Seen BLI Cab forward yet?

[Anonymous]

I have read that it`s out.
I have ordered one but not get it yet.
Anyone seen how it`s look and sound?

[Anonymous]

If you have ordered one already, then you are trusting in BLI's excellent reputation of quality and workmanship.

I dont run cabforwards, however I have seen some very similar models (Brass?) that are very close to BLI's level of workmanship. I have no reason to doubt the quality of this engine.

I myself has added a 2-8-2 Heavy Mike from BLI. It will not be the last.

There is a large movement afoot for the Cab Forwards this year, it may finally get the spotlight it deserves.

Lee

[Anonymous]

There's a picture of it in the April MR. Very impressive!

[AggroJones]

It is soooooooo sweet. I just wi***hey did them with the better-looking cab front, with tappered bottom and 3 large "punched out" holes in the pilot.

I found prototype photos of each road number Cabforward they produced, and they all have the older flat-face.

[AggroJones]

Yes. I saw one of these spectacular beast today.
It is the single greatest thing BLI has ever done!

Smooth runner too. It is so brass-like, its unbelievable. But the sounds are not the same as the soundbites on the BLI website. If only I had $500.......

[Anonymous]

Guys,

I just received the two I ordered. Very cool. Not as detailed as brass, but not $1500!!!. Smooth runners (though I do miss the disabled BEMF) and of course they sound great. Even if one just left them on a siding hissing and rumbling away they would be good.

I have been waiting for these since they were announced last year and I am happy to say I'm not disappointed. They should sell out quickly, if you are at all interested (and can swing it), get one while you can.

Guy

[AggroJones]

Trainnut, where did you get yours? Trainworld, FirstHobby, your LHS?

2 of them. Wow.

[Anonymous]

Do the airpump have the very special cab forward sound as I heard in the video "Last run of a cab forward over donner pass"?
That would bee nice.

Tommy

[Anonymous]

Guys,

I just spent more time with them in the trainroom. By far the coolest thing about the sound is the out of snyc chuff. They cycle around in and out of snyc as they move!!! Great rhythms develop and the sound is very clean and distinct . Another good sound is the brake squeal. If the loco is running at speed and you slow down you get a pretty good squeal automatically. You can also squeal manually by pressing a function key (I'm running them on DCC). As for the airpump sounds... I'm not an expert, so I can't answer your question Tom. The pumps come on and off automatically when the loco is sitting on the track and when it comes to a stop. There is also a very distinctive water injector sound as well as the blow down. These also come on a random times as the loco sits.

Without the BEMF on dirty track, they are a bit balky, I expect this to go away aftrer they have been run-in. All in all a Very nice loco.

Guy

[Anonymous]

Trainnut1250
I think what I was after is the water injector sound. You call it "distinctive". I hope that`s the sound.

I wounder what you meen with "Without the BEMF on dirty track, they are a bit balky,".
What do "BEMF" stands for?

This locomotiv is one of my most wanted and it shure have some hard work wating at our club railroad.http://jmjk.nu/

[Anonymous]

I have the 4120 and it ia delight to hear it run, however, the air pumps do not have the correct sound, like the real cab forwards. This is a minor thing considering the overall quality and satisfaction that the engine gives me. The whistle is the SP sound and the running quality is good.

I would recommnend one of these engines for all to enjoy.

[Anonymous]

Swedetrain,

BEMF stands for Back emf - which is a motor speed feedback system that keeps motor speed constant by constantly checking the speed of the rotation of the motor and adjusting the voltage to maintain constant speed. A loco equipped with this feature will climb hills at the same speed and BEMF greatly improves slow speed operation. It is used primarily with DCC and is considered by many to be essential to getting locos in DCC to run as smooth as glass. Search Mike's train house on this forum for the whole sordid story. BLI disabled this feature on the cab forwards due to a legal dispute btetween them and Mike's train house. They offered it on their earlier releases.

About the air pump sound, I am not an SP expert, but it is my understanding that the unusual cross-compund air pump sound was a feature of the later Cab forward AC series.

Guy

[Anonymous]

Thank`s for all info.
About the cab forward sound I must give you some words from George H. Harlan magnificent book "Those amazing cab forwards" . He writes:

" The noise made by these tremendous mechanical marvels was an expression of the ultimate in power which all but defies description. Besides the two separate engines which rested under the single boiler, there were numerous noisy auxiliaries, the sounds of which were never attempted to be muffled in any manner, and they could be heard at least ten city blocks from the locomotive, and even further. The roar of the oil fire in the firebox when the blower was in full operation, the feedwater pump and the cross compund air pumps, added to the sound of the steaming locomotive when not underway. The air pump were loudest, they had a short exhaust pipe which terminated to the atmosphere very close to the smoke stacks. The exhaust of the air pumps on the articulateds was, for some reason, particulary intense, the sound was the Hallmark of the locomotive when not underway. One pump would exhaust; and after a second or two of silence, the whole cycle would be repeated.".

If BLI model can give only one per cent of that "sound feeling" I will call it a success!

[Anonymous]

If I had the money I'd get one

DOGGY

[AggroJones]

An AC-11 or 12 may be on the way from BLI in the future. Think about it. The modern ones are even more popular than the 4 and 5. Plus they have most of the parts already made. And the only other one is the garbage Rivarossi. Seems like a pretty logical step.

Can you imagine a BLI AC-12 4-8-8-2? Ohhhh. [:0] So lovely.

[Anonymous]

Hi

I have been testing BLI AC4 for our local NMRA Regional magazine.

Just fabulous is the best way to describe it. I noted comments about the air pump sound and BLI in their info refer to the sound of the air pumps. On the AC4 AC5 the air pumps exhaust was through the stack and the sound was muffled. On later locos AC6 on up the sound was not muffled and directly to the air. Apparently the sound on the AC4 and 5 models is correct.

It runs superbly and sounds fantastic. I have tested it so far on DC and it is the best sounding steam loco I have ever heard DCC or DC. I hope to finish my review by running on a friends DCC layout and I am sure it will be even better.

There are minor discrepancies on the cab front for the AC4 as it appears more like my references of an AC5 cab. All are very minor and very easy to fix.

Sowerby

[sparkingbolt]

I heard it run at a hobby shop in Eugene, Or. In addition to what others say, I was impressed when the "chuffs" went quieter as it rolled down a grade, but got louder as it ascended it. You could also hear the turbogenerator whine as it spooled up. No detail seems to have been overlooked. Dan

[Anonymous]

Now I get mine. It took "only" a 20 days "over the water" (I live in Sweden). What a sound! Really great! Some minor faults is the light is to strong in the cabin and som "extra" sound from the drive. Oiled on but don`t get it on the right spot yet. Maybe is it going away after some running? But uhhh, what a locomotive. New BLI F7 in SP, Black Widow will bee a nice "symfony" at the locomotive shop.

[prompter]

Has anyone who has the BLI Cab forward tried it on 18" radius?

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by swedtrain

I have read that it`s out.
I have ordered one but not get it yet.
Anyone seen how it`s look and sound?

They are great and the whistle sounds almost exactly like a SP whistle, which we have old recordings to verify the sound. It runs very well and the chuffing sound is correct for the four cylinder engine.

We ran three of these on the club layout with a fifty car train and spaced them out on the train like the SP used to. The SP would space them about thirty cars apart so the smoke would clear the tunnel for the next engine. Enjoy this engine. I hope you get yours soon and start enjoying it.

[twhite]

As to the air pumps--only the AC-6 and higher classes had the distinctive 'chatter' that some of you guys are referring to, and that is because they were mounted in tandem on the boiler-front, meaning that they 'talked' to each other. The AC-4 and 5 locos had side-mounted air pumps NOT in tandem, so that distinctive 'chatter' wasn't part of those classes. other than that, the BLI's take me back to my childhood in Truckee. Great locos--and they can pull the paint off the walls! Agree with Aggro, though--wi***he front was tapered, with those three distinctive holes. Now if we could talk BLI into doing an AC-6, the most distinctive of all the classes, then all of us Espee freaks could go directly to Hog Heaven!
Tom [:P][:P][:P]