Upgraded chassis, DCC sound and new tooling for the Graham Farish N Gauge Class 20 announced

In a surprise announcement ahead of the London Festival of Railway Modelling, Bachmann Europe have revealed an updated N Gauge Class 20 with new body tooling variations, a new chassis with Next18 DCC socket and, for the first time in the Chopper, factory fitted sound.

The Class 20 has been a staple of the Graham Farish range since the first model was released in 1982. A brand new model followed in 2012 following the acquisition of Graham Farish by Bachmann, bringing with it a step change in detail and performance, and now that model is set to see a major upgrade with a brand new chassis incorporating a Next18 decoder socket and a factory fitted speaker.

In addition to the new chassis, new tooling has been developed allowing models of the locomotives originally built for Scotland to be modelled; these had larger cab side windows with recessed bodywork below and the expanded tooling suite allows locomotives to be modelled both with and without the tablet catcher fitted into the recesses, or with the recesses plated flush as occurred in later years.

The first releases of the new and upgraded Class 20/0s will be centred around the locomotives originally built for Scotland including a pair in BR Green, one of which is fitted with a tablet catcher. Two BR Blue machines will be available, both of which retain their cab side recesses, while a final pair wear the iconic ‘Red Stripe’ livery of BR Railfreight – these locomotives had their recesses plated over by the time they received their new colours but still retain the larger cab side windows.

Other detail variations included in the new tooling and upgraded model include original and revised battery boxes, along with disc headcode and numeric/domino headcode boxes.

Alongside the new tooling, the Graham Farish Class 20/0 now benefits from a new chassis and gearbox permitting the reconfiguration of the internal components. This has allowed the model’s technical specification to be upgraded with the addition of a speaker and the Next18 DCC Decoder interface so that the N Scale Class 20/0 can be offered with factory fitted sound for the first time.

Delivery of the new Class 20s is expected in late-2026 with RRP pricing of £169.95 for DCC ready and £279.95 for sound fitted models.

New Tooling EP samples:

Class 20/0 with Disc Headcode & Tablet Catcher fitted

Class 20/0 with Disc Headcode & Tablet Catcher Recess

Existing Tooling with new chassis

Existing tooling original Class 20 with small window & headcode discs

Existing Tooling Class 20 with plated recess, large cabside windows and headcode discs

Existing Tooling Class 20 with plated recess & numeric headcode boxes.

Announced liveries

Model Specifications

MECHANISM:

• Coreless, twin shaft motor with two flywheels providing drive to both bogies

• All axle drive

• Electrical pickup from all wheels

• Diecast metal chassis block

• Gearing arranged for prototypical running speeds and haulage capabilities

• 9mm (N gauge) wheels to NEM310 standards with authentic profile and detailing

• Bogie-mounted coupling pockets to NEM355 standards at each end

• Designed to operate on curves of second radius (263.5mm) or greater

DETAILING:

• High-fidelity, injection-moulded bodyshells with precision engraving and moulding of details such as rivets, panels and bodyside louvres

• Fully detailed bogies incorporating suspension and brake components with separately fitted cab steps, and sandboxes with metal sand pipes

• Separately applied buffers, solebar steps, front grab irons, battery boxes & tanks and chassis pipework

• Etched roof fan grille and metal wire handrails

• Cab interior detailing

• Each model supplied with a full set of model-specific bufferbeam pipework and accessory parts, including a set of open and closed headcode discs where appropriate

LIGHTING:

• Directional lighting, switchable on/off at either end on DCC or Analogue control

• Authentic light colours and temperatures selected for each model based on era and application

DCC:

• Next18 DCC decoder interface

SOUND:

• Speaker installed in all models for optimum sound reproduction

• Zimo MS590N18 DCC Sound Decoder pre-installed in SOUND FITTED versions

• Sound files produced specifically for the Graham Farish Class 20 using recordings from real locomotives

• SOUND FITTED models operate on DCC and Analogue control as supplied

LIVERY APPLICATION:

• Authentic liveries applied to all models

• Multiple paint applications employed on each model using BR/TOC specification colours

• Logos, numerals and text added as appropriate using multi-stage tampo printing process, employing authentic typefaces, logos and colours

For full details visit the Bachmann website.