How are the BLI Locos holding up? HO Longevity

[Anonymous]

I am curious for those out there that have owned and operated the BLI equipment. How are they holding up over time? Not much is said in the press about the longevity of HO locos (actually, the only journal that seems to have "longevity" reviews is the O gauge magazine CTT or OGR)

I am thinking of expanding my HO layout and very much would like to know if the BLI stuff is indeed great running. I will be running these locos quite a bit, and I want to know if they are as good as the hoopla. The difference in price between the 2-8-2 from Trix and the 2-8-2 from BLI is double, and I kinda doubt the BLI has the quality of the Trix.

Regards,

Tom M.

[Virginian]

I don't think I can answer on the longevity for about ten more years at least. So far so good. I can only address their steam locos.
The Trix is a very nice looking loco, with a lot more exterior detail than the BLI units. Whether the drive mechanism holds up that much better is an unknown at this point. I suspect maintenance will be a major factor in how long any of them hold up. Whether or not it is worth the MANY extra bucks they are asking for it is up to the person spending the money. For me the answer was a resounding 'no'. If P2K was making a 2-8-2, based on their 2-8-4, 2-8-8-2, and 0-8-0, the Trix wouldn't be worth $10 more of my money. I love the looks of the Trix, but not close to that much.
One issue sticking in the back of my mind is what is going to happen when the motors in all these new, nice, tightly sandwiched drive set ups start to go. Motor replacement is going to be a lot more of an exact science than it has been. The motor 'rewinders' who flourish in the RC car world may find a whole new calling.
One thing about brass steam. If you look at the exterior drive detail, a lot of it is cast detail pieces, and it's heavier than the stamped parts on a lot of the new locos. But, the connector pins in a lot of cases aren't that much heavier, if any. Based on my experience with brass, that exterior detail should be okay for a long time. But, my dealer had one guy who wore out some of that detail on a BLI. I suspect he didn't lube things, but he ran it a lot. After hearing that, I inspected all mine and I could discern no wear at all, so far.

[Pruitt]

I've never had a Trix loco (Trix are for kids! Oh, wait. That's the cereal) My BLI heavy Mikes are both doing fine. Thay don't have a whole lot of mileage on them yet, but they seem to have broken in well.

[Anonymous]

great! good feedback, keep it coming!

i asked this question because I saw the gorgeous TRIX 2-8-2 running at a train show. Sound system was quite impressive along with detail....i like the looks of Trix (not cereal!!! <G>)better than the BLI version, but havent seen the sound demoed on BLI yet....the trix for german made is actually "low priced" if you are use to gawking at marklin prices...

[Anonymous]

I'm waiting for my first BLI, the GG1.
BLI hasn't been around that long. They are the new guy on the block.
Trix is out of my $ league and and because of that perhaps less popular with other modelers.
BLI has not enjoyed a superior quality rating but they are quick to respond/repair/exchange.

[orsonroy]

Keep in mind that the whistle on the Trix Mike isn't controllable. You get a goofy two shorts; that's all. The BLI Mike's whistle is completely controllable. And the street price on the BLI is 1/2 that of the Trix!

I've had one of my three BLI USRA heavies for about a year now, with no problems.

[Virginian]

The sound system on all the BLI's I have heard is outstanding.

[Anonymous]

I have three BLI's all steam and none of them quit on me yet. The M1a has about 2 hours a month and is the most used engine. So far no problems.

The Heavy Mike has about half the time and is a favorite, no issues.

The giant J1 2-10-4 has about an hour on it and the track is really picky at one curve. It will run again when I find a larger radius to run it on (Minimum 24") That one has no operating problems. If they ever start to add sprung drivers to plastic steam then it really would be awesome.

They are serviced once a year. I usually accumulate cars with problems that need work bench time. The only problem with any of the BLI was a front Mc Henry coupler on the J1 that promptly crushed under a double head on a 30 car train. Apparently Kaydees are much stronger (Use insulated shank)

BLI has not been around as a company long enough to establish a longetivity. But for a new company the models seem to hold up quite well.

[twhite]

I've got a pretty good-sized BLI roster of steam, and so far they're all working very well. I had a little trouble with the connectors on my Pennsy M1-a (they were too tight for the pins), but I was able to cure that without having to send it back to the manufacturer. Like HighIron, I wi***he J-1 had sprung drivers--a loco that heavy and with that long a wheelbase IS very picky with track, but it seems to have worked in rather nicely (the sideplay on the drivers is very stiff when you first run it). As to the two articulateds, the AC-5 and the N&W A, they're incredible pullers and smooth runners (though the A I have is an early run with sintered drivers, and had to be run quite a bit to get the factory finish off the treads). My Santa Fe 4-8-4 and my USRA Heavy Mike are both very sweet runners (I run all of my BLI's frequently) and of course the sound system on the locos is superb! Since I run DC, I lowered the starting voltage as much as I could on all the locos (about 6va seems to be the minimum for me) so that I wasn't running them in the upper quarter quadrant of my controller. All of the locos were lubed immediately upon purchase (this is VERY important, by the way) and tested in both forward and reverse at half-throttle for about 45 minutes before adding a train (but I do that with my brass, also). All in all, I'd say that BLI puts out a superior product. I just wi***hey'd quit pushing their release dates of certain locos back so much (a December release of the Santa Fe 2-10-2 is now postponed until June of '05, for instance). I have a feeling that they're going to be around for quite a while on my layout.
Tom [^][^]

[Anonymous]

Comparing the Trix to BLI is somewhat like comparing a Chevy suburban to a Hummer. Having the BLI GG1 and M1a I can only say that the BLi is a smooth runner and offers a great value. So I really don't think that making a comparison would be comparing apples to apples. As far as longivty, well it is simple ---- Only time will tell, but I think based their detail and operating characteristics at this point. I think they are here for the "LONG HAUL". With the loss of a few manfacturers in the past few years (Mantua- Rivarossi -Lionel) I think shows that the competition is fearce particularly with MTH getting into HO. I think BLI locos are up to the challenge. You could pay more with MTH and Tix, but sometimes practical (being moderately priced) needs to be put in the equation.
And that's my two cents worth