Preproduction photos of the BLI's new N scale locomotives

[peteski]

I can't say for sure, but I'm thinking Dave meant BeastoftheEast.  Or me.  Not sure.  But I wasn't complaining. Just responding to Beast's post.  I'm okay with the blind drivers.  And I sure wasn't calling you out. I was just responding with what information I had. I had forgotten that the two driver sets were blind.  I knew the PRR I1s had the middle (3rd driver) blind but I had forgotten about the M1's.

Maybe I'm the one getting touchy... 

Victor: what is wrong with the the tender truck pickups?  They seem to be the standard axle-point/cone-bearing type.

[Dave V]

I can't say for sure, but I'm thinking Dave meant BeastoftheEast. 

This.

Maybe I'm the one getting touchy... 

And this.

I sometimes feel like some members think they're in a pissing contest to show who can be the first to point out flaws...even when, in this case, it's not a flaw.  Like the FL9 thread, the Rapido reefer thread, and just about any other thread, it's worth remembering that rushing to be the first to point out a minor (or in this case non-existent) flaw doesn't make you the cool kid.

There's a difference, too, between a critical analysis of a new offering (often in the form of a comprehensive review) that is very helpful and exactly what's needed in a "Product Discussion" board and pedantically b!tching to the nth degree about one particular thing.  If you (third person) are having trouble telling the difference, you're probably part of the problem.

[peteski]

If you (third person) are having trouble telling the difference, you're probably part of the problem.

Hey, I just returned from a forced sabbatical from TRW - feeling a bit uneasy - cut me some slack, would you?    I did question the blind drivers in my initial post of this thread - that is why I thought your comment applied to me too.  Anyways, back to the discussion of BLI's new offerings.

[towl1996]

Glad to see this thread was cleaned up. BLI took a lot of heat in the past for their miss steps with the M1, and deservedly so. But now that the M1 is a reality and there is going to be a centipede as well is really unbelievable. Especially if you're an SPF. So I'm willing to forgive and forget, and hopefully these things will run well and sell out. The possibilities are exciting. Great time to be a PRR modeler. 

[Dave V]

Hey, I just returned from a forced sabbatical from TRW - feeling a bit uneasy - cut me some slack, would you?    I did question the blind drivers in my initial post of this thread - that is why I thought your comment applied to me too.  Anyways, back to the discussion of BLI's new offerings.

Usually I would tell my troops that after a disciplinary action, they had to be extra good, 'cause they're in the fishbowl for the wrong reason...

[peteski]

Usually I would tell my troops that after a disciplinary action, they had to be extra good, 'cause they're in the fishbowl for the wrong reason...

I *AM* trying to be extra good here - that is why I'm oversensitive to being bitched out. 

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Usually I would tell my troops that after a disciplinary action, they had to be extra good, 'cause they're in the fishbowl for the wrong reason...

Ha ha, better known as "on the radar" here

[Dave V]

Ha ha, better known as "on the radar" here

Yup, that too!

Peteski, relax...  I wasn't b!tching you out.  Your question was legit, considering your non-SPF (i.e., second class) status.   

[victor miranda]

Peteski,

I want to tease you. 

speaking as one who decided to sit out for some time,
accept this unsolicited advice.

trust that the forumers are not looking to hammer you.
Should you feel angry, post the next day.
tell bad jokes, sing ... tell good jokes.  just skip the response.

On to the m1.
the wheels are too close to the sideframes.
any lint or fiber or cat hair will get in there and stay.

as a plus to the above, you can't look in there and see the fuzz.

I will buy the loco I see.  the price is the only concern.
much like the cab forward, I will not be able to decide how good it is
until I hold it and run it.
one quality I can't tell is how loose the fit for the tender wheels in the truck
or how well the pilot truck tracks.

victor

[peteski]

Yup, that too!

Peteski, relax...  I wasn't b!tching you out.  Your question was legit, considering your non-SPF (i.e., second class) status.   

I do own couple of PRR GG1s, some PRR boxcars, and the highly sought-after S1 with several FOM passanger cars - I want to fit in! 

[peteski]

Peteski,

I want to tease you. 

speaking as one who decided to sit out for some time,
accept this unsolicited advice.

The "sit out" was not of my choosing. 

trust that the forumers are not looking to hammer you.
Should you feel angry, post the next day.
tell bad jokes, sing ... tell good jokes.  just skip the response.

That last piece of advice is hard for me to do - not in my genes I guess.

On to the m1.
the wheels are too close to the sideframes.
any lint or fiber or cat hair will get in there and stay.
as a plus to the above, you can't look in there and see the fuzz.

I don't know if it will be as bad as you suspect.

Funny thing is that I always noticed how much wider the truck sideframes are spaced on N scale trucks compared to the prototype.  I accepted this because I realize that the models have out-of-scale thread width and the axle ends also extend much farther than on the 1:1 wheelsets. Plus the thickness of the plastic sideframes is also out of scale.

To me it would be a welcome change if someone made the trucks narrower (closer to be being in-scale). I never considered the possible negative side effects of doing just that.  I don't know if I'm all that worried about this.  Maybe if I ran my models on a track placed on a carpet.  While I do know for a fact that some fuzz anod other debris get picked up, even on meticulously cleaned layouts, I don't thing that it will be a significant problem.  Then again, maybe having the wheels so close to the frames will actually prevent the fibers and debris from being picked up?

[victor miranda]

Hi peteski,

the photos look different on this monitor.  (was at work looking at photos earlier)

.... skills are an outgrowth of the environment.
I ran my trains on carpet in an apartment with a pet cat.... or two.
the closer the sideframe is to the wheel the better the mechanism is at
keeping the fuzz. 
it may be that it only takes up a quarter of the lint
when compared to a more open sideframe.  but it keeps ALL of it.
Another way to look at it is that close fit may only tolerate a few fuzzies
before causing an issue, where more open may be able to handle more fuzz.

the real problem here is that my comment is from how it looks in one photo
and what I think I see may not be true.

victor

 

[peteski]

I ran my trains on carpet in an apartment with a pet cat.... or two.
the closer the sideframe is to the wheel the better the mechanism is at
keeping the fuzz. 
it may be that it only takes up a quarter of the lint
when compared to a more open sideframe.  but it keeps ALL of it.
Another way to look at it is that close fit may only tolerate a few fuzzies
before causing an issue, where more open may be able to handle more fuzz.

Sounds reasonable.  I guess in the end we'll have to see how the production model behaves.

[reinhardtjh]

As an interesting aside.  Just as this thread was running on about the blind drivers, in the PRR FAX Yahoo group there was a question about a photograph of a sharp curve near the Horseshoe Curve in PA.  It seems it had 5 rails... The two running rails, two guard rails and a fifth rail on the inside of the running rail on the inside of the curve.  Apparently in this and a few other places the Pennsy had to place this extra rail so the blind drivers would have a place to run and not fall below the level of the running rail.

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[John]

Hey, I just returned from a forced sabbatical from TRW

I sometimes "sabbatical' myself just to keep from getting ticked off