Bachmann chose the London Festival of Railway Modelling to reveal plans for new models of the BR 12 Ton ‘Palvan’ Pallet Van to be developed for the Bachmann Branchline range.

This will be the first time models of these distinctive vehicles in OO Scale, with several variants of Engineering Prototypes being available for inspection during the Festival.

Included in the new range will be models that depict differences that resulted from coming from different build lots and modifications during their service lives.

The wagons were originally built with Morton brakes, acting on four wheels with an associated tie-bar and oil axleboxes.

Later wagons had eight shoe clasp brakes, some being fitted with oil axle boxes and others having roller bearings. Both combinations will be available in the new models.

The buffers are metal, of the spindle, self-contained or OLEO type, and variations in wheels include disc, three-hole disc, spoked or split-spoked, but all are of metal construction. Where appropriate advertising boards are included.

All models are extremely detailed, with individual parts, including door hold-open brackets, handrails and chalkboards on each side and end.

The buffer beams feature separate lamp brackets, vacuum pipe brackets, and coupling hooks.

A full complement of brake gear is included in the chassis, and for those wagons fitted with eight-shoe clasp brakes, there are optional brake pulls and safety loops.

Standard tension lock couplings are fitted via NEM pockets, but vacuum brake pipe and instanter couplings are available as optional accessories.

Details of livery variants, prices, and availability will be made in the Summer 2024 instalment of British Railway Announcements at the start of May.

Last November, Bachmann announced that it was planning to release 150 new models over the coming months, which included Class 31 locomotives that were announced in February.

Our British Railway Announcements programme has been very successful since we adopted this strategy in 2020, providing our customers and consumers with concise information about new products, their price, and availability from the very outset.

Notwithstanding this success, it is important for any business to listen to feedback and act upon it, and we recognise that some of our customers and consumers would appreciate a little longer between the announcement and release of some new products to help them plan their future purchases.

This is particularly relevant when it comes to new tooling projects, which will come as a total surprise, as opposed to re-runs and re-liveries of existing tooling that are somewhat more predictable when you consider that Bachmann strives to maintain a broad and coherent product range.

We recognise that ad-hoc announcements like this can burden our valued retailers and their human resources, and therefore we will continue to use the British Railway Announcements mechanism to reveal details such as item numbers, livery variants, pricing and availability for these new tooling products.

It is important to stress that such products may not be delivered within the usual three-month period following their initial unveiling, but at the time of inclusion in a British Railway Announcements clear availability information will be provided and any changes to this will be communicated via the Bachmann website as is already our policy.

Richard Proudman, Rail Brand Manager for Bachmann Europe