British Railway Announcement Winter 2023 - the usual guessing and wishlisting.

[Albie the plumber]

Roll on tomorrow! 😆

[sc2016]

I reckon that a retooled Class 66 will be announced soon. Reason being is that they hasn't been a Class 66 release in a while similar to what happened with other models which were then retooled. Also if they have retooled the class 66 the other version would have probably been still with Hattons. 

 

 

Another one that hasn't been released for a while is the Class 57 barring the Arriva Wales Version which has hung around.

 

 

I reckon if a T3 was announced in this announcement it will be most likely Kernow/EFE but more likely is a small locomotive such as a LSWR G6.

[adb968008]

2 hours ago, rob D2 said:

Don’t really know what they could reboot on mainstream diesels now ?

Anything left to retool that the opposition  hasn’t got 

Class 73/9, class 81… the 81 i’d imagine is quite easy on the bottom end.

 

no one,has suggested a mk3 and HST either.

[phil gollin]

31 minutes ago, sc2016 said:

.

 

...  I reckon if a T3 was announced in this announcement it will be most likely Kernow/EFE but more likely is a small locomotive such as a LSWR G6.

.

 

Either of those would be nice, but the T3 is VERY pretty/elegant  and in the hews at present.

 

.

[The Johnster]

I think Bachmann are probably a spent force as far as new toolings for steam-age locos and stock are concerned.  'New toolings' to my definition means a completely newly tooled model that has not been produced by a firm previously, and the last of these so far as Bachmann locos are concerned was the 94xx, announced eight years ago and available to buy three years ago.  Retoolings, such as the J72, V2, and 9F, and new liveries and/or running numbers are not, in my view, new toolings, even if the retooling of a previous product is complete and 'from the ground up'. 

 

Steam-era wagons have been stagnant except for renumbers and reliveries for a long time,  though we have seen Ivatt 'porthole' LMS and Bullied semi-fast stock introduced.  To be fair, Baccy's coverage of BR-period goods and mineral stock is pretty comprehensive; AFAIK the only version of the all-steel 16ton mineral not provided is the ex-SNCF cupboard door wagon.  A major 'missing link' in the provision of RTR steam-era goods stock generally is the unpainted 'livery' applied to unfitted open wagons built between 1948 and 1958 when the practice ceased (although it does look from photos as if many paint shops were painting such wagons in the unfitted grey livery).  Bachmann to their credit produce several XPO mineral wagons in heavily weathered and faded PO liveries with BR 'P' prefix numbers, which represent this 'unpainted' austerity period, but actual unpainted new wagons, of which there were several thousand, have only ever TTBOMK been available as RTR items from Dapol in 7mm scale.

 

Bachmann have apparently said that they are going to be announcing four new toolings tomorrow morning, and we will all be interested to see what they are.  I will be surprised (and pleased) if any of them are really new toolings that Bachmann or Mainline haven't done before, and even more surprised if any of them relate to steam-age items.  I suspect that Bachmann UK have overstretched themselves and had trouble meeting reasonable lead times between announcement and production over the last decade, and the parent company is reigning them in a bit.  I am hoping that the increased competition from firms who were speculative newcomers a decade ago but have firmly established themselves in the meantime, as well as a resurgent and increasingly dominant Dapol, will persuade the overseeing beancounters that the time is ripe for more new effort from Bachmann, as I regard the company as a safe pair of hands when it comes to quality and running.

 

It is fairly obvious that the customer base for steam-era items is going to be a changeable and possibly less predictable matter for product selection by manufacturers as the last generation that remember unpreserved steam die out, along with our memories and preferences.  This may be why Blue Box are apparently fighting a little shy of the genre, waiting to see where it will go.  When us old fudgers die off, and it won't be long, the traditonal choice of prototypes was often 'informed' by a preference for types that lasted into the BR period and preferably into the 60s to satisfy our childhood memories.  I reckon that our departure will herald an increase in Edwardian and Victorian era RTR items, as the upcoming generations of modellers will be less tied to the BR steam period.  The 'nostalgia' market will always be strong as the main demographic is still going to be people who have reached a time in life when they have room and disposable income for a layout and want to recreate their spotting days, and will be centred on what was happening fifty or sixty years ago, but a good number of younger modellers are still attracted to steam, and many of them want to recreate the full railway scene in a way that preservation cannot.

 

I will be absolutely delighted to be proved wrong tomorrow!

[osbornsmodels]

Quote

Don’t really know what they could reboot on mainstream diesels now ?

Anything left to retool that the opposition  hasn’t got 

how about the warships

[adb968008]

9 minutes ago, The Johnster said:

I think Bachmann are probably a spent force as far as new toolings for steam-age locos and stock are concerned. 

 

…

I reckon that our departure will herald an increase in Edwardian and Victorian era RTR items, as the upcoming generations of modellers will be less tied to the BR steam period.  The 'nostalgia' market will always be strong as the main demographic is still going to be people who have reached a time in life when they have room and disposable income for a layout and want to recreate their spotting days, and will be centred on what was happening fifty or sixty years ago, but a good number of younger modellers are still attracted to steam, and many of them want to recreate the full railway scene in a way that preservation cannot.

 

I will be absolutely delighted to be proved wrong tomorrow!

i think its already started, the last two Bachmann steam locos were the caley 828 and lnwr precursor.

Raipdo is brining us Met no1 and HR 103

Sonic started with the A5

Dapol have the SECR 4-4-0’s. D and D1…

Accurascale with the J67

 

indeed its only Hornby making post 1923 stuff in steam currently, and the GWR Manor.

 

Thing is how popular is it, many of the above are still in stock, my guess pre 1923 steam interest is accelerated by working preserved examples of it… look how many are asking for the T3, yet I suspect many havent yet seen it working.

 

[Mr chapman]

Right, final prediction. Efe release of the kernow 1361 or Heljan equivalent.

[The Johnster]

1 hour ago, adb968008 said:

 

indeed its only Hornby making post 1923 stuff in steam currently, and the GWR Manor.

 

Not quite; Dapol's large prairie is the 61xx/5101 variant, dating from the late 1920s and the 30s.  Bachmanns' panniers are all post-grouping as well, and of course there are the Ivatts and BR standards, also from Bachmann.  Then there are Bachmann LMS Crabs, Lobsters, Jinties, 2-6-4Ts, Halls, Lord Nelsons, WD &c.  We might be arguing semantics on the 'making stuff in steam currently' phrase though; I am citing models that are in current production but you may be referring only to the most recent toolings.  In which case you'd have to include the Rapido 15xx...

 

Plenty post-grouping steam in current RTR production, not just Hornby though it would be fair to say they have the big stick when it comes to large engines.

[The Outcast]

I'd like to see an EFE 14xx. Doubt it'll happen, but would be nice. 

[jjb1970]

There's space to do a full on full fat Hymek, I also think Bachmann could do a better 33. There's nothing wrong with the existing Heljan models and I wouldn't rush to replace them, but Bachmann could make better offerings. Personally I'd love an HS4000 done to best standards but that is so niche and the Heljan model probably took most of the probable sales. Another route which offers a relatively straightforward route to do something better than existing offerings would be classes 76 and 77. And of course, just because others make nice models of stuff doesn't preclude Bachmann (or anyone else) doing them.

[DRS Crewe On A Mission]

From what I recall the last batch of OO Gauge Bachmann Class 66s arrived in February 2021, so in a few months time this will be three years ago since we last saw any 66s arrive. With this in mind I think that one of the four newly tooled items announced today will be a new OO Gauge Class 66. 
 

Kind Regards, 

 

Danny. 

[AMJ]

An hour to go

 

I'd expect that there will be something else NRM/Rails exclusive announced at Warley as this seems to be a time to make such news public unless it's an item being worked upon by another maker.

[letterspider]

So we are getting the EFE 1959 Tube Stock in aluminum grey with Heathrow destination boards as a London Transport Museum exclusive....but....

IIRC by the time the line was extended to Heathrow in 1977, the 1959 stock had been withdrawn from service. So perhaps Hounslow West would be a more realistic choice (what is wrong with Rayners Lane anyway?!!)

Bachmann...can we please get some directional lighting into these units please please please (wire handrails would also be nice)

 

Edited November 1, 2023 by letterspider

[Erixtar1992]

Naturally i am rather excited for this!!! 

[AY Mod]

I'll close this off now with a link to the video again.

 

 

The full information will be here https://www.rmweb.co.uk/topic/182419-bachmann-europe-winter-2023-announcements/ shortly after 10.00.

 

[AY Mod]

Just watching the video on YouTube with the comments on in the side column so, as a comparison, I would like to pay credit to the vast majority of RMweb users who can string coherent thoughts and sentences together. 👏

 

My head can't take it; going full screen again.