Thanks to Cliff of AccuCraft Company USA

Posted By tacfoley on 03/25/2009 5:40 AM
Dear All - as I noted in a post just a week or so ago, there were certain issues with my long-awaited AccuCraft Royal Hudson that were not fixable by me.
 
Contacting Cliff in CA last week, and getting the chance to talk to him, seemed to be the right way about it, rather than bitch and whinge on an open forum.
 
He promised to take the required bits off a display model and mail them to me right away, and by golly, that's exactly what he has done.
 
Shipped on 19 March from Union City, CA, and here in rural East Anglia today, wednesday 25 March. 
 
Thank you, Sir.  And thank you, again.
 
tac
www.ovgrs.org
 


Good old Cliff.
Now Tac, I am still confused as to WHAT these issues are.
Previous on this forum you answered this question as follows:



Mr. Foley,
Please let us know what these minor things were so that we Royal Hudson owners can all be prepared to look for them in case they effect out locos.
Or was this things broken during shipment?
Regards
David leech,
Delta, Canada
 
 
Dear Mr Leech - remember you twisted my arm, but since the 'minor problems' have been well-sorted out, thanks to Messrs Cliff AccuCraft and Alan Wright et al - here they are/were -
 
Item the First - My loco arrived in totally perfect condition in every respect, after coming from China to California, thence to North West Oregon, and back over the entire USA, the Atlantic Ocean, to [eventually] be dumped in return for vast amount of excise duty, in front of my mud hut by the creek.  Nothing was bent, broken, distorted, or in any way, place or form where it should not have been, thanks mainly to the often-noted 'mummification' used by AMMC to seal up their products.  
 
Item the Second - the entire cab area of MY particular loco was swathed in soggy, alcohol-soaked wrapping tissue - something that owes NOTHING to me celebrating on opening it up.  I was almost laid out by the strength of the stuff, maybe because I not a drinker, and had to knock a hole in the mud-wall of the hut to enable the fumes to ecape.  I mention this mainly because the beef with the US TSA seems to revolve around the limitations of transporting alcohol or gas-fired model steam locos by air these days, and sending even a a new model that smells like a 'shiner's cabin' might cause a few problems.  Certainly, the stuff that I could smell would probalby have laid out a lesser man or sniffer dog.  I think it may have been the final pre-shipment toast given to my particular loco, since it has been the subject of many a whinge over the last couple of years, and they were simply happy to see it go - rather like launching a ship with a bottle of champagne.  Whatever the stuff was, I have come across local 'shine' that was considerably less potent...perhaps they should market it as a sideline as 'Old Dirigible' or somesuch name.      
 
Item the Third - the wick material, called Super Wick, arrived in a separate bag for you, the new owner, to install.  This is not too much of a hassle, providing you have the instructions, which brings me nicely on to...
 
Item the Fourth - no instructions. 

and to Item the Fifth, and last - the tools, consisting of a couple of teeny hex wrenches familiar to those of us with AccuCraft products, a rather battered blue plastic handled nut-driver and another all-metal version of the same thing, were lying loose in the loco box.  I only found the smaller of the two wrenches because it was stuck to the generous swathe of heavy duty Scotch tape so beloved by our BMMC loco builders and packers.  The usual couple of plastic syringes and a teeny bag of bolts were all that were in a shredded plastic bag - the bottom having been torn out somehow, releasing all the other items......  Since the outers were still vacuum-sealed, I cannot blame HM Customs & Excise here, so it must remain a mystery.
 
Apart from those minor niggles, none of which took away the excitement and pleasure that can be obtained from opening up something long awaited, yesterday was a VERY good day.
 
tac
http://www.ovgrs.org/    





So, what are the issues that Cliff had to sort out please.
Did the alcohol remove some of the  paint?
I assume that he sent you instructions.
My tools were also rather second hand looking. Did you get new ones?
You have already stated that nothing was bent broken distorted, and was in perfect condition, so please tell us what is going on.
If not, I will just have to buy Cliff a few drinks in Sacramento and let him tell me.
Regards
David Leech, Delta, Canada