New member from down-under.

Hi all, and greetings from down Under!
I have been lurking around for a few months salivating over members engines and absorbing information from build threads before hopefully pulling the trigger towards the middle of this year.
As much as I love the bling appeal of the Showman's and Road Locos, they were never a big thing down here in the colonies. Therefore, if I was to build anything, it would have to be an agricultural engine.
That leads me to a couple of questions ;

1: The 4" DCC agricultural that is "in development" really appeals to me. Do you have any sort of guess when the first batch of this will be starting, as well as approximate pricing?

2: Being on the other side of the planet, what is the best way of shipping the kits? Is it most cost-effective to ship in a number of shipments of multiple kits, say 4or 5 together, or just single kits at a time?

3:Due to the probably high cost of shipping to be added to the kit cost, is it possible to order each kit or several kits at greater than monthly intervals as funds permit?

I have plenty more questions, but these are the main potential deal-breakers at this stage.

You need to have a chat with dean , he will have all the answers you need ,

Hi Jacko. I'm over the ditch in kiwi land. I was able to get an agi in 1 shipment as the shipping was going to make it not worthwhile. And I currently have it running on an model engineering boiler cert at 100psi. As the DCC agi I'm also looking at getting for myself, but I have been talking to Dean and we are going to start with a road loco kit, and just change a couple of things to get it into the DCC agi

Hi Ho from the "old dart"

Yes due to the shipping cost, the kits would be sent in one or two batches all on a pallet or two.

The DCC Agi is as you say a is essentially a road loco without the belly tank and has a walk board and toolbox on the side of the boiler. I would guess also without the motion covers. All being to keep the engine lighter for field work.

The road loco does not have any real "bling" as the only brass bits are the name rings and the edging of the motion covers.

A point to note. Compounding does not really come effective until a DCC is over about 150psi. On my showman this was the case. She was quite "under powered" until 150psi. So on rally fields I would often run with 140psi to 150psi to give a wet but docile steaming.

Hi there Jacko,
It's great to hear of another from "down under" considering a build. I'm from the COVID free state and have just gone through all the questioning, pros & cons.
After two years of reading every thread on every user group, I took the plunge and signed up for the SCC early last year. Unfortunately for me, the Australian dollar took a plunge within weeks of placing my order which has unexpectedly added a few more thousand to the equation and freight atm is an unknown due to the escalating prices worldwide. Having said that, to hell with the cost!!
A phone call to Dean would be a wise decision as he will advise you of current options.
In my case, I chose to pay in three lump payments, spread over the past year with the final one due in Feb. This has allowed STW to stockpile my kits and they will be sent in one shipment hopefully within the next 6 weeks or so. Once the cost is known, I'd be happy to let you know.
Even though I am yet to receive my kits, I am seriously considering a stable mate for my SCC and at this stage the Agi is top billing, as I like the basic look of this engine.
If you like, send me an email as I am happy to chat by phone on other issues such as boiler certification etc.

Cheers Mate.

Thanks all for the replies. At this stage I'm gathering funds to cover the kit costs without the freight component.
The idea of paying in a couple of payments over the course of a year, and having STW stockpile the kits to send as one consignment certainly makes sense.
I would certainly be interested to get an idea of the freight charges once you receive them, Stephen.
I will contact Dean once I have a larger part of the actual kit cost covered to start the ball rolling.
Lynn@STW, I've watched most of your YouTube vids of your
Adventures with Chrystal, she's a beautiful engine and a credit to you.

Hey Jacko,

Give Dean a call tomorrow as when I spoke to him in December there was a special being run for a discounted Agi engine which may be just what you are looking for. My understanding is that you will need to pay the deposit and monthly kit instalments but he will hold the kits onsite until you require them. Nothing to lose.

Cheers.