IRM cement ‘bubbles’
SCALE ‘OO’ gauge MODEL Irish Railway Models IRM1011 Cié/irish Rail Bulk Cement Wagon – Set B PRICE (rrp) €125.00 (£110.39) AVAILABILITY Irish Railway Models WEB www.irishrailwaymodels.com
Strange, isn’t it? Despite being separated by only 70-odd miles of water, British Railways and Córas Iompair Éireann took very different approaches to similar problems. Take bulk cement for example. Both opted for four-wheel vehicles, loaded by gravity, unloaded by compressed air and with a payload of 20 tons. BR’S Presflo and, later Prestwins, were some of the most distinctive wagons to grace its metals. CIÉ’S ‘cement bubbles’ are just as distinctive to look at and are, arguably, Ireland’s most easily recognisable wagon. It’s no surprise that Ireland’s newest ready-to-run manufacturer should choose to model these characterful vehicles. Irish Railway Models burst onto the scene earlier this year with its excellent ballast hoppers (MR237). But even before the ballast hoppers had landed on shelves, IRM had announced plans for the ‘bubbles’ and, just before Christmas, production samples landed in the Model Rail office. The handy fact sheet supplied in the stout card box gives a useful potted history of these vehicles. CIÉ built 150 between 1964 and 1972 to move bulk cement from three Irish Cement plants to locations throughout both the Republic and Northern Ireland. They were numbered in the 25050 and 25199 range and lasted in service until 2009. You get three wagons per pack, covering CIÉ medium grey, Irish Cement and CIÉ tan/grey liveries. Our sample pack revealed three ‘bubbles’ in the original medium grey livery, with CIÉ logo and ‘Bulk Cement’ lettering, albeit prototypically not applied to every vehicle. IRM has really captured the ‘bubble’s’ distinctive shape. They’re quite light (just 38g) but that didn’t hamper their performance on our test track. Metal wheels on pin-point axles made them particularly free-wheeling and there are cranked tension lock couplings mounted in NEM pockets. What impresses most, however, is the level of detail and the paint finish. It’s a job to know exactly where to start. There is a wealth of pipework both above and below the solebar. The discharge pipes feed up to the control gear at one end. The taps are picked out in red and the pressure gauge has printed calibrations on it. These vehicles had both hand and train brakes and both sets of equipment are beautifully rendered. The vacuum pipes are delicate and there are reservoirs under one end. The fine handbrake gear complements the well-produced axlebox detail and discharge pipework; brake blocks, by and large, align with the wheel treads. Catwalks and ladders appeared to be etched metal and this gives a feel of quality. There’s a large expanse of chequer plate at the opposite end to the pipe controls and it’s a job to figure out whether it’s metal or plastic. If it’s the latter, it’s beautifully moulded! There’s a wealth of printed detail, from the pressure warnings on one end to the ‘not to be loose shunted’ legend under the CIÉ logo. So subtle is some of the lettering that it took a while to notice that the wagon’s number is also carried on a small plate just underneath the catwalk. Overall, another excellent offering from IRM. We await further developments with bated breath!