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Irish Railway Models NEW RTR OO gauge Ballast/Mineral Hopper


DJM Dave
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New Company Irish Railway Models Announce Exciting RTR Wagon Projects
with DJModels in 4mm Scale

Irish Railway Models, a new and innovative Model Railway Company specialising in Irish outline 4mm scale products, has teamed up with David Jones of DJ Models fame to bring Irish modellers what they've been demanding  for many years; quality freight rolling stock to compliment the excellent range of Irish outline RTR locomotives.

 

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The first release will be the humble CIÉ/Irish Rail two-axle ballast/mineral hopper, with the prototype having already been surveyed by David Jones and our design consultant at North Wall freight yard in Dublin earlier this year. The project is now at second CAD stage with corrections still to be made before tooling is cut. The wagons will be manufactured in China and will feature all the high quality detail, finish, and accuracy modellers have come to expect from the ready-to-run market over the past decade. It will be built to scale but will run on OO gauge wheel sets as per Irish RTR locomotives currently available. It will be 21mm gauge-friendly with easy conversion possible.

 

Irish Railway Models (www.irishrailwaymodels.com) was born out of the Irish Railway Modeller forum (www.irishrailwaymodeller.com) and consists of four members who are looking to satisfy the constant demand Irish modellers have for high quality and accurate Irish outline wagons. The project is headed up by Stephen McCarron, owner of the forum, and is supported by Fran Burke, Patrick Conboy, and Richard O'Hanrahan. All four members of the company are undertaking the task in their free time and who won't make any money out of the project. 

 

 

The ballast wagon will be sold in packs of three directly from the Irish Railway Models website only and each pack will retail for the competitive price of €110.00. The direct selling approach has been adopted to keep the price at a minimum for customers and the small profit made will be sunk into the next project undertaken by the company; The CIÉ/Irish Rail two-axle bulk cement 'bubble' wagon. It is also hoped that Irish Railway Models will expand into other projects such as locomotives in the future, but it can only happen if the hopper wagon starter project is a successful seller. Packs can be bought outright but there is also an instalment scheme available for modellers on tighter budgets.

 

The model will be based on a batch of wagons built by CIE/Whessoe Ltd. that features a 12'0 wheelbase and measures 20' over headstocks. They were built in batches between 1969 and 1977 and were used on a variety of traffic until just a few years ago. The specification for the wagon includes:

·         NEM coupling housing

·         RP25.110 darkened profile wheel sets with 14.4mm back to backs, and 26mm over pin points.

·         Etched steel factory-fitted parts

·         Extra fine factory-fitted detail plastic parts

·         DJModels 'Quick Load' ballast load

·         Individual lettering from real wagons for authenticity

Speaking about the launch of the new enterprise, Stephen McCarron said: "I'm excited to be heading up a new company which will specialize in bringing highly-detailed, excellent quality ready-to-run Irish outline models to market. We've been spoiled in recent times with exquisite Irish locomotives and coaches and we are now working to provide iconic Irish wagons which are unique to our modelling scene."

 

David Jones of DJ Models is also delighted to be branching out into the Irish outline market: "I'm delighted to have been commissioned by Irish Railway Models to produce some highly iconic OO gauge wagons. Having met the guys behind Irish Railway Models, I am sure all modellers of Irish railways will be delighted by IRM's eye for detail and choice of prototypes. I am sure this partnership between us will lead to lots of much-needed Irish railway rolling stock and perhaps more."

 

The release date for the ballast hopper is planned for mid-2016, with orders being taken from the end of October 2015. Packs will are limited in number to 333, so it is recommended that customers order early to avoid disappointment. It is hoped to have the cement 'bubble' available once the hopper wagons sell-out.  

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  • RMweb Gold

Great news and one I will be fully supporting.  Only one request is that the NEM housing is set at the correct height for the NEM Kadee coupling range.  So many pieces of rolling stock have been a pain due to the incorrect height.

 

It's being kept in mind Gareth :)

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  • RMweb Gold

That's nice!

 

On a more serious note, glad to see it's 'convertible' for 21mm gauge but will it come with buffers spaced to suit UK or Ireland - or both?

 

The plan is 100% accurate buffers (both in size, location and spacing)

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • RMweb Gold

Good to see the Irish getting in at last. However it looks as though the brake lever arm is in the on position in the Cad compared to the photo at the head of this topic.

 

All the best with the project.

 

Loconuts

 

The brake lever arm is on the list of corrections to be made Loconuts, it will be moved to the 'off' position! Thanks for the well wishes :)

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  • 1 month later...
  • RMweb Gold

Hi folks,

 

Just a quick update on the project... 

 

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Half of the planned production run has been reserved already, which is extremely encouraging for us. We're expecting what will hopefully be the final version of the CAD to arrive in our boxes from Dave very soon, and then it's on to cutting metal. We should have a pre-production sample early in the new year.  :)

Edited by Patrick
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  • 1 month later...
  • RMweb Gold

Another quick sales update. We're delighted to say that 75% of the production run has now been reserved. We should have updated CAD files in our possession soon, after which the fun of cutting metal can begin. :)

 

mttibt.jpg

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A further update: Irish Railway Models has signed off on the finalised CAD design for the ballast wagon and the order has been given to the factory to "cut metal" on the tooling. All going well, we should have a production slot assigned to us by the time the plant closes for Chinese New Year (February 8th). We'll keep you updated.

Meanwhile, there are now less than 50 sets still available to purchase through our website, so now really is the time to purchase your models if you have not already done so. :)

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