Accurascale has provided an update on the impressive KUA nuclear flask wagons, alongside images of the first decorated samples.
These colossal wagons have been the subject of great interest since they were announced at Warley 2019 and make a perfect companion for their newly announced Class 37/6 locomotives. Built by Bombardier/Prorail of Wakefield in 1998 and designed to carry spent nuclear fuel from Royal Navy nuclear submarines from their bases at Devonport and Rosyth to Sellafield for disposal, these 80 ton monsters have been a source of interest among enthusiasts for over 20 years.
Work was well underway before being announced, with Revolution Trains providing a helping hand on the back of their N own gauge model. The first engineering prototype was received by Accurascale during Chinese New Year, with the team spending a number of weeks assessing the sample for corrections before progressing to the next stage. Unfortunately, COVID-19 lead to a number of delays. While this disrupted delivery plans of late summer 2020, Accurascale had already made significant progress on the project.
Decorated samples have now arrived and have been assessed by the Accurascale design team ahead of manufacture. Feedback on these models has been generally positive with decoration and looks of the model, but as with all first livery samples there are still some areas for improvement.
The KUA will be available as a twin-pack, with models featuring;
- Highly detailed, accurate scale model
- Factory-fitted detail parts (brake pipes, lamp irons, etc.)
- Factory-fitted etched metal details where required
- Factory-fitted pipework
- Sprung metal buffers
- Fully detailed under-frame
- Blackened metal 12mm disc wheels on metal axles, RP25.88 profile sets with 14.4mm back to backs and 26mm over pinpoints
- NEM coupler pockets fitted on 'kinematic' mounts with narrow tension lock couplers provided
- Multiple die-cast chassis parts for ideal weight over axles
- Designed for easy conversion to EM and P4 gauges
- Length of Wagon, buffer to buffer of 325mm (650mm for the pair of wagons)
As always we look forward to putting the model through it's paces in a future issue of Railway Modeller!
