When I first saw this switcher at Trainfest I had to try it to see how it works. It is a very good switcher with load volume which is easily adjusted by double pressing F8 on the controller.
Bob, I attended the North Metro MRR club Open House and sale today. Lots of new structures being built, as always, a great show. Many notable people were also there from You Tube presenters....
GREAT review! You provided much more info than most reviews of just released N-scale locomotives, especially with your focus on all of the different sound functions available, how they're accessed and how they differ; Minor point- That UP slogan (right side of SW7 cab) is- 'Road of the Streamliners', not 'Steamliners', it featured on it's passenger trains as well as many freight cars and earlier diesel locomotives.
@@DaBobsNScaleMancave Some days (and nights!) my eyes don't focus so well either; Very minor point that you couldn't read the script, as I'm well acquainted with UP slogans on their locos and freight cars, just by long time (3 decades+ now) in N scale as modeler; Face it we all have to squint to read those logos, road numbers ;)
It looks like BLI did a great job at differentiating the details between the NW2 and the SW7. The NW2 came stock with the single headlight, but later most were upgraded to a dual headlight - some vertical, some horizontal. Most of the SW7s came stock with the duel headlight, some had the single. For the radiator section, most NW2 units had a radiator screen that did not go all the way down the nose while the SW7 radiator was taller and covered the entire nose. As for the 6 louvers on the sides, most of the NW2 units came with the letter spaced louvers like the SW7, but I did find photos of some early NW2 units that did not have the louver spacings. Great attention to detail by BLI.
Here's a few things I thought you missed in this review. CV 133 controls the master volume, and I had to set mine all the way down to CV=10 to get a reasonable sound level (from the default value of 128). All the function buttons can be changed to do what you want, including turning the cab light on and off or dimming the headlight. The body shell is die-cast metal, good because it adds weight. The jerky operation is annoying, as you said, but can be tuned with the user-programmable settings for back-EMF (if you want to spend your life being an electronics technician). The locomotive also includes a transmitter that will allow the sounds to be enhanced by external speakers using the "Rolling Thunder" system that BLI sells.
I bought a Broadway Limited Imports SW7 with Paragon 3. Jerky movement, shuddered in reverse at slow speed. They said run it full speed in forward and reverse for an hour each way. No change. Sent it to them. After a few months it came back, they replaced the front truck and speaker. Replaced decoder, updated software. Still has jerky movement. It came out of the box junk. It came back from the BLI as junk. Now it is going into a box I have for such items I got ripped off on labeled “Junk.” That was my first DCC locomotive and my last BLI. I will only buy Walthers Proto (or Walthers Mainline) and Atlas Gold (or Silver).
@@SuspiciousSalmon-pk3sk I just can't put my money on a company that has such terrible customer service and such a low quality product. I'm sticking with ScaleTrains, Atlas, Walthers, and Athearn in that order.
Not a bad looking little switcher. Not impressed with the truck side frames. BTW there may not be a switch for dimming the lights, but I think you can program in Rule 17 lighting. That noise you describe sounds poor gear meshing to me. Overall not bad, but at that price point I too would want smoother operation.
A switcher needs to be a flawless operator to work a yard in N Scale. My problem with most BLI problems (I meant products) is that while they are great looking and sounding locos, too many BLI models have relatively compromised performance in relation to DCC (non-sound) equipped Katos or IMs or Atlas locos. For me, the compromised performance ruins the experience and the constant drone of noise (just like in O Scale) starts to get old and even when you mute them, once they stall the sound comes back on and they need to be muted over again, and all of these locos stall, some more than others (they can run great for a while but then they will just stall if your run them for long enough). Compared to a Kato, IM, Atlas or even the DCC equipped Bachmann switchers, it is hard to justify a doubling or tripling in price for the benefit of sound when the cost also includes relatively poorer reliability/ performance on the layout and often relatively less traction/adhesion and pulling power compared to non-sound DCC engines. For example, I like my soundless DCC equipped Bachmman EM-1 much better than my BLI T1 and M1 and my Athearn Big Boy because it will run for hours without even a stutter at slow speeds. Yes my non-sound Bachmann EM-1 just runs flawlessly without ever stalling and it will pull 50 40' boxcars. I also find that the failure rate for sound decoders is much higher than for non-sound DCC decoders such that the total ownership cost for sound locos is about 3 to 4 times or even higher over a 10 to 15 year engine lifecycle. Keep it simple is how you maintain reliability and the more electronics you add, the more things there are to break. Eventually, I will take the shells off my BLI PAs PBs, E8As, E8Bs and swap them onto Kato units. What does that tell you. If Kato produced better shell detail and a greater assortment of products, there would be no need to buy anything else. A single Kato F3 A unit (non-DCC) costs $55 whereas a less reliable DCC sound equipped BLI unit costs $150 or more. When you run multiple ABBA consists with 50 car trains, the cost and frustration of less reliable sound locos is considerable. DCC is great but if it offered reduced operational performance over DC, i would never have switched and dished out the money to convert 70 plus locos to DCC. DCC with Sound is not better than DCC in terms of performance and reliability but yet sound costs 50% to 100% more per engine. A few (12) purchases for novelty sound aside, I prefer DCC equipped without sound just because when I want to run trains, I don't want to tinker or clean track or replace track or clean wheel engines and contact strips. N Scale should not cost 1/2 as much as O Scale and when I started back in both N and O Scale back in 2001 after the usual hiatus from childhood, it cost $900 to buy a Lionel Legacy ABA F-3 set with one powered sound unit and one non-powered unit with smoke and lighting. Today, just to get an N Scale set of BLI F ABA 3s (both As powered) with sound and no smoke costs $360.00 or more. If you need an ABBA set with one powered B Unit and 2 powered A units, it is about $500 even with discounts. When N scale MU F Unit consists start approaching the cost of MTH Premier and Lionel Legacy O Scale ABA consists, there is an issue of affordability because the whole purpose of N scale is to be able to run more trains and longer trains than you can do in O Scale because of the smaller scale. In fact, to fill a N scale layout with sound equipped locos can end up costing 2 to 3 times as much as it would cost to fill an O scale layout in the same space due to the sheer quantity of engines required in N Scale. For any modeler on a budget (which is basically 99.9% of modelers), such a doubling or tripling in cost per engine is a concern especially when there is no non-sound DCC or straight DC product option to convert to DCC. Worse, if my first engine were a poor performing expensive sound unit back in 2001, I would never have proceeded to build the layout and collection I did. It would have turned me off to the hobby very quickly. I seldom run my BLI locos because all of them are just not the most reliable runners or pullers compared to my other DCC without sound locos. Sound locos in N Scale just are not worth the doubling in cost given the reduction in reliable performance and traction/adhesion if you intend to run 30 to 40 to 50 car trains. I almost bought the BLI F units which have gorgeous shells, but in the end those gorgeous shells end up sitting idle in the yard or on a siding or on shelf while Kato and IM multiunit consists rule the rails. If you are like me and have a large layout, you simply cannot afford to have a stall on a MU consist in a hard to reach area of the layout. Unfortunately, I know of no way to shut off the volume with a CV to lower the voltage needed to run these locos and perhaps ameliorate the stalling nor do I know of a way to boost track voltage without damaging the other locos. I love their shells and would purchase the shells to replace Kato shells on my F units and Switchers but if you actually want to run multiple trains simultaneously without watching each train separately, most BLI Locos are simply not even close to the performance reliability of non-sound DCC equipped Katos, IMs, Atlas etc. Thanks for the review, but for a $150.00 or $300 for a steamer, who wants buyer's remorse and who needs another high cost shelf queen that gets no running time. Most of us already own more engines and rolling stock than we can fit on our layouts. It is almost as if Kato has become the new Life-Like, the affordable brand as Lifelike was 15 to 20 years ago for DC locos. I think we all have enough shelf queens which either can't be converted to DCC or otherwise run poorly when converted and need labor intensive disassembly and cleaning and tinkering. Who has the time to spend hours tinkering with a new loco. While at times I enjoy the challenge of making something work, I also cherish the luxury of operational reliability and for that reason Kato is still in business despite their toy like shell detail. Yes this BLI switcher sounds great - but I used to model O scale and the sound will get annoying after 5 minutes or less if you are trying to unwind or concentrate on other things while running trains. Thanks for the review - Wish BLI would offer non-sound diesels for a lower price as I think their units would run a whole lot better without requiring constant high voltage and spotlessly clean track. I notice on elevated curves (rather than switches) many of their streamers stall on Kato Unitrack so I assume the tender axles are not sprung and some designs simply lose conductivity.
I agree, it is hard to justify sound if it only gives more problems than without it. It is always a concern of mine when the sound stops on my layout, I at least know that something happened if not paying attention. My mainline is above my head near the ceiling in 3 rooms so having sound helps me out a bit. Not running a switcher up there most likely. By the way, you are by far the longest comment I have ever had on any of my videos. Thank you for your perspective, I appreciate it.
RF, I sure wish I lived near you as I need a mentor to get me through the tough times ahead. Meaning, I’m restarting after leaving the hobby in the ‘90’s. The big innovation at the time was cameras in the cab for HO. I received a NCE starter set yesterday. Alas, all my locos are old DC or new DC that the price was right. Is there ANYWHERE a list of DCC decoders for old locos? ie. I have a set of Kato ABBA F3’s (I think), FM switcher, a couple of RS locos, etc. None have ever been run. Thanks for any help. Sam P.S. I’m in the wilds of n. Michigan and NO clubs to be found.
@@samiam619 Sam: Depends if your DC engine models are easily converted with drop in decoders. Many Atlas models and older Kato models were not DCC friendly. Some can be converted but it is often not easy to do without milling the frames. Too often it makes more sense to keep some of the layout DC and then some of the layout DCC or sell off the older stuff to DC modelers. New DCC equipped models are for the most part great runners and easy to MU (Kato Kobo AB sets with TCS decoders) are not cheap at $200.00 but they are virtually indestructable and could run for 10 years or more without replacing the decoders. The key with DCC is isolating the power from the frame to prevent shorts with motor leads and boards. TCS decoders are great as are the less expensive Digitrax decoders. NCE also makes decoders which are even less expensive but these are often hard to find because they tend to sell out. I have about 2O Life Like cab units ALCOs, PAs that are not DCC ready - I don't run them since I went all DCC but if I had to do it over , I would have kept some of my layout DC just to run the older stuff and test engines before I convert them to DCC. I love DCC but when consisting, it can become problematic when decoder's won't clear the address for the consist. CV 8=8 usually works to reset. The other frustration is that certain IM cab units are a pain to covert due to the soldering required and it is easy to overheat boards and melt leads or create shorts if you are not steady with the soldering iron. Even with warranties on decoder fails, I often just throw the fried ones away because I find I never have time to fill out the warranty paperwork and go to the post office. I like DCC equipped locos for that reason as it avoids bent motor tabs or fried decoders on the test track. As much as I like converting older DC locos to DCC, I much prefer to just run ABBA consists with 30 to 50 cars. Worse, when decoders fail on a unit with a lot of shell detail, it is always a risk that in pulling the shell off, you damage the shell or lose small press on parts. I try to avoid handling my engines for this reason so decoder and performance reliability equals less need to handle the engine and greater satisfaction. Rule # 1 is that if an engine runs great in DC, it should run great in DCC when properly converted. So I would start with the Katos as they will run for 20 years on dirty track and are about as close to a "sure bet" as there is N Scale DC to DCC conversions. You can pick up Atlas DCC equipped locos as well but the Katos tend to run a bit smoother so I would have to say - prioritize the Katos if you can pull it off. If not, keep some part of the layout DC and isolate it from the DCC layout section or put the DC on the shelf and restock with DCC ready or equipped Kato units. Sometimes you can find used locos with DCC installed and many of these are cheaper than the cost of the loco when new without the decoder board (IM FTs and F3s, F7s and FP7s and FP9s with B Units). The IM Units are as good as Atlas locos and have stunning paint jobs with nice shell details in about 20 or more road names. Be very selective in regard to converting to DCC and you should not be disappointed. MT FTs are drop in decoders but the shell details tend to come off (horns and railings) and they are a bit noisier than IM units. I am still running IM and MT FT ABBA sets I bought in 2001 through 2003 and they are still my favorite engines when MUed due to drawbars and close coupling and tremendous pulling power.
A switcher needs to be a flawless operator to work a yard in N Scale. My problem with most BLI problems is they are great looking and sounding locos, but the compromised performance ruins the experience and the constant drone of noise gets old and even when you mute them, once they stall they need to be muted over again, and all of these locos stall, some more than others. Compared to a Kato or even the DCC equipped Bachman switchers, it is hard to justify a doubling in price for the benefit of sound. I seldom run my BLI locos because all of them are not reliable runners compared to my other DCC without sound locos. Sound locos in N Scale just are not worth the doubling in cost given the reduction in reliable performance. Compared to a Kato or a Bachmann, just don't see why we need this. Like their F units which have gorgeous shells, in the end those gorgeous shells end up sitting idle in the yard or on a siding or on shelf while Kato and IM multiunit consists rule the rails. If you are like me and have a large layout, you simply cannot afford to have a stall on a hard to reach area of the layout. Unfortunatley, I know of no way to shut off the volume to lower the voltage needed to run these locos. I love their shells and would purchase the shells to replace Kato shells on my F units and Switchers but if you actually want to run trains without watching each train seperately, most BLI Locos are simply not even close to the reliability of non-sound DCC equipped Katos, IMs, Atlas etc. Thanks for the review, but for a $150.00 or $300 for a steamer, who wants buyer's remorse. I think we all have enough shelf queens which either can't be converted to DCC or run poorly when converted. Who has the time to spend hours tinkering with a new loco. Yes this sounds great - but I use model O scale and the sound is just annoying if you are trying to unwind or concentrate on other things while running trains. Thanks for the review - Wish BLI would offer non-sound diesels for a lower price as I think their units would run a whole lot better without requiring constant high voltage. I notice on elevated curves (no switches) many of their streamers stall on Kato Unitrack so I assume the tender axles are not sprung and some designs simply lose conductivity.
When I first saw this switcher at Trainfest I had to try it to see how it works. It is a very good switcher with load volume which is easily adjusted by double pressing F8 on the controller.
Thankfully BLI has finally gotten some roots blower whine into this sound file ! That's what makes EMDs sound like they do
Bob, I attended the North Metro MRR club Open House and sale today. Lots of new structures being built, as always, a great show. Many notable people were also there from You Tube presenters....
Nice, good things do come in small packages. Sounds and looks good:)
thank you,have a great Christmas
GREAT review! You provided much more info than most reviews of just released N-scale locomotives, especially with your focus on all of the different sound functions available, how they're accessed and how they differ; Minor point- That UP slogan (right side of SW7 cab) is- 'Road of the Streamliners', not 'Steamliners', it featured on it's passenger trains as well as many freight cars and earlier diesel locomotives.
Glad it was helpful! My eyes were not focusing very well that day.
@@DaBobsNScaleMancave Some days (and nights!) my eyes don't focus so well either; Very minor point that you couldn't read the script, as I'm well acquainted with UP slogans on their locos and freight cars, just by long time (3 decades+ now) in N scale as modeler; Face it we all have to squint to read those logos, road numbers ;)
Just amazing! Great review👍👍😎
No flywheel? Sound is good! Crawling speed seemed good. I like it👍👍😎 Really pretty amazing😎
It looks like BLI did a great job at differentiating the details between the NW2 and the SW7. The NW2 came stock with the single headlight, but later most were upgraded to a dual headlight - some vertical, some horizontal. Most of the SW7s came stock with the duel headlight, some had the single. For the radiator section, most NW2 units had a radiator screen that did not go all the way down the nose while the SW7 radiator was taller and covered the entire nose. As for the 6 louvers on the sides, most of the NW2 units came with the letter spaced louvers like the SW7, but I did find photos of some early NW2 units that did not have the louver spacings. Great attention to detail by BLI.
Wow that’s sweet
Here's a few things I thought you missed in this review. CV 133 controls the master volume, and I had to set mine all the way down to CV=10 to get a reasonable sound level (from the default value of 128). All the function buttons can be changed to do what you want, including turning the cab light on and off or dimming the headlight. The body shell is die-cast metal, good because it adds weight. The jerky operation is annoying, as you said, but can be tuned with the user-programmable settings for back-EMF (if you want to spend your life being an electronics technician). The locomotive also includes a transmitter that will allow the sounds to be enhanced by external speakers using the "Rolling Thunder" system that BLI sells.
I bought a Broadway Limited Imports SW7 with Paragon 3. Jerky movement, shuddered in reverse at slow speed. They said run it full speed in forward and reverse for an hour each way. No change. Sent it to them. After a few months it came back, they replaced the front truck and speaker. Replaced decoder, updated software. Still has jerky movement. It came out of the box junk. It came back from the BLI as junk. Now it is going into a box I have for such items I got ripped off on labeled “Junk.” That was my first DCC locomotive and my last BLI. I will only buy Walthers Proto (or Walthers Mainline) and Atlas Gold (or Silver).
Yeah from what I've been told the Paragon 4 ones were much better than the Paragon 3's, and ran more smoothly
@@SuspiciousSalmon-pk3sk I just can't put my money on a company that has such terrible customer service and such a low quality product. I'm sticking with ScaleTrains, Atlas, Walthers, and Athearn in that order.
It's nice!
I'm glad you like it
Bob, my N Atlas switcher and the one you have I believe, has sound also...? It runs flawlessly
Route of the Streamliners.
Bob Wojcikowski Well...it used to be anyway.🤔🤔☹️☹️😂😂😂👍
wow nice, load but nice!
Looks okay Union Pacific engine.
Not a bad looking little switcher. Not impressed with the truck side frames. BTW there may not be a switch for dimming the lights, but I think you can program in Rule 17 lighting. That noise you describe sounds poor gear meshing to me. Overall not bad, but at that price point I too would want smoother operation.
Nice loco
A switcher needs to be a flawless operator to work a yard in N Scale. My problem with most BLI problems (I meant products) is that while they are great looking and sounding locos, too many BLI models have relatively compromised performance in relation to DCC (non-sound) equipped Katos or IMs or Atlas locos. For me, the compromised performance ruins the experience and the constant drone of noise (just like in O Scale) starts to get old and even when you mute them, once they stall the sound comes back on and they need to be muted over again, and all of these locos stall, some more than others (they can run great for a while but then they will just stall if your run them for long enough). Compared to a Kato, IM, Atlas or even the DCC equipped Bachmann switchers, it is hard to justify a doubling or tripling in price for the benefit of sound when the cost also includes relatively poorer reliability/ performance on the layout and often relatively less traction/adhesion and pulling power compared to non-sound DCC engines.
For example, I like my soundless DCC equipped Bachmman EM-1 much better than my BLI T1 and M1 and my Athearn Big Boy because it will run for hours without even a stutter at slow speeds. Yes my non-sound Bachmann EM-1 just runs flawlessly without ever stalling and it will pull 50 40' boxcars.
I also find that the failure rate for sound decoders is much higher than for non-sound DCC decoders such that the total ownership cost for sound locos is about 3 to 4 times or even higher over a 10 to 15 year engine lifecycle. Keep it simple is how you maintain reliability and the more electronics you add, the more things there are to break. Eventually, I will take the shells off my BLI PAs PBs, E8As, E8Bs and swap them onto Kato units. What does that tell you. If Kato produced better shell detail and a greater assortment of products, there would be no need to buy anything else. A single Kato F3 A unit (non-DCC) costs $55 whereas a less reliable DCC sound equipped BLI unit costs $150 or more. When you run multiple ABBA consists with 50 car trains, the cost and frustration of less reliable sound locos is considerable. DCC is great but if it offered reduced operational performance over DC, i would never have switched and dished out the money to convert 70 plus locos to DCC. DCC with Sound is not better than DCC in terms of performance and reliability but yet sound costs 50% to 100% more per engine. A few (12) purchases for novelty sound aside, I prefer DCC equipped without sound just because when I want to run trains, I don't want to tinker or clean track or replace track or clean wheel engines and contact strips.
N Scale should not cost 1/2 as much as O Scale and when I started back in both N and O Scale back in 2001 after the usual hiatus from childhood, it cost $900 to buy a Lionel Legacy ABA F-3 set with one powered sound unit and one non-powered unit with smoke and lighting. Today, just to get an N Scale set of BLI F ABA 3s (both As powered) with sound and no smoke costs $360.00 or more. If you need an ABBA set with one powered B Unit and 2 powered A units, it is about $500 even with discounts.
When N scale MU F Unit consists start approaching the cost of MTH Premier and Lionel Legacy O Scale ABA consists, there is an issue of affordability because the whole purpose of N scale is to be able to run more trains and longer trains than you can do in O Scale because of the smaller scale. In fact, to fill a N scale layout with sound equipped locos can end up costing 2 to 3 times as much as it would cost to fill an O scale layout in the same space due to the sheer quantity of engines required in N Scale. For any modeler on a budget (which is basically 99.9% of modelers), such a doubling or tripling in cost per engine is a concern especially when there is no non-sound DCC or straight DC product option to convert to DCC. Worse, if my first engine were a poor performing expensive sound unit back in 2001, I would never have proceeded to build the layout and collection I did. It would have turned me off to the hobby very quickly.
I seldom run my BLI locos because all of them are just not the most reliable runners or pullers compared to my other DCC without sound locos. Sound locos in N Scale just are not worth the doubling in cost given the reduction in reliable performance and traction/adhesion if you intend to run 30 to 40 to 50 car trains. I almost bought the BLI F units which have gorgeous shells, but in the end those gorgeous shells end up sitting idle in the yard or on a siding or on shelf while Kato and IM multiunit consists rule the rails. If you are like me and have a large layout, you simply cannot afford to have a stall on a MU consist in a hard to reach area of the layout. Unfortunately, I know of no way to shut off the volume with a CV to lower the voltage needed to run these locos and perhaps ameliorate the stalling nor do I know of a way to boost track voltage without damaging the other locos. I love their shells and would purchase the shells to replace Kato shells on my F units and Switchers but if you actually want to run multiple trains simultaneously without watching each train separately, most BLI Locos are simply not even close to the performance reliability of non-sound DCC equipped Katos, IMs, Atlas etc. Thanks for the review, but for a $150.00 or $300 for a steamer, who wants buyer's remorse and who needs another high cost shelf queen that gets no running time. Most of us already own more engines and rolling stock than we can fit on our layouts. It is almost as if Kato has become the new Life-Like, the affordable brand as Lifelike was 15 to 20 years ago for DC locos.
I think we all have enough shelf queens which either can't be converted to DCC or otherwise run poorly when converted and need labor intensive disassembly and cleaning and tinkering. Who has the time to spend hours tinkering with a new loco. While at times I enjoy the challenge of making something work, I also cherish the luxury of operational reliability and for that reason Kato is still in business despite their toy like shell detail. Yes this BLI switcher sounds great - but I used to model O scale and the sound will get annoying after 5 minutes or less if you are trying to unwind or concentrate on other things while running trains. Thanks for the review - Wish BLI would offer non-sound diesels for a lower price as I think their units would run a whole lot better without requiring constant high voltage and spotlessly clean track. I notice on elevated curves (rather than switches) many of their streamers stall on Kato Unitrack so I assume the tender axles are not sprung and some designs simply lose conductivity.
I agree, it is hard to justify sound if it only gives more problems than without it. It is always a concern of mine when the sound stops on my layout, I at least know that something happened if not paying attention. My mainline is above my head near the ceiling in 3 rooms so having sound helps me out a bit. Not running a switcher up there most likely. By the way, you are by far the longest comment I have ever had on any of my videos. Thank you for your perspective, I appreciate it.
RF, I sure wish I lived near you as I need a mentor to get me through the tough times ahead. Meaning, I’m restarting after leaving the hobby in the ‘90’s. The big innovation at the time was cameras in the cab for HO. I received a NCE starter set yesterday. Alas, all my locos are old DC or new DC that the price was right. Is there ANYWHERE a list of DCC decoders for old locos? ie. I have a set of Kato ABBA F3’s (I think), FM switcher, a couple of RS locos, etc. None have ever been run. Thanks for any help. Sam P.S. I’m in the wilds of n. Michigan and NO clubs to be found.
@@samiam619 Sam: Depends if your DC engine models are easily converted with drop in decoders. Many Atlas models and older Kato models were not DCC friendly. Some can be converted but it is often not easy to do without milling the frames. Too often it makes more sense to keep some of the layout DC and then some of the layout DCC or sell off the older stuff to DC modelers. New DCC equipped models are for the most part great runners and easy to MU (Kato Kobo AB sets with TCS decoders) are not cheap at $200.00 but they are virtually indestructable and could run for 10 years or more without replacing the decoders. The key with DCC is isolating the power from the frame to prevent shorts with motor leads and boards. TCS decoders are great as are the less expensive Digitrax decoders. NCE also makes decoders which are even less expensive but these are often hard to find because they tend to sell out. I have about 2O Life Like cab units ALCOs, PAs that are not DCC ready - I don't run them since I went all DCC but if I had to do it over , I would have kept some of my layout DC just to run the older stuff and test engines before I convert them to DCC. I love DCC but when consisting, it can become problematic when decoder's won't clear the address for the consist. CV 8=8 usually works to reset. The other frustration is that certain IM cab units are a pain to covert due to the soldering required and it is easy to overheat boards and melt leads or create shorts if you are not steady with the soldering iron. Even with warranties on decoder fails, I often just throw the fried ones away because I find I never have time to fill out the warranty paperwork and go to the post office. I like DCC equipped locos for that reason as it avoids bent motor tabs or fried decoders on the test track. As much as I like converting older DC locos to DCC, I much prefer to just run ABBA consists with 30 to 50 cars. Worse, when decoders fail on a unit with a lot of shell detail, it is always a risk that in pulling the shell off, you damage the shell or lose small press on parts. I try to avoid handling my engines for this reason so decoder and performance reliability equals less need to handle the engine and greater satisfaction. Rule # 1 is that if an engine runs great in DC, it should run great in DCC when properly converted. So I would start with the Katos as they will run for 20 years on dirty track and are about as close to a "sure bet" as there is N Scale DC to DCC conversions. You can pick up Atlas DCC equipped locos as well but the Katos tend to run a bit smoother so I would have to say - prioritize the Katos if you can pull it off. If not, keep some part of the layout DC and isolate it from the DCC layout section or put the DC on the shelf and restock with DCC ready or equipped Kato units. Sometimes you can find used locos with DCC installed and many of these are cheaper than the cost of the loco when new without the decoder board (IM FTs and F3s, F7s and FP7s and FP9s with B Units). The IM Units are as good as Atlas locos and have stunning paint jobs with nice shell details in about 20 or more road names. Be very selective in regard to converting to DCC and you should not be disappointed. MT FTs are drop in decoders but the shell details tend to come off (horns and railings) and they are a bit noisier than IM units. I am still running IM and MT FT ABBA sets I bought in 2001 through 2003 and they are still my favorite engines when MUed due to drawbars and close coupling and tremendous pulling power.
Road of the streamliners
Route I mean
A switcher needs to be a flawless operator to work a yard in N Scale. My problem with most BLI problems is they are great looking and sounding locos, but the compromised performance ruins the experience and the constant drone of noise gets old and even when you mute them, once they stall they need to be muted over again, and all of these locos stall, some more than others. Compared to a Kato or even the DCC equipped Bachman switchers, it is hard to justify a doubling in price for the benefit of sound. I seldom run my BLI locos because all of them are not reliable runners compared to my other DCC without sound locos. Sound locos in N Scale just are not worth the doubling in cost given the reduction in reliable performance. Compared to a Kato or a Bachmann, just don't see why we need this. Like their F units which have gorgeous shells, in the end those gorgeous shells end up sitting idle in the yard or on a siding or on shelf while Kato and IM multiunit consists rule the rails. If you are like me and have a large layout, you simply cannot afford to have a stall on a hard to reach area of the layout. Unfortunatley, I know of no way to shut off the volume to lower the voltage needed to run these locos. I love their shells and would purchase the shells to replace Kato shells on my F units and Switchers but if you actually want to run trains without watching each train seperately, most BLI Locos are simply not even close to the reliability of non-sound DCC equipped Katos, IMs, Atlas etc. Thanks for the review, but for a $150.00 or $300 for a steamer, who wants buyer's remorse. I think we all have enough shelf queens which either can't be converted to DCC or run poorly when converted. Who has the time to spend hours tinkering with a new loco. Yes this sounds great - but I use model O scale and the sound is just annoying if you are trying to unwind or concentrate on other things while running trains. Thanks for the review - Wish BLI would offer non-sound diesels for a lower price as I think their units would run a whole lot better without requiring constant high voltage. I notice on elevated curves (no switches) many of their streamers stall on Kato Unitrack so I assume the tender axles are not sprung and some designs simply lose conductivity.
your tracks are dirty
I cleaned them prior to this review.