Accucraft UK Ltd
Welcome to the Accucraft UK July update, it was good to catch up with so many of you at the National Garden Railway Show in Peterborough. This month we are delighted to be able to report significant progress on production of both the 1:19 scale ‘Lawleys’ and the 1:32 scale GWR 43XX with estimated delivery dates of late August and late September respectively so get your wallets out! We can also report further developments with the forthcoming Shay.
1:19 Scale ‘Lawley’ 4-4-0
They say a picture is worth a thousand words……
We only have a limited number of unallocated ‘Lawleys’ in the first batch so don’t hesitate if you’d like one!
1:32 Scale GWR 43XX 2-6-0
The factory is making good progress on assembling the batch of GWR Moguls with most of the brasswork done and machined components being finished.
1:20.3 Scale 13T Shay
We are pleased to be able to offer the cute little 13T Shay with a further livery variation, adding the planished iron boiler to the two other options. Planished or ‘Russian’ iron was popular among 19th Century locomotive builders, particularly in the USA. The name is applied to sheet iron with a very highly polished or glazed surface. It is used for protecting the lagging of engines and boilers and for other uses where a non-corroding black iron of finished surface is desired.
These sheets are made by piling together about fifty pickled sheets of soft steel with powdered charcoal sprinkled between adjacent sheets. The pile is wrapped in old sheets, wired and heated in a furnace to a cherry-red heat for about six hours. Upon cooling, each sheet is swept free of loose charcoal and is then sprayed with steam to form a thin oxide. Again the sheets are piled together, heated and then placed on the hammer table, several in a bundle, and pounded with a steam hammer. This brings about a grinding action which grinds the carbon and oxide on the surface down to a highly polished coating.
The 13-2 Class A straight boiler Shay locomotive was one of Lima’s industrial success stories, with virtually identical examples built for US and international industry and plantations lines. Orders were built for New York, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Alabama, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Washington State, Minnesota and Hawaii. In addition, exports were built for Queensland Australia, Japan, Puerto Rico and more. Despite its small stature, the design was built for a wide variety of gauges including 50cm, 24”, 30” 36”, 42” and standard gauge. The 13-2 Class A is a 2 cylinder, 13 Ton conventional straight boiler design, and differs from other 13 Ton ‘T’ boiler and tapered boiler designs. Today there is only one known survivor of this design of 13-2 Class A, as built for Queensland, Australia which is now preserved at the Nambour Museum in beautifully restored, non-operational condition.
At long last, a gorgeous little Shay that is gauge-adjustable! Perfect for the 16mm brigade!
The model will be gauge-adjustable for 32mm and 45mm and will come with two types of stack as typically supplied by Lima when built. Supplied in either black or green and now planished (Russian) iron, UK RRP £2145.00 RTR, £1995.00 Kit, available direct from Accucraft UK, due for release Q4 2022. Our thanks to David Fletcher for the superb illustrations.
Specifications:
1:20.3 Scale – 45 mm Gauge/32mm Gauge (adjustable)
Brass, Copper & Stainless Steel Construction
48 in. (1.2 M) Mini. Radius
Length: 16.8 in. (427 mm)
Width: 4.5 in. (116 mm)
Height: 6.6 in. (168 mm)
Features:
Butane fired
Two truck, two cylinders
Simulated Stephenson valve gear,
Two Safety valves
Lubricator
Water level gauge, Goodall valve
Blowdown valve
Superheater
