22nd Edition
Welcome to the twenty-second edition of The Eureka Times.
Welcome to the second edition of The Eureka Times for 2011 and half the year has already come and gone. However, much has happened so far this year and with the promise of much more to come in the second half of 2011, it is likely that this will be a bumper year for The Eureka Times and its staff. The move to the new factory is almost complete and the last two projects to be completed at the old factory (AD60 re-run and with sound CPH/CTH) are finished. As this edition goes to press distribution of the AD60 re-run is just about done and the CPH/CTH is about to arrive at Port Botany. All other projects, both re-runs (38, 620/720, LCH/CCH) and partially completed projects (40 class, R class), and numerous new projects have been transferred to the new factory where, as indicated below, rapid progress is being made. Well, let’s have a look at what the rest of 2011 should bring.
AD60 re-run. The re-run of the AD60 arrived at Port Botany on the 21stt of April and distribution commenced in early May and is now almost complete. Those who have AD60s on order but have not yet received their model should contact the Eureka office to arrange delivery as there are still a number of persons we have not been able to contact.
CPH/CTH Rail Motor Sets with Sound. The sound equipped CPH/CTH rail motor sets are due to arrive at Port Botany on the 4th of August and distribution will start around the 8th of August. As is the usual practice those with fully paid CPH/CTHs on order will be contacted first followed by those who have outstanding balances. This will be the end of our projects completed by Sanda Kan and there are mixed feelings involved in this parting. Although projects often took many more years to arrive than they should have, the quality of the models which eventuated was outstanding and, until recently, better than any other manufacturer in China. Our focus now is to deliver the R class and the 40 class by the end of the year and we will then consider ourselves to be up-to-date and that will be a new experience!
R Class Test Shots:
A major mile-stone was reached with the R class project when the first complete running engineering sample was picked up from the factory on the 8th of July. The model returned with us to Australia the following week, was painted, and is now undergoing extensive test running and final checking. One important detail error in the valve gear has been detected. Fortunately it is one which will not take much to rectify and the factory has already been advised. Artwork and sound, together with a number of other items, are being organised at the moment, all of which suggests a production run delivery before the end of this year.
The K Class. As has been advised in the past, it has always been our intention that once test shots for the R class were received tooling on the K class would commence. This is now the case and approval for tooling on the K class to proceed has been given to the factory. It is scheduled to start in August. The much heralded special offer to those who have an R class on order was forwarded to those persons in June and K Class order forms are included with this edition. A second half 2012 delivery date is anticipated.
VR/SAR Bogie Open/Flat/Oil Tank wagons. Test shots have arrived and artwork has been forwarded to the factory. Delivery is expected in September
VR Forward Projects:
With the K class project progressing quickly, work on the next steam locomotive in our VR line will need to commence in the second half of this year if an early 2013 delivery is to be achieved. After much consideration it has been decided that our next VR steam project will be the N. Whilst we have 6 to 8 projects in the locker from which to choose, our next locomotive, the N, virtually picks itself as it has the greatest degree of commonality with the K of all other VR locomotives. It also allows us to do the SAR variation. Scoping of the N project has commenced and a data package is being finalised to forward to the factory for drawings to commence. An early 2013 delivery is being aimed at. More details as the project progresses. Commonality of components is a feature of a number of other VR steam locomotives with the K, N, A2, D3, D2, D1 and J classes all sharing some degree of common components. As a result, the composition of the Eureka forward program virtually picks itself, with only the order of models after the K and N to be determined. At the recent visit to the factory the opportunity was taken to recognise and plan for this commonality in the forward program.
RSH /LCH/CCH: Being released with a re-run of our popular LCH/CCH four wheel coal hoppers, our RSH is the first of several special use hoppers which utilise, as did the prototype, the LCH/CCH four wheel under-frame. Twenty-three were built to carry sand (and fertilizer). The RSH will come in packs of four with an expected delivery date of October, 2011. A fertilizer version pack of four will also be available featuring two plain RSHs and two carrying private owner advertising, all four with fertilizer markings. The re-run of the LCH/CCH will come in packs of ten as previously with mixed packs of 5 LCHs and 5 CCHs also being available again. Thirty new numbers will be available.
The NSW NTAF Oil Tanker: During WW11 the Department of Defence commissioned the construction of 25 three dome, 10,000 gal. oil tanks to support the war effort. The tanks were placed on modified E wagon under-frames supplied by the NSWGR. In 1947 all tank cars were sold to the private oil companies and around 1957 the NSWGR required that the old under-frames be replaced. As a consequence the tanks were placed on new fully welded under-frames using 6 inch channel side sills. The replacement under-frames were built by various contractors and as a result there are differences between the various batches. Eureka’s model will come in six company liveries as well as in standard black. The model will be available in 3-packs consisting of two different company cars plus one standard black. The tank cars will be lettered in two versions. The post 1979 version with a NTAF coding and a 1957-1979 version featuring oil Company numbering.
2012 Trainpak Projects. Two Train Paks are in the works for delivery in 2012. The first will be WW44 to run behind two AD60s and the second will be our Milk Tank Pak consisting of a Bogie Milk Tank (BMT) and a semi-louvre MLK. More news next issue.
More Carriages to run behind those 38s (and other engines). With delivery of the HUB sets likely before the end of 2011, it is time to start work on Eureka’s next carriage set. Again, the recent visit to the factory provided the opportunity to start work on this new project and a general scope of the project was discussed, with a data package to be provided to the factory shortly. Subject to the usual acceptance of quotations, the provisional timetable provides for completion of drawings by the end of 2011 with anticipated delivery before the end of 2012. What is it did you ask? Well, a formal announcement might just have to wait until next issue.
Busy Times at the New Factory. Things are certainly humming along at the new factory and the accompanying photos show some of the activity at the factory. The recent visit saw no less than eleven projects listed on the meeting agenda. One project that was discussed and has been given the goahead is the long anticipated DEB sets. Drawings are expected before the end of 2011 with a target delivery date of late 2012.
The Case of the Travelling Tooling: Regular readers will be aware of the machinations that have been taking place at our old manufacturer. With the arrival of the garret re-run and the sound equipped CPH/CTH sets, no further Eureka projects will be undertaken at the old factory. All future projects will be carried out at the new factory and to enable this all tooling (620/720, AD60, LCH/CCH, CHG, C38, CPH/CTH and 40 class) has been transferred to the new factory.
China Rail: There might not be much steam left in China but it is still a great place to travel by, and to watch, trains. Whilst in Chengdu, a south-western city of 15 million people, visits to local tourist attractions in the company of an interpreter provided opportunities for Eureka staff to sample more of the Chinese rail system. In the course of this train travel the interpreter pointed out that Chengdu currently had eight subway lines under construction but complained bitterly that it was anticipated that completion of all eight lines was scheduled to take twenty years. Your scribe resisted the temptation to point out that State Governments in Australia charged with such a task would take twenty years just to decide which line to build first, or alternatively would have started all eight lines at least once but completed none in twenty years. The lasting memory of Chinese rail on this trip however, was passing through a rail junction that would rival the Light-horse Intersection of the M5 and M7 freeways in western Sydney. Rail lines at several different levels with spirals and flyovers, take-offs and loops providing an indication of the extraordinary commitment of resources to mass-transit rail that is being made by the Central Authorities in China.