BLI E-6's have hit the shelves...

[brokemoto]

If anyone wanted to bash the B&O into the as rebuilt in 1953(?) version, would it take more than E-8 grilles to do that?  What are the other major differences between the 'as delivered to the B&O' and the rebuilt version.

[sizemore]

Tony could probably correct me if I'm wrong, but the other most significant item would be the E7/8 pilots.



Probably better off using a LL E6 shell and grafting the nose onto a Kato E8 shell.

The S.

[SkipGear]

Pictures......







LifeLike on left - BLI right





The trucks have a different pickup system than I remember on me E8's with wipers behind the wheel and axle pickup (not needle point, axle rides in a hole in the pickup). It looks like it rides a little high on the trucks but I didn't notice it till I got out the camera. It runs like my previous BLI loco's, no complaints. Sound is strong and plenty loud enough. I did notice the roof of the loco warming up quite a bit.

[Wutter]

Just curious, which gray is more correct...if any? 

[3DTrains]

The BLI is color looks spot-on, but it does ride quite a bit higher than the LL version, which looks strange to me. I also noticed from the images that the molding appears sub-par to their earlier releases - perhaps a different shell manufacturer? Except for sound, and going only on the images, it looks to me that the LL has better fidelity to the prototype E6. I'm sure one of my club-folk will pick up a set before the next show, so I can eye-ball the unit in person. 

Cheers!
Marc - Riverside

[spookshow]

Tony, it looks like you're missing a numberboard?

-Mark

[SkipGear]

Tony, it looks like you're missing a numberboard?

-Mark

Yup,
 Missing numberboard. I fired off an e-mail to BLI about the missing numberboard, high ride height (which by the way is not a problem on the B unit so it may just be a wire or something keeping the A unit shell from settling properly), and the parting lines in the nose. We will see what happens.

[rogergperkins]

Do any of you know why BLW has these listed; Tony says they are in the shop where he works, but MBK shows them as "out of stock."  I am guessing MBK has them coming, but not in to ship.   

[u18b]

My very first thought was--- something doesn't look right.  It is too high.

If the B unit is not as high, then let's hope the problem is with just your unit.

David Foxx,
Yes, the 501 was built as an E3,  but was quickly wrecked.  It was sent back and rebuilt to E6 specification.  I don't know all the physical little differences (if any) between the 501 and a stock E6.

I don't know much about its long history.  But (IIRC) after probably Amtrak days, it eventually became private property in Denver (I think).  Then it was sent to Waycross for work, and now it is in North Carolina Museum of Transportation.

[C855B]

If the E6 shell has the same internal profile as the E8/9, be looking for the DCC connector plus board at the rear being too high, pushing the shell up. This was an issue with my non-DCC E8's. In the end it was not possible to use a connector; I had to solder the decoder to the pin sockets.

[sizemore]

Do any of you know why BLW has these listed; Tony says they are in the shop where he works, but MBK shows them as "out of stock."  I am guessing MBK has them coming, but not in to ship.   

They've sold out of what stock they posted to the web. Most likely you'll see these restocked at MBK. BLI stuff has a horrible shelf life, so shops may be purchasing lower quantities of stock. Their past offerings went for "Bachmann" level price cuts to move them.

The S.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

So when will they hit $99 for a sound equiped unit? 

[SkipGear]

They've sold out of what stock they posted to the web. Most likely you'll see these restocked at MBK. BLI stuff has a horrible shelf life, so shops may be purchasing lower quantities of stock. Their past offerings went for "Bachmann" level price cuts to move them.

The S.

That was mainly the first batch of E7's. The E8/9's went pretty fast depending on the road. The CBQ E8's went very quick, like gone in 2 weeks. Just the same I only ordered my B&O set and a Santa Fe set for our shop. I didn't want to take a chance of them setting on the shelves while getting blown out at FDT.

[SkipGear]

Got a reply from BLI this morning.

They are more than willing to swap the unit but I'm not sure I feel safe doing that. When I mentioned the parting line on the nose, they couldn't see it in the photo and didn't know what a parting line is. If they don't have a clue how their own product is made, what chance is there that I get a better unit than I already have.

I guess they are used to half blind HO guys that can't see these types of errors.

BTW - The ride height is an issue with wires going over top of the enclosure. I removed the top of the enclosure (it just slip fits on) which allowed the wires the extra room they need and the shell snugs down nice on the trucks. It's still not as low looking as the LifeLike but the rooflines match now and it's not obviously high.

[rogergperkins]

I learned that MBK has a feature on their website that allows one to request an e-mail when an out of stock item is restocked. 
It really works very nicely; heard today and placed my order for the B&O A/B (dummy).  I am eager to receive this because I currently have no DCC engines with sound.