BLI PRR P70’s are in at TrainWorld.

[BruceG]

Maybe that’s been BLI’s marketing strategy all along!  Make the “toy train” buyers happy with the R-T-R, and give the modelers something to work on. 

[bbussey]

I’m guessing the lights are bright so they can be seen in room light. They do seem to lean toward the “bells and whistles” method when it comes to product features. Fortunately, the “wow-factor” elements on most of the models can be transformed into prototypical “normal” appearances and functionality. The visual appearance of this model is superior to the Bachmann model, although the etched bathroom windows in the Bachmann P70 are better than the distorted windows in the BLI model.

[dougnelson]

Need help from some knowledgeable Pennsy passenger peeps. Are these cars air conditioned or non a/c? The photo is from Chicago commuter service in the 1960's. Would the lettering be gold or buff? Trying to decide what cars I need to buy for this.

Hi Bill: As noted by others, these are "hot" P70s, no air conditioning.  On ice-AC cars, you would see the large wrap-under ice bunkers.  Lettering in the 1960s would be buff.  This is the "Valpo Dummy", nick name for PRR's Chicago commuter service to Valparaiso, Indiana on the PRR's Fort Wayne main line. 

[peteski]

So,  now all the manufacturers know that they need to include a "flaw" in their products to successfully market to Peteski when he has no interest in their cars' prototypes.  []

Meow!

No worries - I have  not yet found a perfect N scale product, and I don't expect to  ever see one (even if scratchbuilt by yours truly).  Some come close, but not quite. There always is a room for improvements or additions.  Finding those and ways to fix them is how I have fun in this hobby, and in online forums.

[cbroughton67]

You guys piqued my curiosity - I just ordered one of these cars.

@peteski Do you plan to dim the lighting with yours? I'll be interested to see how you address it.
Chris

[OldEastRR]

Aren't these the same guys who made a nifty almost scale working coupler on their Mike? HUH?

[dougnelson]

Clearly the person that engineered the T1 and M1 was not the same as person that engineered the Choo Choo shoes or the stock car (that engineer is currently working on the giraffe car).  For that matter, the engineer that created the car body may not have been the engineer that created the coupler and lighting.

By the way, BLI gets assistance from the PRRT&HS to ensure that the models are as accurate as possible.  BLI welcomes that help.  Some other manufacturers refuse assistance from the PRRT&HS.  That assistance however, is not involved with the couplers or lighting.

Also, note that the car spacing was NOT an issue with the BLI HO P70.  Otherwise, the N scale model compares favorably to the HO model.

Here is the BLI HO P70 car end:



The BLI N Scale P70:


And here is an actual P70 at the Strasburg RR Museum of Pennsylvania:

[peteski]

@peteski Do you plan to dim the lighting with yours? I'll be interested to see how you address it.
Chris

That's the idea.

[Cajonpassfan]

Aren't these the same guys who made a nifty almost scale working coupler on their Mike? HUH?

Yes, the Mike coupler is da bomb in my book; I wish that would become the standard body mount for all their stuff.
And I wish I could buy it separately, in bulk.
Surprisingly little discussion here about it, even though it’s arguably the best all around coupler in N Scale. Imho.
Maybe it’s more fun to bitch than to hand out Kudos?
I wonder if the new switcher will have the same coupler, or yet another design....
Otto K.

[peteski]

Yes, the Mike coupler is da bomb in my book; I wish that would become the standard body mount for all their stuff.
And I wish I could buy it separately, in bulk.
Surprisingly little discussion here about it, even though it’s arguably the best all around coupler in N Scale. Imho.
Maybe it’s more fun to bitch than to hand out Kudos?
Otto K.

Maybe because everybody is yucking about the super-extra-long shank, nobody is paying attention to the coupler head?    Also, the coupler is usually not very a prominent feature on passenger cars (since they would be normally hidden by the diaphragms).

[Peter Amling]

Hi Bill: As noted by others, these are "hot" P70s, no air conditioning.  On ice-AC cars, you would see the large wrap-under ice bunkers.  Lettering in the 1960s would be buff.  This is the "Valpo Dummy", nick name for PRR's Chicago commuter service to Valparaiso, Indiana on the PRR's Fort Wayne main line.

What loco is that pulling the cars? I'm not an expert on locos of that era.

[davefoxx]

What loco is that pulling the cars? I'm not an expert on locos of that era.

Looks like a GP7 to me.  Let's see how close I got when the SPFs respond to your query.

DFF

[reinhardtjh]

Looks like a GP7 to me.  Let's see how close I got when the SPFs respond to your query.

DFF

I’m bad at the spotting differences. It’s a GP-whatever.  7 or 9. Whatever it takes....

[Point353]

Looks like a GP7 to me.  Let's see how close I got when the SPFs respond to your query.

It's an ES-15MS.

[eric220]

It's an ES-15MS.

For the win, sir. Nicely played.