2019 Official Announcements

[steakandcake]

I wouldn't say that we will NEVER get another new mold in HO. Maybe since next year is the 75th anniversary, we'll get a nice surprise. (Even though I'm only expecting Original Thomas.) I actually predicted that 'Arry and Bert would get discontinued this year. Not surprised really. I'm really excited for the new Flat Car and open wagons. We haven't gotten an open wagon since Troublesome Truck #4 (FIVE YEARS AGO).

[TerencetheTractor525]

I absolutely love the look of the new flat car with logs. The fact the new HO stock already has final images is pretty unusual, but great at the same time, as it means that they may get released sooner than usual.

I'm a little surprised that the narrow gauge carriages are not presented with concept art images too. Still dying to know if the carriages will be made in two different toolings!

Lastly, why is the switch tower in the catalog, but not the resin signal box?

[Streak]

I wouldn't say that we will NEVER get another new mold in HO. Maybe since next year is the 75th anniversary, we'll get a nice surprise. (Even though I'm only expecting Original Thomas.) I actually predicted that 'Arry and Bert would get discontinued this year. Not surprised really. I'm really excited for the new Flat Car and open wagons. We haven't gotten an open wagon since Troublesome Truck #4 (FIVE YEARS AGO).

Yeah, saying we'll NEVER getting another new mold in HO is a little extreme. I'm sure someday we'll be able to get more from HO Scale but just right now it just wasn't the right time.

Makes sense for Arry and Bert to get the axe. I would be upset since I haven't gotten them yet but considering as I'm thinking of switching over to the N Scale range, I'm fine with them getting discontinued (I'm just hoping they'll be made in the N Scale range eventually)

I'm fine with most of the HO rolling stock. The Flat Car is cool, Gordon's Coaches will be great, the Coal Co. Wagon and the Scrap Co. Wagon look nice, but honestly I'm not on board with the Mining Wagon. That just looks dumb honestly. Still, it's better than nothing at all. Also, Red Rosie looks cool. Glad she'll have her lamp.

Hopefully we'll see all 4 ranges get new announcements next year but who knows.

[Chaz]

I wouldn't say that we will NEVER get another new mold in HO. Maybe since next year is the 75th anniversary, we'll get a nice surprise. (Even though I'm only expecting Original Thomas.) I actually predicted that 'Arry and Bert would get discontinued this year. Not surprised really. I'm really excited for the new Flat Car and open wagons. We haven't gotten an open wagon since Troublesome Truck #4 (FIVE YEARS AGO).

Yeah, saying we'll NEVER getting another new mold in HO is a little extreme. I'm sure someday we'll be able to get more from HO Scale but just right now it just wasn't the right time.

Keep in mind that I did also mention in my post that we could be in for a surprise in 2020, but for the last couple of years we have been getting nothing but re-colors, and it doesn't seem that likely to me that we would get new ones anytime soon considering their track record in recent years.  Clearly pricing and manufacturing has become more costly and that's going to be more of a factor in what gets announced than anything else.

[Kemptown Branch]

I am slightly disappointed that there are no pictures of the N scale stuff, but it makes sense because their still determining the sizes. It's probably why there aren't any prices either.

[mulfred-100]

Well Red Rosie looks decent, nice detailing on Bachmann's part with the lamp. The logging wagon looks really nice I will definitely be buying a couple of those. The other open wagons I'm not too excited about really. The scrap wagon is basically a copy and paste off Hornby. I prefer the original coal wagon and can't really tell about the mining wagon until I see a higher resalution image. The Narrow Guage coaches again I'm not too suprised we haven't had an image of these yet. I noticed the other day they were added to the website with no image so yeah. Arry and Bert getting the boot again isn't a surprise to me really. I agree that we will likely see original Diesel and Rosie go next. Lastly N Scale. My prediction is that Bachmann will release the new HO items and Rusty first then work on the N Scale range to at least have something to show by the end of the year. Might even be next year, we have all seen Bachmann likes to take their time to try to get things right so don't be too shocked if we are still waiting next February when we are discussing next year's possible products. We are a year down the line and still not narrow gauge coaches and look how long Oliver took.

[TrainFan97]

It's nice that Red Rosie even has the lamp. Bachmann needs to post her high-resolution image on the website soon. Red Rosie should be shipping this summer.

Paxton still has his prototype image in the catalog, which is really strange. 'Arry and Bert are finally discontinued, since they didn't sell very well. What killed 'Arry and Bert's sales was the fact that their faces were too similar, with the only difference being Bert having slightly more stubble. Now, 'Arry and Bert have joined Salty as the next engines to get discontinued. I expect the NEXT engines that will get axed will be original Diesel and Rosie, now that we have Grumpy Diesel, and Red Rosie is on the horizon.

At least the HO Flatbed with Logs is still gray. The new open wagons are okay, but the mining one looks dumb. The HO Explosives Van still isn't coming this year, and it's long overdue. We really need the Explosives Van in 2020. Maybe even the Chocolate Syrup and Toffee Tankers in HO Scale as well. There's no excuse not to make them, since Bachmann can easily repaint toolings.

The exact scale for the N Scale models hasn't even been determined yet, so we have to wait a bit longer until we get more info. We don't know their prices yet either. Still no images of the Narrow Gauge Coaches.

[Anthony P2]

A few things i wanted to bring up:

1.) Like what Chaz said about new toolings...we might be in for a surprise for 2020! I know I've mentioned it recently with the NG line, Bachmann could have new toolings already in the works so they are able to release things within the year they are announced. Rusty was announced in 2017. still no Rusty and no coaches. I think Bachmann wanted to focus on new products for the NG line and now with the N scale line which is probably why there has been a lack of new tooled items.

2.) I was kind of surprised they kept Rosie in her original livery on the roster, as well as Diesel with his happy face. The rolling stock announced look like nice pieces and I'm kind of surprised this hasn't been done before.

3.) As we've noticed, prices have indeed gone up, but a few things still remain the same price as last year, like the resin buildings, the windmill, and the lighthouse, just to name a few.  

4.) Things that were discontinued: (As said previously) Arry and Bert. I wasn't too surprised but i was surprised at the resin signal box being discontinued.

5.) There are also updated pictures of Annie and Clarabel

Maybe next year we"ll see some new toolings in a few of the product lines!

[Rickenbacker 325]

Any one else notice the yellow stripes on the Express Coaches?? I thought I saw them in the video from the Toy Fair but thought I was just seeing things! Fingers crossed that there is the yellow stripe. If so, looks like I am getting another set of 3 coaches and 1 brake coach!

[mulfred-100]

In going through the catalogue I noticed the only large scale set that is still available is the starter set with Percy. Both the Thomas set and Christmas set have also been discontinued. Another blow for large scale.

[BassTbone]

I am pretty happy with what we got this year.  If you can remember, Bachmann said that they have to sell things they know will sell well.  It is a time where technology is really ruining kids and keeping them glued to the screen.  That being said, Bachmann did say Thomas helps their market for toolings and since the Thomas stuff sells well for them, they got to be careful with what they invest in. 

I feel bad for all those people who paid lots of money for Gordon's coaches and the flatbeds. Usually stock images means its done with tooling and decorated sample stage and now its in manufacturing. 

Looking forward to n gauge.  Tomix has gone down in quality with the recent re-release and Bachmann stuff always runs well.  While I know there aren't any sets for n this year, it seems like they are testing the waters and seeing how it sells first.  As someone who has dove into HO/OO/N and OO9, N was great because it allowed for longer trains, more track and less space.  I remember having a great set up with the KATO track I bought and it was only in a space of 3'x5'.  I never wanted a big Thomas layout, but a portable N layout seems fun.  ALSO there are companies who make modules strictly to fit n gauge set ups called T-Traks.  Model Railroader did them and it looks like it would be a GREAT way for a Thomas model club to start. 

Here are some examples:





You can put these together to form layouts too:


Just some food for thought. 

[Cheeky_ULP]

Looks like my predictions for the wagon decals turned out to be correct. Shame that none of them are a hopper though, and I'm a little disappointed that both the Mining Wagon and Coal Co. Wagon have the same coal load, a load that has been in the range for awhile, no less. For anyone who missed out on the original coal wagon though, I'm sure these will be worth it.

Pleasantly surprised to see the Log Wagon is the Flatbed, I'll definitely be getting a bunch of those. Might rub off the Logging Co. decal though.

Surprised to see Red Rosie actually has the lamp, so it's good to see Bachmann took an extra effort there.

On the opposite end of surprises, I am not at all surprised to see Arry and Bert discontinued; they really missed the mark with Arry and Bert, and I firmly believe that if they had model era faces instead of identical CGI faces, it would've made a world of a difference in sales from the "hardcore fans." Maybe an idea to consider for the future, Bachmann?

I -am- surprised that the Signal Box is discontinued though. I guess Bachmann decided enough people purchased the last run and that another run might just end up as shelf warmers.

Slightly disappointed that we have no renders of the N Scale Thomas stock yet, but hopefully that'll be rectified in the coming months.

Once again, prices have gone up quite tremendously. It seems year after year Mattel is demanding more money for the Thomas license, and prices continue to rise over 200% than they were just a bit less than a decade ago. There isn't much of a reason for this beyond Mattel, which is a bit of a joke when they're continually losing money.

[TrainFan97]

'Arry and Bert would've had much better sales if they just had the model series faces, but no. They had to have identical CGI faces. Talk about wasted potential. It would really be nice that if 'Arry and Bert do come back someday, or they get made in N Scale, they would at least have different faces from one another. Model series faces seem farfetched at this point, but they can still have CGI faces. Just make them different next time. It would help their sales in the long run. Maybe give them different "naughty" or "grumpy" expressions. If 'Arry and Bert eventually get made in N Scale, they must NOT have the same faces they had in HO Scale, and they should be different from one another. I think 'Arry had a bit too much stubble, or Bert had too less. Bert needs noticeably more stubble.

[plas man]

I was wondering if Bachmann has taken the Tomix  Thomas range over for N scale
if so lets hope it is re-scaled .

plas man

[sean1994rail]

My views on the new products:

Red Rosie: The vibrant and bright cherry red livery stands out very well, and the headlamp is an added bonus. Huge improvement over the Lavender variant, though the lavender version still looks good in it's own right! Be definitely buying it! 10/10!

Blue Mining Wagon with Load: I was unimpressed with the tooling used for this wagon, that being a 7 plank wagon, not to mention using the same coal load as the two coal wagons! Would consider buying it if it was a hopper wagon with a slate or ballast load. 4/10.

Sodor Coal Co. Wagon with load: Not much to say about it, but nice company banner on the wagon 9/10.

Sodor Scrap Co. Wagon: Bachmann has done wonders making their own version of a product their rival has made, though I would have like to have it include a scrap load since the other new wagons do. Regardless, I would recommend this product, though it's a shame Iron Arry and Iron Bert are discontinued this year as this wagon would be suitable for them and would really boost their sales! 9.5/10.

Sodor Logging Company Flat Wagon with Loads: Kudos to you Bachmann for bringing back a much requested piece of rolling stock! the log loads look amazing! and you kept the flatbed's original grey livery. Well done Bachmann! Be getting a few of these no question! 10/10!