There’s plenty happening behind the scenes at Irish Railway Models, with progress on three major projects as we prepare to bring more Irish railway icons to your layouts. From the mighty 800 Class to Northern Ireland’s distinctive Mk2 fleet and the eagerly anticipated ICRs, there’s plenty to talk about, as they near completion. 

We’ll be bringing a selection of these models along to the Dublin exhibition this weekend, where you can get a closer look at the latest developments for yourself. So, let’s take a look at where everything stands.

GSR 800 Class Steam Locomotives: Production Almost Complete!

First up, our magnificent Bredin 800 is currently in production, with a target completion date of 30 November.

This is a significant milestone for a model that promises to be a real centrepiece for any CIE-era layout. Our factory has the packaging and associated materials ready to go, and we’re now working through the production process.

There is, however, one important component still to keep an eye on: the decoders. We’re awaiting their arrival, and while we continue to push ahead with production, we’re keeping a close watch on the supply situation. Decoders and PCBs are currently impacted by the situation in Iran, with the boards being mades from a resin byproduct from the petroleum industry. 

The sound profile is complete and we have managed to have separate projects for both single and double chimneys to really capture the 800s and let them be heard in the 21st century! This is thanks to archive recordings that have been sampled and cleaned up. We look forward to demonstrating this very soon!

We’ll keep you updated as things progress, but our current target remains the end of November for production completion. With shipping taking circa 6-8 weeks, we envisage the finished locomotives arriving at our warehouse at the end of January 2027. Look out for production samples in the coming weeks. 

Pre-Order Your GSR 800 Here!

NIR Mk2 Coaches: Production Samples Have Arrived!

Next up, we have some very welcome news for fans of Northern Ireland Railways. Production samples of our NIR Mk2 coaches are now in hand, and they’ll be joining us in Dublin for you to inspect.

Following the experience gained by our factory when making countless Mark 2s in BR, IR and NIR guises over the past few years, we’re expecting these models to be very good indeed. These distinctive coaches, which helped define the NIR passenger fleet, are an important part of the story of cross-border travel and the Enterprise service between Belfast and Dublin with our equally exquisite Hunslet locomotives. 

There is one small detail currently under review. Gareth, the Mark 2 Project Manager, has spotted an issue with the roof vents on one particular coach, and we’re working through the options to establish whether any corrective action is required before the models move forward.

We don’t want to make a mountain out of a molehill, but equally, we want to ensure the finished models meet the standards you expect from IRM. The bar car is particularly stunning, if we do say so ourselves!

Subject to resolving that point, these coaches should be shipping very shortly. We’ll have more to report once the final checks are complete, but we expect them in late December/early January. 

Pre-Order Your NIR Mark 2 Coaches Here!

Irish Rail ICRs: Decoration Samples at Dublin!

Now for a project that has plenty of people watching closely: our Irish Rail InterCity Railcar (ICR) fleet!

We’ll be showing the decorated samples at Dublin, giving you your first opportunity to see how these modern Irish railway icons are shaping up. We’re also expecting the remaining samples by the end of this month and will share those with you as soon as we can.

As ever, decorated samples are an important stage in the process. They allow us to scrutinise the finish, colours, markings and finer details before we commit to the full production run. And, as you might expect, there are a few things we want to get right before pressing the button.

Getting the decoration right

Our initial unpowered six-car decorated samples have arrived, and they’ve given us a useful opportunity to assess the finish across the formation.

There are a few issues that need attention. The dark grey swoosh graphic running along the white aluminium bodywork hasn’t been printed dark enough across all the cars, meaning it tends to blend into the background rather than stand out as it should.

There are also some errors on the B-cars, with the same coach number applied across the vehicles. In addition, the factory inadvertently fitted sanding gear to both B and B1 cars on the sample, rather than to just the B1 cars. This has been brought to their attention, and will be rectified for production

These are exactly the sorts of details we want to identify at the sample stage, before production is completed. We’ll be working with the factory to address the decoration and fitting issues so that the finished fleet is much closer to the real thing.

The electronics: the final piece of the puzzle

Alongside the external finish, we’re also working through the final confirmation of the electronics with ESU.

The ICRs use a PCB-based system designed to simplify operation across the multiple-car formations, reducing the need for individual decoders throughout the train. However, ESU recently raised a question regarding potential voltage drop when operating longer formations.

ESU have invested a significant amount of time, soldering work, and development effort into troubleshooting this project. Given the number of carriages, differning formations, and the resulting signal paths, this is the first project of such a large scale for them. 

The primary issue with the Class 22000 was that the carriage lighting would gradually fail after a short period of operation and based on the current samples that they are working with, ESU have identified the causes for these intermittent failures. 

To resolve these issues, they have implemented several changes using a fictional 7-car consist on their test layout, and no further interruptions or dropouts were observed. These changes have increased the supply voltage that runs throughout the entire train, adding voltage regulators to each individual carriage. and an update to the software within the chips to improve error detection and prevent system crashes.

There are also some wider supply challenges affecting integrated circuits at present thanks to the situation in Iran as discussed above with the 800s. We’ve asked ESU to investigate sourcing the components we need now, rather than waiting until the final PCB arrangements are settled, in the hope of keeping things moving wherever possible.

Once the electronics are signed off, the factory has advised that they will need approximately three months to manufacture the full run.

That means the final PCB approval and component availability remain the key factors in establishing a firm production and delivery schedule. We’ll be in a much better position to provide that once these outstanding points have been resolved.

Pre-Order Your ICR Here!

What happens next?

There’s plenty of progress to celebrate, even if a few familiar production gremlins are still keeping us busy!

• 800 Class Steam Locomotives: In production, arriving at our warehouse in January 2027, subject to decoder availability.

• NIR Mk2 coaches: Production samples in hand and coming to Dublin, with a roof-vent detail under review ahead of shipping. Arriving at our warehouse in late December 2026/Early January 2027.

• Irish Rail ICRs: Six-car decorated samples received and being assessed, with further samples expected by the end of October. Decoration corrections, final PCB approval and component sourcing remain the key next steps. Arrival to be advised in December 2026. 

As always, we’d rather take the time to get these models right than rush them out of the factory and leave you disappointed. We know you’re eager to get your hands on them, and we’re just as keen to see them arrive.

If you’re visiting us in Dublin, be sure to stop by and have a look at the latest samples. We’ll have more news to share as these projects progress, and we may have something small and all-new to show you too!

See you there!