As I've said earlier Kelson, both in person and messages, I love your Sodor Line Caboose model.  It's a fun unique piece that brings in nostalgia for those that collected the Thomas Wooden Railway line back in the 90's and early 2000's with a creative method on how to make it work with OO Thomas equipment.  You may need to purchase Beau when he comes out and add him to your collection!

Now that is really exciting news, it's nice seeing new products come out left and right from Bachmann.  The narrow gauge box vans and brake vans I have been waiting for a very, very long time so I am really looking forward to getting those.  I'm really surprised how fast it took Bachmann to get the N scale box vans done considering they are a new tooling.  Regardless, I'm looking forward to those as well. 


On a completely different note:

https://www.trainworld.com/model-train-sale.html?trains=18334

https://www.trainworld.com/model-train-sale/bachmann-58605-thomas-and-friends-narrow-gauge-yellow-rheneas-die-cast-bachmann-58605.html

I was browsing Trainworld and I was looking at some of the products that they had on sale/discount and the thing that stood out to me the most was that the Yellow Rheneas was there. Usually the things you find there are either products that are discontinued/on the verge of being discontinued (like the resin buildings and the switch tower) or products that don't sell really well and they're trying to get rid of excess stock that they ordered from the warehouse.  So you can imagine what my initial thought was when I saw Yellow Rheneas on there and I truth be told, really wasn't all that surprised.  But the fact that the Busy Bee James never made it on there surprised me even more, considering that one is a more niche recolor.  This has me thinking and I wanted to share my thoughts on this.

I remember in the Trainworld streams they mentioned that the busy bee James was a popular seller, which did have me a little puzzled. But after a while, I think I may have a theory as to why the busy bee James has been working and why the yellow Rheneas was not.  The simple answer comes down to the variety of characters in both the HO and narrow gauge lines as well as the timing of their introductions.

The HO Thomas range has a very wide diversity of engine characters to choose from, and if Bachmann wanted to do more niche recolors like the Busy Bee James, or even the recently announced Beau, they can can get away with introducing these variants because there is already such a wide range of characters to already choose from with even more new engine toolings being released on the way.   

Yellow Rheneas on the other hand was announced too early, in my opinion.  At the time Yellow Rheneas got announced, only four other engines were in the range and there was a pretty high demand for Sir Handel which really soured a lot of people's thoughts on Yellow Rheneas' introduction in the range , (myself included).  And when Yellow Rheneas did come out a lot of people forgot about it since Peter Sam was on the water and would be available shortly after Yellow Rheneas.  It probably didn't help that Sir Handel even got announced that same year making the Yellow Rheneas model all the more overlooked.

Even if you include Sir Handel though, that's still a small number of engines to choose from, which ties into the timing issue mentioned earlier.  That being said, there really aren't a lot of narrow gauge characters on the show compared to standard gauge engines, especially when Mattel limits Bachmann to only making characters who appeared in the CGI series.  There's about 9 narrow gauge engines in CGI total, (not counting recolor variants), and Bachmann has half of these engines being done if you include Sir Handel.  Sadly though, it still feels like that Yellow Rheneas was announced a little too prematurely and it's showing signs already.  Even saving him for after Sir Handel's introduction would have made a difference to Yellow Rheneas' reception.  Also, just for the record I don't dislike the model itself and I think the livery on it turned out great on the model.  Again, just wasn't a fan of it being announced too early.  If anything, I almost want to pick one up before it becomes discontinued.

So point-being, while recolored engines aren't a bad idea on their own, timing plays a crucial factor to what will make them take off and what won't.  Bachmann has pulled off several recolors before and it's never been as much of an issue up until this point.  That being said, as we're starting to see with Yellow Rheneas, it's become a little clear that there are times when recolors work and when they don't and I hope Bachmann can take something away from this going forward.  They haven't done any engine recolors in their N scale range yet.  While I wouldn't mind seeing LBSC Thomas and origin James making it in N scale, I do think adding more newly tooled characters in N scale first (namely Henry and Edward) should be added if they go that route, otherwise they are just going to be a repeat of Yellow Rheneas and be shelf-warmers.  Heck, if Bachmann plays their cards right, they could probably have both Henry and Edward announced in N scale between this years NMRA and 2024 while saving the LBSC Thomas and Origin James recolors for the brands 80th anniversary in 2025, but that's a whole different discussion for another thread and for a much later time. 

Thank you so much for the strong feedback everyone, the N scale Toby is a favorite of mine in the range already, but something tells me Gordon will quickly claim that title when he is ready.

The points to the siderods for better polarity and accurate to the original prop/basis are also great points as well and I'm glad everyone appreciated that extra detail as well.

As for the next engine in the range, I think in addition to Henry, Mavis is easily a very viable addition because of the clever reuse of Thomas's chassis and the inclusion of siderods.  Plus in addition to Henry and Mavis there are several other engines who I would love to see in N scale too like Edward, Duck, Diesel, Donald and Douglas, Oliver and maybe even Daisy!  It would be really nice to see most engines in HO find their way into the N scale range eventually, and with so many possibilities on the horizon it makes me very happy to be a collector of this fun range.  Can't wait to hear everyone else's thoughts on Toby once they pick him up.

I intentionally saved my thoughts on Ryan for a little later solely because there is a lot I have to say about this model.  A character I, truth be told, didn't think much of at the time of his introduction and wasn't quite the level of excited I was for him when he first got announced.  Over time though, this model really won me over.   There aren't too many characters who weren't written by Awdry I am a huge fan of, let alone ones introduced in the CGI series which I guess makes Ryan all the more special.  Now though, I think it's time to take a look at the model and see how he holds up.


The Bachmann model of Ryan won me over due to the constant exposure.  All that promoting from Trainworld really paid off!  That being said, the best feature about Ryan by a long shot are his details.  The separately fitted handrails, the rivet details on the bufferbeam and the rear windows, the separately fitted lampirons and lamps on both ends of the model... they truly went all out on this model.



Bachmann has been known for their accuracy for some of their recent models, especially the narrow gauge engines, Ryan however, is probably more detailed than they are and that is because of how the CGI render is designed.  Most of these details you could argue Bachmann didn't need to add since most of these are small and not as many people will notice.  However, I feel like they were a necessity since all these details used in good taste and more importantly show how far Bachmann has come.


Look at the difference between Ryan and Thomas.  Thomas himself is one of the worst models in the range, second only to Percy, which again shows how much can change in two decades.  Right down to those details, the appropriate size and proportions of the character, and especially the face, Ryan is easily one of the best models in the range.  It is absolutely no contest.


Another feature I do want to talk about separately is the face.  The face itself is spot on to his depiction in the CGI series, but there's something really unique about Ryan in particular.  Normally, Bachmann goes for a more toothy like grin for their characters, Ryan has a much more subtle grin which is something they haven't done since their Henry model back in 2005.  So not only are the details a feature that makes Ryan stand out, but the face as well. 


And lastly, I want to talk about how the chassis was done.  Again the level of detail Bachmann applied to Ryan is really shown here as well.  I love the brass crank pins that were applied and the way how his trailing truck pivots while running is also well done too.  It allows Ryan to perform on curves much better and I'm glad Bachmann kept that consistent detail.


There's just one thing I wish they had done differently and that's giving Ryan an open cab.  My friend Kelson and I added a decoder in Ryan and found that there could have been more room for an open cab in the model rather than just leaving space for the windows.  A bit of a shame since I feel this could have worked like how they had done for Rosie.  Not a dealbreaker by any means, but if Bachmann went as far as adding every detail of the render possible I wish they had gone the full mile.  Oh well, a 95 is still an A in my book.


Overall, and this goes without saying, Ryan is aesthetically one of the best models in the range, hands down.  Bachmann have done a terrific job replicating Ryan and despite some of my concerns about Ryan's pricing I feel that with the level of detail present on the model, I'd say it's almost worth the purchase depending on where you shop.


In terms of running and performance, one thing I will say right off the bat is that Ryan is an incredibly light model, this is because Ryan himself is a rather small and thin locomotive which is accurate to that of his design in the television series.


Despite this, Ryan managed to run extremely well with a reasonable load of 9-10 wagons on steep gradients at the club layout and probably could have added a few more if wanted.  Most Bachmann Thomas engines struggle with 10 wagons on gradients alone, especially Thomas, Percy, and Emily.  The fact Ryan did so well on his own without additional weights included speaks high volume.


When taken at slow and fast speeds, Ryan ran very smoothly despite being such a light model.  We had a lot of fun watching Ryan travel through the different locations at the club layout and found that even while shunting in smaller yards he was able to continue to run at a smooth pace. 


Even when we stopped Ryan at times for photo opportunities at different parts of the layout, he very rarely required a push/nudge from hands to get going again which again is pretty rare for most Thomas models these days. 


Overall, Ryan is a definite winner in the range.  Question is do I recommend the model?  Well the only points of concern are the lack of weight on the model and open cab, but everything else including all the details present, smooth running and surprising amount of hauling power I say Ryan is definitely worth adding to your collection.  Again, I would be very careful of where you purchase Ryan as some shops do have him for sale at high prices.  Shops like Trainworld or even a local hobby shop (where you don't have to worry about shipping) are the best places I would recommend to get Ryan. 


Regardless, I'm very happy with the Ryan model and I am really happy that both  he and Daisy are now available in the range and fans can now run the Harwick duo together.  Thank you Bachmann for producing Ryan in such high quality, and I look forward to sharing my thoughts on the narrow gauge box vans and brake vans next!  Here's hoping we get an update on Sir Handel and the new narrow gauge wagons from Trainworld!


As for who the next HO scale engine should be, I think we are long, long overdue a model introduction of the "Master of the Railway" himself!  Bachmann will be our "hero" if they can make this happen!

Two friends arrived in the mail today, one of them was Ryan who I will be doing a separate post on later. The other, is the one who I want to talk about first which is the n scale Toby. So, as usual, here are my thoughts:


When the N scale range was first announced, there were several characters who I had really high anticipation of seeing being introduced in the future after the range's first launch with Thomas and Percy.  Toby was definitely one of those engines, and I was really glad that he was the fourth engine to join the range right after James.  It's really showing the true potential of the N scale range as Bachmann is now introducing characters who not only aren't the main three engines, (Thomas, Percy and James), but also because Toby is the first engine Bachmann has introduced that Tomix never even announced.  It's already a significant milestone, especially with Gordon and Emily on the way, with more likely on the way.  Question is, how does the model hold up?


The best words I would use to describe the N scale Toby are, as cliche as this sounds, simple, yet effective.  Toby has always been very popular with Bachmann, both in HO and large scale.  The N scale Toby is able to stand on its own compared to them, and in no doubt will be a popular seller as more people pick it up.


The paintwork on Toby is very well done, as usual.  Bachmann have done an excellent job keeping Toby accurate to the CGI design, right down to the handrail details, his bell being molded on the roof and the head and tail lamps on both ends of the model. 


The face also captures Toby's face from the CGI series.  Don't know if it's just me, but sometimes I feel like a face can really capture a character's personality if done right.  Toby's CGI face seems to do just that for his persona in the CGI series, a character who tries his best despite getting discouraged by other things, usually comments by other engines.  It's not a persona I like personally, but it is how he is perceived on the show and it found it's way onto the most of his merch so I can give Bachmann credit for accuracy.


One distinctive feature about Toby, are his cow-catchers and sideplates.  For the cow-catchers, Bachmann have done a much better job adding the rapido couplers to both ends of Toby than the HO and large scale models without creating a hole on both ends to accommodate the couplers.  While it may have been understandable in the case of HO and large scale, it does baffle me a little bit on how the N scale model of all things does a much better job incorporating the couplers on Toby than that two models that are larger than it.  Not that I'm complaining or anything; it's a huge improvement and I appreciate that extra mile Bachmann went with Toby.  The cowcatchers are not open like the large scale model, but it's understandable considering how small the cowcatchers themselves are. 


The sideplates are also well done too.  I love how the steps to get into the cab are holes which were absent in the HO model but not the large scale model.  Great consistency.  One complaint I've seen about Toby in the past with the other two models are the lack of an open cab, and while I think this is a pretty significant fault for the large scale model due to its large size, I think it definitely gets a pass here with the N scale model, because of how much smaller it is.  Even though the model does not have a moving eye mechanism, it's still requires a lot of room for the motor inside the model, so you really have to go with what you can get with such a small model.


Finally, one feature about the N scale Toby that is exclusive to it and not the HO or large scale models are the inclusion of siderods.  I didn't notice this until I ran the model, so it may be a little hard to see.  Upon further inspection, I found out that Toby shares the same motor and chassis as Thomas which was something I'm surprised the large scale model didn't do.  Having siderods or not has never been a deal-breaker in the past but I appreciate that attention to accuracy since the siderods are hidden underneath the sideplates.  It also allowed Toby to be a really smooth performer which we will talk about later.


Overall, I think aesthetically Bachmann have done a really nice job with Toby in N scale, they have not only managed to keep the simplistic design of the model done really well, but they even went as far as going the extra mile on detail, more so than the HO, and in some areas, the large scale model too!


In terms of running, like the rest of the other engines, Toby does run very smoothly at both fast and slow speeds.  Even at a slow speed, which is typical for the character, Toby ran nicely on the switches on my OO9 layout which usually some engines I ran in the past would have trouble on in slower speeds.  It was also able to handle tight corners and shunting in the yard too.


Toby was also able to handle a good amount of rolling stock, in case anyone was wondering.  Managed to pull most of my available rolling stock with ease in case anyone wanted to give Toby a "megatrain".  Major hauling power however, is never necessary for a model of Toby of all characters.  The inclusion of the siderods not only are a major factor to his smooth performance but odds are, played a factor with his hauling power.


That being said, and I think it goes without saying, most people who run a model of Toby either let him just pull Henrietta and/or a couple of wagons and I think all models of Toby do a great job of doing just that.


Overall, Bachmann did an excellent job with their Toby model.  As I said earlier, Toby is a simple yet effective model.  Whether you're a fan of the character or getting into the N scale range, Toby is definitely worth adding to your collection.  It meets the appropriate expectations and even exceeds a few, hardly anything wrong with it to be frank.  Looking forward to further updates on Gordon and Emily in addition to further pieces of N scale stock.  Right now though I better get to working on my post for Ryan, in the meantime I hope everyone enjoyed this review.


Question is now that Bachmann announced Henrietta in N, am I going to have two Henrietta models now, or am I going to have to get creative with my custom model once the official one arrives..?

Quote from: N Scale Sudrian on May 04, 2023, 09:43:25 PMBit of a shame there was no update on Toby's distribution in this stream like there was for Ryan, I suppose we are to assume he's either on the water or awaiting transit...

I'm sure within the next month or so we will have an update on the N scale Toby's arrival in the warehouse since we received updates on that and Ryan within a month apart from each other.  Maybe even a painted sample of Gordon too.

Emily's coaches turned out pretty great.  Wouldn't mind picking those up at some point in the future depending on how the Emily model itself turns out fully painted.

Quote from: really called Thomas on January 22, 2023, 12:47:32 PMEver since Bachmann UK started introducing DCC-ready locos, I have held off buying more (I already had the Famous Eight!). Now with Edward and Henry being available, I am just waiting on Duck so I can upgrade my collection. I am sure at some point the rest of the fleet will be made DCC-ready, with Diesel and Bill & Ben, followed by Donald & Douglas top of my wish list!

So something very interesting I saw today that should give you, and a few others in the UK, some hope about that...



A friend of mine recently got a Bachmann Oliver for his birthday and very interestingly it seems Oliver received an interesting revision.  He's been fitted with a much thicker dummy hook and lampiron similar to that from the UK line.  Now this might not mean anything to some, but I remember seeing this with the Edward and Henry models before their announcement from Bachmann Europe came around.  And since Duck and Oliver are still really popular sellers with Bachmann and Toad is already in the UK lineup, Oliver receiving this update is a really good sign.  Definitely seems likely that both he, and most likely Duck, will most likely join the UK lineup eventually.  And if we're lucky enough, once Henry and Edward find their way in the N scale range, Duck and Oliver's popularity can continue even further allowing them to find their way in the N scale range too. 

It sounds like the wheels on your Peter Sam model likely got dirty from running on the track that wasn't dry yet. I would recommend picking up an n gauge wheel cleaner and have Peter Sam's wheels run on that.  Here's one on Trainworld if you want to check it out:

https://www.trainworld.com/woodland-scenics-tt4560-roto-wheel-cleaner-n-scale-woodland-scenics-tt4560.html

Local hobby shops in your area may have this as well, so I would recommend contacting them. Hope this helps.

Adding non-rail characters like Bertie, Harold and Terence would be great ideas in N scale.  It should be worth noting, that Bertie and Harold were recently added to the Bachmann Europe range, alongside Edward and Henry, so I wouldn't rule them out from happening in N scale.

Cranky would also make for a welcome addition too in N scale, as it would help fans recreate scenes from the docks in N scale. He's always been a very popular character from the brand since his introduction in the fifth season, and hopefully cranky in particular will allow Bachmann to add other accessories/buildings in N scale to help recreate more scenes from Sodor in N scale.

The train world stream was always wonderful! Christian is always did a great job posting the stream and it was nice seeing all the product updates and on the Unlikely fandom project.

Seeing Toby in the box already is a good sign, can't wait to hear updates on when he will be shipping! 

I'll be honest, when Emily got announced, I had mixed feelings, since while I like Emily and all, it felt a little redundant seeing the same five engines announced in large scale again in N.  However, the model looks really promising so far and I may consider picking her up too depending on how the final product turns out. I love how the tender has separately applied handrails that aren't molded on like the HO model.  Bachmann's already exceeding my expectations with this model and I'm excited to see how she will turn out once fully painted.

I wouldn't mind seeing Spencer in N scale, as he is a very popular character and his HO model was always a very popular seller.  He's admittedly not one who I'm particularly anxious to see, but I wouldn't rule him out from being introduced in the future.  I'd prefer seeing him introduced later after a few other characters are introduced first though, besides just Edward and Henry like Duck and Diesel since they have a much bigger fan-following.

A little late to responding but thanks for the strong feedback on my post earlier everyone!  I'm glad to see the general consensus for Hiro and N scale Henry still going as strong as ever.  Hopefully they will be considered next when Bachmann looks into more engines for those lines respectively.

I'm also happy to see the positive reception for Judy and Jerome after their recent mention earlier took off.  Those along with the works unit cars would make for some very fun additions for rolling stock too.  N scale express coaches are still as strong as ever for requests, something tells me we aren't far off from seeing those happen too.

Regarding the Flying Scotsman, I wouldn't mind a model of him, but like Duncan, his CGI render looks really off-putting to me, particularly with the six wheel tenders.  That and with Rebecca's RRP at $300, I'd expect Scotsman to be even more expensive which might factor whether or not Scotsman would be a practical addition or not.  I'm sure Hiro would be worth more than Rebecca too, but as I said before, Hiro is one of those very few characters fans will happily buy regardless of price.  While I can't say the same thing for Rebecca, it might be a different case for Scotsman. He is a nostalgic character with an appropriate following and the right appeal for sure, but his design and personality in the CGI series are so completely different from what was on the books or the cameo of his tenders, that he may as well be a different character at that point (but of course that's just my opinion).  I'm sure some fans will jump on it, but I'd personally rather see Hiro first before Bachmann takes on a more ambitious project like the Flying Scotsman.

Well, here we go.  The announcements as mentioned earlier were fairly small as Bachmann is clearly playing catch-up on previously announced products.  So I'll be sharing my thoughts on what I think should be introduced next for NMRA and 2024. Got a lot to get through, so here are my thoughts.


HO engine wise, the only engine I would be interested in seeing at this point would be Hiro.  Many fans, including myself, are still salty Bachmann picked Rebecca over Hiro since Hiro was a much more popular request than Rebecca (long before she was ever a thing for that matter), and would have been a much better seller too.  But if Hiro is the next new engine tooling after Rebecca, then all would be forgiven on my end.  He might be more expensive than Rebecca, but I can promise you right now fans would be a lot more willing to pay the higher cost for a Hiro model than they would for Rebecca, especially the Japanese fans.

I do want to talk more about rolling stock though, particularly Judy and Jerome and the works unit cars:


Judy and Jerome offer major diversity for Bachmann's rolling stock, particularly since there isn't a breakdown crane in the range yet.  These seem like an easy two for one cash in just begging to happen.  Their different faces make them easily recognizable, their designs are surprisingly simple, (especially compared to Harvey and Rocky), and they go along nicely with several of Bachmann's current offerings including the recently released Daisy and Ryan.


And since Bachmann's been on a kick of introducing recolors during slower times, in the future they can even introduce a plain breakdown crane as a recolor option, giving fans an option if they want to go a more classic style route.




And finally, in order to complete the breakdown train, they will need to introduce a works unit car. This is a relatively easy piece for Bachmann to make despite being a new tooling and they offer different livery choices, orange, green and even blue.  All of which have been present in the CGI series.

The only drawback I see to Judy and Jerome would be the high price tag, but if Bachmann is seriously willing to go along with Rebecca with a ridiculously high RRP at $300, then I really don't see what should stop them from adding Judy and Jerome in the range at this point.  Again, not as many people will pay a lot of money for Rebecca, but a lot of people will be more likely to spend a similar amount on both Judy and Jerome and the works unit cars.



As for narrow gauge, considering how long it took them to get Peter Sam out and how slow progress has been on Sir Handel, I'm not expecting a Duncan announcement until NMRA 2024 at the earliest.  I do think out of the remaining narrow gauge engines in the CGI seasons, Duncan would make the most sense to be introduced despite many fans indifference to the CGI design. That being said, I think many people would still appreciate Duncan being picked next if it meant completing all the classic narrow gauge engines who appeared in CGI, so I think it'd be worth the investment for Bachmann for that reason alone.


I do, however, think that they could benefit from, at least, adding some more rolling stock re-colors. While the new box vans and brake vans turned out great, it would be nice seeing these being available in brown as these were both present in the model and CGI seasons.  To add, the brown variants are the only ones used in the CGI seasons and are almost always used in narrow gauge goods trains.  Hopefully Bachmann can introduce these in their next lineup! 

Also there's one more numbered slate wagon Bachmann has yet to introduce which is #138, but like how they introduced the recent one they can throw that one in the range anytime they'd like.


All right time for my N scale wishlist!  Since we are currently waiting on a batch of three engines in the form of Toby, Gordon and Emily, I'd like to suggest my top three engines that I would like to see included in the lineup next: 


After seeing the engineering sample of Gordon being done so quickly, I have zero doubt that there are plans for Henry in the future, given the shared motor and chassis (minus Gordon's trailing wheels) he and Gordon both share on the show.  Henry has always been a popular seller with Bachmann in HO and his Tomix model is still going for high prices online, thus indicating that an N scale Henry model will be a very popular seller.  He's been the top request for the n scale range for a reason, and it would be disappointing if they picked any other engine before Henry for their next engine announcement.


After Henry, I feel like Edward is a very natural next step, completing the original main cast of characters in addition to having promising strong sales that would mirror that of Gordon and Henry.  His HO model was and still is a very popular seller too.  So popular that both his model and Henry's sales were enough to convince Bachmann UK to recently add both him and Henry in their limited lineup of Thomas models.  The fact that they picked them before Emily or even Diesel speaks very high volumes.


Once Bachmann finishes the original main cast, I think Duck should be one of the first side characters to be introduced in the N scale range.  Just like Henry and Edward, Duck's HO model has incredibly strong sales indicating that he should be prioritized over many of the other side characters in N scale.  Duck also is very popular with both he older and younger audiences and carries a strong presence in both the model and the CGI series.  He's an iconic classic character with a lot going for him, it would be silly for him to not be picked after Henry and Edward, except for maybe Diesel.


Speaking of, honorable mentions for future engine candidates go to Diesel and Oliver.  Diesel feels like a shoe-in Bachmann can add to N scale anytime, especially with the multiple recolor choices, while Oliver would go along great with the N scale Toad model.

Now let's talk about rolling stock.  Bachmann's introduced a lot of new rolling stock toolings in N scale in such a short amount of time so hopefully these can be considered during the NMRA and 2024.  So here are my top three new rolling stock toolings (in addition to an additional recolor):


Gordon's express coaches are such a low-hanging fruit for rolling stock, and I'm surprised these weren't announced alongside Gordon last summer.  However, I'd like to think we aren't that far off from seeing them given the progress Bachmann has made on the N scale Gordon.  They can also introduce red express coaches at a later date with the same toolings too.  It's also worth noting that the market for express coaches in N scale is evident given by how much the red ones go for online, just like Henry. 


The red coaches would also make very welcome additions too as mentioned before.  I feel these however can wait until after the express coaches, but regardless I feel these will find their way in the range eventually.  They've always been popular sellers with Bachmann and look great behind most engines on the show.  They were popular in HO and they have been flying off shelves for the large scale range, and I have no doubt they would do the same for N.  They can also reuse the tooling for these to make Toby's Museum coaches too.



While there aren't really any other wagon recolors I'm interested in personally, I feel like a very natural and welcome addition would be the original coal wagon with load.  The dark green livery with black frames was always an iconic livery used in both the model and CGI series and the coal load itself has always been a fun gimmick to swap around with various wagons in the range.  It's also been very popular in HO and at one point large scale, still being produced by the former several years later, thus indicating that this will be a recolor that will continue to have strong sales in N scale too.



And last but not least, brake vans!  The 20 ton brake van tooling being glossed over in favor of Toad was kind of an odd choice on Bachmann's part, but regardless I feel Bachmann can still introduce this tooling into the range and introduce a brake van in a livery similar to what's been shown in the CGI series in addition to making one for the spiteful brake van, who was also a very popular seller in HO and large scale. 

Honorable mentions for future pieces of N scale rolling stock go to the mail car and a new tanker tooling.  The mail car has always  been popular with Bachmann and there's multiple colors they can work off of.  Plus the market for N scale mail cars are there since Tomix made them at one point.  As for a new tanker tooling, I feel the benefit to introducing a newer and more accurate N scale tanker tooling would be in Bachmann's best interest since most fans aren't a fan of the current tankers since they're recolors of the Graham farish tooling due to their their inaccuracy to what's in the show.  Discontinuing them in favor of introducing a new tanker tooling in the form of milk, oil, and fuel would really win a lot of fans over and make up for lackluster sales with the Graham farish recolors.

So that's pretty much everything, let me know your thoughts and hopefully we will see most of these find their way in either the NMRA and/or 2024.

To play it safe, I would get in touch with Bachmann's customer service department and show them your proof of purchase and send the coaches their way.  They can either replace the wheels for you or send you free new ones.  Strange how four coaches had that same problem.  Fortunately this wasn't the case with mine but hopefully they can get yours fixed.

I would appreciate Judy and Jerome as rolling stock additions for sure, especially with the two for one deal Bachmann seems to be going for with rolling stock.  They could even do a standard breakdown crane without a face and nameplate if they wished, but if they didn't that would be understandable too.

The works unit coach would also make a great addition to go alongside Judy and Jerome.  Again, another two in one deal since both an orange and the green one have been used in the CGI series, and technically a blue one used in the background of Percy and the Calliope:



Honestly if I had to choose between another new engine in HO or Judy Jerome and the works unit cars, I would happily choose the latter since having breakdown cranes in the range would offer more diversity in rolling stock and would make a far more welcome addition for pretty much any other engine candidate on the table for HO, except for maybe Hiro.