Irish Railway Models Launches Detailed NIR 101 Class DL Hunslet Range

Irish Railway Models’ Northern Ireland Railways 101 Class DL Hunslet has reached the hands-on review stage, and that alone tells you this is not just another OO-gauge diesel announcement. Key Model World’s latest issue page for May 8, 2026 names Ben Church as the reviewer, putting one of the most localized modern Irish prototype releases firmly in the spotlight.

The appeal starts with the prototype itself. Northern Ireland Railways ordered just three of the Hunslet Bo-Bo diesels to replace diesel railcar sets and work push-pull trains on the Belfast-to-Dublin Enterprise service. Hunslet delivered the first locomotive, 101 Eagle, on May 8, 1970, with 102 Falcon and 103 Merlin following. Accurascale says that delivery capped a ten-month programme, and that Mrs Joan Humphreys, wife of NIR chairman Myles Humphreys, unveiled Eagle’s nameplate. Hunslet had beaten General Motors in the United States for the contract, which gives the class an unusually sharp bit of industrial history behind it.

That rarity is exactly why the model matters. Irish Railway Models has turned a three-locomotive fleet into a substantial OO-gauge range, with the three NIR engines appearing in multiple finishes, including maroon as delivered, NIR blue with a red arc, NIR blue with red chevrons, and a 102 option in NIR blue with SYP and a black cab. Standard versions are priced at £220, while DCC-sound models are listed at £319.99. For collectors who want a precise period and livery match, that breadth is the real selling point: it lets a layout move cleanly from early Enterprise service to later variations without resorting to a generic substitute.

For Irish-outline and OO diesel collectors, this looks like the kind of release that earns space for more than one reason. It fits a very specific modern-diesel gap, it anchors a Belfast-to-Dublin train that many layouts can build around, and it also opens the door to shunting-era scenes after newer traction displaced the class in the 1980s. That means the model is not confined to a single operating script. It can sit on a display shelf as a prototype icon, or it can head up an Enterprise consist one night and work a depot the next.

Ben Church’s review arriving at the same moment the range is landing underlines the point: this is a serious model with enough prototype depth to reward detail-focused modellers, and enough operational range to tempt operators as well. For anyone building an Irish outline fleet with a clear modern identity, the verdict is simple. This is a must-buy release.