My Top Three Items That Bachmann Have Ever Made.

[Mountain]

For me, this is a more difficult one because Bachmann seem to have had a higher all-round success when it comes to the construction of the locomotive chassis, and therefore give an overall very good standard.
My main criticism of Bachmann is that while one can forgive their exceptionally high prices when it comes to locomotives as one knows a really good locomotive will at least perform exceptionally well, it seriously puzzles me why their ordinary range of rolling stock has such high priced items that I would never even dare spend that much on a single item. The price for those 4 wheel vans one would expect to be buying a pack of three... As lovely as they are, and I do admit they are lovely things, it is not worth me spending my money if I was still into 00 gauge.
However, I did get to see one of their lovely NG7 locos prior to its official release and, apart from price, it was an excellent loco in all respects.

I would say the other too models that really stood out for me were actually past models, and they were their excellent class 46 and their early class 08's (Mine are all pre-DCC socket examples). Yes, Hornby then upped the detail on the 08 again and yes, Bachmann have probably responded... But the mechanisms in both these locos are brilliant. Yes, as 08's are concerned, even though Bachmanns 08's back then beat them in looks many times over, the Dublo/Wrenn 08 has a mechanism that is so brilliant that one overlooks the rather massive screw flush with the top of its body. But I would say the modern uprated version of the 08 to take off where the old Dublo/Wrenn model had left off was this Bachmann class 08. I am told the newer version could have had a re-tooled body? I have not seen a new version so I can't compare.
The class 46 (Now old tooling) was in my view amazing. I didn't want a class 46 in my B.R. blue collection, but sometimes, one sees something that is so good that one buys it anyway because at least it is the same livery! And I was so impressed I ended up with two so I could switch bodies on a Mainline class 45 as if one removes the extra supporting lugs on the inside of Mainline bodies, they fit straight onto these early Bachmann chassis. And those chassis.... Well... I had to DCC them so they were hard wired, and as part of converting them, I had to find their "Stall current". Would you believe I never could find their stall current as even though I put my body weight on them and some extra half expecting the axles to bend, and I could not get these locos to stall! Their wheels just kept turning! There was nothing like it! Those mechanisms were on another level to anything I had come across before!

So my choice has to be those three models. The first being the NG7 locos I saw that ran so nicely on that rather odd test layout (The check rail was on the wrong side of the track which made me chuckle! No doubt someone will look for a prototype as an excuse! But excellent models though some who have bought them have said they need more weight? Brilliant little things though!)

The class 08's that came out in the early 2000's, and the class 46's that came out a year or two before them.

And no! I am not buying at the current new prices! The new tooled models may give exceptional detail but I have to be responsible these days with what I spend.