say no to Broadway limited imports
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ม.ค. 2025
- This might seam bad form. But this is my first and last BLI locomotives. The electric pickups are absolutely a disgrace on these new heavy 2-8-2s. I’ve had cheap locomotives most of my life. If not used locomotives. I’ve never had any that stall this bad right out of the box. Tested my track and I can’t find a dead spot on my mainline. And all my other locomotives ran fine before this video. But these BLI locomotives don’t make good contact anywhere. And yes it 2 locomotives I just bought with the same problem. I’m looking to fix these pickups as fast as I can. But when your paying for premium. You expect premium. These are just poor operating locomotives. Also many mechanical details I didn’t add in. Like the cross heads where out of alinement. And other things. So I would say no to buying these unless your collecting for shelf divas. There grate looking. But operating there very poor. Made with Perfect Video goo.gl/iacPmP
I've had no issue's with the 4 of my BLI locomotives so far .
I thought I was alone on this experience with three of my locomotives from BLI. I have a few BLI locos, steam and diesel, in both HO and N. I have never had an issue with the HO-scale, but the N-scale, that’s another story.
I have an N steam (Pennsy M1a) and an N diesel (Santa Fe PA-1) that exhibit the exact same problems you seem to have. The difference is my small layout is indoors and clean & dry. I still can’t get these two locos to behave in any ops session. The problem is mostly going over Kato switches and crossovers, but the locos will still randomly stop/start on straight open track. Once the PA-1 stopped dead on the track and the headlight flashed, indicating a fault with the DCC board.
I also once had an CSX AC6000 diesel burnout its DCC board in its inaugural break-in run. Got the whole unit replaced from the store with one that worked.
From my experience with them it seems that BLI has issues with maintaining quality consistency in its electronics manufacturing. For my BLI N-scale locos I’m running about 1 out of 4 being bad/defective when I break them in after purchase. For the prices they charge and the reputation they’ve built, that’s not acceptable.
This has just been my past experience with the BLI brand, though.
Fully agree. The price is way to high. The quality way to low and I’m getting the same feedback. Most are they have to replace it 2-4 times before getting one that runs. That’s worse then Bachmann locomotives. And there half the price. So full kato for me. I hope they remake the GP38-2 and start making a GP9. Would buy them myself.
My HO Streamlined K4 was a real lemon. I replaced the decoder with Esu Loksound with a lifeline capacitor. Runs great now.
I got a Pennsylvania Railroad T1 last Christmas and it dosnt seem to like certain switches, specifically the ones with metal Frogs on them.
But then again it could also be that the layout circuit is not complete yet
loose wiring? if they have the clips on the decoders instead of soldering the wires to the boards?
About to find out this week. Going to be adding weight to the tender for better pickup there. So I’ll be checking. Did a ohms test on the face of a single wheel and got a high resistance reading. I’m thinking the wheel blacking is not very conducive.
Have you cleaned the wheels, and checked the wheel contacts?
I'm in HO, and a Dealer for BLI, Not had a bit of trouble with any of mine! Do you wire around your turnout frogs? Do you jumper around track joiners, or run feeder wires to each section of track?
Joe Bliss
Allegheny Model RR Services
Cleaned, checked for quarter. Had to re quarter and gauge almost every axle. Tested on a 30” bit of flex laid straight against a metal straight edge and still the same problems. Got rid of them and have a really sour taste in my mouth as my email was never answered. Till after my store return window dried up and as I never filled out the card I read other reviews about returns costing a lot so gave up completely on BLI
They work for me in that I have sent back two, one for a coupler and one that ran for a few minutes and went dead. I am willing to put up with some of that as long as they accept the returns. The reason being is that there locos have better sound than Bachmann and Atlas of which I own some of them also. The locos also have quality details and paint.
From what I could figure out, it seems like the N scale BLI locomotives are riddled with problems. The same can’t be said for the HO scale models. I think it might be an issue of bad conductivity between the loco and tender.
Yep. I went through 2 SD-7M's in the span of 2 weeks. Both blew out
What you're talking about is an issue all across the board with model American steam engines. The only brand that seems to make good ones is Kato but only in n scale. Hopefully Walthers and Atlas can make steam engines again and have Bachmann and BLI getting a run for their money. Athearn needs to try other steamers besides the challenger, big boy, and fef-3s.
It’s alright though, a pacific I bought. Doesn’t seem to have good electric pickup when I ran it the second week I had it. I bought from a member at my railroad museum who would sell it for 300. Luckily my other steamers like my s 3 mikados and also my consolidation along with my reading t1. I mostly stick with Athearn bachmann and walthers
I got a Pennsylvania Railroad T1 last Christmas and it dosnt seem to like certain switches, specifically the ones with metal Frogs on them
I only buy Paragon 2, 1, and Precision Craft models now because they seemed to care back then about being decent. Their Paragon 3 and 4 locomotives are trash. Doctor Hobby made a video about how every Broadway Limited he acquired has been nothing but issues. Can't see how people will blindly defend them even after sending them back 2 or 3 times. I would never accept that but like you said people seem to care more about looks than actual function. What's even funnier is older Broadway Limited is built on the same tooling, actually reliable, cheaper, and is exactly the same as their new stuff but won't melt your boiler or force you to send it back a ton of times yet they demand you pay a premium for the same 2000's decoders, tooling, and synchronized smoke.
So here's what I am seeing from your video that you will need to do
- Condensation: If the tent creates a lot of it, its bad for track and locomotives in general so if the tent produces that after a rain storm or its mist on the under part of that, that will magically fall down onto the track and condensation = water and that's a no no
( knowing that some people might not have the space for layouts so going cheap is a good idea but can also be a downturn, if you get the chance to have any space in your home like your garage if you have one or a spare room, move your layout there, it will last longer overtime and save you time and money on refixing locos if they get damaged by the condensation )
- How to fix your issues: first thing I would do is reset all the locomotives that don't work properly one at a time, there are videos on how to do this and Ill give you a title of one to get you started, super easy and quick tutorial and you'll be flying through these resets in no time on your DCC locomotives. ( " 105. Resurrect A "Dead" Decoder" by Model Railroading ) quick easy tutorial and explains why this is actually necessary for large layouts like yours from time to time.
- Different company locomotives wont run with other different company locomotives: This sounds confusing at first but let me explain, Bachman 4 6 0 wheel placement pulling a Broadway Limited 2 8 2 Mikado Will not work, cant speed match or anything to get it to pull those two trains, you have to have the same motor, same gearing. ( I know it sounds harsh when I said that last part but that's basically model railroading dcc for you, I wish they could, that would be awesome but it kind of sucks )
- Speed matching: if you have same locomotives that have same motors, they aren't going to easily be the same speed, you have to go into the dcc controller and set it up yourself, you can look on TH-cam by typing "How to speed match w/DCC fast and easy way" By Railfan220 and its probably one of the best videos IMO on the market on TH-cam for tutorials on speed matching your locomotives.
Actually. I’m not the first person to run N scale in a shed. Or even exposed to the outdoors. Second I’ve not speed matched the BLI locomotives yet as I’m trying to get them to run correctly first. Last you should never complain about someone’s layout. All of us do the best we can. I’m just doing it my way. If you don’t like my way fine. But I’ll never tell you your modeling wrong. But I would make suggestions on how to get something working. Not tell you don’t do that. All my other equipment is speed matched by speed. Step one is 1mph. Step 120 is 120mph. Scale speed of corse. You do your modeling. I’ll do mine.
@@nfordf450 dam no need yo be mad i thought u needed help from how ur emotions were expressed in the video also I love ur layout man i think it looks great so far
Have been trying to get parts for my BLI 4-6-2 heavy N scale writen many letters have never gotten an answer poor customer service. I too will never buy another BLI product . I guess cubtomer service is not around anymore . Paid alot of money for this locomotive what a shame.
The Environment your layout is in is the problem!!!
Yet I have around a dozen BLI units and not 1 problem with any of them...🤔
I totally agree with you, I really think BLI needs to massively improve their quality control in China.
I was going to buy 2 BLI AC6000 in csx n scale para 3 because they dont make them in para 4. I read all the comments. I will stick to my KATO’s.
Wow
Just because it cost more doesn't mean it's "better"
I never liked N-scale, much too hard to see, and handle for me. But as far as HO-scale, I've got at least 7-8 BLI Steam, including 1 SW-7, and 2 Hybrid Steam, and all are still Excellent runners!
I stopped buying BLI junk two years ago. I feel your pain. Send them back to BLI for repair.
I know I'm really bumping an incredibly old video here but I agree and have come to the conclusion I'm sick of BLI's models. Now I'm in HO scale, not N and I can't really say anything for N scale as I don't model it or follow what is happening with it.
Broadway Limited *really* needs to fix their decoder issues on ALL their models. I know these are super old, but I just bought 2 K4s with are Paragon 1 era (QSI Sound) and NEITHER run from the guy I got them from. I paid $490 for 2 locomotives that don't work and now am trying to get the 1 running with TCS Wowsound. How in the crud is that a "ready to run model" if it can't even survive a few years & about 2-3 owners without taking a giant dump afterwards...and it ain't even mechanically related, it's just the decoders! People have said Paragon 4 has "fixed" these issues, but I'm skeptical with what my friend has brought over to my house as of late. Like, my MTH K4 from 2001 seems to run better than anything BLI, the only downside is it only has pickups on the tender and does like to freeze up from time to time but I might just be pressing a weird function key that does that. It can easily be fixed though by just turning track power off and on or lifting it off enough to cut power and it also don't often in the 1st place.
I bought a Precision Craft RDG T-1 off Ebay for only $250 and wouldn't you know it ran RIGHT AWAY without any issues as it has an old ESU decoder in it. Took it to the club and didn't have a single issue with the thing and ran 1st try on the layout and not a single problem since except the whistle likes to get stuck on.
In contrast, the 1st locomotive I ever got was a BLI Paragon 3 era L1. Now I not knowing this crap happened got one with a defective decoder that had sat on my train store's shelf for over 2-3 years until I finally got it at half price. Got it home and this thing couldn't even do *1* lap around my layout as it kept doing a Checksum every few minutes then resetting itself. Finally after doing that for several days it stopped being stupid and wanted to work properly. The problem though is I couldn't run it on ANY other layout then my own, otherwise it would totally have a fit and just stop working. Heck I took it to the same club the one day and I couldn't even blow the whistle it was so corrupted. I get that it was a bad decoder, but my word, when I tried replacing it the design is so bad because of the dumb smoke unit adding like 3-4 wires that ain't needed, rewiring it is a nightmare as you have no idea what is what or what goes where. I still haven't finished the rebuild of it and don't plan to for a while.
The 2nd locomotive I got was a BLI M1 from the Paragon 2 era. Now that actually is OK and BLI didn't have a mental breakdown when I put it on the track and powered it up for the 1st time on my layout...but that was also because it was used and not brand new which made it a heck of a lot easier to deal with. Now, I also took the thing to the club and I had to spend probably a half hour to an hour trying to get it to run there as my *WORD* do BLI decoders HATE when a lot of other decoders are around. That thing just stopped working about 2 times at the club due to it just having a mental breakdown and not wanting to respond to any commands and would only work again after a reset. And I thought Paragon 2 models were supposed to be good?
BLI's mechanical side of the tooling is generally fine, I have no problems with that. The problem I have with their crap is the electronics. It just ain't worth it paying $150-$300 for a model I can 100% WON'T WORK and you'll have to do a giant amount of overhauling to just to make it run, not to mention the giant cost it is to do a decoder + wiring replacement. Plus, some of us just want a RTR model we know will just work as we don't have time to work on our stuff 24/7. I sure don't with getting a promotion at my work place & even before that working a 40 hour work week. Heck I don't wanna come home and work on my layout or models after working a grueling 8-9 hour shift. I want to either sleep, just watch TH-cam or if I have any energy at all do gaming. I'd run my models if I had a larger layout (but that's a whole other story) & if half of them actually even ran.
When like 80% of your life is spent working or sleeping, you try and find time where you can. I don't want to spend that 20% of my life not even running my trains but just working on them cause a whole 30% of them actually work. I've more or less come to the conclusion the I'll only really be able to do this hobby once I move out (if that ever happens cause I'm 23 years old and counting and it ain't like housing/renting prices are going down) or when I'm retired and only have like 20-25 years left of my life to enjoy. It's why I don't understand modern manufacturers and wonder why said model MSRP costs $400-$600 on average when holy piss it don't even work out of box. I get having a run in session where you need to run it around for it to get used to itself. But my word, when your several years into owning the model and it still has problems that shouldn't happen, period. Forget their warranties too, Broadway, like many other companies (Bachmann as a perfect example) don't even seem to know how half their models function let alone what the problems could be, how to fix them or how to do it properly. Just for me to order a non-traction tire driver set for my L1 costed $16...that much for a single wheelset! What the heck BLI? My friend has sent his 1 old Bachmann loco back to them like 4 times without it being fixed as every single time they said "we can't do anything about it". BLI seems to be the same with most of their "discount" refurbished items on their site being people's attempts at warrantying a loco then just saying forget it. I don't pay more then $300 for a single locomotive and most of those refurbished things are well beyond that.
It's why nowadays a lot of guys like me are turning to railroad/train simulators instead of physical model railroading as it's cheaper as well as more readily available as you don't have to spend thousands on the models themselves, need physical space to put them in or have to have any skill to do even the most basic of tasks.
The hobby and its toys are complex...more complex than some understand. I have over 32 locomotives from at least five different importers, with at least ten BLI steamers among them. I started with a Paragon Hudson from 2004, and went on to have four more, at least two Paragon 2, and several hybrids, plus the Paragon 3 4000 series Mikado issued about 12 months ago or so. I have no problems with them. I use Peco Insulfrog #6 Code 83 turnouts, plus several of my own hand-laid turnouts. They all work well. I think live frogs are a recipe for disaster in HO unless you really know what you're doing and you have a proper polarity switch of some kind. The decoder here is improperly set up, or it is defective. BLI will take a look at it and get it back in good order. I have sent BLI four locomotives for repairs, all under warranty, and this is over 16 years. They even replaced a decoder when I mistakenly installed an axle reversed in a tender and shorted it out. They did it for free. BTW, the brass locos are nice, but they don't have speakers or decoders, and they're pretty much all used.
Thats why I get the old Athearn blue boxes. Made in the USA!
Also just saw u were trying to push a loco that has a completely different motor size than that moguel at 3:48 DONT DO THAT thats how u break ur locomotives bc the gear ratio will get destroyed if they have the exact engines and gears thats fine but u won't be able to have a small and large locomotive together if u had let's say two f7 units that were thr same brand and same design, they would work just fine
I have ran plenty of locomotives from different brands and different gears motors and wheel size. No problem ever. I speed match my locomotives without a problem. The BLI locomotives I’m running as a pair I bought recently. But they both run the same speed threw the whole speed range. But the problem is the wheel blacking agent they used is non conducting. And almost all the wheels are out of gauge causing them to pinch and climb the rail at turnouts and curves. Yes my model power locomotives are speed matched to the BLI locomotives already and each other. But when the BLI is not getting power threw the wheels they stall. All others run fine. I’ve literally had to take the wheels off and soak them to remove the wheel black. And come to find out. They also used the same wheel black on the bushings made of brass. So I’m going to be soaking them.
Track erasers ruin the track i think, bli locos are sensitive
You’re right about them bright boys. Never use them.
You think BLI is no good, MTH HO, and there decoders were far worse! If you layout is "crap", and you don't have it housed in a climate controlled environment, you're asking for trouble! I've got one of the new Broadway Limited HO C&O Hybrid K2 Mikado's ordered, and I can't wait to get it!
I've got 2 other HO Hybrid C&O locos on my layout, and both are top quality, and operate flawlessly! 60 Years in the hobby makes a difference in how you design & build a layout! Track work & wiring are the two most important things, to make a layout run trouble free!
Couldn’t agree more on track work and wiring. I have a feeder every 6’ seams to be fine and feeders behind and in front of all turnouts. I have many kato, atlas, model power, and life like locomotives that run perfectly. Tho they might not look the best. But I do run then in all temperatures and humidity outside in a shed. Tho I cleaned my track 2 years ago now with mineral spirits and no ox. Did the same with my locomotives. Including the BLI 2-8-2s and the only ones that would not act correctly where the BLI. The rest where fine. So I don’t know why I never got a reply from BLI. To replace them. Guess the pandemic. But I sold the problems. So I’m not worried about it now.
Maybe you should start by combing your hair and brushing your teeth, Then tidy up your layout. Check your electrics and update your track. I recommend BLI and have no problem with their products. Dpn't TRY to fix your problems, FIX THEM.
My ho runs great . No problems here.