TURBOSTARS AND TWENTIES HEADLINE THE SUMMER 2026 BRITISH RAILWAY ANNOUNCEMENTS
Our Summer 2026 British Railway Announcements have just landed (Wednesday 6th May 2026) bringing together new tooling projects for both the Graham Farish N scale and Bachmann Branchline OO scale range alongside a host of new additions to the N and OO scale ranges.
In N scale the Class 20/0 Diesel Locomotives hit the headlines in March when new tooling options were announced along with upgrades to provide SOUND FITTED capabilities for the first time. The new tooling paves way for models of the locomotives built for use in Scotland, with their large cab side windows and bodyside recesses, to be produced in N scale, meanwhile a new chassis incorporating a Next18 DCC decoder socket and pre-fitted speaker allows SOUND FITTED models to be offered and this new chassis will be rolled out across the existing range of Graham Farish Class 20/0s for future production runs.
Joining the Class 20s this Summer is a selection of Graham Farish freight stock including the popular Conflat wagons complete with ‘Birds Eye’ branded containers, four new versions of the humble BR 12 Ton ventilated vans and the return of the impressive HTA coal hopper wagons for the modern scene.
In OO scale the new Bachmann Branchline Class 170s and 171s are undoubtedly the stars of the Summer and the brand new models of these Turbostar DMUs broke cover ahead of Model World LIVE at the end of April. The first releases cover the Class 170s as they entered service with Midland Mainline through to current operations with Cross Country, ScotRail and East Midlands Railway, while a 2-car Class 171 is the starting point for models of Southern’s Turbostars.
The steam enthusiast is not overlooked either, and three popular classes return to the Branchline range with new versions of the Peppercorn A1 and A2 Class Pacifics joining the top link this Summer, the former depicting new-build No. 60163 ‘Tornado’ in its eye-catching Apple Green colour scheme.
Moving from Pacifics to Moguls and Ivatt’s ‘Mickey Mouse’ 2MT 2-6-0s are back with a trio of preserved locomotives on offer including No. 46521 in its BR Lined Green livery, as it appeared when it played ‘Blossom’ in the BBC sitcom ‘Oh Doctor Beeching!’ more than thirty years ago.
New rolling stock for OO scale also has a freight theme for Summer 2026 as the BR plywood ventilated vans and the LNER fruit vans both make a comeback, the former appearing in the usual BR Bauxite livery options along with an attractive Departmental scheme of green with black and yellow wasp stripes. The PCA ‘Metalair’ bulk power wagons round up the new Branchline additions this quarter and three models will be available, each with a weathered finish including a pair with Freightliner Heavy Haul markings.
The Scenecraft range of hand painted, full finished buildings, structures and accessories is being bolstered with the return of several popular and useful N scale items including the Servicing Point, the Depot Mess Room and Toilet, and a trio of walls and gates packs amongst others. It is a similar theme for OO scale as buildings such as the Station Café, Wigmore Watermill with its matching Race and Gate, and the Low Relief Underground Station return to the range for Summer 2026.
EFE Road’s 1:76 scale diecast buses are ideal for use alongside OO scale model railways and today the brand revealed new models of the Daimler Fleetline DMS. The models take advantage of EFE Road’s updated tooling and feature the early style front end for the first time. Four models will be finished in London Transport liveries, joined by a fifth depicting a DMS that found a second use as a Brighton Corporation Driver Training vehicle.
Finally for this quarter, as 2026 marks the 75th anniversary of Dennis the Menace, EFE Road has joined up with D C Thompson to produce the officially licensed ‘Dennis on a Dennis’ Dennis Dart and this special collectors model is decorated with authentic Dennis and Gnasher artwork.
The new products revealed today feature in the Summer 2026 British Railway Announcements Catalogue which is published in the Bachmann Times, the official magazine of the Bachmann Collectors Club. All these models can be purchased from Bachmann retailers around the UK and worldwide and you can find your nearest retailer here.
