im seriously considering the precision craft Y6b. factory direct trains has it for $399. while im not worried if i’m getting a rock bottom price it is my first experience with Precision craft and LokSound decoders.
<> any comments, good or bad, about either. hows doing business with Factory Direct? first time ther too.
thanks in advance… bobt
I ordered my RDG T1 (DCC w/sound) from FDT several months ago. It was delivered in a matter of days and worked 100% out of the box. This was my first sound locomotive and it exceeded my expectations.
Having no problems, I can’t comment on their customer service response, but I would not hesitate to order from them again if the opportunity arises.
UNDERSTAND that N&W’s 'Y’s were slow coal haulers, and almost all 'artic’s want broad curves to look, and run right.
kinda-technically its the same company that made the BLI 2-6-6-4. Explect the best from it.
I had emailed BLI about a 2-8-8-2 and they kinda hem hawed, naw, but then I got another email that said uhmm…well, keep your eyes open.
heh, they really did it.
I would have bought that engine sight unseen except for the shocking 700 dollar retail at the time when they first released them. They are apparently brutes that are not matched in hauling power.
399 is good but still steep. Then again I just used one of my two engine purchases for 2008 on a PCM 2-10-0 with the 8 axle tender. Im saving the other purchase for now. The Hobby shop discounts are pretty good.
What tickles me is I could probably get a second 2-10-2 to go with the first and the two of them double headed probably will match if not exceed the Y6b from PCM. Especially with traction tires installed for about a bit more than 400 dollars total.
The Class A when it was released defined quality and performance. I understand that these engines are quite the demand.
With the recent nuetering of engines lately I worry that they may exchange and sell out on quality in favor of cheep. I hope that day never comes.
The Y6b was slow yes. It also had some of the highest tractive effort availible anywhere on uphill, vertical, sideways and sheer drops common in the hollows and hills of the eastern mountains. It could with some urging get up and run at about 60 or so.
Im content with my Y3 and it’s 2-10-2 helper. =)
If you are a fan of the N&W, it is a must model to own. I have one and the sound overall is good but the whistle is great. The Chuffs sound good below 15MPH or so but it sounds very poor at thirty MPH or greater. Most of the Y6’s were in coal train service and the slower speeds are the normal running speeds. The Loksound is clear but like the Big boy, it does not sound good at speeds above thirty or so.
The Y6b is well worth the special price to my thinking. It pulls good too.
I got one in the package with another aux. tender and DC controller from FDT for $419, and I am very pleased. Sound is good, switches from simple to compound about 7 MPH, as it should. Real good hooter. Mechanism very smooth from a crawl. Pretty good tractive effort because of the die cast weight, but I wish they had included traction tires.
I love mine. It’s probably the best looking and smoothest runner of all my engines. I’m considering getting two more but I’m really trying not to… You know how it is. I also got mine from FDT and there service is the best I’ve encountered so far. I live in Sweden, I got it the same week I ordered since they ship them immediately after I put in the order.
Perfect engine, perfect service and great prices, what more could you ask for,
Magnus
i wouldn’t be afraid to buy from factory direct i bought pcm’s f3’s ab units,very fast shipping plus knowable sale people and will be buying that y6b from them /their great to deal with
I…want…one…of…those…
My newest loco might mave been the Y6b, but it was between that and the Gen Big Boy. The 4000 won out cause of my whole western thing. [(-D]
I still may end up with that heavy mallet. There is still time…
Got my Y6B just the other day, and I definately haven’t quite figured it and the “DC Master” controller out yet. There are several "quick settings you can change the values on, but you don’t know what the DEFAULT values are, so it’s very difficult to change some things (such as “load” without getting some pretty WEIRD results! The engine “chuff” sound is a little strange to me because at VERY slow speeds it sounds really good and realistic. But at MEDIUM speeds its starts to sound kinda “fake” or really synthesized. Then, all of a sudden, at HIGHER speeds (about 11 to 12 volts) the sound shifts back to a REALLY GOOD chuffing sound! Better than most I’ve heard! The only problem is the loco is going a little too fast for my tastes. Probably about 50 scale mph. The other thing that kinda ticked me off is the fact that the exploded parts diagram shows a model-specific plug-in smoke unit that can be turned-on-and-off from the “aux” button on the controller. The circuit board under the boiler has a special socket where this thing plugs in, labeled “SMOKE”. when I contacted the folks at PCM/BLI, they said no such part exists, and it can’t be gotten! I think it would be NEAT to have a controllable smoke generator on a DC layout! Look at your exploded diagram at #32, it is there, and the book says it’s “user-installed”. You would think the folks at PCM would at least be willing to look into it! But, whaddaya expect for a mere $425.00!!
The DCC Master is very basic. In order to access the regular Functions etc you need a pure blood DCC control system, not some stripped down horn/whistle button that happens to have a few LED’s and some binary code.
If they include any more of those little toys with buttons I will be throwing them away on future engine purchases.
As far as the “little buttons” I should have thrown away (as someone brillantly suggested), after further reading and experimenting, I found out I could change the DCC values from the DC MASTER CONTROLLER! The manual DID list default values for CV’s. Quite by accident, the first one I modified was “Maximum Speed” (don’t remember the CV number). It’s default value was 57. I re-set it to 45. The loco now sounds EXCELLENT!! The very slow speed sounds as it did, but instead of shifting to the “weird” mode, it smoothly shifts to a very realistic “labored” chuff. I think it litterally couldn’t sound any better. AND I DIDN’T HAVE TO BUY HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF DCC STUFF!!!
Aggro–
Just pretend your railroad bought a lot of stuff from the N&W like the Rio Grande did during WWII. There’s your excuse, right there, LOL!
Tom [}:)]
That’s not a bad idea - SP was pretty strapped for motive power in the last days of the war: 2-8-4s from B&M, 2-6-6-2s from United Verde Copper, 2-10-2s and 2-8-8-0s from UP on the Portland Division - there are even pictures of leased Yosemite Valley 2-6-0s in way freight service.
BTW, Tom, got something that might interest you here.
I bought one of these from Factory Direct for $399 and I’m well pleased with it. Great loco. Runs well and sound is good better slow than fast. Go for it!