Graham Farish in 2006

Graham Farish have announced What's New for 2006.

• BR 3MT Standard 2-6-2 Tank
• LMS Jubilee
• Class 04 Diesel Shunter
• Class 150 DMU
• LMS Stanier coaches (5 types)
• OBA Open
• Bogie Bolster "C"
• TTA 4-wheel Oil Tank
• POA Open "box"
• 12t Ventilated Van
• "Seacow" bogie ballast wagon
• New 40' and 20' containers for the freightliner flat

On paper (or electrons), it's an impressive list. But when you consider that many of the promised 2005 items have yet to materialise, it makes we wonder when, or perhaps even if, we'll see all these items. Past experience has made me cynical; the class 60 locomotive has been in the catalogue for something like three years, and the 66 took almost the same length of time to appear before Dapol forced their hand.

Some of them are predictable shrinkings of their 00 range. I find the TTA particularly welcome; the existing Peco model is getting very long in the tooth now, and isn't available in any modern liveries.

One can't help but notice that several items, including the 04, the 150, the Stanier coaches and the Seacow were once proposed by Dapol, and I can only assume this is payback for the 66. Dapol have since announced that they're going to abandon these models in the light of the Farish announcements. It's also been said that they'd done little or no work so far on them, so haven't wasted a lot of money.