IRM sells out first run of ballast wagons
The first run of the Irish Railway Models’ CIÉ/Irish Rail ballast hopper wagons have officially sold out after a fantastic demonstration of support for the project by the Irish railway modelling community. The CAD drawing has been signed off and sent for tooling in China and we expect the first test shot from the tooling in the coming weeks.
A grand total of 333 packs of three wagons were put on sale last October on our website and at the South Dublin Model Railway Club Exhibition, which were well received by the public. The fact the wagons have sold out before the tooling stage represents a huge and appreciated placement of trust from the community in the new venture and that the demand for high quality ready-to-run Irish outline rolling stock is stronger than ever. Irish Railway Models adopted a strategy of inclusion from the outset by previewing the CAD drawings and detailing the correction process and production schedule from an early stage, which we feel has helped in the support for the project.
We are also delighted to announce that Graham’s Toymaster of Portlaoise (www.themodelshop.ie), an establishment long serving the model railway community of the Irish Midlands, will be selling a limited supply of the ballast wagon packs, giving Irish Railway Models a ‘bricks and mortar’ presence and facilitating modellers who may not shop online. They have reported strong sales with the limited supply fast running out.
Demand has remained strong for the ballast wagons so a second run of new running numbers is being considered. We would invite anyone who would like to purchase a three pack of wagons to contact us via our website (www.irishrailwaymodels.com) to express your interest. Should we see enough interest, we will commission a second run.
Work on the cement bubble wagon continues apace with the latest CAD drawings being scrutinised for errors. We have published a ‘sneak peak’ on the Irish Railway Modeller Forum but we feel that there is still a number of corrections that need to be made before we can display the CAD drawings to the public. Irish Railway Models hopes to confirm liveries and running numbers for the first run of Bubbles soon.
Finally, work has begun behind the scenes on Irish Railway Models’ third project. It is still in the very early stages of development and IRM hopes to bring you more news on it later in 2016. Needless to say it’s going to be a busy year for the IRM team! Keep an eye on www.irishrailwaymodels.com and www.irishrailwaymodeller.com for updates on current and future projects.