So I’m on the verge of beginning my foray into model railroading.
I’m about to begin membership with NMRA, and the local Kentucky & Indiana RR Club. I’m pretty excited about all this.
I don’t have a location of my own for a layout, so the concept of just owning a train and going to the club’s firehouse to do my railroading seems pretty appealing to me. So I’ve been doing lots of research on what I want for my own personal locomotive.
I’ve finally, after wading through the scores of different brands and lines and configurations, settled on what I want. I knew it was going to be a steam loco, out the gate. I hate wanted an old classic 4-4-0 American, but that seems like it’ll end up being a down the road project.
I wanted Southern Pacific line, as that’s what I grew up watching. Well, I’m not a huge fan of their steamers so I had to decide on what line I wanted to own. Given I now live in Kentucky, and the local hobby shop has a beautiful HO scale BLI 4-6-2, with L&N on it, I’m pretty settled on it.
The hobby shop has it tagged for $239. The online store for BLI, which is all sold out, shows their retail at $349.
So my question now… I’m willing to pay the price for it, but is this worth it for a first time locomotive? Of course I’ll be bringing this up to my local club to get their opinions as well, but I am just trying to research as much as possible and figured this was a good place to start.
Thanks for anyone who takes their time here for me.
Searching here should bring up some opinions. There are several threads up here right now discussing BLI steamers. Generally, BLI locos are considered fairly reliable and they seem to get things straightened out if you do run into a problem.
That said, a steam loco is almost always going to be a might bit more tempermental than a diesel. Lots of reasons why that is so, just so you anticipate the user experience may require some patience. I certainly wouldn’t let that discourage you. Besides, it’s a good excuse to have a back-up diesel[;)]
I got the Paragon2 4-6-2 Light Pacific back before the end of the year. I just sent it back for the second time, because the first time one of the issues wasn’t addressed. They were very friendly when I called about it, and said this time it will be expidited. And I’m pretty confident that, based on what I’ve read around here, when I get it back it will run beautifully. Kind of bummed about it breaking so fast, but that’s what warranties are for.
I have one, runs very nicely, pulls well, very nice slow operation… Did have the headlight give out while under warrenty. Followed their initial suggestions to no avail, so they recommended returning it. It was returned to me quicker than they had suggested it would be. Works fine now.
There have been some issues addressed by forum members, but all seem to have been satisfies with the results of their dealings with BLI.
Pre-ordered my heavy Pacific from Factory Direct Trains. Paid $249 when it arrived. Had a problem with it that was repaired in a reasonable time. Several months later saw it listed on ebay and on one of the on line dealers that I subscribe to for $159. It may be worth checking out some of the online hobby shops before you buy. I also have some Bachmann steamers that were reasonably priced and run very well.
[#welcome] I see you plan to run on a club layout, have you discussed with them the control system they use? These days most clubs run some kind of Digital Comand Control (DCC) system. The BLI locomotive should run fine on a DCC club layout.
If in the future, you hope to have a home layout, you will need to decide if want to start with Digital Command Control (DCC) from the beginning. DCC will cost you more than conventional DC, but the BLI has a dual system decoder, so it will run on both DC and DCC systems, but much of the functionality of the sound system will not work on a DC system.
Having a good relationship with your local train shop is a valuable thing. Since he also has the engine at a discounted price, you both win. I would suggest getting it there. It may cost a few dollars more, but not much, than you could find it for, but you will have established yourself as a serious customer. For most shops, that means free advice and a friendly owner who calls you by name.
I have had a BLI steamer for 7 years now, and it’s still one of my favorites.
And my final suggestion? Get a caboose that matches the engine. That way, you’ll always feel right no matter whose tracks you’re running on.
A suggestion for when you do have space for your own layout. If you are operating at a club, having the same make of controllers at home will mean that you can take your handheld to the club. If you have your own loco, controller and caboose (Thanks Mr B, I agree) you should have a fun time operating.
Actually, one of the questions the dealer asked me when I was selecting a syatem was, “what do other people or groups near you have?” The one layout I knew about that has folks come to operate had the system I was leaning toward, made the choice easy.
Thank you guys all for your replies. I’m finding myself more and more warmed up to my new hobby.
As of right now, it’s totally going to be based on just running on their layout. I’m 29, living in my friend’s basement and about to start college. It’ll be a while before I have my own place let alone a location to build up my own layout.
So here’s the beauty in question, I took a few quick shots of it through the glass, this is the best I could do.
Luckily the local shop also has a number of cabooses in L&N with different numbers, including one that’s VERY pretty (well ugly) weathered. But I think I’ll stick with getting one of the unweathered for now, simply so I can learn to do the weathering myself.
They also have several early-mid 1900’s box car reefers decked out with local names (Cincinnati, Louisville, Clarksville, etc) which are exclusively sold in this area because, well, it’s all local Kentucky where L&N runs.
I’ve scoped the layout of the club’s place. They run DCC with Digitrax controllers. They even have a few to spare for people who don’t have their own. The club is really open and welcoming. Some of their members don’t even have any trains or layouts or anything. The club has trains and controls for those people. For myself, I would like to have my own (picked up in pieces along the way of course, fresh out the Army and starting school again, gotta conserve).
I’ve also developed a good relation with the hobby shop. I’ve been in numerous times, eye balled their goods… He knows I’m pretty serious buyer, just finances aren’t in the right spot just yet. But soon… So long as no one comes along, I’m pretty certain that little steamer is gonna be mine.
What I’m about to say may be of absolutely no interest to you, and that’s OK because it’s your project — not mine. I think the L&N choice is a good one because it’s a local railroad, and you’ll probably meet some others with an L&N interest at the club. A mutual interest in the same RR tends to break the ice when developing new friendships. The 4-6-2 was a passenger engine, so you might consider getting some passenger cars, rather than a caboose. Club members familiar with L&N can advise you on the most appropriate passenger cars. BLI makes a USRA light Mikado (2-8-2), as well as a heavy Mikado. L&N had both. The heavies (many, many upgraded copies of the original design) were very numerous, and were probably most famous for their service in the Eastern Kentucky coal fields. You might consider a BLI Mikado as an L&N freight engine, and that’s when the caboose will come into the picture. Another steam engine to consider is the P2K USRA 0-8-0. These heavy steam switchers were also used by L&N. For L&N modelers, there are certainly a lot of very good options (notice, I haven’t even mentioned diesels, but there are many good opportunities there as well).
So after long consideration, waiting on finances to get in order, I was finally able to make the dive! I went ahead and got the BLI 4-6-2 and I couldn’t be happier. In fact, I’m so happy with it I plan on ordering the other engine number so I can run lash ups.
All in all, first off, she’s a beautiful little engine. Runs smooth, sounds great, pulls well. I definately got my money’s worth. I am not complaining.
I appreciate everyone’s in put and advice. Here’s a good pic from my test run last night.
After warming her up with my box cars and caboose (that’s all I own as of now) my buddy let me hook up to all his reefer cars… No problem with pulling or pushing them around the layout. In both a slow crawl, or a hot clip, those cars weren’t nothin’.
worth.
I’m finding myself more and more warmed up to my new hobby.
