Model Train Production News

[RobertInOntario]

Coming from the UK, its interesting to see the difference between Bachmann US and Bachmann UK. From what I can gather Bachmann has been around for a fair while in the US market and has been known for cheap and cheerful. In the UK they have been around for less time but now are pretty much the top end RTR manufacurer when it comes to range and quality and accuracy. Its almost like there has been no communication between the design teams (there probably hasn't).
I do get the impression that Bachmann US has stepped up a gear, and it will be interesting to see if they assault the market in the same way as the UK. If so, be prepared for some nice models and for rarer prototypes to get miniaturised.

I agree with this. Bachmann Europe seems to make some highly accurate & well-made locos. They're very high-end & well detailed and yet very affordable, especially when compared to similar North American models. For example, most Bachmann models of British steam locos cost anywhere from $80 to about $220 (depending on the loco model), yet I've seen models of Canadian steam locos (made by other manufacturers) going for $800 to $2,000. I still can't figure out why this is.

It's possible that these Canadian models (of Northerns & Hudsons, that cost in the thousands) are so high-end that I'm not comparing apples with apples.