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I am in the market for a good-quality steam locomotive. I was all set to pick up a BLI Blue Line, but now I'm not so sure. MTH and Ahearn seem to manufacture excellent HO steam locomotives. So what should I consider before selecting one but not the others?
What kind of engine do you want? All those companies make good and some not so good engines. Tell us the wheel arrangement so we can have a better idea. Bachmann Spectrum also has some nice engines.
Rivarossi makes a Hudson that runs nicely (click here)
The Bachmann, BLI blueline, and Athearn 4-8-4's are all hit or miss. The Bachmann Locos have locations in the tenders to allow for speakers on their non-sound equipped models. BLI bluelines are pretty decent runners and already come with sound. I have not ran many of the Athearn steamers so I do not have much input on those...
I have also had some bad experiences with MTH steamers...
Hopefully you have better luck then on their last run of Mikados... I have ran a BLI 4-8-4 before and it did run well. I'm sure you will let us all know how it goes!
Yes, I will let you know how it runs. If nothing else, I'll have a first-hand account of BLI's customer service. However, being the eternal optimist that I am, I am counting on this locomotive to be topnotch!
