Lima K-Line Berkshire just arrived.

[drjohn691]

[:D]
Wow is all I can say. This engine is to die for. Wait until you try this cruise control. Good job, no great job, K=Line!!![:o)][8D][:)][:D]

[Anonymous]

Saw the Raritan Valley guys at Edison running one, or at least trying. Wasnt too sure if it was K-line oie their inability to rum tmcc.[8]

[NH_Chris]

I posted this review on the OGR site a little while ago:

I have posted some close-up photos of my B&A Berk here: http://ogaugerr.infopop.cc/eve/ubb.x?a=albumtopic&s=63160042&topic_oid=899101314

Here's a little review, based on my initial impressions and first session with this beautiful loco. Keep in mind that this is my first scale steam engine, and also the most expensive engine I have bought. I am happy to report that unlike a recent Lionel purchase (**S-1** cough), it did not suffer any damage in its journey.

As can be seen in pictures earlier in the OGR thread, this is a gorgeous engine. The paint job is excellent, with fine attention to details, and not a drop of paint out of place. Two figures are in the illuminated cab (see my photos), and there's a lit firebox. The cab roof vents open, and the coal load looks prototypically sized.

On the road, the Railsounds whistle sounds different from the RS Hudson whistle with which I am familiar. Unlike MTH whistles, of course, you can "play" it more, with short bursts that you cannot do with MTH. This is RS 4.0, though, so the crew talk is still garbled. The tower announcement is clear; I did not check for a "wait" message. The engine chuffs sound nice, and I heard a bit of syncopation in one of my slow starts, which was a nice change of pace.

It seems that K-Line has solved the smoke problem. The Berkshire is a good smoker, but I do not think it is fan driven. Looks like a plunger to me.

I will withold some of my comments about its running abilities until I have a chance to break it in more. I did notice the flaw with the drawbar that others have noticed. I tried tightening the screw that attaches the drawbar to the body. But even tightened up there was not enough tension to prevent it from riding off the pin on the tender when the loco moves in reverse. This should not be too hard to fix, though, with the right size or number of washers.

I did have some problems negotiating some switches going forward, though, as well. The trailing truck derailed when going about 10 smph through an O-42 switch. (see last pic) I'm not sure if this will improve with breaking in; maybe the linkages or bearings need to loosen up a bit.

My layout uses Realtrax, and I have two loops. The inner loop is a pair of O-31 reverse loops in a dogbone. The Berk traversed the O-31 curves fine, but its cab ran up against the supports for the grade on my outer loop (which are admittedly too close to the inner loop track for comfort) - my bad.

On my outer loop, which varies from O-42 to O-72, the Berk stalled whenever I tried to get it to pull an admittedly heavy 10-car consist (4 diecast cars, 2 Williams dummy engines, and some hopper cars) up a steep grade. I will try to break the engine in a bit before passing judgment, but I was a bit disappointed at the stalling. For comparison, I hitched up my Railking Dreyfus Hudson (admittedly already well broken in), and it tackled the hill and consist without a hickup.

Cruise control worked fine (except for the stalling on the grade), with good slow speed performance. I only noticed the slightest jump once or twice when I advanced through the TMCC steps. I did notice that the top-end speed seemed limited, in comparison with other K-Line steamers I have known, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

All in all, a beautiful engine. I am hopeful that the minor problems I noted can be resolved through minor modifications (washers) and through a thorough break in, because I would not want to part with this beauty.

NH Chris