Hi all, i was thinking of getting a broadway limited pacific (the die cast one) i was wondering if anyone has any thoughts on this model before i buy one. How well to they run? How is the sound? I have a spectrum pacific that i love but i don't feel like adding dcc and sound to it. Any comments are appreciated.
SunsetLimited wrote: Hi all, i was thinking of getting a broadway limited pacific (the die cast one) i was wondering if anyone has any thoughts on this model before i buy one. How well to they run? How is the sound? I have a spectrum pacific that i love but i don't feel like adding dcc and sound to it. Any comments are appreciated.
Most of us can comment on BLI steamers in general but the USRA 4-6-2 does not show up at any of dealers as of today. They must be late according to the schedule since they are not listed at BLI yet.
Most of their steamers including the USRA 2-8-2 are very good for the money. Most run well and I have never had to send any back for repair out of the twelve BLI steamers that I have. All of them run good and after breaking in, they tend to be very good models.
One thing for sure, if you wait until you buy one, they will be on sale.
SunsetLimited wrote:Hey Caz, the model i was referring to is the Paragon Platinum PRR K4 4-6-2, sorry for not making that clear. Anyone actually have this model? I had a Hudson from the new run but it made it around the track twice and shut off, never to run again, i also had a C30 with some issues that braodway never could fix so i am kinda hesitant to buy a broadway again.
Sorry about the first reply, I should have picked up on the die cast one. I do have the PRR K4 and like it overall since I have all of the PRR steam so far. I purchased it when it first came out about two years ago.
It runs well and is detailed and looks very good, but my engine still needs to be broken in. It has a momentum start up and stop built in, sort of different than any of the other BLI steamers. You should be happy with the quality.
I have had the BLI K4 for years. Looks good (the Spectrum looks like a freighter with the drivers 6 inches too small---I had 5 of them at one time) and runs good. I have the upgrade chip with less saturated steam sound. Sounds great at any speed. Will start to budge at 2 on 128 speed steps and will crawl forever with the RTC. I am going to replace the center traction tire driver as I think it tracks better without it. Otherwise great. I haven't compared the details with those of the MTH. The latter's limitations on DCC would be a deal breaker for me if I were in the market for another K4.
lobos wrote: I have had the BLI K4 for years. Looks good (the Spectrum looks like a freighter with the drivers 6 inches too small---I had 5 of them at one time) and runs good. I have the upgrade chip with less saturated steam sound. Sounds great at any speed. Will start to budge at 2 on 128 speed steps and will crawl forever with the RTC. I am going to replace the center traction tire driver as I think it tracks better without it. Otherwise great. I haven't compared the details with those of the MTH. The latter's limitations on DCC would be a deal breaker for me if I were in the market for another K4.
I am curious about the replacement chip. Does it make the slow speed better?? I might get one for my K4 is that is improved.
Thanks
CAZ
My experience with BLI steamers, of which I have four, is that they take a loooooooonnnngg time to break-in. Not one hour, but more like three-four hours of continuous running....in both directions. I run them dry for about one hour, then lube them with Dextron II or III auto-transmission fluid. Less is more with lubing the valve gear and rods. I also lube the wheels in their bearings.
I can still get the very odd squeek out of my K4s, although it probably has a grand total of two hours on it...less, I am pretty sure.
selector wrote: My experience with BLI steamers, of which I have four, is that they take a loooooooonnnngg time to break-in. Not one hour, but more like three-four hours of continuous running....in both directions. I run them dry for about one hour, then lube them with Dextron II or III auto-transmission fluid. Less is more with lubing the valve gear and rods. I also lube the wheels in their bearings. I can still get the very odd squeek out of my K4s, although it probably has a grand total of two hours on it...less, I am pretty sure.
I have a set of rollers to run my engines on for the break in. The worst eample so far has been the BLI Union Pacific Mountain. It ran for almost 20 hours for its break in before it ran good. Most the the runs were about one hour at a time and then run in reverse for the same amount until the total was close to the 20 hours.
It now runs fairly well. My Lionel Challenger also took close to 20 hours of running plus a lot of work in both the gears and the piston slides.