Bachmann Spring 2023 Announcements.

[The Johnster]

Hornby can make a good model if they put their minds to it; the Pecketts are amazing little things, but seem easily distracted from the One True Path and all too often let down by their QC, which is no doubt as good as they pay for it to be.  Bachmann seem to be more disciplined, and by and large more expensive, but have been for the last 20 years quietly and without fuss making models that are not far off as good as can be expected from volume production at that price level, always run faultlessly, bits don't fall off them, and they seem to need little in the way of the constant fettling that some of my Hornby locos do (42xx, large prairie). 

 

I have 2 57xx, 2 8750, a 94xx (famously), 2 56xx, 2 4575, a 4500, and a BR standard 3MT 82xxx.  All of which are in almost daily use, and while they admittedly don't have to work hard for their living on a short BLT with light loads, they all run superbly smoothly and slowly (though the 3MT took a long time to 'bed in') and seem to need little more than a bit of a cleanup every 6 months or so.  They just quietly get on with it, and do not seem to attract much attention on sites like this, but I'd nominate the 56xx as the best bang for your buck in the UK RTR steam business, brilliant little engines for the price.

 

So, were I in the market for a 9F, I'd be going for the Bachmann loco, even if it were a secondhand one, over a new Hornby.  Sorry Simon, but experience has led me to trust stuff out of blue boxes more than stuff out of red boxes.  I claim not to have any brand loyalty, and the preponderance of Bachmann locos on my layout to be down to blue box making more of the engines I want than red, and will happliy buy from anybody who makes a loco I want, but where there are duplications I will go for Bachmann by default because I feel they are more reliable, so my brand loyalty claim starts to look a bit wobbly. 

 

It would be interesting to see what I would do if Bachmann were to produce a 5101 or a 42xx, which I very much doubt they ever will.  Would I replace my Hornby models with Bachmanns?  We are getting into proper brand loyalty now.  Maybe it is more accurate in my case to suggest that I will only buy Hornby if there is no alternative, and anyone else's if there is.  I'm not really happy with my 5101, and might replace it with a Dapol one day if one comes up at a good price; should have waited a bit longer to buy this but there was a discount at Bure Valley and I'm not known for my patience...

 

That's interesting (or it might be if RTR company marketeers take any notice of what is written here), because I have had some unfortunate rolling stock experiences with Dapol and am uncertain of their overall reliability as well, but the Dap large prairie is well-reviewed, and I haven't forgiven the driver of my Hornby prairie for getting water into the righthand cylinder and blowing the back face off it; it's gone out of quarter as well but I've managed to requarter it with some superglue.

[No Decorum]

15 hours ago, The Johnster said:

Hornby can make a good model if they put their minds to it; the Pecketts are amazing little things, but seem easily distracted from the One True Path and all too often let down by their QC, which is no doubt as good as they pay for it to be.  Bachmann seem to be more disciplined, and by and large more expensive, but have been for the last 20 years quietly and without fuss making models that are not far off as good as can be expected from volume production at that price level, always run faultlessly, bits don't fall off them, and they seem to need little in the way of the constant fettling that some of my Hornby locos do (42xx, large prairie). 

 

I have 2 57xx, 2 8750, a 94xx (famously), 2 56xx, 2 4575, a 4500, and a BR standard 3MT 82xxx.  All of which are in almost daily use, and while they admittedly don't have to work hard for their living on a short BLT with light loads, they all run superbly smoothly and slowly (though the 3MT took a long time to 'bed in') and seem to need little more than a bit of a cleanup every 6 months or so.  They just quietly get on with it, and do not seem to attract much attention on sites like this, but I'd nominate the 56xx as the best bang for your buck in the UK RTR steam business, brilliant little engines for the price.

 

So, were I in the market for a 9F, I'd be going for the Bachmann loco, even if it were a secondhand one, over a new Hornby.  Sorry Simon, but experience has led me to trust stuff out of blue boxes more than stuff out of red boxes.  I claim not to have any brand loyalty, and the preponderance of Bachmann locos on my layout to be down to blue box making more of the engines I want than red, and will happliy buy from anybody who makes a loco I want, but where there are duplications I will go for Bachmann by default because I feel they are more reliable, so my brand loyalty claim starts to look a bit wobbly. 

 

It would be interesting to see what I would do if Bachmann were to produce a 5101 or a 42xx, which I very much doubt they ever will.  Would I replace my Hornby models with Bachmanns?  We are getting into proper brand loyalty now.  Maybe it is more accurate in my case to suggest that I will only buy Hornby if there is no alternative, and anyone else's if there is.  I'm not really happy with my 5101, and might replace it with a Dapol one day if one comes up at a good price; should have waited a bit longer to buy this but there was a discount at Bure Valley and I'm not known for my patience...

 

That's interesting (or it might be if RTR company marketeers take any notice of what is written here), because I have had some unfortunate rolling stock experiences with Dapol and am uncertain of their overall reliability as well, but the Dap large prairie is well-reviewed, and I haven't forgiven the driver of my Hornby prairie for getting water into the righthand cylinder and blowing the back face off it; it's gone out of quarter as well but I've managed to requarter it with some superglue.

That’s a fair assessment in my opinion. Every manufacturer gets things wrong from time to time but Bachmann seems to be the most reliable, in spite of current difficulties with Hunslets. Recently, a Hornby model was said to be “going out to tender”. I wonder if this process is what leads to such poor QC. I get the impression that Hornby checks EPs carefully for shape and performance but doesn’t bother to check what purchasers are likely to do. Certainly, Hornby motors are possibly the best around but some models are impossible to fit speakers to, or fit a drawbar at the closer setting or fit flanged trailing wheels. Now Hornby is at least starting to cater for speaker and decoder fitting but reports of recent models leave me unconvinced that QC is improving.

[The Stationmaster]

The new WR EE Type 3 looked very good when I had a close look at it at the Alton show yesterday - certainly rather tempting.

[Waverley47708]

On 02/02/2023 at 21:36, billywhizz said:

Am I right in thinking there was only 5 TSO and 1 FK MK2a coaches repainted into ScotRail livery? All of which would be disc brake fitted as they originally part of the class 27 push-pull rakes? 
Regards. 
Bill. 

 

According to the SDEG's recent book Scotland’s Diesel Fleet in Detail, ScotRail Express there were 5 TSOs from the original pool. 5146, 5152, 5153, 5176 and 5197 brought back for push pull operation.  All painted into ScotRail.  There were also 2 FKs 13411 and 13424 brought back of which 13424 was painted into ScotRail.

[Chilly]

9F 92134 looks a shoe in for my ongoing NYMR theme 😃

 

Was there an expected delivery date somewhere in there 🤔

Edited February 9, 2023 by Chilly

[MikeParkin65]

47 minutes ago, Chilly said:

9F 92134 looks a shoe in for my ongoing NYMR theme 😃

 

Was there an expected delivery date somewhere in there 🤔

May/June according the the Bachmann site today (it locked up on announcement day didnt it? lol)

[Knapdale]

On 03/02/2023 at 10:36, Alan Oliver said:

Bachmann are showing the Scotrail FK and TSO as in stock so they should start going out to retailers soon.

Indeed. Bachmann had these on display along with the Twin Pack announced recently on display at Model Rail Scotland. They look good!

[CazRail]

On 01/02/2023 at 09:26, AY Mod said:

 

44-0034 Depot Crew Room £57.95
 

This along with the shunter hut from the previous announcements is perfect for a Dee Marsh type set of sidings.

[black and decker boy]

On 24/02/2023 at 21:18, Knapdale said:

Indeed. Bachmann had these on display along with the Twin Pack announced recently on display at Model Rail Scotland. They look good!

The 4 SCR coaches are now in shops 

[AY Mod]

On 01/02/2023 at 09:15, AY Mod said:

New Tooling for Spring 2023 comes in the form of the MXA ‘Lobster’ Bogie Open Wagons.

 

These are on their way. The review will be in May BRM.

 

 

[shunny]

Lobster wagons arrived in Scoonie Hobbies today and I have to say they look good.

[ColinB]

On 04/02/2023 at 17:37, The Johnster said:

Hornby can make a good model if they put their minds to it; the Pecketts are amazing little things, but seem easily distracted from the One True Path and all too often let down by their QC, which is no doubt as good as they pay for it to be.  Bachmann seem to be more disciplined, and by and large more expensive, but have been for the last 20 years quietly and without fuss making models that are not far off as good as can be expected from volume production at that price level, always run faultlessly, bits don't fall off them, and they seem to need little in the way of the constant fettling that some of my Hornby locos do (42xx, large prairie). 

 

I have 2 57xx, 2 8750, a 94xx (famously), 2 56xx, 2 4575, a 4500, and a BR standard 3MT 82xxx.  All of which are in almost daily use, and while they admittedly don't have to work hard for their living on a short BLT with light loads, they all run superbly smoothly and slowly (though the 3MT took a long time to 'bed in') and seem to need little more than a bit of a cleanup every 6 months or so.  They just quietly get on with it, and do not seem to attract much attention on sites like this, but I'd nominate the 56xx as the best bang for your buck in the UK RTR steam business, brilliant little engines for the price.

 

So, were I in the market for a 9F, I'd be going for the Bachmann loco, even if it were a secondhand one, over a new Hornby.  Sorry Simon, but experience has led me to trust stuff out of blue boxes more than stuff out of red boxes.  I claim not to have any brand loyalty, and the preponderance of Bachmann locos on my layout to be down to blue box making more of the engines I want than red, and will happliy buy from anybody who makes a loco I want, but where there are duplications I will go for Bachmann by default because I feel they are more reliable, so my brand loyalty claim starts to look a bit wobbly. 

 

It would be interesting to see what I would do if Bachmann were to produce a 5101 or a 42xx, which I very much doubt they ever will.  Would I replace my Hornby models with Bachmanns?  We are getting into proper brand loyalty now.  Maybe it is more accurate in my case to suggest that I will only buy Hornby if there is no alternative, and anyone else's if there is.  I'm not really happy with my 5101, and might replace it with a Dapol one day if one comes up at a good price; should have waited a bit longer to buy this but there was a discount at Bure Valley and I'm not known for my patience...

 

That's interesting (or it might be if RTR company marketeers take any notice of what is written here), because I have had some unfortunate rolling stock experiences with Dapol and am uncertain of their overall reliability as well, but the Dap large prairie is well-reviewed, and I haven't forgiven the driver of my Hornby prairie for getting water into the righthand cylinder and blowing the back face off it; it's gone out of quarter as well but I've managed to requarter it with some superglue.

I have to admit the new Hornby Evening Star is brilliant and probably the best loco I own. Sam gave it a scathing review but that is more to do with Hornby's lack of quality control that he got a bad one than the loco itself. He also did a bad review of the original Bachmann 9F, again mine works perfectly the only fault being the lack of tender pickups so it doesn't run as well on my large layout as the Hornby. I took his point about the lack of bearings in the Bachmann but I didn't see any detrimental effects. I am waiting for Bachmann's latest 9F offering to see what they have changed if anything. The Bachmann is also substantially cheaper than the Hornby and my new one will come with decent sound, fully fitted.

[Super-Sloth]

19 hours ago, ColinB said:

I have to admit the new Hornby Evening Star is brilliant and probably the best loco I own. Sam gave it a scathing review but that is more to do with Hornby's lack of quality control that he got a bad one than the loco itself. He also did a bad review of the original Bachmann 9F, again mine works perfectly the only fault being the lack of tender pickups so it doesn't run as well on my large layout as the Hornby. I took his point about the lack of bearings in the Bachmann but I didn't see any detrimental effects. I am waiting for Bachmann's latest 9F offering to see what they have changed if anything. The Bachmann is also substantially cheaper than the Hornby and my new one will come with decent sound, fully fitted.

The 9F that was delivered to me a few days ago has tender pickups - sadly not on every axle. 
Not a particularly great runner either. I’ll let the supplier have another go and I’ll try again with another example. 

[brushman47544]

3 hours ago, Super-Sloth said:

The 9F that was delivered to me a few days ago has tender pickups - sadly not on every axle. 
Not a particularly great runner either. I’ll let the supplier have another go and I’ll try again with another example. 

 

How I miss the olden days - well 20 years ago anyway - when my local model shop was happy to test run the locos in the shop so I could choose which to buy.

[The Johnster]

I’m very lucky in having a local (well, 2 buses) shop that is happy to do this for me and let me have a go to test slow running.  

[Super-Sloth]

19 hours ago, brushman47544 said:

 

How I miss the olden days - well 20 years ago anyway - when my local model shop was happy to test run the locos in the shop so I could choose which to buy.

I’ve had a pretty good run. Over the a little over 20 loco’s I’ve had in the last 3 years my return rate is slightly below 10%. 👍
 

[farren]

So where’s the summer update? Feb to June is four months.

[MarkSG]

9 minutes ago, farren said:

So where’s the summer update? Feb to June is four months.

 

Announced early, it would appear.... 

 

[farren]

Thank you, totally went under the radar, that one. 

[MarkSG]

Looking back at previous topics, they typically release their quarterly announcements in the month before the season they relate to. So, for example, winter announcements in November, spring announcements in February, summer announcements in May, and so on. 

 

That makes perfect sense when you consider that the summer announcements, say, aren't announcements made in summer, they are the announcement of products which will be released in summer. So the announcement needs to be a few weeks ahead of the delivery schedule, and hence come towards the end of the preceding season.

[MikeParkin65]

12 minutes ago, Ricochet said:

Just received the new 9F (number 92134), have to say i am very impressed! Good runner (far better than the recent Hornby one in my own experience), good detail, no complaints! The only thing which is slightly annoying is the fiddly tender to loco connection, which needs reconnecting carefully every time you remove the loco from the box, but if you take your time and take care this isn't an issue at all. The past few releases i have bought (V2, class 37, 9f) have all been excellent overall in my opinion. Hats off to Bachmann! 

Hovering over the 'checkout' button myself. I like the Bachmann 9f a lot, I have 2 already and they are both good smooth and powerful runners. As is usually the case they are better finished than the Hornby equivalent  and allowing for the current and inevitable price rises (the first one I bought was £95 new!)  the sound fitted version is very good value indeed. 

[Super-Sloth]

3 hours ago, Ricochet said:

Just received the new 9F (number 92134), have to say i am very impressed! Good runner (far better than the recent Hornby one in my own experience), good detail, no complaints! The only thing which is slightly annoying is the fiddly tender to loco connection, which needs reconnecting carefully every time you remove the loco from the box, but if you take your time and take care this isn't an issue at all. The past few releases i have bought (V2, class 37, 9f) have all been excellent overall in my opinion. Hats off to Bachmann! 

 

 

Good to hear someone is having better luck than I. 
Of the two I ordered, 1 has been replaced twice and the other needs to go back but I won’t be requesting a replacement. 
If I can get 1 decent version I’ll draw a line under it. 

Hopefully Accurascale will build a 9f at some point!

[MikeParkin65]

2 hours ago, Super-Sloth said:

 

 

Good to hear someone is having better luck than I. 
Of the two I ordered, 1 has been replaced twice and the other needs to go back but I won’t be requesting a replacement. 
If I can get 1 decent version I’ll draw a line under it. 

Hopefully Accurascale will build a 9f at some point!

Always frustrating and indeed stressful when a model has issues and needs to be returned. What faults are you finding?

[MonsalDale]

Is thet GCR mess room something that has only existed in preservation or did it exist when Loughborough was a main line station?

Can't find any information on it.

[Super-Sloth]

15 hours ago, Ricochet said:

That is a shame to hear, what issues were you having?

 

I think as i've discovered with the Hornby 9F and the Bachmann 9F, even at these higher prices it can still be pot-luck when it comes to quality control. The nightmare i had with the Hornby 9F (sent back or sent for repair three times before eventually just giving up and getting a refund) and your troubles being a prime example. 

9f no1, had a decoder issue and was drenched in oil. Poorly fitting drive gears so when it did move it wasn’t particularly smooth. 
Replacement arrived damaged - the fine pipe work under the cab was bent upward and snapped by whomever put it into the packaging. 
2nd Replacement inbound

9f no2 can’t make it round 2nd radius curves - I think this is a B2B issue - can’t test unfortunately. Motion is tight and not a particularly smooth runner.  

If I can get one decent example that’d be nice!