New model railway products for every generation

By Peter Pernsteiner 

Model railways stimulate enthusiasts’ imagination even in the nursery, and adults love the sophisticated, realistic sounds of the high-tech models. Grandparents tinker about with fascinating, detailed model railway landscapes that delight all generations. At the Spielwarenmesse 2025, countless locomotives and trains were once again admired and the exhibitors also provided new inspiration with regard to suitable accessories.

To mark the company’s 125th anniversary, Lionel wants to make little girls’ hearts skip a beat. That’s why the well-known American F3/F7 diesel locomotive is being launched with Barbie’s pink colours as a Malibu Express for O gauge with a 32 mm track width. The battery-powered locomotive even has a vaporiser on board, which can be remotely activated, along with sound effects. The train set includes a long passenger car, a freight car and a caboose. The well-known small Thomas locomotive is included as a starter set, with two passenger carriages and an oval track. It, too, has a remote-controlled vaporiser for its chimney and it also comes with three interchangeable fuses for the steam locomotive boiler, whose eyes move merrily when the locomotive runs. Also new in O gauge are, for example, a Hogwarts Express train and the animated film classic Polar Express, which Lionel also brings to life in the somewhat more unusual 52 mm gauge. The 55 cm long tender locomotive also has a water vaporiser on board which makes smoke billow out of its smokestack. The starter set also comes with a plastic oval track with a radius of around 60 cm, two passenger carriages and a Bluetooth remote control, which can also be used to trigger some locomotive sound effects.

Construction fun – not just for children

Lego has also come up with some new products for pre-school children. In this case, two Duplo model railway sets provide some interactive fun. The electrically powered locomotives come with lights and sound effects and can be controlled using coloured tiles in the tracks. The new extension sets include a railway bridge and a railway tunnel, each with a pair of additional tracks. Andy many other manufacturers of interlocking blocks are breathing new life into the model railway world. For example, Cobi’s 66 cm long and 12 cm high 1:35 scale model of the Flying Scotsman express steam locomotive is set to generate some enthusiasm in collectors’ showcases. It’s compatible with Lego railway tracks with rails 38 mm apart, consists of around 2,700 parts, and is 69 cm long when finished. Assembling the display locomotives from BlueBrixx is an even more complex task. The company, which is exhibiting in Nuremberg for the first time ever, is offering the legendary Swiss “Crocodile” on a scale of 1:18. It consists of almost 9,000 parts and is more than a metre long. A new addition is a class 130 diesel locomotive nicknamed Ludmilla and consisting of more than 10,500 parts. 

The Spielwarenmesse also surprised visitors with a wide variety of different kits for decorative railways. Metal Time, for example, has specialised in intricate stainless steel models, whose parts are on laser-cut plates. To assemble them, you generally only need a pair of small pliers and a needle file to remove the tiny fixing lugs. The smallest steam locomotive consists of only 19 parts and, including the tender, is 142 mm long. Likewise from Ukraine is the wooden kit manufacturer Ugears, which has now introduced a new version of the Hogwarts Express, whose laser-cut parts are pre-printed in colour. No glue is needed to assemble the locomotive and passenger carriages. The locomotive also features a spring-loaded mechanism that allows it to travel up to six metres. However, it’s a pity that only the parts for around one metre of track are included. Revell, the model-making kit specialist, has once again launched a new injection-moulded plastic kit for a finely crafted, true-to-scale express steam locomotive. The 284 mm long class S 3/6 steam locomotive with the road number 18 505 was made in 1:87 scale in the 1950s. It consists of 163 individual parts, which have to be glued together and also individually painted.

For the discerning model railway enthusiast

Detailed prototypes of actually moving locomotives and trains in N, TT and H0 gauges could be found at the joint Hornby Hobbies stand. An unpainted prototype of the Italian ETR1000 high-speed train in N gauge (1:160) was showcased under the Arnold brand, which is also used in France and Spain and which will probably run in Germany as of 2026. Interested parties can also order the four variants as a four-part basic set with an optional DCC sound decoder. There are also matching four-part centre car add-on sets. Two-part sets of the Swiss RGP II diesel railcar and sidecar were on display as painted prototypes and also come with an integrated sound decoder on request. An interesting novelty is the contact lighting system integrated in CIWL luxury passenger coaches in H0 gauge (1:87) from Electrotren and Jouef –as well as in the Edelweiss Pullman Express coaches from Rivarossi. Part of the roof of each carriage serves as a sensor surface for activating and controlling the brightness of the interior lighting at the touch of a finger. A buffer memory ensures flicker-free lighting and a memory chip remembers the last operating status of the lighting system for when the model railway is used next. One true showstopper at the Spielwarenmesse was the prototype of the Italian express steam locomotive Gr. 685, which Rivarossi intends to supply in three variants.

Renowned RC model manufacturer Kyosho delighted visitors to Nuremberg with a pre-painted sample of the Shinkansen Max from the E4 series in H0 scale 1:87. This double-decker high-speed train is made entirely of brass in Tokyo by the manufacturer KTM, which was taken over in 2024. The basic set comprises two power cars, each 30 cm long, and two centre cars, each 29 cm long. An optional four-part centre car extension set is also available. It’s not clear whether and when this train will be available in Europe because the company is still looking for sales partners.

A variety of new products from the market leader

At its large exhibition stand, Märklin once again unveiled countless new items in five scales. New designs in Z scale (1:220) include the 50.5 mm short, class E60 shunting electric locomotive and the class 628.2 diesel railcar, which has been used in local transport since 1987. Under the Minitrix brand, a 60 mm short three-axle steam locomotive with sound generator is being launched for the first time in 1:160 scale (B gauge). A short tender for the classic class 01 steam locomotive was presented as a new design. Also new is the 103 mm long class 110.3 electric locomotive with its distinctive “Pants Crease” on its front. In the popular 1:87 scale (H0), all of the new developments come in a version for Märklin three-wire track as well as for Trix brand two-wire track. The well-known class E 95 locomotive was unveiled in late autumn as the manufacturer’s very first H0 model with integrated buffer storage for power bridging when running on heavily soiled track. The class 249 Dual Mode Vectron dual-power locomotive also features an electrically lifting pantograph and operates with either diesel or electric locomotive sound depending on the position of the pantograph. Other new electric locomotives include the modern class 186 and the two Swiss-based locomotives of the Ae 6/8 and Re 4/4 II series. The model of the class V 60 diesel shunting locomotive with electric Telex coupler, which has undergone repeated updates over the decades, has been completely redesigned. Like all other new designs, the 135 mm short, delicately detailed “pig’s snout” diesel railcar also has an energy buffer. If you prefer to place a modern diesel railcar on your layout, you may be delighted with the Regio Shuttle RS1 of the 650 series.

Märklin is also dedicating itself to a special theme in all three gauges with corresponding special model variants: the 175th anniversary of the “Geislinger Steige” steep railway ramp, which is situated between the company headquarters in Göppingen and Ulm, i.e. a rather mountainous region in Germany. There are also some fascinating innovations in the large 45 mm gauge railway models. For example, Märklin is now putting the well-known Red Arrow electric express railcar from Switzerland on 1 gauge track. The 70 cm long model on a scale of 1:32 with a prototype from the 1930s corresponds to the modernised version still in use today. Although it was still on show in Nuremberg as a prototype made from 3D printed parts, it will be made from die-cast zinc and investment cast brass and is expected to weigh 5.6 kilograms. The Shay forest railway steam locomotives from the USA are spectacular models with visible technology. One of these comes under the LGB brand for garden railway tracks, also with a 45 mm gauge, but with significantly higher track profiles. The 67 cm long narrow gauge locomotive comes in three versions. Like the prototype, it has an open three-cylinder engine on the side and an elaborate Cardan joint system to drive the three bogies in accordance with the prototype. As well as realistic digital sound effects and a smoke generator, the die-cast zinc and investment cast brass model also has an electrically operated replica of the bell to match the sound for the first time. Another new LGB design is a baggage car for the Zittau narrow gauge railway.
Watch the interview with Reinhard Reindl, Märklin: Neuheiten 2025 (German with English subtitles)
 

Model railway accessories

If you want to create a realistic setting for your trains at the railway station, you will, of course, need appropriate lighting. The small series manufacturer Beli-Beco offers new wooden mast lights for platforms and station forecourts in all common scales between 1:160 and 1:22.5. There are tiny table lamps in these scales to enhance dining carriages. There were also many building models on display in Nuremberg - especially in 1:87 scale. For example, Faller recently presented a 404 mm long modern electric locomotive shed with motorisable double-leaf gates. The kit consists of 186 parts, which are produced in seven colours and so don't have to be painstakingly painted after assembly. For fans of Claas agricultural machinery, there is a large workshop building and, to liven up the theme of technical relief organisations, both a base building and a few vehicles of the German Technical Relief Agency (THW) are available. The Faller Car System allows them to run automatically through the model railway world. Anyone who loves modernity will also find what they are looking for at Faller, as the company now offers a charging station for e-cars and another building model based on the well-known German prefabricated house brand WeberHaus.
Watch the interview with Andreas Braun, Faller: Neue Modelle 2025
[German with English subtitles]

Building model railway layouts calls for a lot of imagination and an appropriate substructure - especially if everything doesn’t take place on one surface. If you want to dare to build a large three-dimensional layout, you should take a look at the new St Andreas Easy-Track track construction kit from NOCH. It contains laser-cut wooden panels and no less than 74 support elements for a 220 x 161 cm H0 layout with support pillars 7.1 to 16.5 cm high. To liven up the layouts, NOCH has introduced new accessory sets and figure groups under the motto Funny-Scenes. If you want to bring buildings to life inside too, figure theme worlds are ideal, as they also contain the matching furniture. The manufacturer‘s modelling highlight is the kit for Linderhof Castle. The model consists of 1,007 laser-cut cardboard parts plus 113 intricately detailed 3D printed parts. It measures 463 mm x 412 mm when fully assembled and also includes an 8-part figure group with King Ludwig II of Bavaria. 
Watch the interview with Sebastian Topp, NOCH: About the Linderhof Castle kit and Easy Track (German with English subtitles)

About the author

Peter Pernsteiner (graduate engineer and freelance journalist) discovered his love of technical journalism during his electrical engineering studies and soon after found himself in the editorial department of a large ITC trade journal. Since 1994, he has been a freelance journalist, writing in particular on technology topics – including for magazines in the model railway sector. In 2016, he also launched a YouTube channel for technology reports, which has since attracted worldwide attention.