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Author
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jbaakko
Diesel Detail Freak
Registered: June 2005
Location: San Diego, CA / Hancock, MI
Posts: 6864
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Review Date: Sat July 28, 2007
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: $119.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Very inexpencive, great value, nice sound, SUPER detail
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Cons:
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BLI says it takes 18" but I have derail issues on 22"
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This has to be the single best investment I've made in a long time. BLI has really pulled off a SUPER product with the BlueLine sound equipped DC units.
I went with DC because it was a whole heck of allot cheaper, Factory Direct Trains has them for $119, ($126 after shipping). A decoder will cost me roughly $20-$30, bringing my total to $156 at the highest. Thats $13 less then the MSRP of the BlueLine unit! And $90 less then the MSRP of a DCC/Sound unit!
The detail is out right beautiful, it came with installed ditch lights, wipers, grab irons, air horn, air line, MU lines, coupler lift bracket, and even MU hose connections. The only thing it lacks is the one large MU hose, though it looks like it was supposed to be installed, as there are longer pins sticking out. A small length of red hose would work. The rear grill section is semi-see through, and has some depth to it. The stacks are also see through, though there's nothing to see below. The number boards are opaque, and the lighting would come on immediately when power was applied to the rails.
The sound is perfect out of the box, though I will be adding DCC to get the added benefits, you can buy a DC booster pack to use the horn, bell & 2 other functions. BLI says startup will be much higher due to the increased starting voltage for the sound system, though the rolling voltage can be lowered with an included jumper. I was surprised to find out that with the sound system, I only had to get to about 60, on my Athearn DC power pack before the sound kicked in. The Locomotive would, however, creep along at around 45. This is MUCH better then all of my P2K units, which require me to get to at least 75 before it would budge!
The power "notch" setting climbs as you make the train go faster, and the brake squeal comes on as you lower the power. The random air let off works from time to time, and caught me by surprise the first time.
I would like to suggest that you use nothing lower then 24" radius with this unit. BLI says it will operate down to 18", and I don't doubt that, but on my 22" test track, it would frequently push the forward most axle off the rails, though the train would never fully derail, it is annoying. The BLI trucks pivot between then inner 2 axles, not directly over the middle axle as most models, and the prototype does. This allows for the greater turning capabilities. Also the pilots will swing way out, and may pull the trailing locomotive, or rolling stock off the track.
Great job BLI, keep up the great work!
P.S. the one light, one plugged look of the pictures is a camera trick. They both have lenses, and both of mine light up.
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Josh
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Smoke
Southern Serves the South
Registered: May 2006
Posts: 448
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Review Date: Mon July 30, 2007
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: $119.00
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Cheap loco with great sound
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Cons:
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Small space for decoder
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I have to agree with Josh's review of this loco. The only think that I don't like so far is the headlights on both ends, there is only one hole for the headlights. If you look at Josh's photo you can see the yellow plastic behind the headlight. This isn't a big deal but will take a little drilling to fix(the headlights work but are dim).
I have run the loco on 18" curves and the front truck partialy derailed. The front axle was "pushed off" but didn't derail. the track I was using was some cheap Bachmann Ez track with black ballast(came with a trainset).
One thing Josh didn't mention is the lights in the unit. There is a seperate LED for each of the headlights,ditchlights and numberboards. I drilled out a hole for my headlights as I like BRIGHT headlights and ditch lights. The ditchlights on my loco don't come on on normal DC , and are activated when the horn is flashed in DCC.
UPDATE:
The ditchlight from the factory are very dim and I have been trying to make them brighter. I have made the DL holes larger, and drilled out a TON of the frame. The LED's have shjort connections so I am replacing them with different LED's do that they are colser to the Ditch Light's.
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Modeler of the Modern Day Southern Railway.
www.crescentmodelworks.com
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conrail313
Registered Member
Registered: June 2008
Posts: 10
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Review Date: Thu June 12, 2008
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: $90.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Great sound, great detail
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Cons:
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ditch lights are a bit odd
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I purchased 2 CSX ac6000cws for $90 each, and i love them. the only thing that I dislike is the ditchlights, high mounted, but otherwise, they are simply awesome
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Rogue
Flying Scotsman
Registered: April 2008
Location: Glasgow, Scotland
Posts: 75
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Review Date: Wed September 17, 2008
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: $130.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Great sound straight from the box
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Cons:
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Detail on the stacks could have been better
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Agree with Josh but have had no derailing problems! I am very pleased with this loco and now want to buy more Broadway!
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George
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You can find me on MySpace at http://www.myspace.com/darthkiltie
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