Decorated A Class Samples Revealed!
It's been a milestone we have been looking forward to here at IRM for a long time, and now it has finally arrived. We have now received decorated samples of our hotly anticipated A Class locomotives!
The class leader is resplendent in original silver livery, which particularly shows off the bogie detail!
A12 is represented here in the distinctive CIE black with yellow ends livery of the mid 1960s. We think this livery is particularly attractive on the Crossley powered metrovicks and expect it to become an enthusiasts favourite!
Is black and tan the best livery the As wore? It is certainly one of our favourites, and certainly one of the most popular if pre-orders are anything to go by! Here we have A15 in original condition with the high band black and tan livery.
007 carries one of those quirky liveries that lasted longer than you might think! In 1987 the IR points logo began appearing following the formation of Irish Rail, with locomotives receiving the branding on existing "SuperTrain" livery. The A's in particular received this treatment in great numbers from 1987, and some were still carrying it into 1993!
There are some decoration corrections required on this one, namely the black chevron at the front not extending far enough up onto the cab roof, and that IR logo on the side is too big. Both will be corrected before production! The colour is also a little washed out in these pics due to the very bright studio, but the shade of tan looks spot on in normal conditions.
IR scheme of orange, black and white striping as worn from the late 80s onwards, represents these locos in their final years of service. Here we see 017 before CAWS guard and dayglo panels.
IR with dayglo panels and CAWS guard is represented here in the form of 036, showing the very final condition of the As on the network. We have found with all IR samples that the logo on the sides are too big, the chevron one front needs correcting and the numbers also needs attention. These will be corrected on the production models.
We also received some additional body shells showing other liveries and class numbers for evaluation.
For more information and pictures of all the decorated samples of the A Class we have received so far, check out the thread on the irishrailwaymodeller.com forum here.
Fancy some metrovicks of your own? Order now for a September delivery: https://irishrailwaymodels.com/collections/a-class-locomotive