What changed? You looked away! There seems to be some law in physics that stipulates that most pileups and derailments will happen when no eyes are upon them.
Or the moment it's out of easy reach, or traversing that one spot that's near the edge with no protection, or you just sat down with a nice cold drink to watch it go 'round for a little bit... or was that last one the moment when the motor decides to cook itself? Just like couplers only ever break at the top of a grade. Murphy is alive and well, and he hates fiddly little moving parts.
I was expecting all kinds of shorting problems after reading that post. I have all Peco insulfrog turnouts. My M1b ran perfect, not a single hesitation even running at speed step #1 threw several medium yard turnouts. The M1 is the best running N-scale steam loco that I have owned.
Since Atlas C-55 turnouts don't like narrow wheel gauge, I normally check the wheel gauge before putting a new locomotive on the layout, but I wanted to see it run!! I think a wheelset in gauge would not ever touch the outer guard rails, so the turnout may have always been like that...
I received my M 1 B undecorated yesterday; I have a small test loop of Kato Unitrack, so running has been limited. I ordered before SpookShow (Mark) published his evaluation. I concur with his comments. I have other steam locomotives in which I have hired installation of dcc with sound. The M 1 B sound is excellent and exceeds my expectations. As Mark wrote, the factory setting for sound volume is high. I reset it to 1/2 the original setting and the reset it to 1/2 that setting. I am eager to run it on a layout so it can stretch it "legs".
Sorry for the posting error above. I received mine today and am very happy as well. I do have one small problem. I believe that there is a light on the tender that is supposed to go on when running in reverse. I tried both the headlight button and F0 buttons on my NCE controller and cannot get the light to go on. The front headlight works fine. Has anyone else experienced this problem?
I thought the same thing, but am not 100% sure if the aft light is an actual light or not. Using Digitrax.
There is no reverse light in the tender, the reverse light on the tender is just to small to fit one in Judd Barton
Nice to see someone took the initiative to go directly to Broadway Limited Imports for an answer regarding whether there is a light in the tender. I have no idea if such would have been prototypical. There is certainly room for a tender light; I have no intention of having one installed.
Anyone with a Kato GS-4 will see the same thing. What appears to be a lens on the back of the tender, but, alas, it is not lighted. At least the ones I've had weren't.
Found my M1b on the front step when I came home today... I probably won't get a chance to test it thoroughly right away, but based on a first look sitting next to the Bmann K4s: - BLI's attention to detail is, per usual, very impressive, but the thing that reached out and grabbed me was the paint. The DGLE is dead on, the lettering is perfect, and the cab roof and tender deck are even (correctly) two different shades of red. IMHO they did a better job with the paint on the N-scale model than they did on the same engine in HO. Compared to Bmann's policy of 'black goes everywhere but smokebox' it's like night and day. - The drivers appear (to my eye) to be correctly scaled, which I noticed right away because they're about the same size as the drivers on the Bmann K4s... and smaller than the drivers on my brass K4s. 72" drivers (M1a/b) vs. 80" drivers (K4s). Kudos to BLI for not taking the easy way out of their space constraints, although having two sets of blind drivers probably made the job a little easier. I then went down the list and found that the Bmann model just does not compare favorably in any other detail either (some bits too big, others too small). So... conclusion: probably not best to double-head Bmann K4s with BLI M1b. Or sit them next to each other for long enough to invite close comparison. Bmann made a good looking K4s, but BLI made an amazing looking M1a/b. It's hard not to compare the two models because of the release timing... and it's pretty clear who did a better job on their homework. Worth the wait. 'Scuse me while I go throw a few hundred more dollars at an e-tailer.
I got my M1A the other day, put it on the track and it ran to the first turnout and derailed. I rerailed it and continued on to a 13R turn where it derailed again. In an effort to isolate the problem, I removed the pilot trucks, no joy. I reassembled the pilot trucks and discovered the 3 screws that hold the driver-gear cover plate were 2-3 turns loose. I snugged up the screws and solved the problem. It now looks, runs, pulls and sounds excellent. I am very pleased.
I had a chance to be around one of these beasts fresh out of the box today and all I can say is wow. Never been run before and it ran as well as any KATO fresh out of the box and possibly better that the FEF. At any rate, IMHO, they set the bar way higher than KATO will ever attempt to meet. The sound, as noted earlier is quite load but that can be cv'd down to reasonable level. Just a great job and I am tickled for all the Penzy folks who have waited so long. Well worth the wait. It is enough to make an SP man like me get one too, oh blasphemy. I could re-letter for my home road. Now we are thinking clearly. I just like big steam! Carl
Carl: I recently bought the BLI M1a & M1b. They are both superb running and sounding steam locomotives and are worth looking into. I'm sure that you'll be very happy when you purchase one and run it on your layout. It is a "big steam' locomotive. Stay cool and have fun with it..... Shades
I purchased the M 1 B based on the faith in a positive review and experience with BLI E-units I own. I model B&O. The Keystone emblem on mine is now a B&O Dome emblem and the undecorated tender is lettered for B&O. I know the sound is outstanding because of the large tender and larger speaker than I have been able to have installed with ESU LokSound in other steam locomotives I own. Would love to see this locomotive as a step to another n-scale steam with alternate tender styles.
I have received my M1B and came in to see what others impressions/experiences are. In short, after waiting so long, I am supremely disappointed. Yes the loco is very well detailed and well manufactured. However, Out of the box, mine does not run forward at slow speed without a significant "hitch". Apparently there is some problem in the valve or rod train. This problem is not there in reverse. I do not think it is unreasonable to expect not to have to monkey with new equipment out of the box after paying a premium price. Onto the work bench it goes. A notice also goes to the purchasing office to forego future BLI offerings. Of less interest to you all is my perspective on sound in N Scale. I have 1 of most other sound equipped N scale steamers. Regardless of what I am running, I can only stand 1 or 2 circuits on the pike and the sound gets turned off. Nscale sound is too tinny and unrealistic, compared to say O Scale. This is understandable based on the size available for speakers. I was curious to see how the M1a/b did with respect to older equivalents, and I find it no better. I would rather pay for quiet running, extreme detail, and pulling power, in that order. Sound is not on the list. Long live ConCor BigBoys, Challengers, and mallets...run right out of the box, always. Supersteam
"ConCor BigBoys, Challengers, and mallets...run right out of the box, always." This is simply not true, in fact I don't care who the manufacture is there is and always will be a few lemons!
