◆GAUGE ‘OO’ ◆MODEL Bachmann Branchline 32-341 BR Class 25/2 D5282 two-tone green ◆PRICE £199.95 ◆AVAILABILITY Bachmann stockists Web www.bachmann.co.uk

Bachmann’s all-new Class 24, which appeared in 2022, offered a significant uplift on its previous iteration of the popular Sulzer Type 2, despite the mid-Noughties original being an excellent model for its time.Owing to popular demand, Bachmann also revealed its intention to fully revamp its range of Class 25s. After years of rising anticipation, the first versions began to arrive in May.

As reported on page 8, there are several versions of the new Class 25 on the horizon, across the ‘25/1’, ‘25/2’ and ‘25/3’ sub-classes, in BR green, two-tone green and Rail blue liveries. There’s an impressive array of prototype and period ‐specific detail across the range, with each available in DCC-ready, DCC sound and DCC sound deluxe formats, the latter boasting the addition of motorised radiator fans and tinted windscreens.

Our sample depicts D5282 (later 25132) in original two-tone green with small yellow warning panels. The prototype was built at Derby in 1964, a fact confirmed by the intricately printed builder’s plates on alternate cab sides.

LOOKS ARE IMPORTANT

While I was happy enough with my sizeable collection of Bachmann ‘25s’ from the original tooling, there were certain areas that didn’t quite ‘nail’ the character of the real locomotives, especially around the windscreens. Furthermore, there were certain period-specific differences that were not observed, so a few of my models have been modified to varying degrees.