Hi all----While looking at the new Accurail auto racks with side panels, I realized they were not being offered RTR. I checked around their web site and found that the Accuready section is empty other than a note referring me to their clearance page.
Has Accurail discontinued their RTR line? That seems to fly in the face of current manufacturer trends and is surprising.
Thoughts?
Patrick in Atlanta
I think you’re reading too much into their web site listings – they seem to be trying to clear out excess stock, possibly to make room for the manufacture of newer products.
One thing I definitely favor Accurail for is keeping production in the U.S. instead of everything being made in China.
To be fair, the components for the Accuready cars are indeed “made in the USA”, but the cars are assembled in China.
Help out our foreign balance of payments. Build a kit!
Mark
Actually, rather than reading anything into the fact that the few Accuready items they have are all now on the clearance page with no items on the Accuready page, I am posing the question:
Are they continuing their Accuready line?
I hoped that someone on this forum, rather than guessing like I am, can definitively state ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
If someone can confirm one way or the other, I would appreciate it.
Instead of being disappointed by the lack of info you’re finding here regarding the Accuready line, why not simply drop a line to Accurail and ask them directly? When you do get your answer from them post it here. Then the rest of the population that are giving you “guesses” can be enlightened and future queries on the matter will then have a definite ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer available.
Actually, I have written them three times at accurail@accurail.com, the email address listed on their page, and have yet to receive a response.
Since MR is one of the largest-circulation train magazines remaining, posing the question here was a reasonable recourse since the primary authority is unresponsive.
Finally got an answer from Accurail. Answer is: sorta discontinued, sorta not.
I wouldn’t say that it’s discontinued as much as it is on hold, at least for right now.
Just in the last couple of years the costs of assembling our kits into RTR/Accuready models overseas has gone up significantly. Plus, we were never particularly happy about giving money to China when there might be the possibility of having the work done here in the States. So I wouldn’t expect anything more in the Accuready line in the immediate future, at least not while we’re exploring new places to have the assembly done. It remains to be seen what we’ll find (or not find, as the case may be).
Eric Cote
Plant Manager/Artwork
Accurail
Accurail kits are a much more fulfilling “modeling” expreience than assembling an Athearn blue box kit, and the resulting car is nicer. Hopefully this move was just to stem prohibitive costs and is not an indication of a larger problem.