# Alleghenies on its way



## zubi (May 14, 2009)

Apparently the AC Alleghenies are either on its way or already being distributed - anyone has got it already? Please share your photos/experiences! Best wishes from Tokyo, Zubi


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## Kovacjr (Jan 2, 2008)

None yet Zubi, Only the Virginian are headed over air freight. Should arrive end of this week. Though only 9 are coming.


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## Accucraft (Jul 30, 2014)

Kovacjr said:


> None yet Zubi, Only the Virginian are headed over air freight. Should arrive end of this week. Though only 9 are coming.



Half an hour ago a truck delivered to our warehouse the initial shipment of 2-6-6-6 "Allegheny" locomotives. First to arrive are AL97-415 Virginian Railway 2-6-6-6 AG-class "Blue Ridge" #900, butane fired, live steam. This afternoon we'll begin shipping to customers with reservations.

Although the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway called their version of the H-8 class 2-6-6-6 "Allegheny", Virginian Railway referred to their AG-class as "Blue Ridge". More info found here

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2-6-6-6

In the coming weeks we'll be receiving AL97-411 and AL97-413 Chesapeake & Ohio "Allegheny" locos, both early and late versions respectively. See our website for details

http://www.accucraft.com/modelc/AL97-411-ALLEGHENY.htm

Electric versions of these locomotives will be completed and available at a later date.

Thanks for your continued patience on this project. They have been a long time coming, but we're certain buyers will be very pleased with these handsome locomotives.


Robert Sarberenyi
Director Sales & Marketing
Accucraft Trains
33268 Central Ave.
Union City, CA 94587
(510) 324-3399


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## boilingwater (Jan 27, 2010)

Wow, Accucraft finally produced this engine. I think that engine was listed in one my original Accucraft brochures many moons ago....I hope it was worth the wait.....Of course, I'm waiting with for the 611 with 7 Powhatan Arrow coaches......hopefully those won't collect too much dust!

Sam


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## Chris Scott (Jan 2, 2008)

Accucraft said:


> Half an hour ago a truck delivered to our warehouse the initial shipment of 2-6-6-6 "Allegheny" locomotives. First to arrive are AL97-415 Virginian Railway 2-6-6-6 AG-class "Blue Ridge" #900, butane fired, live steam. This afternoon we'll begin shipping to customers with reservations.
> 
> Although the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway called their version of the H-8 class 2-6-6-6 "Allegheny", Virginian Railway referred to their AG-class as "Blue Ridge". More info found here
> 
> ...



Pictures of the Allegheny earl/late versions appear to be missing from web site and store. Plus a reminder photos of all products do not enlarge when thumbnail selected. We keep telling Accucraft about this for years and years - great if you could fix this for future products


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## RP3 (Jan 5, 2008)

Since it seems that a single locomotive can bottle up the production line, I hope that the belated release of the Allegheny will unplug the stream of new locomotive products from Accucraft. Just like Sam, I am waiting for the release of the J and I already have my passenger train waiting on the side track. Hope they don't rust away waiting!! 

There are a number of proposed products in the wings at Accucraft, so it will be interesting to see how many actually make it to production and when. Oh, but before I forget it, kudos to Rob at Accucraft for providing this forum with information about the upcoming Allegheny arrivals. That type of communication from the company has been lacking in the past but is greatly appreciated. 

Ross Schlabach


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## artgibson (Jan 2, 2008)

*Passenger train*



RP3 said:


> Since it seems that a single locomotive can bottle up the production line, I hope that the belated release of the Allegheny will unplug the stream of new locomotive products from Accucraft. Just like Sam, I am waiting for the release of the J and I already have my passenger train waiting on the side track. Hope they don't rust away waiting!!
> 
> There are a number of proposed products in the wings at Accucraft, so it will be interesting to see how many actually make it to production and when. Oh, but before I forget it, kudos to Rob at Accucraft for providing this forum with information about the upcoming Allegheny arrivals. That type of communication from the company has been lacking in the past but is greatly appreciated.
> 
> Ross Schlabach


Ross
I understood that you canceled your order for the cars. LOL


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## RP3 (Jan 5, 2008)

Art, you are right, I did. But after seeing the J and its cars on a NSS video, I reneged. I just hope that my support of Accucraft is warranted and they deliver the J -- sooner rather than later!

Ross Schlabach


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## Accucraft (Jul 30, 2014)

Chris Scott said:


> Pictures of the Allegheny earl/late versions appear to be my swing from web site. And store.
> 
> Plus a reminder photos of all products did not enlarge when thumbnail selected. We keeptelling Accucraft about this for years and years - PLESE FIX THIS !!!!
> 
> ...




Chris, I'll let Charles, our webmaster, know. I too would like us to feature photos which enlarge, much like ExactRail does with their beautifully detailed HO scale rolling stock. Click on the photo and scroll through the enlargements and see how nice their stuff is. 

http://exactrail.com/collections/ho-scale/products/p-s-7315-waffle-box-car-dt-i

Ours in various scales such as 1:20.3 and 1:32 is also great looking and should be featured accordingly with enlargeable images.

Rob Sarberenyi


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## Accucraft (Jul 30, 2014)

RP3 said:


> Since it seems that a single locomotive can bottle up the production line, I hope that the belated release of the Allegheny will unplug the stream of new locomotive products from Accucraft. Just like Sam, I am waiting for the release of the J and I already have my passenger train waiting on the side track. Hope they don't rust away waiting!!
> 
> There are a number of proposed products in the wings at Accucraft, so it will be interesting to see how many actually make it to production and when. Oh, but before I forget it, kudos to Rob at Accucraft for providing this forum with information about the upcoming Allegheny arrivals. That type of communication from the company has been lacking in the past but is greatly appreciated.
> 
> Ross Schlabach



Ross,

The forthcoming 1:32 scale N&W J-class #611 is currently expected for completion on our factory floor in late November 2015! We're pushing hard to get caught up on various projects. The 1:20.3 scale West Side #3 Heislers are expected to be finished in late October.

Please keep in mind we are a* very* small company. Although I was brought in for my marketing talents and railroad knowledge, I've also assumed the sales function dealing with direct customers and dealers. I'm pulled in lots of different directions and sometimes cannot communicate much as I'd like. I certainly want to keep everyone informed on project developments to the best I'm able. 

Hang in there while we catch us on promised deliveries. We greatly appreciate your patience and continued support.

Regards,

Rob Sarberenyi
Accucraft Trains


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## RP3 (Jan 5, 2008)

Rob,

Thanks for the further update on the J. That is wonderful news. Your efforts to keep us informed are greatly appreciated. 

Ross Schlabach


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## Nick Jr (Jan 2, 2008)

Rob, thank you for your updated information. How close are we on the Three Truck Shay?? Enough Pre Orders, Design etc??
Thank You. Nick Jr


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## Accucraft (Jul 30, 2014)

Nick Jr said:


> Rob, thank you for your updated information. How close are we on the Three Truck Shay?? Enough Pre Orders, Design etc??
> Thank You. Nick Jr



You must be referring to West Side Lumber Co. 3-truck Shay #10. Nothing announced yet via a press release. Thus far it only appears on our NEWS page under "Models Under Consideration". No SKU # either. Be patient. We're currently catching-up on deliveries of already announced projects.

WSL #10 is definitely a locomotive both Cliff and I want to see produced. Documentation is already in-house. We'll get to it.

Robert Sarberenyi
Director Sales & Marketing
Accucraft Trains
33268 Central Ave.
Union City, CA 94587
(510) 324-3399


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## Nick Jr (Jan 2, 2008)

Robert, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, and my anticipation grows even more.


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## John 842 (Oct 1, 2015)

It seems to me that oriental model train manufacturers delivery times - between the announcement of a new model and actual shipping dates - is getting longer as time goes by, rather than shorter.

I wonder if we are coming to the end of a 'Golden Age' of trains from the China and the situation can only get worse as the enormous and inevitable social changes that are happening in that country accelerate.


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## RP3 (Jan 5, 2008)

John842,

If by "Golden Age" you are referring to lots of models at low prices, then you could be right. There is no doubt that the cost of products from China are higher than in the past. But the alternate argument can be made that the quality and variety of models coming from China are improving. With the addition of Wuhu, modelers have a wider choice of models, and without Wuhu we might not have the rapid development of ceramic burners for gas firing. Accucraft isn't able to bring products to market as fast as we have seen in the past and higher costs of production may be playing a role in this slowdown, however they seem to be focusing better on models we want and they have begun building models contracted by other companies such as Train Department.

We are a very small hobby and it can be difficult for businesses serving such small markets to make a reasonable return on their investment. So I think we should just be happy to have several companies catering to our hobby desires!

Ross Schlabach


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## KeithRB (Sep 25, 2015)

Robert:
Do you know when the Ruby#1 Kit is going to be available? I see it is open for pre-orders.


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## Nick Jr (Jan 2, 2008)

From what I've been told, pre-order is a big factor in production. No longer will something be made without the strong possibility of it being sold out, even to limited production, such as the ones contracted by Lorenz Schug, very limited and very well designed. 
Gone are the days of drop in prices to get rid of shelf stock. It seems the Australian and European market seems to be growing as that appears what they are promoting. Can't blame them one bit, they are in business to make a profit, and there is nothing wrong with that. 
I am still in high anticipation of the Three Truck Shay. LG


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## RP3 (Jan 5, 2008)

Pre-orders have become very important in our hobby and its origin goes way back to the early days of HO brass. Accucraft held up the Allegheny due to lack of pre-orders and shifted around production priorities on other models for the same reason. Aster used to produce runs of locomotives based on estimates of potential sales. Now, Aster produces models based on the deposit paid pre-orders it has. A few extra may be floating around, but anyone who does not have their deposit in will not be guaranteed that they will be able to get the model. Of course Accucraft does not require deposits with their pre-orders but their delivery timeframe is usually much further out and may change -- as has been the case with the N&W J 611.

But this shift to basing production on deposit-paid pre-orders is essential in a high cost/low mark-up business like locomotive manufacturing. We have a small hobby and no one in their right mind will be willing to bet 3/4 million dollars that customers will mysteriously appear at the right time with $7k to $9k to buy a locomotive out of stock. The risk is too great and the return too small. I expect Accucraft may have to shift to that model too, but doing so will ham-string its management as deposit paying customers are unlikely to tolerate the delivery delays we see regularly from Accucraft. It should be no secret that Accucraft announces several models and then uses the pre-order information to decide what gets built first. Nothing wrong with that as long as they aren't making delivery commitments they can't or won't keep, but a long period between announcement and actual production can alienate potential customers. If Accucraft were to take deposits on multiple models and have one or more of those models delayed for years while others went first, the uproar from those whose engine(s) was/were delayed would be loud and angry.

So yes, pre-orders should be expected as the routine practice for high ticket items in our hobby. Pre-orders even determined the decision Accucraft made to produce the 1:32 passenger cars. Put some of your own "skin" in the game and you have a better chance to see the model you want get built in a reasonable time-frame. But if a manufacturer starts trying to take deposits on multiple models at or near the same time, look out. Someone is going to have to wait an unreasonable amount of time and that customer will not be pleased.

Ross Schlabach


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## John 842 (Oct 1, 2015)

RP3 said:


> John842,
> 
> If by "Golden Age" you are referring to lots of models at low prices, then you could be right. There is no doubt that the cost of products from China are higher than in the past. But the alternate argument can be made that the quality and variety of models coming from China are improving. With the addition of Wuhu, modelers have a wider choice of models, and without Wuhu we might not have the rapid development of ceramic burners for gas firing. Accucraft isn't able to bring products to market as fast as we have seen in the past and higher costs of production may be playing a role in this slowdown, however they seem to be focusing better on models we want and they have begun building models contracted by other companies such as Train Department.


Yes - I was referring to lots of models at low prices that we are unlikely to see again and certainly the variety of available models is improving - but I'm not so sure about your alternative argument that the quality of models is improving since that is not always the case. As you say, Accucraft are building models commissioned by other companies, or their foreign agents and those people are getting involved in the product development due to their superior knowlege of the prototypes that their particular market demands. 

Well that's all OK untill they start to get involved in signing off for production and aspects of quality control that inevitably fall short of the standards that would be applied if the Accucraft parent company had retained full control of all aspects of the production process.

I would have no hesitation in ordering a new model - sight unseen - from Accucraft US or Germany, but based on my experience, I would not have the same level of confidence from either Australia or the UK.

As far as Wuhu is concerned, I would agree that they are very welcome addition to the number of suppliers we have available - the metal work, the painting and the detailing of parts like the braking and the water pickup gear on the tender on my Black five, are the equal of anything out there. Unfortunately, the three attempts they made to get the burner right, the hopelessly thin buffer beams and the incorrect outline of the boiler -all indicates that they have some considerable work to do before they can hope to match the more established vendors out there.



> We are a very small hobby and it can be difficult for businesses serving such small markets to make a reasonable return on their investment. So I think we should just be happy to have several companies catering to our hobby desires!


I don't really think it's enough to "just be happy" with the _status quo - _It can only benefit all of us if we have some appreciation of the kinds of problems we are likely to come across and the reasons behind them.

.... John


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## dougiel (Jun 3, 2008)

John,

are you sure you don't have the quality control thing the wrong way round ?.

In Germany there is one strong willed man who seems to not tolerate any problems with quality. Hence the items coming out of Accucraft DE seem to be very good.

Here in the UK most items are not removed from the boxes they leave China in. All control seems to be done at the factory. Speaking to purchasers there seems to be a fairly high rate of problems. My own situation with Accucraft UK items has been pretty dismal. Of the last two Joan could not pull the skin of a rice pudding with no steam pressure and the B4 had to have its pistons skimmed to allow them to fit the bores without undue friction.

Ive also given up on the Black Five due to the ever increasing waiting. Same goes for the freight trucks. Ive just got to the point I think I am being jerked off !.

DougieL


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## John 842 (Oct 1, 2015)

dougiel said:


> John,
> 
> are you sure you don't have the quality control thing the wrong way round ?.
> 
> ...


Hi Dougie - No I don't think I have it the wrong way round - if you look again I specifically said ....



John 842 said:


> I would have no hesitation in ordering a new model - sight unseen - from Accucraft US or Germany, but based on my experience, I would not have the same level of confidence from either Australia or the UK.



As far as your Black Five is concerned - I think 'RP3' touched on the problem in his post #19. 

Because of the need for manufacturers to have a much more accurate projection on future sales than they have in the past, they sometimes have to announce future models before commiting to production. This means that they have to strike a very delicate balance between generating this data and alienating customers. I can't really see that this is likely to change when we have,as 'RP3 rightly says, "such a small market" 

The 'low stress' way to deal with this situation is to order the model from a supplier who does not require a deposit and then just forget about it and carry on as if the model will never exist. I've been so delighted when the model suddenly becomes available out of the blue - sometimes years after the original order - that I have invariably gone ahead with the deal. 

Having said that, I'm really surprised when some middle men - knowing full well these delivery problems - have the gall to ask for a deposit - and some people pay it! ....


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## dougiel (Jun 3, 2008)

John 842 said:


> As you say, Accucraft are building models commissioned by other companies, or their foreign agents and those people are getting involved in the product development due to their superior knowlege of the prototypes that their particular market demands.
> 
> Well that's all OK untill they start to get involved in signing off for production and aspects of quality control that inevitably fall short of the standards that would be applied if the Accucraft parent company had retained full control of all aspects of the production process.
> 
> .... John


John,

I presumed that the "they" above were the "other companies and foreign agents" you refer to. In the case of Accucraft DE the foreign agent seems to be doing a better job of quality control than the parent compnay ever could.

In the case of Accucraft UK it would seem all control is handled by the parent company. Only this weekend I had an email from a friend who has taken delivery of a new Glynn Valley Tramway model. One problem amongst quite a few was a bent valve rod !. I can only presume the person who assembled this model has "a blind eye".

DougieL


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## John 842 (Oct 1, 2015)

dougiel said:


> John,
> 
> I presumed that the "they" above were the "other companies and foreign agents" you refer to. In the case of Accucraft DE the foreign agent seems to be doing a better job of quality control than the parent compnay ever could.


Yes, that's correct. When manufacturers accept commisions for models from their dealers or agents it seems that the responsibility for quality control gets split between the different parties involved.

To put it simply - in the case of Accucraft DE, the emphasis on quality control appears to be eqal to, or greater than that from Accucraft US, consequently the quality of their models is equal or greater than that of the already acceptable standards of Accucraft US. I would imagine both companies have sufficient resources to be able to have their own representitives in the facory to safe guard their interests.

In the case of smaller operations like the ones in the UK and Australia they probably don't have such a strong representation in the factory and are consequently more dependant on the efforts of the US personell whose priorities are inevitably going to lie more with their own market than those of foreign partners.

EDIT - perhaps Robert - our Accucraft representitive in this thread - might care to provide some clarification to this whole question of quality control and how it works for his companies products? ....


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## Taperpin (Jan 6, 2008)

John,
I would really appreciate knowing how your experience with Accucraft Models makes you reluctant to order a model of an Australian or UK prototype on the the dubious basis that it has been signed off for production in some manner less rigorous than a US a European one? and that Accucrafts QC process would be selectively applied to different models.
That is a very broad brush you wield and perhaps if you think through carefully what you wrote , you may care to modify /clarify your opinion,perhaps we could then understand how you came to this position.

Taperpin Gordon.


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## riderdan (Jan 2, 2014)

Taperpin said:


> John,
> I would really appreciate knowing how your experience with Accucraft Models makes you reluctant to order a model of an Australian or UK prototype...


John can speak for himself of course, but I read this as indicating that he wouldn't be willing to buy from Accucraft UK or AU, not that he wouldn't buy U.K. or Australian outline locos. If the QC is indeed being partly done by the distributor, and the US and DE distributors are exercising more care, then locos bought from them have been QC'd at least once. Whatever outline they are, you'd know they've been checked at least once.

My experience with outsourced manufacturing is limited, but I do personally know folks involved with it and they basically say that if you don't have a Westerner standing over the line cracking the QC whip, you're unlikely to be happy with the quality. And as I've quoted before, my dad always says "There's no Chinese word for quality"


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## John 842 (Oct 1, 2015)

Taperpin said:


> John,
> I would really appreciate knowing how your experience with Accucraft Models makes you reluctant to order a model of an Australian or UK prototype on the the dubious basis that it has been signed off for production in some manner less rigorous than a US a European one? and that Accucrafts QC process would be selectively applied to different models.
> That is a very broad brush you wield and perhaps if you think through carefully what you wrote , you may care to modify /clarify your opinion,perhaps we could then understand how you came to this position.
> 
> Taperpin Gordon.





riderdan said:


> John can speak for himself of course, but I read this as indicating that he wouldn't be willing to buy from Accucraft UK or AU, not that he wouldn't buy U.K. or Australian outline locos. If the QC is indeed being partly done by the distributor, and the US and DE distributors are exercising more care, then locos bought from them have been QC'd at least once. Whatever outline they are, you'd know they've been checked at least once.
> 
> My experience with outsourced manufacturing is limited, but I do personally know folks involved with it and they basically say that if you don't have a Westerner standing over the line cracking the QC whip, you're unlikely to be happy with the quality. And as I've quoted before, my dad always says "There's no Chinese word for quality"


Well exactly .... 

EDIT - Perhaps to clarify my position on this question I should add that I think Accucraft products are, almost without exception, of a quality of concept and design that's right up there with the best of them - the bad experiences that I've had are solely down to poor quality control. Accucraft customer service and back up is also of the highest order - they offered to take back the models I was having problems with and rectify the faults. However, as I had waited so long for the models and I didn't want to subject them again to the rigors of the shipping people, I elected to fix them myself which happens to be all part of the fun for me, but that's not the point at issue here.

The real point is that - no matter how good the back up and customer service is - I would still much prefer the models to arrive in good condition in the first place. I don't know how true it is, but I was told by the distributor that the problems with my order were down to the fact that labor relations in the factory producing rolling stock had deterioated to the point that production had to be relocated back to the locomotive factory situated in a part of China where the labor situation was much better - no doubt with a negative impact on loco production.

I've found it very difficult to verify these types of stories and I've had little success in trying to find out which models are made in which factories and to keep up with the constantly changing situation.


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## zubi (May 14, 2009)

John 842 said:


> Yes, that's correct. When manufacturers accept commisions for models from their dealers or agents it seems that the responsibility for quality control gets split between the different parties involved.
> 
> To put it simply - in the case of Accucraft DE, the emphasis on quality control appears to be eqal to, or greater than that from Accucraft US, consequently the quality of their models is equal or greater than that of the already acceptable standards of Accucraft US. I would imagine both companies have sufficient resources to be able to have their own representitives in the facory to safe guard their interests.
> 
> In the case of smaller operations like the ones in the UK and Australia they probably don't have such a strong representation in the factory and are consequently more dependant on the efforts of the US personell whose priorities are inevitably going to lie more with their own market than those of foreign partners.


John, 'smaller' in reference to UK is an inaccurate observation. Actually, Ian Pearse commissioned *far* more products from Accucraft than Lorenz Schug ever did. He has also physically been to the factory several times, while I doubt that Lorenz has ever visited China. Ian has also designed and commissioned far more complex models such as the NGG16 and NG15. Lorenz gradually increases complexity of his models. He just embarked on a Mallet (simple not compound). We still have to see how it actually performs. So the comparison in size of the operations is simply wrong regarding UK and DE. (I left out Gordon from this because he speaks for himself here, and if you check his website, it clearly says that he just returned from China where he worked on his new model with Accucraft engineers.) That said, I must say that my personal experiences have been quite varied with all sources of these models (US, UK and DE). Majority of my models are US prototypes. But without Cliff and his amazing dedication to fixing what can be fixed I would have been able to solve the problems I encountered. I did also have a few minor quality problems with Saxonian locomotives, but Lorenz did his best to get the parts for me from Bing. I am very happy with these models. One, the VIK was entirely problem free out of the box. But that is only three locomotives compared to at least five times as many US engines I have. Of the UK engines, my two NG16 were both good and the NG15 very good! But I did encounter one disastrous engine of smaller type - the fourth one - four is not a lucky number in Japan. Again these are only four models. Frankly, apart from these few very large UK engines I have, I cannot speak of the UK outline. It consists of masses of smaller engines, which are produced in such small volumes and sell out so quick that I am not fast enough to buy them... If they have 'issues' please spell them out. We did exactly that when the K-28 were first shipped. Since then we had all other K-class engines produced and they were better. In retrospection, the K-28 was a fine product, but it was poorly packed and carelessly shipped. Whether Ian can personally ensure the quality of the UK line I do not know, he has practically retired from the business as far as I understand. Furthermore, it is not feasible to ask him to assist in completion and testing of every single UK model of which there are many hundreds (including rolling stock too). Lorenz operates on a *much* smaller scale. He is posting her too, so he might want to comment. But his few designs he was able to get free of major problems, shear luck or persistence on getting the quality level you demand? Maybe both. Best wishes from Tokyo, Zubi
PS but frankly speaking, unless this thread will report anything more on the Alleghenies, such debates belong elsewhere.


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## John 842 (Oct 1, 2015)

zubi said:


> PS but frankly speaking, unless this thread will report anything more on the Alleghenies, such debates belong elsewhere.


Yes, I had thought of that - but as the thread had already achieved its main objective of anouncing the arrival of the Alleghenies, I thought perhaps there could be no harm in a little futher discussion - Sorry! ....


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## steamtom1 (Jan 2, 2008)

Then, if you guys really want something that "_Runs like a Roundhouse", _you could always buy a Roundhouse.


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## StackTalk (May 16, 2014)

One of the advantages of putting some critical or negative comments in the *wrong* thread is that they will be harder to find in the future. 

Cheers,

Joe


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

> If Accucraft were to take deposits on multiple models and have one or more of those models delayed for years while others went first, the uproar from those whose engine(s) was/were delayed would be loud and angry.


Excuse me, Ross, but Accucraft used to take deposits when you pre-ordered. My dealer had $300 from me for my EBT #12, and it still took 4 years to surface. Maybe the uproar (I recall a few disparaging remarks, but I wouldn't call it a lot of noise,) convinced them not to take pre-order deposits? 
Now what's the compound interest on $300 for 4 years. . .


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## Kovacjr (Jan 2, 2008)

Pete about 0.10$ haha


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## RP3 (Jan 5, 2008)

Not being interested in the EBT, I didn't have any dealings with Accucraft on that locomotive, but it is a perfect case on point about taking deposits and then shifting production to other projects as I discussed. But I have bought a number of engines with no deposit, and as you said, they aren't taking deposits these days. Past experiences may keep them from returning to a deposit-based system, but they may have no choice if it becomes common for people to place pre-orders and then not follow through when the product is ready. Such a condition could cause an expensive inventory pile-up.

The main point I was trying to drive home is that open stock manufacturing is too costly a method for a niche hobby like ours. And whether or not the manufacturers require deposits will depend on the amounts of money involved, the size of potential profit margins, the degree to which customers carry through on their pre-orders, plus possibly the experience you mentioned with the EBT #12.

Ross Schlabach


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## zubi (May 14, 2009)

Back to the thread, has anyone unpacked their Virginian? Best wishes from Tokyo, Zubi


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## waynesal46 (Dec 29, 2012)

yep heavy, looks nice well packed with wooden boxes like the BR45


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## gaugeonebloke (Aug 18, 2008)

Is anyone investing in a TRS kit or conversion of the Allegheny combination lever to give variable cut off ?


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

gaugeonebloke said:


> Is anyone investing in a TRS kit or conversion of the Allegheny combination lever to give variable cut off ?


Sheesh, most of them haven't even been run yet!


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## du-bousquetaire (Feb 14, 2011)

I just wanted to say that I think that it is very important and positive that people who are in the firms that manufacture our models like Robert, are also members of this forum. This can only help get the feedback to the people who make the descisions. It can therefore influence choice of models to be produced; but also feedback on how our models perform and what to do to make them better. For example: I once said in this forum (can't remember where though...) that the T 1 didn't have a blowdown valve, which considering the size and weight of the model is a shame as I like to empty my boilers after a run. Well I am glad to see that new models are announced with blow down valves at Accucraft. This in turn will make futur models better. Do mind the fact that I still think models should stay relativly simple so that the cost doesn't explode a phenomenon we recently observed with the 2-4-1 P.


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## John Allman (Jan 2, 2008)

Ok, where are the pictures?
please.


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## livesteamalbert (Jul 1, 2015)

Yeah, where are the pics? Anyways, hope to see some soon.


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## gaugeonebloke (Aug 18, 2008)

Would like to see pictures of the Accucraft Virginian 2-6-6-6. According to "The Allegheny Lima's Finest", the principal differences to the C&O locos were: "tender capacity (the rear section contained 26,500 instead of 2500 gallons which at 1/32 scales to a height above the rails for the tender of 138.2mm-water /146mm-coal respectively), sandbox (domes) design, some of the piping, and the placement of the stoker motor under the cab. Minor differences included a cover on the side for the cylinders and additional lube lines of the trailing truck." One has to be sympathetic to the manufacturer given the attractively low price these are on offer at (I recall the Aster was sold for $18,000 new). Nevertheless, I'm curious to know how many of these differences made it through to the final production version of the Virginian AG that is available now. What can you see?


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