The new product guide for Broadway Limited is here! Lots of new stuff including a T1, F units, and SD70ACes and ES44ACs. http://www.broadway-limited2.com/ProductGuide2016-17/ Not sure how I feel about another manufacturer offering SDs and GEVOs. While I'm glad someone else is offering them, I was pretty set on Kato SD70ACes and FVM ES44ACs. Hopefully the sound and added details will be good and worth the price tag.
Not sure that they have made a good decision. Repeating previous releases at almost 3 times the cost seems a bit of a long shot.
Neither Kato or FVM to my knowledge come with sound already installed. Most people that want sound in there n-scale locos would rather have it already installed.
The T1 is the only real standout for me; that's on my gotta-have-it list for sure. I wish that they were doing the as-built version, but oh well. I'll buy at least one regardless. Maybe this is a sign of things to come, and they'll scale down a few more of the steamers they offer in HO? I'm hoping for the J1 next, or the I1sa. Both also ran with huge tenders that BLI should have no trouble fitting their sound equipment into, though I still wish that were optional.
From the posts I read...those buying them with sound already installed...they are pulling the factory sound decoder and cheap speaker out and installing better sound.
Yep , every Bachmann sound value loco I bought got a much better sound decoder . Even my BLW M1's got new Tsunami 2 decoders . But then I may be pickier than average......
The people on these forums = a very small percentage of the people modeling n-scale. I am quite happy with my factory installed sound decoders and like most feel it's a waste to change them for a little improvement.
These new engines are supposed to have the new Paragon 3 sound system. The AC6000CW is due this winter and it is supposed to feature Paragon 3. Hopefully it'll be good because I'd rather stick with my non sound engines and add sound then having to rip out and replace factory sound. From videos I've watched, the Cetipedes sound a lot better than the E units and PAs so it seems like BLI is improving their sound.
Super excited for the T1. I don't mind the redundant ACEs and GEVOs but it seems silly they almost only doing heritage schemes. The Fs look good, never enough Fs.
Looking at this reminds me of looking at a sports car catalogue. Lots of cool stuff, but nothing I could ever have. Does BLI only consider themselves a 'high end' maker of model railroad products? Where's the products for us DC-Only folks? Where's the non-sound versions of these models? How hard can it be to make DC boards and have those available for DC-only versions? Does DCC and Sound outsell the DC-Only market now a days. I though DC-only was still the vast majority of the modeling base. I don't begrudge BLI if they want to market themselves as the BMW or even Ferraris of the railroad modeling world. Are they though? Are they intentionally ignoring the majority of the railroad modeling world to cater to a perceived 'high end' buyer with extremely limited runs? Heaven knows that they're out there. But then most of their sales will end up as shelf queens with few getting a chance to appreciate them. Now if they would make available DC versions, even at just $100 less then at least some of the 'middle-market' buyers could justify the price. As it stands, these will always remain at the rare brass level with few ever enjoying these models.
Agreed that I'd like to have the option of a DC-only version at a lower cost - and until that option exists, it's unlikely I'd ever buy any BLI locos. However, it does seem that BLI has chosen to stake out the high end of the marketplace with fully-loaded models. If you're (almost) the only company offering models with factory-installed DCC and sound, then you can also attempt to explore the upper limits of just how much buyers might be willing to pay for those added features. Perhaps that business model offers a better chance of profitability, even if it leaves a portion of the potential customer base on the outside looking in.
I agree that there should be a DC only offering, but if my choice is between a $250-$400 model of something I want badly that comes with sound, or $2000 for the extremely hard to find brass model of that same locomotive, I'll put up with the noisemaker. Nobody else is likely to make a T1 any time in the next few decades, and this is the first one offered at a price point lower than the stratosphere. I sure do wish they'd just include a dummy plug in the box, though, even if they still include sound and charge for it. The starting voltage of these things on straight DC is insane.
Stunning announcements... but... for different reasons. I am impressed with the decision to make a T1 because it is totally new tooling for a very distinctive locomotive. I am not an 'eastern' road modeler and this would not fit my 'need' in any way so it is a 'maybe' buy. The rest of the offerings are a disappointment in general... but... understandable because they are big enough to carry the DCC/Sound boards. I'm a bit skeptical about the fitting of the DCC/Sound in the F units... but... at this point in time it may be doable. Now I wonder about the future of the F unit plans of Intermountain Railway. IMRC has several of the same models scheduled for release which include DCC/Sound equipped units. This could become another IMRC - Micro-Train type of 'FT unit' debacle.
How was that a "debacle"? Any more than when multiple manufacturers offer GP-38's, Alco PA/PB's, or EMD E/F Units. I would think that buyer choice would be applauded. And the fact that the FT units from both manufacturers are still commanding healthy resale values is a testament to the success of those models. Regarding newer equipment, BLI, Fox Valley, Kato, and others have all overlapped with their modern locomotive offerings and no one considered these "debacles".
It certainly was not a debacle for the buyers... but... not so good for the manufacturers. Intermountain was the 'disputed' winner... because their were lovers and haters of both products. It took a while for Microtrains to get back into the N scale Loco market (SW1500). I just think it hurt both companies efforts to compete in such a small market with the same product. Sent from my SM-G530T using Tapatalk
Same here. I don't know anyone who changes out the sound decoders. And I prefer them already installed. Once you reach a certain price point, with a rare loco such as a T1 or centipede, a few more bucks to include a sound decoder isn't going to dissuade someone who really wants that loco. I have two centipedes; I'm planning on two T1's if they're actually released anytime before I die.