Someone attended the NMRA show and spoke to Bachmann about Diesel 10. The info they got from Bachmann was reported to Thomas Merch News on Twitter and can be found there.

Apparently the arm will be able to be raised and lowered, and swivel 360 degrees. However, they report that the claw will not open and close.

Now, take this with a grain of salt because we didn't hear it from Bachmann directly, but if this is true I can't help but be a little disappointed. If the claw were to have any movement, I would've thought it'd be the claw itself- not everything else BUT the claw.

I hope the person that spoke with Bachmann misheard, but if not, then I really hope Bachmann reconsider how they approach the claw. I'm happy to pay more if they can deliver.

Needless to say, I'm ecstatic about these new announcements. I still can't believe most of these are happening! My number one wish for the past few years has been Diesel 10- especially after Doug mentioned that he's been on Bachmann's radar. It's still very surreal to me. Of course, as with most others, I'm curious about how Bachmann will handle doing the claw. I can't speak for everyone, but I would certainly pay more if Bachmann was willing to do a fully posable claw. This character means a lot to me, and I hope Bachmann can give it 110% effort to bring us the best possible model.

The Thomas and Percy retools are something that people have been asking for, but I honestly never thought it would happen. I'm so excited to have these two characters in HO made to the same standard as Bachmann's latest offerings. This opens so many doors to potential model retools in the future. Might be a pipe dream, but James, Gordon, and Henry could definitely use a retool. A concern of mine is the brochure only mentions a retool of the body shell and face, but doesn't mention the chassis. I really hope we'll get an updated chassis but we'll see. Also, please update LBSC Thomas with the new tooling!

The new HO open wagons are great! It's so nice they'll be coming with stone loads. These look like the faded open wagons from the CGI series so it'll be interesting to see how they achieve the faded look. Looking forward to getting a bunch of these!

G Scale Henrietta was very unexpected, but much needed! I'm thankful they didn't do her sooner because I personally prefer her with a face, so it all worked out in the end.

I don't have any strong opinions about the N Scale announcements, but it's nice to see the line expanding.

Overall, these announcements blew me away. It really feels like we're entering a new era for Bachmann Thomas. Thank you, Bachmann, for listening to the fans. Keep up the great work!

Since we're a week away from the NMRA announcements, does anyone have any final predictions?

My one hope is Diesel 10. I know Bachmann have stated before it'd be challenging for them, but I'm sure they could figure out a solution.

They're leaving a lot of money on the table by not producing him.

With Bachmann's recent trend of wanting to use as much existing tooling as possible, I'm personally placing my bet that the next announcement will be Shooting Star Gordon and/or Streamlined Thomas.

They'd certainly be less expensive to produce than a completely new-tooled model, and would definitely be unexpected by most. I'd be pretty stoked if they did go this route seeing as I'm a huge CGI fan. They'd go great with Flying Scotsman too!

The more you know. My apologies for the confusion. I'm so used to the silver windows on the Bachmann 08s that it stood out to me as inaccurate. It looks like all the 08s in the CGI series have blanked out windows. Never noticed it until now. Thank you for clarifying!

That is no good. It looks especially bad on Mainland Diesel in my opinion.

Yard Master, I hope you'll see this and address this before the models are released. Hopefully it was just an oversight.

After looking at the new HO Scale 08s more closely, I realized the front cab windows aren't painted. I double-checked the other 08s by Bachmann, and they are in fact painted on those models. This may be a small thing, but I hope it is corrected on the final models.

Last night's reveals were great! The two new 08s turned out really well, and I'm especially impressed with how well Bachmann was able to recreate the faces. I was pretty worried when Sidney was announced that his face would suffer from the existing eye mech spacing, but I was relieved to hear they modified the tooling to accommodate. Well done!

Matt's comments on the NMRA announcements has me intrigued, and it sounds like it'll be something none of us are expecting. I'm still really hoping for Diesel 10, but we'll find out soon enough. It could be anything at this point!

I second all of these ideas. We especially need Henrietta to go along with Toby. I think Rosie would be another feasible small Large Scale loco, and best of all, she's had two liveries. An easy recolor to help spread the costs of a new tooling.

Bachmann's Dreyfuss Hudson has recently been released, and I'm warming up to the idea of a potential Bachmann Connor. As far as I know, the nose on the Dreyfuss is a separate part so it wouldn't be difficult for Bachmann to replace it with a face. Every post or video I see of the new Dreyfuss, there's always at least one or two comments with the same suggestions, and I'm all for it.

All of the painted samples from the stream looked great! I'm especially impressed with the N scale diesels, and the new color for the China clay load is a massive improvement. Also, it's great to hear that Duncan isn't fully off the table and that Bachmann is trying to figure out a way to bring him to market. Fingers crossed 🤞

Really great suggestions here, Christian! I'd love to have all of these, but I especially second Diesel 10, Harvey, and Signal accessories.

I know Bachmann have stated there would be some complications with Diesel 10 and Harvey, but I think the fan reception and guaranteed sales would more than make up for it. Really hope they come to market soon!

I really love the idea of Signal accessories. It's something that is lacking in the range. Importing UK style signals is becoming more expensive, so this would especially help out US Thomas modelers. I emailed Bachmann with this suggestion last year, and I hope it is taken into consideration.

My personal wishlist includes a few more CGI characters I enjoy:

Stephen
This one seems obvious considering he pairs nicely with the new blue carriage. I think the eye mechanism would be difficult, but I think Bachmann could opt out for this release and maybe include some crew figures to make up for it.

Samson
One of my personal favorite CGI characters. He's a very unique basis that would appeal to non-Thomas modelers for customization. Another open cab engine, Bachmann could include crew figures if they wanted to opt out of the eye mechanism.

Bradford
Samson needs his trusty brake van. Being a 20 ton brake van (the same basis as the canceled N Scale one) Bachmann could tool up a 20 ton brake van in the usual CGI livery, then repaint it and add a face to make Bradford. Two birds with one stone to help spread the tooling cost across two products.

Looking forward to seeing what's next from Bachmann, and I hope some of these are taken into consideration!

Could you provide a photo of the new setup? I wasn't aware there was a running change and I'm curious to see how it looks. Thanks!

Sort of old news, but TrainWorld has a listing for an unannounced Bachmann Thomas item: Large Scale Christmas Thomas w/ Snowplow (91412). If the Yard Master could provide some more info on this, that'd be greatly appreciated!

Very disappointed to hear that Knapford has been cancelled. It's becoming a very bad habit of Bachmann's to announce a highly anticipated item only to cancel it a few months later.

Bachmann, please stop announcing new items unless you are 100% certain they'll be arriving to market. It is very tiring to constantly get our hopes up and then get let down shortly after. You are damaging your customers' faith.