Accucraft October news

W & L COUNTESSES

We have just received a batch of live steam ‘Countesses’ and are currently sending them out to our dealers.  It is likely that this will be the last run of these locos for quite a while, given that our production schedule is now planned for the next eighteen months to two years.  If you require one of these models we suggest you contact your local retailer before they sell out again.

Green and black ‘Countesses’ are currently available

CHOPPER COUPLINGS

It is clear that our choppers have become the coupling of choice among discerning narrow gauge modellers.  Judging by sales to date there are literally thousands of garden scale models out there sporting them!  We have just had a new shipment in so make sure you order yours before this lot is hoovered up as quickly as the last batch.

OPEN DAY AT CHURCH STRETTON

Don’t forget that that we are holding an Open Day at our new premises in Church Stretton on the 15th of October.  Some of our dealers will be present as well as other attractions and we look forward to seeing you then.  Full details and a map can be found as a PDF file here ACCUCRAFT OPEN DAY.

*STOP PRESS* We should have the first engineering sample of our new L & B ‘Lew’ available for inspection at our open day!

ACCUCRAFT (US) D&RGW 2-8-2’s

I can remember, as a young man, standing on the fire escape at the rear of the Strater Hotel in Durango as a K28 blasted up the back street with the first departure of the day for Silverton, its mournful whistle sounding at every side road and its exhaust leaving a pall of coal smoke hanging in Main Street through which the rising sun could barely shine…..

You could recreate that scene with one of the stunning new, coal-fired K28 2-8-2’s.  These wonderful models are due for release this winter and are the ultimate in 1:20.3 scale live steam power.  They are available to pre-order at an RRP of £6490.00 from your local retailer.

D&RGW K-28 was a product of the American Locomotive Works (ALCO), delivered to the Denver & Rio Grande Western in 1923. A total of ten K-28’s (470-479) were purchased to assist the very successful by now severely overworked K-27’s.  Since the delivery of the K-27’s in 1903 the technology and complexity of steam locomotive had advanced considerably.  When delivered these locomotives were assigned to the Gunnison Division, and although they did pull freight trains, they were often found at the head of passenger trains, particularly on the Alamosa line. During World War II, seven of the K-28 class were requisitioned by the U.S. Army and shipped to Skagway, Alaska to run on the White Pass and Yukon Railroad. After the end of the war these locomotives were returned to the states of Washington and Utah to be scrapped.

However, the good news is that three (473, 476 & 478) of the original D&RGW K-28 class are still in existence and are now under the ownership of the Durango & Silverton Railroad. They are still running over the same rails as they did over eighty years ago, climbing towards Silverton along the banks of the Rio de Las Animas Perdidas.  More information about the Accucraft model can be found here.

Accucraft have recently released a batch of K36 2-8-2’s and such has been their popularity that stocks are already running low.  If you want one of these attractive locos we suggest you order one soon!  The UK RRP is £5225.00 for the live steam version.  For the full specification plus footage of one running click here.

The K36’s were built by Baldwin’s and delivered to the D&RGW in 1925.  Mainly based at Alamosa they worked to Durango and Farmington as well as on the Monarch branch.  Remarkably nine of the original ten locos survive today (#485 fell into the Salida turntable pit and was subsequently scrapped), four are based at Durango and five on the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad.