32nd Edition
Welcome to the thirty-second edition of The Eureka Times.
It has been over six months since the last edition of The Eureka Times and as always seems to be the case, this period has seen both much to celebrate and at the same time much to grind ones teeth over as far as progress with projects at Eureka is concerned.
As usual these developments in Eureka’s outlook depend largely on the state of the relationships between Eureka and its manufacturers.
On the positive side our relationship with our third and latest manufacturer has continued to blossom and can best be described as thriving. The initial run of 12 wheelers (the NCR sets) and the CG wagons were first rate in quality terms and the projects were carried out efficiently and in a most professional manner. At the moment the 40 class assembly is well under way with delivery expected in May. The tooling for the second batch of 12 wheelers (MAL, ACS and AB) is complete with delivery expected in July. Testing of the 38 class tooling which has been recovered from Sanda Kan is under way with assembly to start in June for an expected delivery in December, 2017.
To keep the assembly line busy after the 38 re-run, tooling for the DEB sets and 59 class will commence
in the second half of this year allowing both projects to be delivered in 2018. Also due in 2018 are the third batch of 12 wheelers. (TAM and others tba.)
Now for the other side of the coin. Tooling previously in the hands of Sanda Kan has been fully recovered but tooling for a further 12 projects including the VR K class, the NSWGR 620 2 car diesels, the NSWGR oil tankers, the NSW private owner hoppers and the VR S and O wagons are still at the factory of our second manufacturer and are the subject of an on-going dispute which may yet end up in court. Eureka is one of four manufacturers who have similarly been in dispute with this manufacturer. It is hoped that resolution of this matter can be achieved in the near future but until such resolution it is impossible to provide a realistic assessment of delivery dates for these projects. If the tooling can be retrieved in the near future the new factory will commence work on these projects immediately and as work on some of these projects is only eight weeks an expedited delivery can be expected.
As usual when a year passes, we here at the Eureka Offices invariably look back and say “wow, that was a tough year for us.” But then we remember that in the past year we delivered the 50 class and the first batch of the 12 wheelers. With this year likely to see at least the 40 class, the second batch of 12 wheelers, the 38 class re-run plus some of the items waiting for the return of tooling, at the end of this year we should again be able to look back with some satisfaction.
The 40 Class:
Squirting for the 40 class has commenced and decoration (painting) is getting under way. Injection typically takes about a month and decoration commences as soon as injected parts start to arrive from the sub-contractors. All the white metal parts such as the chassis have been received and outsourced parts such as wheels, motors etc are under way. . The accompanying photograph shows the decoders being test fitted at QSI. This locomotive is an interesting one. It had previously successfully completed 120 hours continuous running at the factory. It was then forwarded to us here at the Eureka offices for testing after which it was forwarded to QSI in the US to have the decoders test fitted before the finished pcbs with decoders attached are be forwarded to the factory to be assembled into the models.
Gears: Readers of the blog will know about the concerns over of splitting gears in some diesels. The engineers at our factory have been examining this issue for some time. It is their opinion that the splitting is caused by minute variations in the gears as they cool after being squirted. This variation can be due to factors unique to the squirting of each batch but the engineers believe that every batch of injections varies from one batch to the next. When the gears are forced fitted to a pre-determined axle thickness this sometimes leads to the splitting problem. To avoid this on the 40 class, the axles will not be ordered until after the gears have been injected and the axle hole has been accurately measured.
Eureka Models has ordered a limited number of extra assembled wheel sets complete with wheels, axle and gear. Discussions with the engineers determined that it was not practical to supply the gears alone as they had to come fitted to the correct size axle and the wheels needed to be fitted in a jig for correct squareness and gauge. Price is not finalized yet but will be around $25 for a set of six complete wheel sets.
The NSWGR 12 Wheelers - The second batch. - MAL, ACS and AB91
The first test shots for the next release in Eureka’s 72’6” car program (MAL sleeping car, ACS composite sleeping car and AB91 Dining car) have been received at the factory. Minor corrections have been carried out and a full set of test shots are expected here at the Eureka offices in the last week of March. Tooling should be signed off on by the end of March and this would see delivery in time for the October exhibition..
These cars will be sold individually as will be the case with future releases in the Eureka 12 wheeler program. (With delivery of this second batch of 12 wheelers nearing completion planning for the next group is currently under way. (A TAM is a certainty but other variations are still under consideration.)
Along with the release of the NCR sets spare sets of 12 wheeler bogies were made available. All 500 sets sold out very quickly but another batch will be produced in conjunction with the second batch of cars. Be quick if you want any. $30 per set of two complete bogies.
Also expected will be a number of spare under-frames complete with couplers and wheel sets. Price will be $44 complete and numbers again will be very limited.
The 38 Class re-run:
The 38 class re-run is about to get underway with the tooling ready to be tested by the injection sub-contractor. Similar testing of the tooling as was done with the 40 class will be carried out. The tooling includes the changes that were made to the cut-out in the nose of the stream-lined version. Some improvements to the manufacture of the side rods and mechanism are planned but tooling-wise the re-run will be the same as the first run
The re-run will include the following engine numbers.
The numbers marked with a hash (#) are being produced in very limited numbers only and are intended to be basically “to order” only. Artwork is being prepared and will appear on our web-site when ready.
New Tooling Projects:
The factory will complete the 40 class, MAL/ACS/AB 12 wheelers and the 38 class re-run this year. The program for 2018 consists of the 900 class DEB sets, the 59 class and a third run of 12 wheelers. Tooling for these three projects will need to be commenced in 2017 in order for squirting, painting and assembly to be carried out and these projects completed in 2018.
And Then???
It may sound a long way off but tooling for 2019 projects will need to be completed in the second half of 2018. This then requires that data packages and drawings be prepared in the first half of 2018. This in turn requires that decisions have to be made as to which projects are to be done so that information and data packages can be put together this year.
For the NSWGR modeller this will almost certainly see the 53 class and the 57/58 class in the program to start in 2018 for 2019 delivery. There are a couple of other projects under consideration. More details later.
The Great Question Mark
As mentioned above, the transfer from one manufacturer to another has not proved to be an easy one. The major project which is stalled pending the retrieval of the tooling is the VR K class. The flow-on from this is that the whole VR program has been stalled. To overcome this Eureka is considering moving ahead with its VR program by commencing another VR project. We are hesitant about doing this as we want the next VR project delivered to be the K class. More details later.
When the tooling for the K class is recovered, it has already been arranged that the new factory will start work on the K class immediately. This may interrupt the existing program outlined above a little but given the situation with the K this is the fairest solution. The smaller delayed projects will also be fitted into the existing program but as these are small projects the interruption will not be great.
One of the many good things about Eureka’s new manufacturer is their infectious sense of optimism. They continually assert that two years will see all of Eureka’s program delivered in full.
We here at the Eureka offices will be doing everything we can to see they are right.
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