Keighley & Worth Valley Railway celebrates 40^th anniversary of reopening with limited edition model of WD No. 90733 (6th May 2008)

The Keighley & Worth Valley Railway reopened to passenger traffic on 29 June 1968 and has become one of Britain’s leading heritage railways. As part of its 40^th Anniversary celebrations, it has commissioned a limited edition run of 500 models of one its resident locomotives, WD No. 90733.

No. 90733 was built for the British War Department by The Vulcan Foundry at Newton-le-Willows in January 1945. The 2-8-0 locomotive was shipped to the continent as the allies advanced and after the war was sold to the Netherlands State Railways (NS) where it became No.4464. It was sold to Swedish State Railways (SJ) in 1953 where it operated as No. 1931.  It saw limited service in Sweden between 1954 and 1956. It was withdrawn and placed in store as part of the strategic reserve where it remained until 1972. Members of the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway examined No.1931 and purchased it, the locomotive being shipped to Hull before being unloaded at the railway in January 1973.

A total of 935 WD 2-8-0 locomotives were built for the War Department between 1943 and 1945. After the war the London & North Eastern Railway purchased 200 of the same class from the War Department in 1946, whilst others were sold to overseas railway operators. On its formation British Railways purchased a further 533 of the class in 1948. Withdrawals in Britain commenced in 1959 and the final locomotive was disposed of in 1967. None of the British locomotives survived. The British locomotives carried the number series 90000 – 90732.

The Keighley and Worth Valley Railway modified the cab to fit the UK loading gauge so that the loco could be used on services until withdrawal on expiry of the boiler certificate in 1976. The locomotive returned to service in July 2007 after a substantial rebuilding project, which saw the locomotive restored to its as-built condition and given the next available number in the series, No. 90733.  This locomotive is unique; in recognition of this and its war-time associations, in future it will carry the name Remembrance, annually, on Armistice Weekend.

To commemorate the rebuilding of 90733 and the reopening of its railway, the railway’s charitable trust is sponsoring the production of 500 models of this unique locomotive. There will be only one production run of 500 models – no more will be produced. All proceeds from these sales will be devoted to the restoration of the railway’s locomotive fleet.

The limited edition Bachmann OO gauge model (catalogue number 32-250W) will only be available from the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway. 500 models will be available and they will be sold with a numbered certificate. Optional scale nameplates, which may be affixed at the discretion of the purchaser, will be included in the pack.

The model is due to be delivered to the railway in June 2008. You can order your model by ringing 07500-165-814; please have your credit or debit card details ready. Alternatively, order forms can be obtained from the railway’s website (www.kwvr.co.uk), by email to trust@kwvr.co.uk or from Haworth shop.

Bachmann China 2008 releases Announced (30th April 2008)

Bachmann China has announced its 2008 release programme. New items include a JS 2-8-2 steam locomotive, two diesels in the form of ND2 and ND5 locomotives, two coaches (22RW and 22RZ) and a QG70 bogie tank car.

1,135 JS Class (Jainshe) were built between 1957 and 1965 at Dalian Works for freight use mainly in North and North East China. Between 1986 and 1988 a further 423 locomotives of this improved B type were built at Datong Works. One of the Class was built specifically for the Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad, Iowa, USA for service on the tourist line, where it remains in service. A few survive in industrial use within China.

Electroputere of Romania built the ND2 Co-Co diesel locomotives for the Chinese Ministry of Railways with 284 being built between 1972 and 1987. Most of the Class worked around Shanghai.

General Electric of America built 422 ND5 locomotives, which were of known as C37-7 locomotives on American railroads. The first 221 locomotives were delivered in 1984 with the remainder following in 1986.

New coaches are represented by the 22RZ and 22RW types. The existing range of wagons is supplemented by a new QG70 bogie tank wagon.

Eastleigh debut for Underground Ernie (28th April 2008)

The Eastleigh Lakeside Railway is to pioneer “Days out with Underground Ernie” on behalf of the railway heritage movement. The 10¼” gauge miniature railway has constructed scale models of Jubilee and Ernie 1, which star in the popular, children’s computer animated television series created by Joella Productions and regularly shown on the BBC CBeebies channel.

Ernie himself has been seconded for a weeklong shift on the Eastleigh Lakeside Railway from Saturday 24^th May until Sunday 1^st June 2008. Ernie will be on duty from 1030 to 1615 each day and will be making sure that Jubilee and Ernie 1 are behaving themselves! Ernie is also enthusiastic about meeting some different trains, which operate regularly on the 1¼-mile circuit at Lakeside Countryside Park close to Southampton Airport Parkway station and Southampton Airport.

In addition to train rides face painters and magic entertainers will be on hand to entertain the many young Underground Ernie fans. The site also has a comprehensive “Station Café” and a shop selling a wide range of Underground Ernie and associated railway merchandise.

John Deery of Joella Productions said today “we are delighted that the Eastleigh Lakeside Railway has come on board and will be hosting four Underground Ernie events this year. Children love trains and we know that children relate to the characters we have created for the first television series. We recognise the importance of the heritage railway sector and its need to attract the next generation of enthusiasts, passengers and volunteers. This event is the first of its kind and is a major step in our journey to making Underground Ernie a truly international brand. We are sure many will be watching with interest to see how Ernie keeps the trains operating at Eastleigh”. 

Clive Upton, Managing Director of the Eastleigh Lakeside Railway said today “our children’s based ‘Days Out’ events have been hugely popular over the years and the loss of them could have had a very serious effect on our future operations here. We therefore approached the License holders of Underground Ernie who could have not been more helpful in enabling us to create an exciting new ‘Days Out’ opportunity. We have already been contacted by a number of colleagues in the heritage railway movement who are looking on with considerable interest to see how successful we can make this event. We are delighted that the Eastleigh Lakeside Railway has been chosen to pioneer the very first Underground Ernie event”.

Children can enjoy a ride for £2.50 (Adults £3.00) on the line or 3 rides for £5.00 (£6.00 Adults) with children under two years old riding free.

Details on how to find the Eastleigh Lakeside Railway can be found at www.steamtrain.co.uk or by setting your sat.nav. to SO50 5PE.

Ernie and his friends look forward to meeting you all at Eastleigh.

For more information about Underground Ernie please see:

www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/undergroundernie

www.undergroundernie.com

Bachmann E-Z Command decoder-equipped points now available

(22nd April 2008)

Bachmann America has introduced HO scale nickel silver HO scale E-Z Command^® DCC points (turnouts). With these decoder-equipped E-Z Track^® points, modellers can incorporate digital switching control into their DCC layouts with quick installation and easy programming and operation. These compliment the range of nickel silver track sections with the grey in-built track bed.

Features include:

• DCC or manual operation*

• conforms to all applicable NMRA standards

• Compatible with all NMRA-compliant DCC systems

• Quick, easy installation and programming

• no special wiring or control boxes needed

• nickel silver rail and connectors

• electrically wired frogs

• clear sleeper (tie) spacing

• low-profile spike (rail fastners) heads

• modelled from AAR track engineering dimensions

*not designed for DC-powered layouts

The DCC points available are:

E-Z Command^® DCC Turnout – Left

Item No. 44130

£25.25

E-Z Command^® DCC Turnout – Right 

Item No. 44131

£25.25

E-Z Command^® DCC #5 Turnout – Left

Item No. 44132

£31.60 (not yet in stock)

E-Z Command^® DCC #5 Turnout – Right 

Item No. 44133

£31.60 (not yet in stock)

E-Z Command^® DCC #5 Wye Turnout

Item No. 44134

£31.60

E-Z Command^® DCC #6 Turnout – Left

Item No. 44135

£33.20

E-Z Command^® DCC #6 Turnout – Right

Item No. 44136

£33.20

E-Z Command^® DCC #6 Single Crossover Turnout - Left

Item No. 44137

£42.10

E-Z Command^® DCC #6 Single Crossover Turnout – Right

Item No. 44138         

£42.10

These items can be ordered through any Bachmann dealer

Farish Limited Edition TTA wagons and 45ft container packs arrive

(16th April 2008)

Graham Farish is releasing a set of four different tank wagons in weathered plain grey livery (Catalogue Numbers 373-775W, X, Y and Z). Kernow Model Railway Centre initially commissioned the four wagons as limited edition models. These were subsequently cancelled production was already underway. 504 of each of the four wagons have been produced and these will be available through a limited number of retailers (see list below) until stocks are exhausted. These items will be released shortly with a recommended retail price of £10.45 each.

Also due for release are three packs of 45ft containers. These comprise:

379-372 1 x Powerbox and 1 x Consent Leasing 45ft containers

379-373 2 x DHL 45ft containers

379-374 2 x Asda 45ft containers

The recommended retail price of each container pack is £3.95

Farish Warship and Class 108 make Alexandra Palace debut (4th April 2008)

The London Festival of Railway Modelling at Alexandra Palace last weekend (29/30 March 2008) saw the first test shots of the N gauge Warship Class 42 diesel and Class 108 diesel multiple units make their debut on the Bachmann Europe PLC stand.

These form part of the recently introduced Blue Riband range and are being manufactured to a very high standard. All tooling has now been completed and the samples are being checked against original drawings. Graham Hubbard, Managing Director of Bachmann Europe Plc said today “the samples shown were the first test shots and will be subject to some minor modifications before going into production. Both items will be with our dealers later this year”.

First Scenecraft OO buildings now available (3rd April 2008)

Bachmann Europe PLC has released the first models in the new Scenecraft range of OO gauge buildings to its dealers.

Those released are:

Cat No.          Description                                                              RRP

44-001            GWR pagoda shed (waiting room for halt)                    £10.80           

44-003            Cattle dock                                                           £13.45

44-005            Timber frame halt for use with 44-001                        £16.80

44-006            Corrugated goods shed                                           £24.65

44-007            Red brick single road engine shed                              £30.50

44-008            Red brick water tower for use with 44-007                 £18.80

44-009            Wooden single road engine shed                               £23.30

44-012            Market Hampton Stone station building                      £19.30

44-013            Market Hampton Stone station waiting room               £16.15

44-014            Market Hampton Stone station ladies toilets               £9.00

44-015            Market Hampton Stone station gents toilets               £7.60

44-021            Northlight factory unit with loading door                    £24.00

44-022            Northlight factory extension                                    £24.00

The buildings have been produced in resin to a very high standard and include a number of railway lineside buildings and those from urban and industrial settings.

The buildings are delivered ready painted and in some cases weathered and range from £7-60 to £30.50.

David Haarhaus, Sales & Marketing Manager for Bachmann Europe said “the new building range has been developed to compliment existing products. We have concentrated on town and industry rather than rural, to enable modellers to add some sources of traffic for their railway. Work continues on the N gauge range and on the remaining OO buildings which will be rolled out over the next few months”.

The Scenecraft range can be obtained from your Bachmann stockist.

Note: Dimensions of the released OO buildings are:

Bachmann  America introduce Peter Witt Streetcars (6th March 2008)

Bachmann America has introduced HO scale Spectrum^® Peter Witt Streetcars (trams), available in five operators liveries, plus one undecorated version.

While serving as Cleveland's Street Railway Commissioner, Peter Witt designed an all-steel, single-operator streetcar that distinguished itself from others of the era by its use of the centre door as an exit only. Passengers paid as they boarded at the front and exited at the centre of the car, an arrangement, which reduced stop times, improved schedules, and increased efficiency. Though designed originally for Cleveland, the Peter Witt Streetcar went on to service in cities throughout the world from the 1930s up until the early 1960s. The Bachmann models represent cars that served urban areas in several East Coast, Midwestern, and West Coast states.

Features include:

·        DCC-equipped for speed, direction, and lighting

·        Dual-mode decoder with NMRA 8-pin plug for DCC or DC operation

·        Two-position switch (underside of car) for choice of overhead wire or track pickup

·        All-wheel drive

·        Precision can motor with two brass machined flywheels

·        Hidden drive train and electronics

·        Room for speaker

·        Die-cast frame and interior

·        Painted interior with seats

·        Photo-etched brass safety screen

·         Operation on 9˝ radius curves

These models are available in the UK from Bachmann dealers.

Notes: HO SCALE SPECTRUM^® PETER WITT STREET CARS

UNDECORATED

Item No. 84601

CHICAGO SURFACE LINES

Item No. 84602

BROOKLYN & QUEENS TRANSIT

Item No. 84603

BALTIMORE TRANSIT CO.

Item No. 84604

LOS ANGELES RAILWAY

Item No. 84605

ST. LOUIS RAILWAYS

Item No. 84606

Farish Stanier coaches now in production (3rd March 2008)

Bachmann Europe PLC has announced that the Stanier Coaches have now entered the production stage.

These form part of the recently introduced Blue Riband range and are being manufactured to a very high standard. The coach sides have fully moulded detail with flush glazing, new slim line close coupling system with NEM coupling pocket, detailed roof and coach interiors for each type, fully detailed ends (corridor connections) complete with support brackets for gangways and are the first coaches for N gauge to be fitted with 7mm correct diameter coach wheels. Each coach comes complete with a detailing pack, which includes vacuum pipes, and gangway end covers. Six types are being produced including a Brake Third, Brake First, Corridor Third, Vestibule Third, Corridor First and First/Third Composite. In British Railways days Third Class was re-designated Second Class.

The coaches are being introduced in two liveries, London Midland & Scottish Railway Crimson Lake and British Railways Crimson/Cream. Each coach retails at £15.25.

The coaches are expected to be delivered to dealers in the Summer and compliment the recently introduced Jubilee Class locomotives.

Raw materials cause price increases (26 February 2008)

Bachmann Europe Plc have announced today that due to the rising costs of raw materials it is necessary to increase the price of both Bachmann Branchline and Graham Farish products from 1^st March 2008.

The prices announced by Bachmann last month to coincide with the publication of our 2008 catalogues took into account all predicted price increases including those that that resulted from recent changes to employment law that have recently come into effect in China. It also took into account the stabilisation of raw material costs following major fluctuations and increases during 2007.

However, since the start of 2008, the price of raw materials has started to rise sharply once again. The price of oil used to create our plastic continues to remain extremely high and this week our vendors and brokers for metal items have advised us that our buying prices will be increasing by up to 80%. Other ranges such as Aristocraft, Bachmann Chinese, Liliput and Mehano are also likely to be affected and details will be revised once they are known. For the time being the prices of Underground Ernie, Woodland Scenics and Bachmann America prices remain the same as those published in late January.

David Haarhaus, Sales & Marketing Manager for Bachmann Europe Plc said today “we aim to keep our products priced competitively but the cost of raw materials is completely outside our control and affects everyone in industry. We have attempted to keep increases to a minimum and the additional costs are raw material based as we had allowed for everything else including the changes of employment legislation in China”.

Liliput 2008 programme announced at Nuremburg (13 February 2008)

 Liliput the Bachmann brand for continental models has announced several new models at the World famous Nuremburg Toy Fair.

 Liliput are producing a new electric locomotive the E44 of German Railways (DRG). These locomotives were introduced from 1933. The models will be available in the DRG version in grey livery for Epoch II and green livery for the DB Epoch III version. The prototype locos had a long life and remained in service until the early 1980s. The locos are suitable for both passenger and freight trains.

To go with the E44 locos Liliput are introducing new express carriages in two liveries – the light/dark blue livery carried by the Karwendel Express to operate with the grey DRG E44 and the same carriages in DB green livery will be produced to fit with the DB E44 loco in green livery.

Liliput also announced a DR Class 92 0-8-0T locomotive from Epoch lll and a DB Class 05 4-6-4 locomotive at the event.

To mark the 175th anniversary of the founding of Bachmann, Liliput are introducing a track maintenance train pack comprising of an 0-4-0 diesel locomotive V16.01 in Heitkamp livery plus an open wagon with gravel load, a flat bed wagon with a crane and a closed van for equipment.

The 175th anniversary will also be celebrated in G scale by a beer wagon in the livery of Munich brewer Augustiner Brau. A wagon of this type is in use on the Harz narrow gauge railway.

There are a number of reliveried wagons and carriages covering the Epochs II through to V. In the latest era a red German Railways DB covered wagon for carrying steel coils features a GPS antenna.

Changes to the narrow gauge HOe range this year are limited to the renumbering of various Austrian carriages for both the OBB and Zillertalbahn. 

Bachmann  America release new On30 (12 February 2008)

4-4-0 locomotive

Bachmann USA has released a new Spectrum® On30 Inside Frame 4-4-0 American locomotive. The 4-4-0 configuration was the best-selling and longest-running wheel arrangement of all steam locomotives, first appearing in the late 1830s and seen in service until the end of the steam era. The multipurpose 4-4-0 was stable, quick on rough track, and easy to maintain. As a result, more than 80,000 Americans were built for railroads of all gauges. Bachmann is pleased to offer unlettered 1890s (wood cab) and 1910 – 20s (steel cab) versions "as delivered" from Baldwin, with a variety of paint/livery schemes and multiple-style accessory features that give modellers numerous customisation options.

Features of the locomotive include:

• DCC-equipped for speed, direction, and lighting
• dual-mode decoder with NMRA 8-pin plug for DCC or DC operation
• die-cast cab, boiler, frame, lead truck, drivers, and tender frame
• completely hidden can motor with flywheel and reduction gear box for scale speed operation
• room for speaker
• wood cab and steel cab versions
• wood load, coal load, and oil bunker, plus two stack styles (tapered and cap) included with all versions
• two easily interchangeable pilot styles (footboard and road), plus two lead truck styles (spoked and solid) included with all versions
• photo-etched brass fuel bunker extensions for larger loads
• E-Z Mate® Mark II couplers front and rear

These models are available in the UK from Bachmann dealers. The recommended retail price of all versions in £164.00 and all six versions are currently in stock at Barwell.

New definitions for DCC locomotives (4 February 2008)

With the publishing of the new 2008 Bachmann Branchline and Graham Farish catalogues, Bachmann Europe have taken the opportunity to redefine its descriptions regarding DCC. The term DCC READY has now been dropped as it was causing confusion amongst customers, many of whom assumed that the item had a DCC decoder already fitted. Existing stock will retain any box labelling for the former title until stocks are exhausted.

In the OO Branchline range, locomotives fitted with sound decoders will use the existing DCC SOUND logo whilst those factory fitted with decoders will retain the DCC ON BOARD definition. Locomotives that are factory fitted with decoder sockets will be represented in both the catalogue and the website by either the 8 PIN or 21 PIN symbol denoting which type of decoder can be fitted by removing the blanking plate. Remaining locomotives, which do not have DCC sockets factory fitted, can have DCC decoders fitted by using a soldering iron.

In N gauge two symbols appear. These are the 6 PIN symbol denoting that the chassis has a standard N gauge 6 PIN decoder socket factory installed and can accommodate a 6 PIN socket by removal of the blanking plate. Some locomotives have provision for fitting decoders by soldering to a factory fitted PCB  (printed circuit board). These are identified by the PCB symbol  .

These symbols will also appear in the product section of our Branchline and Graham Farish websites.

Bachmann ‘Manufacturer of the Year - OO’  (4 February 2008)

Bachmann are delighted to be named ‘Manufacturer of the Year - OO’ in the recent Model Rail ‘Model of the Year 2007’ awards run in conjunction with MRE MAG and RM WEB. The company also received awards for the best OO diesel or electric locomotive/unit with the Class 108 topping the poll and the Sealion ballast hopper topping the OO gauge wagon section.

Graham Hubbard, Managing Director Bachmann Europe said today “we are delighted that the Bachmann team’s efforts have been recognised in this way. It is even more rewarding in that the votes have been cast by customers in a joint competition run by the model railway media. We were naturally disappointed that as the leading supplier of N gauge products in the UK that we did not take at least one top spot this year but it is something we hope will be rectified the next time. We have plenty of exciting N gauge introductions due during 2008 and we expect to do much better now that the next generation of N gauge items are coming on stream such as the recently introduced N gauge Jubilee Class locomotive”.

Class 37 Sound locomotives (25 January 2008)

Bachmann Europe Plc has received a number of complaints regarding the recently released sound Class 37 locomotives which some consider to be too quiet. Bachmann reduced the factory setting volume because previously we had received complaints that they were set too loud!

The two recently released examples are 32-380DS No. 37698 ‘Coedbach’ and 32-781DS No. 37-057 ‘Viking’.

Contrary to some rumours now circulating, the volume on these locomotives can be increased by adjusting CV63. The factory setting for these two locomotives was set at 50 but can be adjusted to suit between 0 and 64. The earlier releases of Class 20 and Class 66 locomotives were both factory set to the maximum level of 64.

Bachmann Brassworks Gauge 1 -  03 Class locomotive now available (16 January 2008)

Bachmann Europe Plc has today released its fourth Gauge 1 (1/32^nd scale) electrically powered locomotive, a British Railways Class 03 diesel locomotive.

A total of 228 locomotives were built between 1957 and 1962. They saw service on all regions of British Railways being used mainly for shunting and short distance trip working.  They weighed just 30 tons and so were ideal for use on lines with light axle loadings. The first was withdrawn in 1968 and the last in 1993. A number remain in use on industrial railways in Belgium, Italy and at the UK. A large number have been preserved for use on heritage lines.

The Bachmann Brassworks Gauge 1 locomotives are now available in unlined painted green (BW1077) and blue livery (BW1076) at £635.00. The model will be released later in unpainted brass (BW1075). 

Bachmann Brassworks O Gauge - BR Standard 4MT 2-6-4T enters service

(16 January 2008)

Bachmann Europe Plc has today released it’s O gauge Brassworks BR Standard 4MT 2-6-4T locomotive.

 A total of 155 locomotives were built between 1951 and 1957. They saw service on all regions of British Railways with the exception of the Western Region and were used mainly for branch line and suburban passenger duties.  With the closure of many branch lines and impending dieselisation, the first locomotive was withdrawn in May 1964 and the last in July 1967. Fifteen of the class have been preserved for use on heritage railways.

The Bachmann Brassworks O gauge locomotives are now available in brass finish (BW065) at £817.50 and in unlined painted black (BW066) at £850.00.