Anyone know the staus of the Accuctaft Kalamazoo hand cars and how many have been sold?

Was it a limited edition of 100?

Thanks

Have not heard the status of this product. Not even sure at this point if the handcar will be produced or if they are waiting for more orders. My deposit is still being held so I am assuming no news is good news.

Thanks IDMT....

We are about half-way to the minimum order quantity on the hand car. Accucraft won't schedule production until we're much closer, so I can't give an estimate at this point.

However, I've seen a sharp uptick in orders for the handcar now that people are aware of the FWRR locomotive and coaches. So, I'm hopeful that we'll get close to 100 by the end of the year.

Has the word gone out on other Disneyana collector forums? I could see this being a crossover collectable for folks that don't normally collect railroad stuff.

I received an update from Carolwood today.....

Dear Carolwood Members,

Reservations are still being accepted for the limited edition, brass and stainless steel Kalamazoo handcar. Walt Disney owned one just like this, that is still frequently displayed in front of Main Street Station at Disneyland. More than half of this edition limited to just 100 units worldwide, is aready reserved. This is the first time that this iconic handcar has been accurately recreated in 1:20.3 scale.

Custom built for the Society by Accucraft Trains, this precision model is powered exactly like its prototype: by hand only. Accucraft will start production of these after they finish producing the FWRR coaches that are expected to arrive in June.

The price of this handcrafted model is $295 and you can reserve yours with a deposit of just $100. Please visit www.carolwoodcollection.com for more details.

(These photos are of the engineering sample. The production version may vary in appearance.)

Plus pictures from MC on 2/26/11 -- handcar.

Just thought I would update this topic in case there was anyone still interested in buying one of these.

I received an update a week ago saying that these will be leaving Accucraft's manufacturing plant sometime in late July and arriving at Accucraft U.S. around late August. It sounds like they will begin shipping them to those of us who purchased one shortly thereafter.

There was less than 20 still available for purchase when I received the update and as of today www.carolwoodcollection.com still shows them as available. Being that all of the Fort Wilderness pieces are sold out, I would expect that the handcars may be sold out very soon also.

I just didn't want anyone to let this opportunity pass them by if they had considered picking one up. I think it's such a great item to be offered and much different than any other Disney related railroad item to date.

I'm sure Ward Kimball would have loved one of these!

I'm tempted to put an order in for one of these Kalamazoo hand cars but I have not convinced myself to do so yet. I think they are still available?

Tom C

I noticed that they are no longer listed on http://www.carolwoodcollection.com that may or may not mean anything. Maybe the will post an update in this thread to let everyone know about the status of their availability.

I think this will be an item that people will be kicking themselves for not buying. Being that there is no motor on it, I believe people may have had a hard time justifying the price because it will be strickly a static piece. I can't wait to get mine.

I had absolutely no prolem with the price. It is super accurate and considering Accucraft made it from scratch I am surprised it was so cheap! I believe only 50 were made plus the prototype. I will pay for Accucraft quality any day of the week. They did a tremendous job on the FWRR live steam and electric engines and the coaches are incredible.

I am thankful for CP173 taking his time to make these products a reality. I can't wait to see what is next!