into their journey from the factory towards our warehouse for final delivery. With the numerous issues around shipping in recent months we felt it was fitting to deliver our first locomotive by rail!

The locos are currently travelling the 7.500 mile rail journey across China, Russia and Europe where they will then transfer to ship for the final leg to Ireland. They will land with us in the first week of September and arrive with modellers in mid September, smooth travelling permitting!

With four running numbers already sold out on pre-order and others not far behind they are not going to hang around too long. Order yours today:  https://irishrailwaymodels.com/collections/a-class-locomotive

Cheers!

Fran 

Don't forget the gauge changes...