Broadway Limited Cranking out New Releases

Dampfloko Feb 24, 2022

  1. Dampfloko

    Dampfloko TrainBoard Member

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    BLI is developing and releasing locomotives at a fast pace, leaving the rest of the big players in the dust. How are they getting around all the factory problems in China. Now if they would only offer a non sound version as an option.
     
    tonkphilip and SP-Wolf like this.
  2. freddy_fo

    freddy_fo TrainBoard Member

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    I'd be all over those releases. Add my own sound at leisure without having to worry about room.
     
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  3. OleSmokey

    OleSmokey TrainBoard Member

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    Bli will never issue a non sound edition
     
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  4. MK

    MK TrainBoard Member

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    Unfortunately true. They are stubborn in their ways and losing potentially a boat load of money by not having a non-sound option!
     
  5. tonkphilip

    tonkphilip TrainBoard Member

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    I agree that BLI is flooding the N-scale market with a vast selection of locomotive types and road names. Nobody is competing with their extensive range. It will be interesting to see if they are successful and effectively take over the N market with their all-sound locomotives. For me, I like the Kato reliability and the low cost of DC, (example $60 street price for their new F7 locos). But, I think that I am probably in the minority! - Tonkphilip
     
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  6. CSX Robert

    CSX Robert TrainBoard Member

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    I have a few BLI and absolutely love them, they are without a doubt the best looking, most detailed locos I have (I don't have any ScaleTrains yet), but the majority of my locos are Atlas and Kato, and it will likely stay that way. I'm just not going to spend $200+ on a loco on a regular basis.
     
  7. freddy_fo

    freddy_fo TrainBoard Member

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    I suppose I am a bit more picky about performance than most and BLI has had some issues in that department which I believe are due to their DCC motor control. I've a few of their paragon 2 and one steam paragon 3 which are passable but have not been impressed with their P3 equipped SW7 and ES44AC that I own. The performance is/was rough throughout the speed range and was way worse when I first got them which I was able to cleanup somewhat by adjusting some of the CV's. Now they behave similar to videos I've seen of the new P4 equipped locos which still show some lurching at slow speeds and still can't work out the too quick transitions between speed steps. Eventually I'll try swapping out those two locos with an ESU decoder to see if that cleans them up to my satisfaction. But, for the money I'll stick with other brands where I don't have to eat the expense of a DCC decoder I don't want.

    Maybe there are some experts here who have mastered tuning the P3? If so I'm interested to find out how you were able to get them running well.
     
    tonkphilip likes this.
  8. umtrr-author

    umtrr-author TrainBoard Member

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    The reviews here and on other networks are such that I doubt I'll be buying a BLI anything anytime soon.

    I like that they've done the P5A, which was a lesser known but still important piece of the Pennsylvania Railroad's electric fleet. (What could possibly compete with the iconic GG1?) But it's still a hard pass for me.

    If they ever do an E44, I'm in, but simply to have a model of it, not because I expect it to perform well.
     
  9. Calzephyr

    Calzephyr TrainBoard Supporter

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    The majority of my purchases of motive power over the past few years has included far more Bachmann and BLI products than Kato, Atlas and other companies.
    I planned on converting my older models to DCC and DCC/sound... but it seems that just buying them with DCC/sound pre-installed is ultimately better even if not as good as custom installed decoders.
    It may be cheaper to get DCC ready locomotives and adding the decoder of one's choosing. It takes time and skills I don't possess. The extra cost, as long as the models run well, is very much worth it. I don't have to run the with sound, but it's nice to be able to switch it on when desired.
    I for one am in favor of BLI's accelerated releases of these models. I wish that some of there HO announced models make it to N scale too.
     
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  10. freddy_fo

    freddy_fo TrainBoard Member

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    I agree that if you want sound or think you'll want sound then getting one from the factory already equipped in that manner is best. However and depending on your tolerance for performance you still have to be aware that all are not equal although the prices would tend to indicate that. I can only guess at this point till I actually test and see for myself but I think BLI's weak point is their decoder. Same deal with bachmann but on those I have swapped out their factory decoders with ESU and turned a turd into a really smooth operator rivaling kato performance.
     
    tonkphilip likes this.
  11. scottmitchell74

    scottmitchell74 TrainBoard Member

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    Fascinating. Why has Bachmann captured your $$?
     
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  12. C&O_MountainMan

    C&O_MountainMan TrainBoard Member

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    I can’t answer for him, but for me, it comes down to producing locomotives in the roadname I want, with details that comport with the prototypes.

    I model C&O steam, and Bachmann is the only friend I have in that regard.

    Walters/ Heritage Steam? Their Kanawha (I have one) is an NKP with C&O lettering, sand and water domes in reversed position for C&O, and smokebox-mounted headlight vs. pilot-mounted. Bachmann makes models with details right for both.

    BLI’s Mikados? The only C&O Mikes that looked like that were old Pere Marquettes.

    I long for new runs of Bachmann’s 2-6-6-2, or their heavy 4-8-2, both of which had models with C&O-specific detailing. …or for some good representatives of their last runs to show up on Ebay.
     
    Last edited: Feb 27, 2022
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