ALL MODELS NOW SOLD OUT

A 'MODEL' SUCCESS FOR THE RPSI
 
On Sunday 16th November the restoration on ex-DSER locomotive No.461 took a major step forward. This was as a result of the hand-over of over €23,200 to the locomotive restoration fund by RPSI Dublin members Gerry Mooney and Fergus McDonnell.
 
The funds were raised from a new initiative of producing a limited edition series of models of the operating Mk2 fleet. The project was the idea of Dublin Area loco representative Gerry Mooney who researched and commissioned the models from model railway producer Bachmann. Commenting on the success of the project Gerry said, "We really need No.461 back in traffic and I was determined to come up with an idea to help with funding to get her done. Over the last few years there has been a huge increase in the modelling of Irish Railways and I identified models that would be suitable to represent some of our running rake. With the valued assistance of Paddy Murphy of Murphy Models in Dublin the models went into production and were delivered just before the start of this year's operating season".
 
He went on to say, "The distribution of the 500 packs was no easy task. All 1,500 models arrived at once to be individually placed into packs of three vehicles then packed and posted. With Fergus keeping very much on top of the processing and delivery of the orders it was not too long before we got into our stride".
 
"It was great that we had so many people wanting to buy them as soon as they heard they were out, not just collectors and modellers, but people bought the models when they heard what the funds raised were going towards".
 
Commenting on the injection of funds, Locomotive officer Peter Scott added, "This is a huge boost towards the return of the locomotive to the mainline. The money will go straight to work and will cover the cost of several essential and much needed items which are vital for the locomotive return to traffic".
 
RPSI Chairman Johnny Glendinning said, "This is a remarkable achievement; I knew the models were selling well but I had no idea that the end result would be anything like what has been achieved. I would like to acknowledge the huge effort put in by both Gerry and Fergus, we would have to run several excursions to achieve this amount of money. Locomotive No.461 is a very important member of our operating fleet and this will very much help getting her back at the head of our trains".

Click here to see the new models gallery

Click on photos below to enlarge:

(These are pre-production models on which the lining is too low. This has been corrected on production models.)