[neil_s_wood]

I think it's a step in the right direction. I have to admit with the quantity and variety of coaches available it is good to have a guide for what goes with what. If your like me and were not born when a lot of these locos and coaches were in everyday use then it is necessary. I suppose you can just run any coach with any loco but for us pedants out there we just have to do the right thing.

When you have different style Hornby Pullmans from Bachmann ones you are left wondering "whats the difference"? Same with the BR ones. A lot of people just don't know and I'm one of them. It may be one is older than the other but it would be nice to know. The problem is having differing Eras and periods which are not compatible. In the German catalogues they all comply to the same system. All note which Era's the loco or whatever belongs to. An across the board standard would be the best idea rather than just inventing your own.

QUOTE the above effort suggests that the boys at Bachmann have some spare time on their hands suggesting models will be here later rather than sooner! If they do have spare time on their hands I'm sure we could compose a list of suggestions. My first would be making their Pullman coach light bulbs compatible with DCC. I"m sure there would be many more.

 

[neil_s_wood]

QUOTE And it sounds like a way of further padding out a catalogue and charging more for it!

Do many people still buy catalogues?

I haven't bought a British one in five years as there doesn't seem to be all that many changes and there is very little new information. I tend to look at their websites now for new stuff. If this is an attempt to bulk out a catalogue I don't think it will convince many to buy for this reason.

 

[neil_s_wood]

QUOTE The problem is, saying that all 1957-1966 stock is Era 5 will just confuse people. Hornby give the catalogue numbers of suitable stock to run with locos- so that you run SR Coaches with SR Locos, NSE 50s with NSE Mk. 2s etc.

Agreed completely. Hornbys method is probably the best and would be one that other manufacturers would benefit from using.