Bachmann Europe - Winter 2023 Announcements

[Albie the plumber]

4 hours ago, Peter749 said:

Only for the Disk Fitted Locos - not the DRS version

Just had a look at the latest DRS '20's and you are correct. 

I think he made light units for the earlier DRS 20's pre Wipac .

He has made one offs for me in the past but this   one might be a bit tricky ! 

Worth dropping him a line  all the same 

[96701]

I have bought the headcode version from him very recently.

[The Stationmaster]

19 hours ago, Oldddudders said:

No, I was too far down the foodchain. In fact I can't quite remember at what point the new NSE Sub-Sectors went live. In my case it was simply a move a few doors down the Waterloo corridor, from being Senior Planner, Systems in the Planning Manager's dept to Planning & Investment Manager, South Central, and it was the same grade - I could see the writing on the wall!

Sectorisation - lucky for some (I got a grade out of it) and unlucky for others.   Preparation of TLF for privatisation with a split into three companies - lucky for some.  But unlucky for others like everybody, but one,  of us who had put together the organisation for one of the three companies and were right royally shafted as the appointed boss man brought in his own people promoting some of them into jobs which were in our grades.  I was duly accommodated out of grade to be based at a place where I didn't want to be working for the bloke who had been promoted into the job in my substantive grade.  He couldn't understand why before I had a formal letter of appointment,  I left very rapidly when the boss of one of the RR sub-sectors rang me and offered me a job, albeit also out of grade, working for him. 

 

1992 and 1994 seem to have been a time of very mixed results with some people getting lucky and others being well and truly shafted - I had a bit of both.   But fortunately I was also in for an EG job on promotion and I got that so my saviour only had a few weeks of my services.

[Oldddudders]

9 minutes ago, The Stationmaster said:

Sectorisation - lucky for some (I got a grade out of it) and unlucky for others.   Preparation of TLF for privatisation with a split into three companies - lucky for some.  But unlucky for others like everybody, but one,  of us who had put together the organisation for one of the three companies and were right royally shafted as the appointed boss man brought in his own people promoting some of them into jobs which were in our grades.  I was duly accommodated out of grade to be based at a place where I didn't want to be working for the bloke who had been promoted into the job in my substantive grade.  He couldn't understand why before I had a formal letter of appointment,  I left very rapidly when the boss of one of the RR sub-sectors rang me and offered me a job, albeit also out of grade, working for him. 

 

1992 and 1994 seem to have been a time of very mixed results with some people getting lucky and others being well and truly shafted - I had a bit of both.   But fortunately I was also in for an EG job on promotion and I got that so my saviour only had a few weeks of my services.

Having arrived at South Central in 1986, I was there a long three years - but was very pleased with some of the things I achieved in getting big schemes approved. But my boss - who had been my equal in 1966 when we joined - thought I had gone stale, so we were both pleased when I was head-hunted to NSE HQ. Less than a year there, and a one-off Board job came up at EG2, and again I was effectively head-hunted. About a year later, I bumped into that South Central boss at The Grove, and he actually said he had had no idea how important I was to the dynamic of the organisation and would I come back at senior level.... Thanks - but no thanks. I think he is now a Pension Trustee or similar. 

[JSpencer]

I don't think anyone has mentioned KINESIS and I'm sorry if I missed it. Looking forwards to Warley to see about that one.

 

Speculating though, with a name like that, it could be an all new DCC system, maybe Bluetooth and yep, I think I'd be a taker if the case. 😊

[nightstar.train]

4 hours ago, JSpencer said:

I don't think anyone has mentioned KINESIS and I'm sorry if I missed it. Looking forwards to Warley to see about that one.

 

Speculating though, with a name like that, it could be an all new DCC system, maybe Bluetooth and yep, I think I'd be a taker if the case. 😊

 

Could well be something like that. If it is then I'm 99% certain that it won't be compatible with the Hornby HM7000 system. There is no standard for Bluetooth communication, like there is for DCC, so if you pick one system you'll be wedded to it. 

 

Another possibility for Kinesis could be a range of moving accessories. Things like park roundabouts, swings, people digging up the road etc. Or a car system similar to Faller maybe. That would be good, although certainly expensive. 

 

Another thought could be Bachmann adding smoke effects to their engines. We know that Hornby and Rapido are both working on that using a water vaporising system, so Bachmann might be as well. Or it might be too gimmicky for Bachmann, and would require a new tool steam engine, which they seem reluctant to do. 

[NIK]

4 hours ago, JSpencer said:

I don't think anyone has mentioned KINESIS and I'm sorry if I missed it. Looking forwards to Warley to see about that one.

 

Speculating though, with a name like that, it could be an all new DCC system, maybe Bluetooth and yep, I think I'd be a taker if the case. 😊

Hi,

 

I did mention Kinesis.

 

Regards

 

Nik

[JSpencer]

2 hours ago, nightstar.train said:

 

Could well be something like that. If it is then I'm 99% certain that it won't be compatible with the Hornby HM7000 system. There is no standard for Bluetooth communication, like there is for DCC, so if you pick one system you'll be wedded to it. 

 

Another possibility for Kinesis could be a range of moving accessories. Things like park roundabouts, swings, people digging up the road etc. Or a car system similar to Faller maybe. That would be good, although certainly expensive. 

 

Another thought could be Bachmann adding smoke effects to their engines. We know that Hornby and Rapido are both working on that using a water vaporising system, so Bachmann might be as well. Or it might be too gimmicky for Bachmann, and would require a new tool steam engine, which they seem reluctant to do. 

 By Definition: a movement that lacks directional orientation and depends upon the intensity of stimulation.

 

Which for trains could be an AI run layout with no action required by the user.

 

Another blue tooth system would still be doubtlessly compatible with plain DCC. I have several of the TXS chips but it has been a bit of a tooth grind on some of them so I'm hardly wedded to it to not want to try a Bachmann system.

[davidw]

On 05/11/2023 at 10:07, robertcwp said:

Something I have not managed to work out is which Thompson BGs carried crimson and cream and which were plan (or lined) crimson. Those with the valances to match the pressure-ventilated stock carried crimson and cream but not sure about others. There may have been examples. Some were built new during the time that lined crimson was the livery for non-passenger and non-gangwayed stock and there are photos of Thompson BGs clearly in that livery. Lining was discontinued around 1951. Later, lots of vans carried plain maroon post 1956. So, there are three more liveries for Bachmann to do.

 

I agree with others that some Thompson catering cars would be a good addition to the range. I would go for a restaurant first and open third/second. The first batch of RFs carried mock teak when new, although built post-nationalisation and with BR Gill Sans lettering.

Sadly we've waited years for the retooled vehicles for the maroon in particular. Track record would imply that they'll be a long time coming. Catering vehicles, long been requested but a case of - if when.....

Edited November 7, 2023 by davidw

[MistaMatthews]

I noticed there was no mention of the WCRC mk1’s in this round of announcements despite the website saying they are due in January / February. Does that mean they are not on the way or do Bachmann release extras that were not part of the announcements in between?

[Paul.Uni]

1 hour ago, MistaMatthews said:

I noticed there was no mention of the WCRC mk1’s in this round of announcements despite the website saying they are due in January / February. Does that mean they are not on the way or do Bachmann release extras that were not part of the announcements in between?

The quarterly announcements are for models that have not been previously announced and are due in the following quarter. As the WCRC MK1 carriages were announced in 2019 they do not qualify to be part of the Winter 2023 announcements.

[adb968008]

19 hours ago, Paul.Uni said:

The quarterly announcements are for models that have not been previously announced and are due in the following quarter. As the WCRC MK1 carriages were announced in 2019 they do not qualify to be part of the Winter 2023 announcements.

5 years from announcement to delivery, for a relivery of a nearly 30 year old tooling.

(ok the steps have been removed).

 

 

 

Edited November 9, 2023 by adb968008

[brushman47544]

17 hours ago, adb968008 said:

5 years from announcement to delivery, for a relivery of a nearly 30 year old tooling.

(ok the steps have been removed).

 

This long delay makes me wonder whether Bachmann has decided to produce an all-new Mk1 range starting with these WCRC versions. We do know that some parts have been retooled as the originals were worn out, so maybe a complete retool, based on easier so cheaper assembly, is now seen as a better option.

[LittleRedTrain]

Had a chance to test my newly arrived sound-fitted South West Trains 3-CEP today.
All seems to be good, except the rear 'blinds' don't appear to illuminate in either direction.
Front blinds, centre headlight and saloon lighting all seem to be behaving fine.

Does anyone else have one, and if so, are yours working? Am I missing something obvious?
I couldn't see any mention in the manual of turning the rear lights on/off separately via a decoder function.

Edited November 12, 2023 by LittleRedTrain

[GordonC]

1 hour ago, LittleRedTrain said:

Had a chance to test my newly arrived sound-fitted South West Trains 3-CEP today.
All seems to be good, except the rear 'blinds' don't appear to illuminate in either direction.
Front blinds, centre headlight and saloon lighting all seem to be behaving fine.

Does anyone else have one, and if so, are yours working? Am I missing something obvious?
I couldn't see any mention in the manual of turning the rear lights on/off separately via a decoder function.

 

is there a DIP switch underneath or somewhere to enable/disable the tail lights?

 

[LittleRedTrain]

Just now, GordonC said:

 

is there a DIP switch underneath or somewhere to enable/disable the tail lights?

 

Nothing obvious that I can see, and nothing quoted in the manual.

[SWT442]

6 hours ago, LittleRedTrain said:

Had a chance to test my newly arrived sound-fitted South West Trains 3-CEP today.
All seems to be good, except the rear 'blinds' don't appear to illuminate in either direction.
Front blinds, centre headlight and saloon lighting all seem to be behaving fine.

Does anyone else have one, and if so, are yours working? Am I missing something obvious?
I couldn't see any mention in the manual of turning the rear lights on/off separately via a decoder function.

 

Same issue with mine. Someone on Twitter reported the same issue with theirs too.

 

No switches that I can see for light control. Manual states F0 for both head and tail lights.

 

Not sure whether the 4-TEP is similarly affected? Will be dropping Bachmann an e-mail about it to see what the score is.

 

Andy.

[LittleRedTrain]

Thanks, nice to know it probably isn't a fault with just my model then.

I'm assuming that there's only a single LED behind the blinds, as you have to swap the door if you want reds at the rear, so it can probably be fixed with a bit of function re-mapping on the decoder if required.

[robertcwp]

On 05/11/2023 at 10:07, robertcwp said:

Something I have not managed to work out is which Thompson BGs carried crimson and cream and which were plain (or lined) crimson. Those with the valances to match the pressure-ventilated stock carried crimson and cream but not sure about others. There may have been examples. Some were built new during the time that lined crimson was the livery for non-passenger and non-gangwayed stock and there are photos of Thompson BGs clearly in that livery. Lining was discontinued around 1951. Later, lots of vans carried plain maroon post 1956. So, there are three more liveries for Bachmann to do.

 

I should look at my own photo collection. This one is crimson and cream and does not have valances. The number is not visible but it confirms that crimson and cream was carried by at least one (and quite possibly more) of those without the valances.

 

55217_ThorntonJct_22-4-57 by Robert Carroll, on Flickr

[davidw]

34 minutes ago, robertcwp said:

I should look at my own photo collection. This one is crimson and cream and does not have valances. The number is not visible but it confirms that crimson and cream was carried by at least one (and quite possibly more) of those without the valances.

 

55217_ThorntonJct_22-4-57 by Robert Carroll, on Flickr

Any idea what the date of that would be. I'm always fascinated when crimson cream disappeared in numbers. Photo evidence seems to suggest 59/60

[robertcwp]

3 minutes ago, davidw said:

Any idea what the date of that would be. I'm always fascinated when crimson cream disappeared in numbers. Photo evidence seems to suggest 59/60

Photo is dated 22/4/57. Crimson and cream was around into the 1960s. 

[NIK]

On 12/11/2023 at 16:52, LittleRedTrain said:

Had a chance to test my newly arrived sound-fitted South West Trains 3-CEP today.
All seems to be good, except the rear 'blinds' don't appear to illuminate in either direction.
Front blinds, centre headlight and saloon lighting all seem to be behaving fine.

Does anyone else have one, and if so, are yours working? Am I missing something obvious?
I couldn't see any mention in the manual of turning the rear lights on/off separately via a decoder function.

Hi,

 

Could it be due to presumably inheriting some PCBs from the original Bachmann 4 CEP?.

 

Maybe that circuitry that allows  one decoder to operate lights throughout the 4 cars has a problem if a particular coaches PCB is not in the circuit along the EMU.

 

Is the rear centre headlight working properly on your model?.

 

Regards

 

Nik

 

 

[LittleRedTrain]

16 minutes ago, NIK said:

Hi,

 

Is the rear centre headlight working properly on your model?.

Yes both centre headlight and the headcode blinds illuminate correctly at the front, regardless of direction. 

 

It's just the rear blinds that don't illuminate. 

[NIK]

8 hours ago, LittleRedTrain said:

Yes both centre headlight and the headcode blinds illuminate correctly at the front, regardless of direction. 

 

It's just the rear blinds that don't illuminate. 

Hi,

 

What about the rear centre headlight - does that illuminate correctly?.

 

Regards

 

Nick

[LittleRedTrain]

1 hour ago, NIK said:

What about the rear centre headlight - does that illuminate correctly?.

Centre headlight does not illuminate at the rear in either direction, which is I believe correct for SR slam-door units (the red blinds acting as the tail lamp).