HO Scale 4-8-4 DCC Steam Locomotive Broadway Limited Product Review

[@thomasavensjr.2790]

Very impressive and attractive looking Milwaukee Road 4-8-4 model, I really hope to purchase one of these models some day in the future but I need to earn additional income first as these BLI steam engines are very expensive.

[@willberestartingthischanne9984]

Very Nice!

[@lanemcmurry4450]

Is it a plastic or metal body

[@Jeff-Vader_head_of_catering]

THANK YOU for explaining the red emergency light! Up in my neck of the woods we have a retired UP 4-8-4 that's near and dear to my heart #833. It's been out of commission since 1957, but donated to Salt Lake City in 1972 by UP. I've always loved it, but never knew what that blasted light was for! Now I'm on the hunt to see if I can have a G scale version made.

[@nw611J]

Josh Lambert z

[@cpjjp4705]

What remote are you using ???

[@tsgmultimedia]

The person presenting the review always used a Digitrax system.

[@cpjjp4705]

TSG Multimedia how do you connect all together. And what type size of Digitrax controller ??????????????????????

[@cpjjp4705]

What type of digitrax controller did You use to run this locomotive ??????????

[@tsgmultimedia]

It was either a DT400 or a DT500.

[@cpjjp4705]

How did you connect all of it what did you use to connect it to ?????????

[@struck2soon]

I think I have worked when your payday is....it was yesterday! A mighty impressive looking and sounding engine, money well spent I would say. I am sure BLI will be bending over backwards to get your driver wheel gauge issue sorted.

[@struck2soon]

+Daniel Cortopassi Always a pleasure watching....also been enjoying your dcc installs on Trainmasters TV.

[@ovationpdh]

I have this model, and she is a beauty!

[@tsgmultimedia]

It's a very nice looking model. It would be nice if Broadway Limited could be more consistent.

[@dmandc]

I love this Loco!

[@NinjagoGuy416]

Would I be able to run this locomotive on my Bachmann EZ Track layout with a Bachmann controller?

[@tsgmultimedia]

I don't know. Let us know how it goes if you try it!

[@andrewhuff9294]

As long the track had a wide enough curve radius it will. My Bachmann ez command runs BLI locos just fine.

[@edstud1]

I can run any train I want, it's my layout!

[@BNSFmodelrailroad]

what camera do you guys film these reviews with? and what lens?

[@tsgmultimedia]

Canon XA10

[@BNSFmodelrailroad]

+tsgmultimedia thanks for the quick reply!

[@tsgmultimedia]

We aim to please :D

[@BNSFmodelrailroad]

+tsgmultimedia well you're doing a good job!

[@Therickrollkid]

one question and a reply on the review,what type of scale is that ho scale or what...and the whittle is really wrong the 261 has a more deeper whittle than the one in this review

[@mopacproductions6669]

daylight dragon yes it’s ho and you can change the whistle I know what you mean about there whistle

[@SGTGhost]

great review Dan. but to me its seem a little odd with the lights in front of the train

[@SGTGhost]

which are the marker lights. it need to be lit but I understand with the price.

[@Therickrollkid]

how can they mess this up

[@thetobin8or]

Hello Dan, I need alittle help on converting a HO brass locomotive into DCC. Any References on the "WHERE , HOW and WHO is greatly needed . I have about a half dozen loco's that my father gave me when i was young boy, so there Old But new out of the box. I'll have to Re-motor them, and YES I'll insulate the motor! lol...Ok thx you all for any HEELP.

[@Form44208]

Great review as always! I recently bought a BLI SW7 switcher. It was junk right out of the box. Sent it back to BLI. It is still junk. Loud gear noise and not smooth operation. I am sticking with Walther Proto, Atlas Gold, or Athearn Genesis.

[@rkproductions1141]

I've heard bad things about this engine, the detail is great and all, but two of my buddies bought this engine, and the decoder failed within a couple months for both, they sent them back for warranty work and yet again the decoder failed. The problems go deeper than just out of gauge wheels and low coupler height

[@tsgmultimedia]

So far, so good with the one in the video. BLI seems pretty hit-and-miss on a lot of their stuff when it comes to consistency in quality. They usually look really nice out of the box and have impressive details, so the presentation is pretty good. Then you look closer and start to check out the operational aspects...

[@evanhizon8112]

I have this locomotive. It may look nice. But with mine, it has a "bind" like for every 1 rotation of the wheels, there is a 1/8 of a millisecond delay. So when it pulls freight or passenger cars it shakes them like the train is jerking back and forth. Also, mine had a lot of damages. The coupler of the tender broke, and the handrails of the engine broke off without any effort. So, in conclusion, its a good locomotive but those quality issues kind of kills it for me. Especially for the price. But that's just me, maybe you have good luck with this engine.

[@tsgmultimedia]

Not what you expect for the price tag, huh?

[@evanhizon8112]

tsgmultimedia What more of Paragon 3 Bigboy if those problems persists

[@evanhizon8112]

Ugh..I'm so angry right now, the both handrail broke. I cannot believe I bought this lcomotive because Jwill2000 said that it the "best locomotive" I mean, not even a week old, and I already had to call the manufacture for replacements.

[@tsgmultimedia]

Maybe James got a better model. Just goes to show that Broadway's quality control needs a lot of work. Their models have been pretty hit-or-miss for Dan. Mostly miss.

[@ecpcharles]

Its a great engine, too bad that the wheels were out of gauge.... As a long time viewer, as soon as you say the coupler height is slightly off, I go "Uh-oh" :D

[@01Greybeard]

I dislike attempts to put a numerical value on any product. First, it applies only to the item you have in your hand and nothing else. Second, it's an opinion, subject to personal preferences.

[@tsgmultimedia]

Which numerical value are you referring to? The price? The spike rating?

[@01Greybeard]

Since when is a couple low a problem? Any modeler worth the name should be able to fix that and not even give it a thought. Out of gauge? How far, and which way? Out of gauge by itself is worthless information. Spike rating, not worth the time to display it. I have one, but until I've converted it to straight DC, it's not going to see track. Then I'll see if it has any real problems.

[@tsgmultimedia]

Low couplers are a problem if you operate long trains or on a layout with grades. Any modeler worth the name would know this, to quote you. Wheel gauge deviating from the established NMRA standard is another problem because it can cause derailments. The direction that the wheel set is out of gauge is not particularly relevant because whether it is wide or narrow, it is likely to cause problems. We have shown wheel gauge in some of our reviews but have decided that showing it on the screen is not very informational. Either the flanges fit in the slots or they don't. Either way, it requires fixing. On a steam engine like the one in this review, it's particularly troublesome because fixing out of gauge drivers is a very finicky process that most modelers would not want to have to do. Another very important reason for making these observations is because it's not cool for a manufacturer to charge a premium for a product that requires repair by the end user immediately after purchasing it. Imagine buying a new car and having to take it straight to a mechanic for repairs as soon as you got it home. Would that make you happy? Unless I misunderstood your comment, it sounds like you purchased this model and intend to convert it to straight DC, then evaluate it. Maybe a better analogy would be to ask if you bought a Ferrari then brought it home and modified with a Yugo engine, would you be happy having to take it to the mechanic to fix the tires before you could drive it?

[@01Greybeard]

I'm going to ignore most of your excuses, which they are, none of them are anything any of the modelers I used to hang with would give a second thought, they'd just fix it and go on with what they're doing. But the comment on dcc to dc, I have five locos with dcc. I have probably forty without. When can I expect the check for the cost of installing something I don't want? Hmm? Maybe a dozen of them are diesel, which means they'll continue to reside in the box they're in. Ferrari-Yugo comment, about as ridiculous as you can get. Designed for two different purposes. Yugo, basic transportation. Ferrari, inflate an already inflated ego even more. Both are examples of going to the extreme. Yugo, not enough attention to reliability. Ferrari, something nobody in their right mind would want.

[@tsgmultimedia]

Our product reviews are intended to show people what they are likely to get out of the box when they buy something. If you don't like the rating system we have, you can ignore it. We show you what is relevant in a way that you can hear and see everything and you get the added benefit of Dan's decades of experience on the subjective things all for free. If you have any more problems, they're exactly that. Your problem. Since you already know everything, I'm even a little surprised you watch videos, but we appreciate it anyway! Thanks for watching!