BLI engines

[boogietrain94]

OK y'all I call upon the wise and reason of the interwebs folks! I do ho and N scale shenanigans and was wondering what everyone thinks about Broadway limited products. I've heard mixed reviews ranging from they are amazing and well worth the money to they run like S@!%$ and the smoke units ruin the motors. I have a friend that says they dont offer parts for repairs either. And my lucky ally google doesn't seem to help with as far as reviews are concerned. Also the paragon 4 stuff they have do I need the under layout sub woofer for it or not I cant seem to get that question answered either. as always thank you and I look forward to hearing from everyone

 

[Marlin39]

I have 2 HO Paragon 4 diesels. I have never owned one of their steam engines.

One engine (GP20) went back to BLI for warranty work because the lights stopped working after about 30 minutes of use. Not only did they replace the shell & DCC board, but they fixed an out of gauge wheel set, cleaned all the wheels, and lubed it. It has been flawless ever since. The turnaround time was less than 10 days.

You don't need speakers. The Paragon 4 has the keep alive capacitor.

I have been more than happy with their products, but I prefer the new Rapido engines.

 

[bnsf971]

OK y'all I call upon the wise and reason of the interwebs folks! I do ho and N scale shenanigans and was wondering what everyone thinks about Broadway limited products. I've heard mixed reviews ranging from they are amazing and well worth the money to they run like S@!%$ and the smoke units ruin the motors. I have a friend that says they dont offer parts for repairs either. And my lucky ally google doesn't seem to help with as far as reviews are concerned. Also the paragon 4 stuff they have do I need the under layout sub woofer for it or not I cant seem to get that question answered either. as always thank you and I look forward to hearing from everyone

That is a Ford VS Chevy VS Dodge argument. Some people love them, some hate them. If you don't like smoke, you'll seize every opportunity to bash trains that have smoke. If you need a part and they don't have it, bash for that. Some forums and their members tend to be more opinionated than others, and aren't shy about telling you what they think.
I can tell you every time I've needed a part and they had it, they happily sold it to me. I would try to stay away from their Blueline and Paragon 2 items, those were transition decoders and suffered in the reliability department.

 

[boogietrain94]

That is a Ford VS Chevy VS Dodge argument. Some people love them, some hate them. If you don't like smoke, you'll seize every opportunity to bash trains that have smoke. If you need a part and they don't have it, bash for that. Some forums and their members tend to be more opinionated than others, and aren't shy about telling you what they think.
I can tell you every time I've needed a part and they had it, they happily sold it to me. I would try to stay away from their Blueline and Paragon 2 items, those were transition decoders and suffered in the reliability department.

OK well thanks for giving it to me straight

 

[Selector]

I have at least 12 BLI steamers, none of their diesels. I have had to send three locomotives back to them over 20 years, twice due to my own doing. I have always received them back in good working order. Their steam offerings are exceptional, and I believe most enjoy their diesels as well. Yes, they have a bad run now and then....who doesn't? Their Paragon 3 decoders were poorly conceived, or maybe speced...not sure, but there were complaints. The lastest Paragon 4 have a keep-alive capacitor that is a most welcome addition to their lines. I liked BLI's QSI decoders for their sound 20 years ago, but would only give their various Paragon sound files in P2 and some P4 a 3/5. I got spoiled when BLI partnered with QSI years ago. Paragon motor control is excellent, first class. Lighting is very good. My steamers all track well.

Note that I am strictly in HO; I have no experience with BLI's N scale offerings.

 

[AstroKnight]

OK y'all I call upon the wise and reason of the interwebs folks! I do ho and N scale shenanigans and was wondering what everyone thinks about Broadway limited products. I've heard mixed reviews ranging from they are amazing and well worth the money to they run like S@!%$ and the smoke units ruin the motors. I have a friend that says they dont offer parts for repairs either. And my lucky ally google doesn't seem to help with as far as reviews are concerned. Also the paragon 4 stuff they have do I need the under layout sub woofer for it or not I cant seem to get that question answered either. as always thank you and I look forward to hearing from everyone

I purchased a HO BLI SD40 from Yankee Dabbler. They somehow screwed it up in shipping, and I sent it directly to BLI for repair. It got there on May 1st. I inquired about it about 2-3 weeks later, and they said it would be *9 weeks until it even got to the repair bench.*

I also have an HO Paragon 2 2-8-0 that runs flawlessly and sounds amazing.

I’d say it’s worth it, especially if you get them for cheaper. Sometimes you may have to wait a little longer than you expected.

 

[Iron Horseman]

OK y'all I call upon the wise and reason of the interwebs folks! I do ho and N scale shenanigans and was wondering what everyone thinks about Broadway limited products. I've heard mixed reviews ranging from they are amazing and well worth the money to they run like S@!%$ and the smoke units ruin the motors. I have a friend that says they dont offer parts for repairs either. And my lucky ally google doesn't seem to help with as far as reviews are concerned. Also the paragon 4 stuff they have do I need the under layout sub woofer for it or not I cant seem to get that question answered either. as always thank you and I look forward to hearing from everyone

All of the above. I have been purchasing BLI locomotives from their start. I have some that run just fine, others I can't get to run smoothly or consistently at all, and everything in between. I find service and support hit and miss also. The two I've been running recently are the Santa Fe 4-6-4 streamlined Hudson, and a Santa Fe 2-8-2. The Hudson is one of the smooth runners, good smoke, good control. The Mikado is prone to surging. It will run along fine for a while, then hick-up, and then zoom like mad as if it is trying to get back to where it would have been without the hick. Exactly NOT what one would expect of a loco with a keep-alive capacitor built in ??!?

The off-board sub-woofer is not required. It is an option.

Electrically speaking, I am trying to conceive of how a smoke unit could ruin a motor? The decoder - yes heat and or high current draw, the plastic boiler - yes heat again, motor .... - umm no not coming up with anything. A person maybe spilled smoke fluid all over the motor?

 

[blackz28]

OK y'all I call upon the wise and reason of the interwebs folks! I do ho and N scale shenanigans and was wondering what everyone thinks about Broadway limited products. I've heard mixed reviews ranging from they are amazing and well worth the money to they run like S@!%$ and the smoke units ruin the motors. I have a friend that says they dont offer parts for repairs either. And my lucky ally google doesn't seem to help with as far as reviews are concerned. Also the paragon 4 stuff they have do I need the under layout sub woofer for it or not I cant seem to get that question answered either. as always thank you and I look forward to hearing from everyone

I order parts from them all the time , they are great .i call after 1pm tuesday thru friday and & i order my parts , they email me an invoice & i pay it bam i have my parts 4 days later or sometimes 2 days .

 

[D&J RailRoad]

I have about 35 BLI locos. Eight are steamers, the rest diesels.
I think the most common complaint about them is the decoders, Paragon 1, 2, 3 and 4 and the QSI.
The decoders can be replaced with Tsunami or ESU decoders which I have done after the decoder failed.
The mechanics are mostly good.