Hey everyone, while doing a bit of research on the Skarloey Railway stations and rolling stock, I found something kind of cool.

When Bachmann announced their slate wagon recolors, I figured that they were probably based on slate wagons from the toy lines (like how most HO stock is nowadays), but it turns out they do actually exist in the show! Here are a couple of pictures showing the Tan Slate Wagon and the Brown Slate Wagon:




Though I couldn't find a red one, there are red slate wagons seen in the Blue Mountain Quarry, although they are based on Dinorwic slate wagons, rather than Talyllyn ones.



One thing I am hoping is that they'll be able to make the Brown Slate Wagon a little bit lighter. In the picture of the Brown one from the show, the brown is dark compared to other wagons, but is still light enough for the ironwork to be seen. However, the Brown Slate Wagon in the catalog is so dark it almost appears to be a single color. It should be a mid-brown rather than dark brown. The slate wagons in the catalog appear to be photoshopped, so they should be able to fix it for the official release.

Anyways, I just thought I'd share, because I think it's cool that these recolors were indeed seen in the show!

TrainWorld announced that the February Thomas Tuesday will be next week, since there was a scheduling conflict for today. They didn't have a picture ad like they usually do, but they said it will come in the next couple of days. I think we'll probably know the new announcements by next Tuesday!

Looks like Rebecca's painted sample will be seen very soon!

When they used to do the text lists, the items were usually announced between the 9th and 17th of February, depending on what day the Friday was. It was only around 2021 that they started revealing the announcements at the end of January. Either way, I think we'll probably see the new announcements on Friday the 9th or Friday the 16th at worst, so we don't have too long to wait now.

Photo credit goes to James Drury.

Here's a link to a Facebook post with more pictures of Gordon and Emily:
https://m.facebook.com/groups/753298574781796/permalink/6768483689929891/?mibextid=Nif5oz

It also confirms that Henrietta will have a face!

Well, Bachmann have responded to enquiries about the catalog. Looks like we won't know all of the announcements until February. I don't think they would put the Thomas announcements in the video tomorrow, because they haven't for the last few years.

Actually, we might still be able to see the new Thomas Announcements tomorrow if anyone's going to the show. Or maybe they'll put the catalog online at the same time?

I hope they'll be tomorrow if they don't drop at some point tonight, but I think last year, the video came out on January 28th, then we had to wait until February 3rd to see the Thomas Announcements. Either way, we should see them within the next couple of weeks!

Nice to see everyone posting their last-minute predictions!

As far as HO goes, I'm not really sure what to expect next. We've got at least 2 new tooling projects for engines, rolling stock, and roadway vehicles already announced. Arry and Bert getting rereleased is an interesting suggestion, and I'm sure that Sidney would also be viable, although hopefully they'll be able to design an eye mechanism around the face, rather than the other way around. A rereleased Ice Cream Van is also something I could see them doing. Also, given the fact that Bachmann seem to be pretty quick with making the 12 ton van tooling (based on how quickly they got both the Large and N scale versions out), I could see them adding another rolling stock project. I agree with everyone else that the Works Unit Coach could be a good addition.

As for Narrow Gauge, I'm not really expecting any new tooling projects getting announced, considering there are 2 engines and 3 rolling stock projects in development. However, I could see them announcing Brown variants of the new Box and Brake Van toolings, since they would be relatively simple projects.

Quote from: TrainFan97 on January 10, 2024, 11:08:58 PMIt's been almost a year since Emily's unpainted prototype was shown, and she still hasn't been shown fully painted. What's with the delay on her?

In the last Thomas Tuesday stream, Doug said (near the end) that Emily's painted sample might be able to be shown in February, although he said it could end up being later than that.

Next, for N and Large Scale, I'll write somewhat more detailed predictions, outlining what I could see them doing for 2024 and 2025. I'll write a list first, then explain my thinking.

N Gauge
2024 Winter Announcements:
- Henry
- Red Open Wagon
- Green Open Wagon w/ Coal Load
- Grey 12 Ton Van

2024 Summer Announcements:
- Edward (maybe)
- Milk Tank (New Tooling)
- Tar Tank (Also the new tooling)

2025 Winter Announcements:
- Edward (if not announced in 2024)
- LBSC Thomas (80th Anniversary)
- 12 Ton Van (Christmas Wreath and Mr. Jolly's Chocolate)
- Cream Tanker & Rasberry Syrup Tanker

2025 Summer Announcements:
- Origins James
- Red Coaches or Red Express Coaches
- Brake Van


For the N gauge 2024 Winter Announcements, I fully expect that Henry will be the next new engine. Based on how the range has been released thus far, I think Bachmann might have somewhat of a pattern that they're following. First, they released Thomas, Percy and James, as is normal for every merchandise line. Then, since James was still in development at the time, I think they chose Toby before Emily to have a simpler project for their 4th engine announcement, which helped them catch up after the pandemic. I think they chose Emily next because she is fairly popular in both HO and Large Scale, and she was the first female engine for the range. Afterwards, they went heavy with their announcement of Gordon, showing their commitment to this range, and to diversify it from their large scale offerings. Since they've still been working on these two, they announced Diesel and Paxton as new engine projects that are simple, and diversifies the range by bringing in diesels. Of course, Gordon and Emily still aren't out yet, but I think they could still announce Henry this month because he'll also be a relatively simple project for Bachmann; they only need to make a new bodyshell and tender for the Gordon chassis. As far as rolling stock goes, I'm genuinely suprised we've gone 5 years without any recolor announcements for freight stock, so I think Bachmann will change that with Henry's release; since he does pull freight. I think that doing the Red and Green Open Wagons makes sense, as they seem to be the most popular two 7-plank recolors. I also think that the Grey 12 Ton Van would make a great recolor as well, being a non-gimmicky version of the vans that got released this year. I think Bachmann doing recolors here would give them a chance to work on Henrietta and the Express Coaches without much distraction.

For the 2024 Summer Announcements, I could potentially see them announcing Edward, assuming Gordon's out and they can make good progress on Diesel and Paxton. Since they announced Duncan without showing a Sir Handel prototype, I'm not worried about if we haven't had much news on Henry  by this time. However, I did also put Edward in the 2025 list if they do choose to focus on just Henry and the Diesels instead. I could also see them doing a new Tank Wagon tooling, since they never touched the ex-Graham Farish tooling again after the first tanker announcement. A new tooling would also match the rest of the range better. Since the Milk and Tar Tanks are also very popular in the other scales, I believe they would be the first variants with the new tooling.

For the 2025 Winter Announcements, if they have chosen not to announce Edward before, now would be the perfect time. It would be the 80th Anniversary of the Railway Series, and since Edward was the first to get a story, it would be a nice way to celebrate that. I also think that Bachmann would announce LBSC Thomas as the first recolored character, since he would pair nicely with Edward, and he's a good anniversary project. I think they would choose more recolors of existing stock to produce as easy projects, since they'd likely still be working on the new tankers. I could see them bringing the Christmas 12 Ton Van (as the first piece of Christmas stock ) and Mr. Jolly's Chocolate Van into the range (especially since the latter is already proving popular). I could also see them potentially announcing more variants of the new Tanker tooling, to whet our appetites even more. I think they would go with the Cream and Raspberry Syrup Tankers, as they've been made in the other scales.

Finally, for the 2025 Summer Announcements, I think they'd probably go smaller again, and I could see them producing Origins James, since he would also be a nice Anniversary gesture. I could also see them producing either the Red Branchline Coaches or Red Express Coaches, depending on if they're ready to take on a new coach tooling project on or not.

Large Scale
2024 Winter:
- Edward

Even if nothing else is announced, I think the Large Scalers deserve to get a new engine tooling after not having much produced the last few years. Edward would likely have no problems getting around Bachmann's tight track radii, and he's also a popular character.

2024 Summer:
- Grey 12 Ton Van
- 12 Ton Circus Vans (Red & Blue)

I would be surprised if these van variants don't get announced at some point.

2025:
- LBSC Thomas
- Origins James

These would both make nice anniversary announcements, similar to N Scale.

Overall, that's my thoughts on what Bachmann might do for these upcoming announcements and beyond. Sorry I didn't go in depth on HO and Narrow Gauge, but I'm honestly not sure where Bachmann might go next with them (since there simultaneously seems to be a lot of options and few options, based on factors you guys have talked about before). I know this was a long post with a lot to read, but I'd be happy to hear your thoughts!

Hey guys, Toad is in stock on Bachmann's webstore now, which means he should be with other retailers soon as well!

https://shop.bachmanntrains.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=8746

Wow, he looks really good! I always love seeing the official product pictures get posted for the first time!

Hey guys, I finished painting Thomas' snowplough, so he's ready for winter now! Overall, I'm really happy with how he and the plough turned out!

Hey everyone, I finished up modifying my N Scale Thomas to look like the Series 1 model, so here are some pictures!









I'm really pleased with how he turned out, and I'm excited to work on the other engines in the future as well. Hopefully Bachmann can eventually do Edward and Henry so I can do the full Season 1 cast (of engines, at least)!

Hey guys, here's a little update on my Series 1 Thomas project! He's nearly finished, I just need to do the clear coats on his body shell, then paint his new face. Here's a progress pic:



Edit: The picture is a lot less blurry if you click on it.