We Boldly Go To Deco Stage - Enterprise Mark 2 Coach Update
Following the news that our brand new magnesite wagons are complete and will be in stock from next week, we can now reveal the decorated samples of our first IRM coach project, the NIR Mark 2B and Mark 2C Enterprise coaches.
These samples were first displayed at the Bangor show in late April and since then have been under assessment by the IRM Engineering and Project Management team.
As previously explained, we insist on decorated samples of all models before production as an indicator of correct livery shades and details. Decorated samples are usually suffering from poor assembly and livery application, with fuzzy elements and poor masking before it is perfected for production.
The NIR Mark 2 samples are probably the worst we've seen so far for fuzzy lines, so please excuse this and rest assured the final models will be much, much better!
These samples are also lacking some interior and exterior parts, so once again please excuse this. These models are missing things like headrests, partitions and interior handrails in some places, while exterior is missing the brass contact strips in the bogie for interior lighting (hence bowed bogies). Glazing and general fit and finish will also be improved on the models you receive upon delivery.
The drivers window on the driving car is also being further refined.
Okay, so that's the drawbacks taken care of (and all will be sorted on the models that will glide along your layouts!) so let's move to the strong points.
Once again we have gone to town on tooling, with the unique to NIR generator car, driving car and buffet all modelled as per the prototypes, allowing modellers to model a complete Enterprise train. We even take it further, with correctly widened bogies for Irish track gauge over their BR counterparts. Fully detailed interiors are also present, right down to the diesel generator in the generator coach! There is also full bespoke interiors in the buffer car and drivers control desk in the driving car.
Full interior lighting is available and controlled by magnetic wands, allowing you to turn on and off the lighting, as well as the head and tail lights in the control car (which will also have cab light, and a DCC socket if you want to control your directional lights via DCC than a wand)
We are pretty excited about them as you can imagine, and production will commence in the coming weeks, keeping us on course for a Q4 2022 delivery date. While these samples are very rough, they do give us all a nice flavour of what we can expect from these models when they arrive. Overall, we're petty pleased with them at this stage!
Our Mark 2 range has proven very popular indeed since we first announced them with now over 50% of the production run already sold out on pre-order. Given the popularity and collectability of NIR models, and that these will include the first bespoke NIR tooled models ever produced, they will likely appreciate in value and become collectable for many years to come.
Prices for all this awesomeness is €199.99 per triple coach pack, as well as free postage and packaging to Ireland and the UK.
Our RPSI coach pack will also arrive at this time, with the triple pack priced at €219.99 with proceeds going to the RPSI for railway preservation efforts!
To help spread the cost ahead of arrival, you can now select to pay a deposit and then the balance when the coaches arrive in stock, or easy installments over six months at no extra cost! These buttons will appear in your cart ahead of check out. Just follow the simple steps and you will have flexible payments set up in no time.
So, if you want to recreate those classic Enterprise trains of the 80s and 90s, when Hunslets, 111s and NIR blue 201s reigned supreme on international trains between Belfiast and Dublin, not to mention railtour trips across Ireland, make sure you get your pre-order in right here before they sell out!