222000 Class Railcars In OO from IRM

[AY Mod]

ICPHOWWWARRR - 222000 Class Railcars In OO from IRM!

 

 

October 29th Dublin – Irish Railway Models today announces the Irish Rail 220000 Class Intercity Railcars in OO/4mm gauge as their next powered model. The announcement was made at the Dublin Model Railway Exhibition organised by the Model Railway Society of Ireland.

 

History

 

In 2003, with commuter traffic into Dublin increasing rapidly on the roads and the growth of the intercity commuter sector on the rail network, it was clear that the existing fleet of locomotive hauled Mk2 and Mk3 coach stock in operation with Iarnród Éireann at that point would be unable to provide the capacity for growth, or to provide additional services, and so Iarnród Éireann looked to replace this rolling stock with either Diesel, or Diesel Electric, multiple units.

 

Under the National Development Plan, funding was available under the transport sector, or Transport 21 and Iarnród Éireann’s business case called for an anticipated total of 120 vehicles; to serve routes into Dublin from Limerick, Waterford, Tralee, Galway and Westport. An invitation to tender was processed in 2004, with six companies meeting the criteria and in December that year, the contract was awarded to Mitsui & Co. of Japan, with Hyundai Rotem of Korea designing, constructing and assembling the vehicles which, by the time of delivery, had risen to 234 vehicles over four separate orders.

 

Initially, the Class 22000 Inter City Railcar (ICR) was supplied in four distinct set variants:

 

Units 22001-22006 as 3-car Standard Class, equipped for Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) operations.
Units 22007-22030 and 22046-22063 as 3-car Standard Class.
Units 22031-22040 as 6-car Premier Class (with catering vehicle).
Units 22041-22045 as 6-car Standard Class (high density seating).
 

Emphasis was placed on passenger comfort and so the 2+2 seats were designed in ‘airline style’ and were matched to window bays, with a completely revised InterCity silver and green livery marking the stock as vastly different from the preceding Orange and Black era. Disabled and limited mobility access was given priority, along with toilet facilities, and space was given over to wheelchairs, bicycles and limited parcels carriage. Traction was supplied via MTU units.

 

Delivery into Ireland commenced from March 2007, initially into Dublin for loading onto the Alexandra Road railhead and then from early 2008 at Waterford’s deep water port, due to disruption caused by unloading at Dublin. Once unloaded, vehicles were formed into trains and moved to Limerick Works for commissioning and testing by Hyundai and Iarnród Éireann teams, followed by final acceptance trials at Inchicore, with sets typically taking 12 weeks from unloading to entry into passenger service.

 

The only major glitch in the supply chain came during the summer of 2007, when 3-car sets 10 and 11 were found to be riddled through with electrolyte corrosion of the piping and electrical systems, probably due to exposure to phosphorous gas in transit, and were rejected by Iarnród Éireann’s engineers and returned to Korea for replacement.

 

Deliveries of the 234 vehicles was fully completed by 2012; the first units having entered service in December 2007 on the Sligo line and initially the sets were each covering over 200,000km per annum, with reliability exceeding anything on the UK network at that time.

 

As traffic patterns changed, from 2013 over half the fleet were reformed into 4-car and 5-car sets to better match passenger demand on some routes, with cars being removed from some 6-car sets and added to some of the 3-car sets. These transfers were marked by a renumbering programme to the UIC format (although some vehicles still retain their original numbers) and typically, the transferred vehicles carry numbers in the 228xx range.

 

In 2019, an additional 41 vehicles were ordered to increase capacity at peak periods and the first of these new B2 MSO vehicles have now been delivered, arriving on September 7 2022. These new MSOs are intended to be integrated into new 6-car sets, with fleet formations changing again to consist of 21 x 3-car, 20 x 4-car and 22 6-car sets, against the current formations of 3-car, 4-car, 6-car or 7-car sets. The key routes set to benefit from the new sets, due to enter service in the first half of 2023, will be those trains into Dublin from Kildare, Maynooth/M3 Parkway and Dundalk/Drogheda, as well as the longer haul Intercity services.

 

The ICR fleet, being so new at introduction in 2007, required a purpose built maintenance facility and the new €69.5 million state-of-the-art Traincare Depot was constructed at Portlaoise, opening on July 25, 2008. As well as the purpose-built servicing and maintenance roads, fuelling depots and train cleaning facilities, the Depot also houses its own wheel-turning lathe, with vehicles being positioned in the lathe by a remotely controlled battery locomotive. An integral part of the wheel lathe equipment supplied by Sculfort, the company has created the RBL-020-400 Locotractor to position the train above the underfloor wheel lathes; operated from a control panel next to the lathe or from a mobile remote-control set.

 

Portlaoise’s Sculfort RBL-020-400 remote controlled battery locotractor is one of two units supplied by the company, the other being in place at SouthEastern’s Traincare Depot in the United Kingdom at Ashford, in Kent. With a top speed of just 3mph, the Locotractors are ideal vehicles for accurately positioning rolling stock and Portlaoise’s example is named after Tom Lynam, a former driver based at Portlaoise and carries the number 621, a tribute to the former G-Class locomotives that were used for shunting.

 

FACTFILE

 

There are four vehicle types currently available within the 22000 Class:

 

A1 Driving Cars in the 221xx range (designated as DRBFO), with 36 First Class seats, Buffet Counter and Accessibility toilet.
A2 Driving Cars in the 222xx range (designated as DMSO), with 66 Standard Class seats and standard toilet.
A3 Driving Cars in the 223xx range (designated as DMSO), with 52 Standard Class seats and Accessibility toilet (The A3 DMSO is the only one of the three driving cars to be present in all sets formed).
B/B1 Intermediate Cars in the 224xx/225xx/226xx/227xx/228xx range (designated as MSO), with 72 Standard Class seats and standard toilets.
The new B2 Intermediate Cars (MSO) have 60 Standard Class seats, with an additional 8 Priority seats and 9 flip-up seats in the cycle storage area, but will lack any toilet facilities.

 

The Model

 

Following on from the success of the A Class locomotives, IRM have been looking to make a pretty big statement with their second powered model. While locomotives, especially diesels, have become well served on the Irish scene, railcars have been a poor relation. So, IRM felt it was time to take up the mantle and provide a model of the most numerous train which can be seen around the country today.

 

Doing the Rotems justice requires doing it 'the IRM Way', so a wonderful mix of the variations, formation lengths and high quality detail and finish has been built into the models which will find their homes on your layout. Irish Rail have played a pivotal part in this model, granting IRM access to the fleet at their HQ at Portlaoise Traincare Depot on a number of occasions to measure up and surveyed the prototypes.

 

This has allowed IRM to create probably the most detailed ever railcar model in OO gauge, with a whole host of features, including:

 

Detail

 

Highly detailed 3, 4 and 6 car railcar sets depicting the life to date of the 220000 class railcars
The Driving Cars (DRBFO and DMSO) are supplied with optional extended magnetic front mounted Voith couplings, to allow for authentic multiple set working.
The Driving Cars (DRBFO and DMSO) are fitted with poseable front fairings at the front.
Fully detailed die-cast underframe with all cylinders, battery boxes, cabinets and piping applied separately
Eroded metal, plastic and wire detail parts, including (but not limited to) roof detail, handrails, door handles, lamp brackets, brake gear, brake discs, draw gear, vents and louvres
Prism free flush glazing
Fully directional lighting, with full range of lighting options for day/night running and shunting/yard configurations.
Full passenger interior lighting in all vehicles, set at correct colour temperature, with hidden stay-alive capacitors, pick up from one bogie and a reed switch to control on/off via a magnetic wand
Separate cab lighting configurations
Close coupled gangways, that will be maintained over curves via kinetic couplings
 

Performance

 

Driven car will feature 5-pole skew wound motor with twin flywheels for optimum performance while also maintaining passenger saloon detail, with no blocking of windows by unsightly motor enclosure.
Die-cast metal chassis with plastic body. Target weight of 650g for the motorised driving car
Wheelbase of 209.97mm, for all vehicles, allowing operation over a minimum radius of 438mm (2nd radius set-track)
Metal helical gears fitted for maximum performance and slow speed running.
Gearing arranged so drive car can achieve a scale maximum top speed of 100 mph (161 kmh), as a 6-car unit.
DCC ready with PowerPack capacitor for uninterrupted power.
Un-motored (or dummy) cars, but retain full lighting features, being DCC ready with PowerPack capacitor for uninterrupted power.
Fully directional lighting, with full range of lighting options for day/night running and shunting/yard configurations.
Full passenger interior lighting in all vehicles, set at correct colour temperature, with hidden stay-alive capacitors, pick up from one bogie and a reed switch to control on/off via a magnetic wand.
Separate cab lighting configurations.
Operable Central Door Locking (CDL) lights on bodyside.
DCC factory fitted sound option available on all variants with ESU Loksound 5 sound decoder
Permanently fitted speakers mounted in both types of DMSO and DRBFO.
All sounds recorded exclusively for Irish Model Railways by our in-house sound engineer.

 

Delivery and Payment Options

 

CAD design is complete and now tooling is under way. IRM expect first samples by the Bangor and Wexford shows in April/May 2023, decorated samples this time next year, and modellers will take delivery of these railcars in Q2 2024.

 

IRM are aware that the costs of living has gone up in recent times, so have fought to keep the prices as keen as possible. Railcars are a complete train, basically a high specification locomotive and some coaches.

 

DC/DCC Ready Sound

 

3 Car - €349.99

4 Car - €429.99

6 Car - €579.99

 

DCC Factory Fitted Sound Models

 

3 Car - €472.99

4 Car - €552.99

6 Car - €702.99

 

Six car packs also get a free bonus model of the Sculfort locotractor used to shunt the real ICRs around the Portlaoise works (unmotorised). This lead time allows modellers to make use of IRMs partial.ly and clearpay options, that allows customers to spread the cost over easier monthly payments at no extra cost.

 

The ICRs will only be available to buy direct via IRM. They will also be made in extremely limited quantities (must less than the A Class) so early ordering is advised.

 

Ordering for Irish and Rest of World is through the IRM website https://irishrailwaymodels.com/collections/railcar-class-22000-icr  and UK customers can pre-order via the Accurascale website https://www.accurascale.com/collections/railcar-class-22000-icr

[Gremlin99]

My unit knowledge isn't great, but are these related to the Meridians (222) over here? They might be nice to have...

[McC]

Direct link at accurascale here

https://www.accurascale.com/collections/railcar-class-22000-icr

 

 

[ERIC ALLTORQUE]

54 minutes ago, Gremlin99 said:

My unit knowledge isn't great, but are these related to the Meridians (222) over here? They might be nice to have...

They look alike and theres even ones that dont need boxes for the right colour............

 

[Torbay Express]

It says these were made in Korea.  Meridians were Bombardier and 180s were Alstom, although the later

probably  should be repurposed as Fire Brigade Training Vehicles.... 

[ERIC ALLTORQUE]

Im sure the will be a success,time will tell if they are migratable to the UK models,heres to a sell out for them again.

[McC]

4 minutes ago, ERIC ALLTORQUE said:

Im sure the will be a success,time will tell if they are migratable to the UK models,heres to a sell out for them again.

Perhaps the first of a long line of accurascale units?

[Watto1990]

18 minutes ago, McC said:

Perhaps the first of a long line of accurascale units?

Don’t go teasing me now! 

 

I hope these are a huge success for you, either way. 

[Robert Shrives]

A good big investment worthy of a win and a long term life  given the number of sets a second and future runs will keep the number folk happy.   Certainly with a bogie powered low floor drive train now in the business we can all spend IRM/ Accurascale budget in a blink of an eye.  I have ordered a 6 car so I can re marshall as a not quite right 3 car.  But tempted by ICR for NI services from the first delivery.   

Hopefully the UK market will see a benefit - class 124 trans north set or a Hastings 6S/L/B ... same sort of investment as here with the ICR.   Being greedy of course the powertrain works for a 80class or a 450 class for NIR fleets  but could also do the CIE 2600/ 2700 series of "regional/ local" sets.

 

A big leap for mankind etc and a good positioning model for the long run and in a possible trainset pack ideal for railway model starters in Eire.   

Robert   

[ERIC ALLTORQUE]

1 hour ago, McC said:

Perhaps the first of a long line of accurascale units?

I will say nothing and keep it under my hat then until you guys make an announcement at Warley,might even get to that show,heres to more success with it matey.

[TomScrut]

6 hours ago, McC said:

Perhaps the first of a long line of accurascale units?

 

Lets hope so, especially with the pricing looking (in my opinion) sensible!

[YesTor]

6 hours ago, McC said:

Perhaps the first of a long line of accurascale units?

 

Bring 'em on!  🤩

[Taigatrommel]

6 hours ago, McC said:

Perhaps the first of a long line of accurascale units?

I take it this means coupling multiple sets together is possible... ;)

[Colin_McLeod]

Great news.

I'm sure this will be a great model of the 22000 class.

 

Hopefully the model will be more accurate than the thread title lol 😉

 

[atom3624]

Looks like another nice model.

Perhaps look at a 397 - could have a TPE version to complement to the coaching stock version?

Al.

[mckinneyc]

Oh wow! I hope these do well as there's a couple of local Northern Irish units or diesel locomotives I'd order with hesitation 

[Michael Hodgson]

22 hours ago, McC said:

Perhaps the first of a long line of accurascale units?

I thought there was generally a limit to how many units could work in multiple?

 

If nothing else, mutiple stopping at platforms that aren't long enough becomes a pain in the ar**.

[Legend]

Well done IRM. These are handsome units with a fair amount of variations . Should go down well on the Irish scene.  Sorry for the Accurascale guys but I’m more excited by the possibilities of forthcoming UK MUs  ! 

[The Stationmaster]

23 hours ago, McC said:

Perhaps the first of a long line of accurascale units?

In reply to which I can only say -  Swindon Cross Country unit, aka Class 120. (er, please).  

 

PS  Far simpler to tool than those multi vehicle type, ever changing formation, Trans=Pennine units people rattle on about.  And much more widely used.

[Metr0Land]

26 minutes ago, The Stationmaster said:

In reply to which I can only say -  Swindon Cross Country unit, aka Class 120. (er, please). 

 

You find the drawings and they'll do the tooling ;)

[Michael Hodgson]

The TPs with their wrap-around windows were a lot prettier!

 

Not the easiest windows to model though, and of course Trix's 3.8mm/ft was a very odd choice of scale.

[E100]

So cards on the table I will not be getting one as a pure UK modeller. 

 

That being said. I'm really glad that you are making this as they will be so many Irish modellers who will benefit and it would be nice to see the occasional layout with these on. You can't make a modern Irish railway layout without them. I think the price feels about right considering the detail and run size. I'd presume that any UK DMU would likely to be priced lower due to the economies of scale. The level of detail looks outstanding from the specs. It'll be quite something to see a full 6 car set running or multiples I'm sure. 

 

I presume that DCC control will mean the wand is optional?

 

I presume only one chip is required with the speakers wired to the central PCB?

 

PS I've always slightly got the impression that Accurascale was made to make IRM more viable (not that it wasn't in of itself but to give greater resilience to the business) and that the original dream was always to make a model company that could make high spec Irish models (based on the founders being Ireland based). Don't get me wrong, I'm sure the Irish contingent also have a heck of a lot of enjoyment making the British outline models too and are passionate about that too. If there's any truth in that I'm especially glad that you are producing this as it means the realisation of that dream.

[St. Simon]

Hi,

 

They look gorgeous!

 

Modern Irish Railways is a subject that I have thought about modelling in the future, and these are starting to sway me…

 

I’m intrigued about the Corridor Connections, the spec implies that they will touch each other without a gap, is that true or am I misinterpreting it, if they do, that’ll be fantastic!

 

Simon

[McC]

Just now, St. Simon said:

Hi,

 

They look gorgeous!

 

Modern Irish Railways is a subject that I have thought about modelling in the future, and these are starting to sway me…

 

I’m intrigued about the Corridor Connections, the spec implies that they will touch each other without a gap, is that true or am I misinterpreting it, if they do, that’ll be fantastic!

 

Simon

oh yes. On the straight they touch with no gap. Just like our mark 2 coaches 

[Rich_F]

Oh boy. The 3 car might tempt me into a small Irish terminus layout! 😀