Bachmann announce Midland 1P, Class 20/3, BEP buffet car, VEA, Prestwin and Carflat

[scottrains29]

Nice selection of locos for the modern image modeller. Looking forward to the class 20/3. Been wanting one of these for a while. More DRS 37s and class 57 also welcome too. The WCRC 47 will be useful too. I wonder if the Virgin 47 is to go with (yet to be announced) Virgin mk2f. It's a bit light on the modern wagon front but still some useful additions. I think this could be an exspensive year!

[JSpencer]

I'll have a BEP, thank you very much Bachmann. A bit of a no-brainer really as at least 75% of the work was already done

 

However I wish the BEP was unpowered. With tests my CEP would happily pull 8 coaches trailing, so there's no real need for the BEP to be powered as well.

 

I wonder what price difference there would be between a powered and unpowered version? Given that the BEP is likely to be over £200 based on current pricing, running a 12 car set is a bit eye watering. Especially if you need more than one...

13 car when you stick an MLV on the end. At last the dream will come true. A complete Dover boat train. Already have 2 blue grey CEPs and the MLV (brought when they first came out so much cheaper). Just need BEP to complete which will doubtless cost me more than the rest put together. But at least we will have a full boat train.

 

The rest of the program has no interest for me, though could have been if the Vulcan bomber was 1/72nd scale. Not that I,m complaining as I will have my nostalgic boat train.

Edited January 8, 2017 by JSpencer

[gc4946]

I don't think the BEPs often ran to Portsmouth, they usually being the middle/rear Bognor portion from Barnham. And the Central had the prototypes 7001/2, which had rather more classy interiors w loadsa real wood, and which Bachmann are not offering. Nevertheless, enjoying a beer after early turn, while diving headlong down Sole Street bank in a SE BEP from the production batches is a good memory. Perhaps someone will model Faversham, with the 12-cars splitting 8 for Ramsgate, 4 for Dover. 

 

I've definitely seen solo 4BEPs in blue/grey running on Victoria-Portsmouth Harbour services when observing at Fratton and Portsmouth & Southsea in my youth.

 

Michael G. Harvey's and Eddie Rooke's book "Portsmouth" (Silver Link, 1997) has a photo of a solo 4BEP on p.106, quoting from the caption "Unrebuilt 4BEP 7013 cruises through Hilsea on the 14.50 Portsmouth Harbour to Victoria service on 13 August 1981. At this time two such diagrams brought the buffet car unit to Portsmouth, rather than Bognor Regis. The unit will link up at Barnham Junction with 4CIG units from Bognor Regis"

 

However, it's very unlikely I'm buying a blue/grey 4BEP because they weren't so numerous in the Portsmouth area, compared with the 4CIGs, 4VEPs and 2HAPs, moreover its price tag would be steep once they've arrived on the shelves.

[Coryton]

Well, I know what he meant & I'm not even a fan of them, the EFE reference should have given you a clue.

 

 

Nope. Sorry...

[big jim]

 

Very glad I was warned off commissioning the 20/3s in OO, sensible choice to go for the later batch (fewer detail variants), however they are still quite a minefield. Shame they aren't in pairs though.

 

i think them being singular is a good idea as you can potentially run them with one of the class 37s they have announced too, im only going to order one anyway (then probably buy them both!)

 

although saying that a twinpack with a dummy loco would probably be quite useful

[Coryton]

By the mid-80s, the Sectors began to get into their stride, vide the launch of NSE in 1986, and I think Bachmann is referring to the comparable event for Railfreight in 1987. 

 

They talk about the relaunch of the Railfreight brand with new livery. They do also say "the creation of the Railfreight Sectors" (plural) so while it wasn't the start of the Railfreight sector, was it the start of the freight sub-sectors?

[Coryton]

i think them being singular is a good idea as you can potentially run them with one of the class 37s they have announced too, im only going to order one anyway (then probably buy them both!)

 

although saying that a twinpack with a dummy loco would probably be quite useful

 

I think in the past such things haven't sold well in 00 (HST power cars excepted).

[stovepipe]

Nope. Sorry...

 

One of these I think...introduced in 1951....

 

http://www.hattons.co.uk/51068/EFE_23321_AEC_RF_coach_Greenline_BEA_/StockDetail.aspx

Edited January 8, 2017 by stovepipe

[centraltrains]

Hattons are saying the 150 comes with passengers fitted!!!

 

http://www.hattons.co.uk/251399/Bachmann_Branchline_32_940_Class_150_2_150232_GWR_with_Passenger_Figures/StockDetail.a

[Downer]

Hattons have prices, some estimated. 

[The Stationmaster]

Railfreight Sector? Needs a bit of clarification. Bob Reid Mk1 announced the creation of Sectors on a snowy day in, I think, December 1981, although they didn't go live until the after the turn of the year. I'm slightly vague about the date - but remember the day well because I had a formal career-planning interview with the General Manager, Southern Region, that day, and because of the snow I was late! To his credit, John Palette was more concerned about the large number of passengers (as we then still called them) who had also been delayed.

 

When Sectors got going they were very small organisations indeed, initially acting as grit in the oyster of the Regions, already perceived as having become smug. Indeed, in many respects the Regions were little more than successors to the Big 4, even after more than 30 years of state ownership. 

 

By the mid-80s, the Sectors began to get into their stride, vide the launch of NSE in 1986, and I think Bachmann is referring to the comparable event for Railfreight in 1987. 

 

Almost certainly.  I can't find the original poster of the new freight sector liveries at the moment but the Railfreight Design Manual (which wasn't all that much of a manual as it happens) which illustrated all the original liveries was published in 1988 so maybe the liveries were in existence a little before then.

 

I have now delved out the posters, which show all the original complete details for each sub-sector and they are dated November 1988.  So did the actual liveries appear in that year or 1987?,

Edited January 8, 2017 by The Stationmaster

[Melly]

A cracking update plenty to be interested in, some to add to the wish-list and some to prompt / inspire layout expansion or refurbishment plans.

 

Good job Bachmann.

[Gwiwer]

13 car when you stick an MLV on the end. 

Pop a BG in between the MLV and Cep and claim it's a TLV for a 14-car boat train

 

I've definitely seen solo 4BEPs in blue/grey running on Victoria-Portsmouth Harbour services when observing at Fratton and Portsmouth & Southsea in my youth.

 

 

 

The usual formation was Cep-Bep-Cep leaving Victoria with the leading Cep for Portsmouth and the rest for Bognor.  Things did go awry at times.  Sometimes only Bep-Cep was available in which case the leading unit still ran to Portsmouth and hence Bep units reached the Hampshire city via the Mid-Sussex.  Occasionally the formation was Bep-Cep-Cep also resulting in the Bep reaching Portsmouth.  They did also, as I recall, have a single booked working on a non-splitter from Victoria which ran complete to Portsmouth Harbour in the evening peak.  Running a Bep instead of a Cep on the Portsmouth portion could have repercussions.  The Bognor portion returned on the next hour but the Portsmouth unit dropped back by an hour due to the longer running time.  So a down Bep-Cep with the Bep going to Portsmouth would result in the next up potentially being formed Cep-Cep (with the leading Cep returning from Bognor and the trailing unit formed by the previous Portsmouth portion) unless some juggling was done with the diagrams.  Regular observers would note these trains normally showed headcode 20 (Victoria - Sutton - Arundel - Portsmouth Harbour) down but 40 (Victoria - Sutton - Arundel - Bognor) up with the code displayed determined by the journey of the leading unit.  Headcodes were not normally changed except for the detached Bognor portion which should have showed 40 (though more often double white blank) on the branch.

[sandra]

The Midland 0-4-4 1P tank, whilst a delightful little locomotive, seems a very curious choice for a main manufacturer to produce as I do not think it has featured at all in previous years "wish list" polls. This would seem to be a locomotive which is very much of minority interest and I suppose that Bachmann hope that it will sell on the basis that it can be provided in a number of attractive liveries.

 

However what is the point of forums like this having "wish list" polls if manufacturers simply ignore them. I appreciate that Bachmann have probably done their own market research and perhaps this research tells them that this is the right locomotive to produce but I must admit I do have my doubts that it will sell that well, but perhaps I'll be proved wrong.

 

Sandra

[centraltrains]

I do wish Bachmann would give us some more new tooled 150/1s though... Only 2 been made. Where as 4 150/2s have been made/announced...

Could even push the boat out and give us some 150/0s 3-car versions

[delticfan]

Looking forward to the Class 20/3 but not the wait, anyones guess 3 years maybe?

[joejab95]

Some very nice modern liveries announced there. Very excited to get my hands on a Virgin 47 and an updated DRS Class 20!

 

I'm surprised there weren't more liveries announced the updated Class 150, particularly the 150/1 variant but it means I'll get to save some of the pennies there!

 

Overall I'm quite happy with this announcement.

[The Stationmaster]

The Midland 0-4-4 1P tank, whilst a delightful little locomotive, seems a very curious choice for a main manufacturer to produce as I do not think it has featured at all in previous years "wish list" polls. This would seem to be a locomotive which is very much of minority interest and I suppose that Bachmann hope that it will sell on the basis that it can be provided in a number of attractive liveries.

 

However what is the point of forums like this having "wish list" polls if manufacturers simply ignore them. I appreciate that Bachmann have probably done their own market research and perhaps this research tells them that this is the right locomotive to produce but I must admit I do have my doubts that it will sell that well, but perhaps I'll be proved wrong.

 

Sandra

 

I think the simple answer is that wishlist polls aren't everything.  While they can be rather good at cutting off lots of wishlisting developing in (and plaguing?) threads on the 'net they certainly aren't the sole source of marketing information used by any sensible model railway manufacturer with the larger ones long having used far broader bases of information for their marketing decisions.

 

And let's be honest about - Bachmann have shown themselves to be rather clever and original at picking some 'left field' examples in the past which have sold well and I have a suspicion the Midland 0-4-4T will be one of them.  And overall (i.e. not restricting thought solely to Bachmann) there seem to have been some previously successfully polling examples which might well have fallen short of what the runes suggested from polls and which have gone to early hefty reductions in price.

[Roy Langridge]

I do wish Bachmann would give us some more new tooled 150/1s though... Only 2 been made. Where as 4 150/2s have been made/announced...

Could even push the boat out and give us some 150/0s 3-car versions

 

I think if they were to tool a centre car for anything, it would be for the 2H or to make a 4EPB. The 150/0s are too limited.

 

Roy

[Coryton]

However what is the point of forums like this having "wish list" polls if manufacturers simply ignore them. I appreciate that Bachmann have probably done their own market research and perhaps this research tells them that this is the right locomotive to produce but I must admit I do have my doubts that it will sell that well, but perhaps I'll be proved wrong.

 

Sandra

 

Wish lists are presumably just one of many tools that manufacturers use. They must want some assurance that they are going to attempt to sell something enough people will actually buy (at a price they can make money on), not just that people say they want.

 

I don't think that having a single item in the catalogue that didn't appear prominently in the wish lists shows they are ignored.

 

Hattons have prices, some estimated. 

 

Hmmm. In recent times their estimates have been a little on the optimistic side...

 

Edited to add: I suspect the estimate of £132 for a weathered 3 car 166 might end up being adjusted upwards a little.

Edited January 8, 2017 by Coryton

[phil-b259]

Coming back to the Carflat in OO, I see its not listed in the status update pages. I wonder if it's already some way along the development timeline with considerable investment already made, or you'd think with the Oxford version expected this year Bachmann might have preferred to avoid the duplication and a risk of not getting a return on their investment.

 

I imagine that with wagons, duplication is less risky from a financial point of view than locos and thus more likely to happen. As with all potential duplications I'm sure Bachmann will have given full consideration to its viability since Oxford announced their version and presumably Bachmann still think theirs is viable.

[Coryton]

I imagine that with wagons, duplication is less risky from a financial point of view than locos and thus more likely to happen. As with all potential duplications I'm sure Bachmann will have given full consideration to its viability since Oxford announced their version and presumably Bachmann still think theirs is viable.

 

And as said above, they are producing a different version to Oxford.

[50030]

Still no flush front or headlight fitted 45/1, ahh well next year is 30 years since withdrawal so you never know. 47444 vice a 45 on my passenger diagram it is then.

[Chris89]

Most looking forward to the Vulcan Train pack, as seems to be a great selection of items.

 

Although Hatton's price seems to be rather optimistic though really.

 

Chris

[Butler Henderson]

Personally though I'm surprised that Bachmann haven't announced a rival to Hornby's Peckett, such as an Andrew Barclay 0-4-0 or similar steam industrial.  

Presumably Bachmann drew up their new tooling plans before the Peckett was released and are probably as surprised as Hornby are. if you believe all the comments on the Peckett thread,