BLI N-Scale Announcements

[spookshow]

Got mine today and so far it's doing really well on the "Kato Test" (out of the box, onto rails of questionable cleanliness, and then turned loose at speed step 1). Two hours so far and only one stall on a turnout.

-Mark

[arbomambo]

Mine arrived today! My first BLI loco and steam, at that.
3759 “ in service”… but when?
As built-73” drivers
Just before WW2 - rebuilt with 80” drivers.
I got mine to ‘stand in’ as a later class-during the last months of revenue steam on the Santa Fe - Autumn of 1957,  in helper service from Belen, through Abo Pass/Canyon, up to Mountainair.
Mine will do the same; assisting Santa Fe perishable trains led by ABBA F7s through “Arbo Canyon”!

[PiperguyUMD]

73" drivers would get my attention for some kit bashing!

[peteski]

Got mine today and so far it's doing really well on the "Kato Test" (out of the box, onto rails of questionable cleanliness, and then turned loose at speed step 1). Two hours so far and only one stall on a turnout.

-Mark

This is just with straight through-the-wheels electric pickup? No keep-alive circuit in it?  That's impressive.

[spookshow]

This is just with straight through-the-wheels electric pickup? No keep-alive circuit in it?  That's impressive.

I haven't opened up the tender yet, but BLI's marketing spiel claims "Extra Built-in Capacitance for more Consistent Electrical Pick-up".

-Mark

[peteski]

I haven't opened up the tender yet, but BLI's marketing spiel claims "Extra Built-in Capacitance for more Consistent Electrical Pick-up".

-Mark

If you purchased one with one of their own Paragon decoders that usually means just plain capacitors (few hundred micro Farads, not any type of a Super Cap circuit, which would be few hundred thousand micro Farads). That type of circuit would have the model running few seconds after loss of rail contact.  But maybe they did actually modified their Paragon 5 decoders and added even more caps than they had in the past.

[spookshow]

But maybe they did actually modified their Paragon 5 decoders and added even more caps than they had in the past.

Peteski, there is no Paragon5. Not yet, anyway. Maybe it'll be AI? 

-Mark

[peteski]

Peteski, there is no Paragon5. Not yet, anyway. Maybe it'll be AI? 

-Mark

Four, five, whatever  . . .  Bascially a BLI's proprietary Paragon branded decoder.    I try to avoid those decoders. 

[Chris333]

220-221 whatever it takes.

[spookshow]

It really bugs me when manufacturers include little baggies of tiny detail parts but then don't go so far as to actually tell you what they're for. Any guesses here?



Thanks!
-Mark

[garethashenden]

They look like air hoses.

[robert3985]

Brake and steam lines.  The one with the 45° bracket is a steam line that goes on the rear of the tender for passenger service.  The other two pairs with silver painted quick disconnects are brake lines, pilot & rear of tender. 

If the model already has these attached, then these are extras, because they get broken easily, even brass ones.

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

[spookshow]

Thanks, Bob. There are no preinstalled hoses, so I guess it's a DIY project. I do see three holes back by the tender coupler where you could conceivably mount something, but I don't see any vacant holes on the pilot.

-Mark

[skeeter1024]

Mine arrived today! My first BLI loco and steam, at that.
3759 “ in service”… but when?
As built-73” drivers
Just before WW2 - rebuilt with 80” drivers.
I got mine to ‘stand in’ as a later class-during the last months of revenue steam on the Santa Fe - Autumn of 1957,  in helper service from Belen, through Abo Pass/Canyon, up to Mountainair.
Mine will do the same; assisting Santa Fe perishable trains led by ABBA F7s through “Arbo Canyon”!

I got my 3759 last week and have been enjoying it.  Looking in the Santa Fe Steam Series it looks like its appearance is at least as of August 1947 from the picture.  Sure would be nice to get a version with the double sand domes and the Elesco feed water heater.

Mark T.

[OrangeAnon]

Thanks, Bob. There are no preinstalled hoses, so I guess it's a DIY project. I do see three holes back by the tender coupler where you could conceivably mount something, but I don't see any vacant holes on the pilot.

-Mark

On another note, anyone else notice the middle two drivers don't actually touch the rail? This is most evident by running in one direction, stopping, and reversing direction. The third driver will spin in the air until the slop in the rods runs out and then the fourth driver will begin to turn and actually drive the loco. Is this typical of BLI steamers? The only steamers I've owned up to this point have been the Kato GS-4 and FEF-3, both of which have suspension of sorts to equalize the drivers, and the 3751 clearly has no such engineering.