Broadway Limited Santa Fe 3751

[Peavine]

Are Broadway Limited engines good runners? Compared to let’s say Kato engines. I have GS-4s, FEFs,  and a big boy, all Kato. Are these equivalent runners? I plan to get the stealth ones because I still operate on DC.

[Jimbo]

Are Broadway Limited engines good runners? Compared to let’s say Kato engines. I have GS-4s, FEFs,  and a big boy, all Kato. Are these equivalent runners? I plan to get the stealth ones because I still operate on DC.

For what it’s worth, I’ve been very happy with mine; I have the T1, two heavy Mikados, and a Pacific.  The decoders are wonky, but the performance of the model (slow speed capability, pulling power) have been first rate.  (The T1 I have is the PRR T1, not the recently released Reading T1, and certainly not the rumored upcoming C&O T1.  Does BLI plan to make a model of every class of locomotive that was a T1??)

Jim

[peteski]

Are Broadway Limited engines good runners? Compared to let’s say Kato engines. I have GS-4s, FEFs,  and a big boy, all Kato. Are these equivalent runners? I plan to get the stealth ones because I still operate on DC.

Kato  models are precisely engineered (close tolerances) and manufactured using good quality materials, so they are smooth runners.  To me there are no equals out there to Kato models (although some others like Tomix come very close).

However recent BLI steam loco models are very good runners but still, they're not Kato. I own both brands.  I also think that Athearn N scale steam models are also quite good. Good engineering and decent manufacturing quality.

I am also aware that lots of modelers gripe that Kato models don't have enough details. That is true, but to me good engineering and manufacturing quality is more important than all the fancy delicate add-on details.

[McKeen]

Are Broadway Limited engines good runners? Compared to let’s say Kato engines. I have GS-4s, FEFs,  and a big boy, all Kato. Are these equivalent runners? I plan to get the stealth ones because I still operate on DC.

The only BLI locomotive I have is the stealth version of the T1 Duplex. Out of the box it had a problem with the trailing truck constantly derailing around every curve. It turns out the coil spring on the truck was exerting so much pressure on it, that it was forcing the rear set of wheels up and off the railhead. I thought about cutting a coil or two off, but the simple fix was just to remove the coil spring completely. It runs and pulls fine and I see no difference in performance.
Would I buy BLI again? Yes I would.