I’m interested in this locomotive, with sound, and I’d like to know if someone has one how would you rate it.
Great
good
fair
or
poor
I have a BLI 2-6-6-4 steamer and it is one fine engine. I also like and own P2K and Kato and they’re good machines also, but I’m looking for the SD-40-2 with sound and in Norfolk Southern so I think BLI maybe be the only one.
Jarrell
I would also like to know as I am wanting to get one or two in Illinois Central paint.
Victor
Happy Railroading.[swg][swg]
Jarrell, this is off topic, but did you ever get your shut-down to work?
The big gripes on the SD40 are the shallow details and appearently the sound is somehow incorrect. I dont own one, but have run them and I think they are great. I’m going to get one next time I have some extra money.
i forgot there was one in IC paint. But it’s too expensive for me. I think BLI is decent quality. (I’ve never owned one)
Bad details, paint is blah, sound is incorrect.
Dont waste your $
I have one in UP paint re-decaled for FEC. I’m
not a diesel guy, but I like mine and think from
a foot away it looks similar to a Kato. Some
aspects better, others not as good. I DON’T like
the chime; it doesn’t compare well with the
LokSound Nathan 3-chime, having the wrong pitch
and only two tones audible. But you sure can
play it LOUD.
I also believe it is somewhat overpriced.
Hal
Jacon,
Body dimensions are correct. Detailing, IMHO, is not at “Genesis” level. Can be spruced up considerably with parts from Details West…
Sound is clear and not distorted, HOWEVER…The “actual” diesel primer mover scheme is inaccurate as it belongs to an older class of EMD diesels which were equipped with the 567 series diesel. But if you like the sound…don’t let that stop you. As for the horn, it’s a Leslie “S” series and is prototypical for certain railroads. CSX uses mostly Nathan K series on their road units, for example. I wonder if, to keep costs down, BLI/QSI apparently does the “one horn sound per locomotive class” practice.
Again, some modelers like me are more discriminating when it comes to sound and everyone has his or her own preferences. but if you like the unit go for it. At the club I joined, I met a down to earth memeber named Luke, who is a prototypical modeler. He knows about the discrepancy regarding the SD40-2’s sound, yet he’s cool with it.
Click on the link below and then select “HO”. You’ll need Media Player or Real One Player. It’s a video of a club I joined. The star of the video is Luke’s BLI SD40-2 with its horn blowing.
http://www.suncoastmrrc.com/gallery.htm#ho
If you’re curious and want to hear what various prototype horns sound like and what their history is, check out:
http://www.dieselairhorns.com Excellent website with lots of sound samples and cool video links.
Enjoy!
Never did. Gave up on it Crandell. I’ll get back to it one day, I know it’s gotta work.
Jarrell
I have the CSX model. Detail wise it is not as good as it should be for the retail cost. Having said that, unless you are a fanatic about every rivet being in the right place and are familiar with the sounds locomotives make to the point that you can tell what locomotive is going by strictly by sound, if you can find one for about $150 (E-bay) I would get one.
Bob DeWoody
Thanks for the answers everybody.
Antonio, I appreciate the links. You guys have a good looking layout, really nice. I check out the air horns soon. I’m a little hesitant about getting the bli now. One would think that a company that kinda specializes in sound locos wouldn’t use a ‘generic’ sound for that many of their locos. Personally I like their products but I may look around and see if someone like P2K makes a better one.
Jarrell
Thanks Jacon, I hope the links are helpful.
I have to say though in BLI/QSI defense that the sounds used in the diesel models are not generic. They are from real locomotives. In fact, I hope to buy one BLI E8. The sounds in BLI’s E units are excellent!
Now, the sounds in the Genesis F3, for example are generic. A friend of mine who has been a long time musician believes that they were most likely produced on electronic keyboards or synthesizers. So, the sound quality itself is dynamically crisp and clear though not accurate as has been claimed by a magazine review article.
But in essence; what counts is the customer’s satisfaction. Opinions on this forum can simply be used for useful reference or viewed as useless info. To each his own.
Though I’m not a “Rivet Counter” I’m one of those railfans that can identify certain diesel locomotives by sound, only because I was fortunate enough to have been able to spend so much time around them in my teen and young adult days. Got to tape record a few of them too! My local railroad was the SCL, which was very “Railfan Friendly”. ( I miss those days!).
If you like what you hear and can get an SD40-2 for $150 or less, than that would be a nice deal.
I forgot to mention that Luke allowed my kid to run his SD40-2. He loved that horn! He was all smiles from ear to ear!
Just to comment on the BLI sounds. They use generic sounds on all of their steam except for the whistles. The chuff is identical for the conventional engines without any changes and the articulated chuffs are a copy of their articulated sound. Steam locomotives really had different sounding exhausts because of their stack size and smokebox arrangements, but it is hard to duplicate in HO scale size speakers. The 4 beat characteristic sound is always present, but not as pronounced as the BLI sound in certain engines. We have to realize this is a model and it is a hobby.
The SD40-2 diesel sound without the turbo is really inexcusable, but it does make noise. The horn is another issue since different railroads used their choice of horns and that one is up for grabs.
This is not my experience, BangerT. I have three QSI-equipped locos, a BLI Hudson and a K4s, as well as a Lionel Challenger. The sounds from the newest edition of the K4 are quite unlike those of the Hudson, probably due to changes in their decoders (?) or their programming. There is more timbre in the K4. As for the Lionel, I have found several on-line videos of UP 3985 wallowing up a wye. The sounds on the videos closely match those of the QSI system in my Lionel, although the latter cannot possible compete for full dynamic response with its small speaker and enclosure. The lower freqs are just not there.
If I had one criticism, but it must also be due to the speaker and enclosure, it is the not-very accurate horn on the Challenger. It sounds raspy, and not throaty and mournful like the real thing. A bit of a disappointment for me.
Perhaps, since my ear is not educated, QSI massaged some of their generic chuffs to get something passable for their steamers…I can’t say. But no two of mine sound alike.
Proto 2000 does not offer an SD40-2. BLI (w/snd), Kato (wo/snd), Athearn RTR (wo/snd) are your choices.
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This is not my experience, BangerT. I have three QSI-equipped locos, a BLI Hudson and a K4s, as well as a Lionel Challenger. The sounds from the newest edition of the K4 are quite unlike those of the Hudson, probably due to changes in their decoders (?) or their programming. There is more timbre in the K4. As for the Lionel, I have found several on-line videos of UP 3985 wallowing up a wye. The sounds on the videos closely match those of the QSI system in my Lionel, although the latter cannot possible compete for full dynamic response with its small speaker and enclosure. The lower freqs are just not there.
If I had one criticism, but it must also be due to the speaker and enclosure, it is the not-very accurate horn on the Challenger. It sounds raspy, and not throaty and mournful like the real thing. A bit of a disappointment for me.
Perhaps, since my ear is not educated, QSI massaged some of their generic chuffs to get something passable for their steamers…I can’t say. But no two of mine sound alike.
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I don’t mean to critize just observing what is availble. Yes the Lionel Challenger is QSI and the articulated chuff is good on that one. It is very good on the BLI SP Cab Forward and it actually has the SP whistle. I do own almost all of the BLI except the Hudson you mentioned, so I have no idea of its sound. It may have different chuffing since it was the first model BLI built if you have the first edition.
The lionel Challenger was such a poor runner in general that I had to work on the mechanical portion of the engine before it could be run. I have several friends in a club that sent theirs back and received replacements that actually ran worse. There was several articles on how to fix the Lionel Challenger on Tony’s Web page . If you want the speaker to sound better, the speaker can be replaced and it responds much better.
The BLI K4 I purchased is not up to par in my opini
I’m glad that your not getting a Burlington Northern SD40 because the pilot on the loco is painted incorrectly. Its suppose to be black not green you Broadway dorks. But otherwise the model is great to run and I like them very much. I’m just waiting for them to come out with the older paint scheme for the Milwaukee road instead of the 1980’s [}:)] scheme. Not happy about that!
I do recommend the locomotive otherwise.
James
I was going to get one in Burlington Northern, but they painted the plow green…come on BLI what are you thinking about? [tdn]
RE: Burlington Northern SD40-2
Guys, with all due respect…I went to BLI’s website and clicked on the BN unit. Yes, a mistake was made…but it’s an easy and fast fix with an airbrush! If you really like the locomotive…then go for it!!
We could start a thread on countless model from P2K, Kato, Atlas, and Athearn that have these types of mistakes. The lettering on my Altas SCL U36C (MSRP was $110) is the incorrect style and my P2K SCL GP9 should have come with yellow handrails, not black.
As a modeler, I’m just going to take the challenge and make the corrections myself. Yes, we can easily say that “Hey, I’m spending my money so it’s gotta be right!” Or Else!" but remember, guys,…manufacturers are people like us that screw up as well.
However, Antonio FP45, I respectfully disagree with you. I think that painting an entire piolt green is not a small error. If therse guys had looked at a photograph…they would not have made this mistake! Which leads me to question the accuracy and quality of the rest of the locomotive…
Respectfully,