Taking a look at the Bachmann trains 2025 catalog

 Model train catalog season is here, and alongside Lionel, Bachmann trains has also showed off their new catalog for the 2025 season. 

While I'm not going to go over everything that's in the catalog, I do want to go over most of the new stuff, and just things in general that I found interesting. 

Starting off the catalog is the Christmas trains that Bachmann offers, and I honestly have a soft spot for them. I can't help but get into a Christmas mood whenever I see the red and green train sets alongside the Christmas themed cars that come with them. 

One of those sets being the "Scout Elf express", featuring the Elf on the Shelf. 

While the catalog says this set is new, it was featured in the 2024 one. Still glad to see the set is available and being released, as I do like the look of it, and get a kick out of seeing "the world's tiniest elf on the shelf" ride in one of the gondola cars. May want to put some tape under the little fellas butt though as I got a feeling he could fall out of the car easily. 

While the elf on the shelf set isn't new, the old time coaches, caboose, and 4-4-0 are. 

This is a really nice welcome to the Bachmann Christmas lineup. I'm a huge fan of the old time steam trains and carriages, so to see Bachmann release a Christmas line up was nice. It's also nice to those who want a train set similar to the Department 56 Heritage village express, which is a train set made by Bachmann. 

You know on that note Bachmann it would be nice if you and Department 56 would collab again...

The other two new items in Bachmann's HO Christmas train line are a "Clauses Coal Mine" hopper and a 50 plug door boxcar for "Santa's Bakery." 

In N scale there's a Hi-cube boxcar for toys, and a tank car for eggnog. 

Bachmann's ON30 (AKA narrow gage trains that can run on HO, but are more in scale with O), a 2-6-0 steam locomotive and an animated box car with reindeer bobbing their heads back and forth. 

 Every year Bachmann has something in store for fans of Thomas the Tank Engine, and this year was no different. Bachmann is releasing an 80th anniversary set, with Thomas looking as he did in his debut of the railway series books. 

One other thing that stood out to me in the Thomas section was the new figures and cars. Sir Topham hats car, Bulgy the Bus, and Thomas and Friend figures will be coming out for those who want to add them to their Thomas the Tank Engine layout.  

After Thomas, we have Bachmann's Ringling Bros section, where they have the train set "Circus Spectacular", EMD F7 diesel carrying a box car, a flat car with two containers, and a caboose. 

Bachmann also has a Ringling Bros USRA 0-6-0 Steam locomotive, a popcorn butter thank car, a 72 smooth side generator car, and a silver and red stock car. 

I do think the new steam engine Bachmann has in the Ringling Bros set looks nice, though I do wish they could put it in a set. Bachmann did have a Ringling Bros steam train set at one point, but that set is no longer offered. 

Credit where credit is due though, I love the paint scheme on the "Circus Spectacular" set. 

While it's not new, I do have to give Bachmann props for continuing to offer the Southern Pacific Daylight passenger train set. The Train set looks amazing and I hope they do the same with the Norfolk and Western J-Class and New York Dreyfuss Hudson. 

Speaking of the Dreyfuss Hudson, pictures of the actual model of the train are featured in the catalog this year. The Train looks amazing and the price of $549 feels too good to be true. 

One page before that we get a look at Bachmann's Baldwin EM 1-2-8-8-4 steam locomotive. This engine was announced during the 2024 mid-year announcements. 

The Daylight passenger train set isn't the only thing Bachmann is doing with the GS 4-4-8-4, as they've now added The Freedom Train scheme and the black BNSF scheme. I'm glad to see these return, as I do recall Bachmann selling these before, but they stopped offering them for some time. 

Not entirely new, but I just want to give Bachmann props for the smooth sided streamline cars, especially with the Norfolk and Western. 

Don't get me wrong, I love me some good heavyweight cars, but I'm a sucker for the smooth sided cars, and I've been wanting to see Bachmann do the ones for Norfolk and Western for quite some time now, even more so when the cars appeared in their N-scale line. 

Anther thing I'd like to see is good old Strasburg Railroad get some representation in the HO scale line, and while Bachmann hasn't released a Strasburg steam engine yet, they have announced a 1900s era passenger car with Strasburg's name on it. 

The final HO scale item that caught my attention was the auto carrier cars. 

Anther item from the mid-year announcements, all's I ask is that Bachmann make the cars that come with the auto carriers look halfway decent. 

Going into N-scale is a new line of trains that sounds interesting: HOn30. 

From what I understand, these are trains that run on N scale track, but are more in scale to be HO, sort of like how On30 is HO trains that are in scale with O Gauge. 

Speaking of On30, I do appreciate Bachmann giving us a bit more selection with the scale this year, as we have 3 train sets in "East Broad Top-Rockhill Limited", East Broad Top-Fright" and "White Pass & Yukon". 

I know On30 is kind of an obscure scale, but it would be nice to see more train sets of the scale (that aren't from Bradford Exchange.) 

In G scale Bachmann is continuing to role out diesel engines with GE dash 9 locomotives and EMD GP40 locomotives as well. 

They also have 2 street car trolly's that look pretty cool. 

In rolling stock, Bachmann now has 53' Evans boxcars and single dome tank cars. 

I overall do like the fact that Bachmann is adding more stuff to their G-scale line in terms of modern diesels. For the longest time Bachmann's G scale line was basically steam trains and logging trains, so it's nice to see them expand in that area. 

I wish I could say the same for Williams, which is Bachmann's O scale line. Maybe it's a case of stretching themselves too thin, but Bachmann really hasn't done much with the O scale line in recent years, outside of keeping the E-Z street cars alive. 

To be fair, I do like the idea of cars moving on layouts as opposed to just sitting there looking pretty, but it's gonna take a lot more then a line of cars that originally came from Lionel's K-Line (which is now gone) to keep the William brand above water...

Overall I did think this years catalog was pretty good. Sure, there wasn't too many new things in there, but to be fair the stuff the big stuff that Bachmann announced last year is just making it's way out, and I wouldn't be surprised if they have anymore big plans in the pipeline.