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103 'Merlin' NIR Blue, with Red Arc

103 'Merlin' NIR Blue, with Red Arc

SKU IRM1328
Availability:
On Pre Order
$377.00 - $377.00
$377.00
$377.00 - $377.00
$377.00

Pre Order Item

This item is on Pre Order, with an expected delivery date of Q4, 2025

Having undertaken a programme of station refurbishment, improved its ticketing arrangements and introduced new on-track plant and shunting locomotives, in 1969 the still embryonic Northern Ireland Railways set out to improve the Dublin-Belfast ‘Enterprise’ service, by replacing the existing diesel railcar sets with a locomotive hauled service. Intended to reduce the time for the 180 km journey to just two hours, the NIR Class 101 (DL) locomotives were designed to run in a push/pull configuration, with a 270 ton 8-car set of BR Mk.2b stock, at a maximum speed of 80mph.

MODEL SPECIFICATION:

  • Die-cast metal chassis, with ABS plastic body. Weight (without decoder) 406g.
  • Centrally mounted, twin flywheel 5-pole motor, driving both sets of axles, with all-wheel pickup.
  • Helical gear box for maximum performance and slow speed running.
  • Gearing arranged so locomotive can achieve a scale maximum top speed of 80 mph (128.75 km/h), with a load of 1.1kg
  • Supplied as DCC Sound Ready, or DCC Sound fitted.
  • Scale length of 180.71mm over buffers.
  • Bogie wheelbase of 30.71mm (93.781mm between bogie centres), allowing operation over a minimum radius of 438mm (2nd radius set-track).
  • Single style of 13.33mm solid locomotive wheel, correctly profiled both on the inside and outside to RP25-110 standard, set in blackened brass bearings or contact strips and chemically blackened, and conforming to Accurascale standards of 14.4mm back-to-back on 2mm diameter axles, over 28mm pinpoints (to allow for potential re-gauging to 21mm finescale standards).
  • Brake blocks fitted and aligned with wheel centres for 00 gauge.
  • Fully detailed die-cast underframe with all cylinders, battery boxes, cabinets and piping applied separately.
  • NEM pockets at both ends, fitted via full kinetic couplings.
  • Eroded metal, plastic and wire detail parts, including (but not limited to) roof details, handrails, door handles, kick plates, lamp brackets, nameplates, brake gear, brake discs, draw gear, bogie chains, vents and louvres.
  • Prism free flush glazing.
  • Easily removable roof section, to allow access to PCB for speaker and decoder fitting.
  • Fitted stay alive arrangement.
  • Designed to work with the ESU LOKSOUND V5 21-PIN Decoder with easy access via removable roof panel. Blanking plate to carry switches for limited DC lighting options.
  • Fully directional lighting, with full range of light options for day/night running and shunting/yard configurations.
  • Separate cab lighting configurations.
  • Working DCC operated roof fans (single fixed speed on DC).
  • Supplied DCC Sound Ready, with fitted ESU 22mm x 42mm x 8.0mm rectangular 4Ω speaker and Passive Radiator.

Lighting and DCC Specifics