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Article: The Broadway Flyer: August 2024

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The Broadway Flyer: August 2024

The Broadway Flyer: August 2024

Good afternoon, everyone! Curtis Koch here, back on duty writing this month's Broadway Flyer! The dog days of summer are nearly over, and September, along with the fall colors, is quickly approaching. We’re back with another edition of The Broadway Flyer! We hope you all enjoyed the summer and are ready to get back to work on your layout and running trains.

 

New Product Announcement:
Brass-Hybrid "Bullmoose", HO Scale

On Monday August 26th, we announced the new addition to our Brass-Hybrid Series. Coming to customers in HO Scale in December 2025 will be the Union Pacific 2-8-8-0 "Bullmoose".

The Union Pacific rostered 70 of these Mallets - they were built by their own shops and also the American Locomotive Company (Alco). They first went into service in 1918, and 2-8-8-0’s operated on the UP until the early 1950’s.

In our first production run of the "Bullmoose", we are offering the locomotive in two versions. We are building three prototypical road numbers of an SA-C-6 in a common Pre-1944 appearance, and three prototypical road numbers of an SA-C-2 in a common Post-1944 appearance. We will also build one locomotive in a Two-Tone Gray Fantasy Scheme applied to our SA-C-2 model. Each model will be available with our Paragon4 Sound/DC/DCC electronics and smoke or in our Stealth Series. Our Stealth Series models are No-Sound and DCC-Ready out-of-the-box.

The order deadline for guaranteed delivery of these models is January 24th, 2025 with an expected delivery date for December 2025. We will share more renders later on in this newsletter. 

In The News:

Our newest run of SD70ACe's have been getting great reviews from many satisfied N scalers! Including Jimmy from the DIY and Digital Railroad. Who recently reviewed one of our Stealth N scale SD70's in the NS scheme. 

In addition to showing off some locomotives, Jimmy also made demonstrated his modeling skills by building a GREAT thunderstorm scene on his layout using our Layout Lightning Storm! It's a great addition to any railroad and is a fun element for kids to interact with. 

 

Ken Patterson was kind enough to shoutout some upcoming N scale announcements, all while working on his great HO scale layout! 

Order Deadlines Approaching!

We have order deadlines approaching for our N scale F3's/F7's and E7's, E8's and E9's. In case you missed it, last month we announced the extension of the order deadline to August 29th. You still have a few days to get your order in but hurry and do so ASAP! While we typically have some units available to order after the deadline, only orders placed by August 29, 2024 will be guaranteed.

Our N Scale E-units feature road specific details, these locomotives have been extremely popular and we look forward to offering more fun paint schemes in the future. See the callout images below where we showoff a few of the details, we've included in each scheme. 

For more information on each type of locomotive, click the links below:

Samples and Renders:

We've got a plethora of samples and renders to share with you this month! Stay tuned because we have a lot coming! These models are pre-production samples so details are still subject to change on these between now and when they arrive. 

We've got some great special paint schemes for you N scalers in our newest run of ES44's! The first of many future N scale CSX Heritage Unit and the first time in N scale, the CP "St. John's Express" locomotives. We've got more great schemes in the works! You'll want to stay tuned for that! 

(Photo above): Here is a close up of the St. John's Express scheme. Looks sharp eh? 

(Photo above): Here is a close up of the B&O CSX Heritage Unit. Looks sharp! Again, more Heritage Units are in the works! Stay tuned for that!

(Photos below): We mentioned the UP Bullmoose was our new announcement for HO scale this month, we've got some great renders that show off several details of these Mallet locomotives. 

Next up, we've got some upcoming models for N scalers! Below are renders of the two types of PRR Z74D Business Cars! These are CAD drawings so details are subject to change between now and the time these cars arrive to stores. No timeline for an announcement yet, but these are coming soon!


 Next up is our N scale GP30's! These locomotives will arrive with road specific details and will come in 8-10 paint schemes. We haven't finalized the whole list just yet, but we wanted to share these CAD drawings with you. Below is the "late" Santa Fe GP30. We hope to have an announcement later on this year.

Finally, one last tease for you HO scalers. Below are two images of the CAD drawings of the Santa Fe 2-10-10-2 locomotive we are working on. This locomotive will be a Brass-Hybrid model. We hope to have an announcement on this locomotive later on this year. 

Delivery Schedule:

Here is our updated delivery schedule as of August 21st. Check back to the page on our website for updates. We try and update it 2-3 times a month. The HO GP35's, N Scale ES44's and AC6000's will arrive to stores in the next few days. 

 

Model Name: Expected Delivery: To Guarantee Delivery, Order By:


Customer Q&A:

As always, on our social media platforms, we ask for your questions! Thanks to everyone who commented on our Facebook, Instagram and YouTube Community pages with questions for us. If you don't see your question, keep asking as it could be used in a future Flyer. 
 
Q: "Is there a chance to see a fresh run of the Pennsylvania H10’s or L1’s in HO scale or a newly tooled item maybe a Reading I10sa?" - James on Facecbook

A: The PRR H10 or L1's might be reran as a future Conductor's Club locomotive, but we do not have any plans on rerunning them at this time. As for the Reading I10sa, we don't have any plans for that locomotive either. There is always a chance it could be done but at this point in time, we don't have any plans for it. 

Q: "Are y’all planning on making open air excursion cars in HO in the future?" - Kyle on Facebook

A: Sadly we are not. Unless we get a flood of requests on our Product Suggestion Portal or more requests from customers at shows, then we would consider it. Until then, no plans in the works for those as of right now. 

Q: "Would you guys consider doing paint schemes of short lines?" - Justin on Facebook

A: We consider every paint scheme, especially when it comes to diesels. Short lines are a tough to justify making just simply because they don't sell well compared to some regional railroads and of course the many fallen flag or class 1 railroads out there. 

Q: "It's there ANY chance you could make the C&O Hudson and/or Western Maryland 1309? Also, have you considered making passenger cars to go with you steam engines? Example: Reading T1 engines. Can't find Reading passenger cars." - Duane on Facebook

A: We've gotten this a lot lately and yes, Western Maryland 1309 is on our radar! It might be a year or two before we get to it, but we are planning on offering the locomotive at some point. C&O Hudson locomotives are not on our radar at this point. 

Q: "Interurbans?" - David on Facebook

A: We don't have any plans for electric locomotives or trolleys. The last few times we have offered them in both HO and N scale, they have not sold well. Hopefully that will change in the future because there are a lot of cool electrics out there! 
 
Q: "Would you guys ever consider making the GS-6 or GS-64 from reworking the GS-4 tooling a bit?" - Zach on Facebook

A: We are looking into the GS-6 locomotives but we are holding off on that project. The photos we took of the 4460 at the National Museum of Transportation in St. Louis will definitely help! However. right now we are gathering more data on a de-skirted version of the GS-4's we released earlier this year. 

Q: "Given some locomotives have had second runs, what entails in a decision to reproduce a previous model?" - Matthew on Facebook

A: It's really quite simple, sales and market demand. The perfect example of this is the Big Boy. We see comments from customers who groan that we continue to make new runs of Big Boys. Well, simply put, we consistently sell out of Big Boys. It's arguably the most popular locomotive out there right now because it attracts railfans of all ages. Especially with 4014's most recent round of excursions, we get lots of calls and emails asking if we have any more Big Boys. 

Q: "Any plans for a re-run of HO Scale E units, FEF’s, or Santa Fe 2-10-2’s in 2025?" - Chris on Facebook

A: Of those three projects you mentioned, we are going to do 1 more run of the FEF's at some point. This would include 844 dressed as 8444 and in Greyhound. The E units and Santa Fe 2-10-2's are not in the plans for us at the moment. 

Q: "Good afternoon, with the release of the Chesapeake and Ohio business car, are you planning to release more cars with that paint scheme in HO? Also is there plans to release new EMD E8A to pull them in HO? I see they are being produced for n scale now. I have older passenger cars that I’d like to upgrade to newer ones. Thanks" - Matthew on Facebook

A: Good afternoon to you Matthew! Besides the business cars, we did make a 5 car set! You can find those here. As for the E8 diesels, like we said for Chris's questions we don't have any plans for those at the moment for HO scale. 

Q: "Two questions, After the UP Business Cars, you mentioned Theater Cars are in the works. Will other Business Cars like Santa Fe Mountainair #53 get produced at some point? These were done in brass, but are extremely rare and tough to find. Also you released some 1930’s DCC inspection cars a while back. Would it be possible to do some 90’s or Modern DCC Hi Rail Trucks as well?" - Anthony on Facebook

A: Let's start with the Hi Rail trucks. No we don't have plans for those at this time, but it's a good idea! As for Mountainair. we want to see what the demand is for the Theater Cars are like first. Then we can look at more unique cars. 

Q: "Since you have done some of the very iconic UP steam, is there any chance of iconic diesels? Not talking about the SD70ACe's done in heritage paint. How about the SP SD40R(since the 2028 Olympics are in Los Angeles) that was done in the Olympic scheme, or the biggest diesel on rails, the DD40, or the unusual U50?" - Jason on Facebook

A: We'd consider it! We don't have any plans for any of the UP specific diesels at the moment. We've looked into the SP SD40R but the costs to use the Olympics logo and trademark is, as you can imagine, very expensive. So unfortunately we won't be able to make the SP SD40R in the Olympics scheme. 

Q: "What determines if a model is made as a Brass Hybrid or standard plastic?" -misfitrailsystem on Instagram

A: Good question! It's a variety of reasons. When it comes to steam, we have moved away from the plastic route, customers have told us time and time how they love the weight and pulling power. Back to your question though, making a steam locomotive in some cases is cheaper to build in brass than diecast. Another reason is the availability of detail parts. If there are parts that are more readily available to use in brass than having to build the tooling to make a part, it saves us money which helps keep the price of the models down.

Q: "Cab Forwards have been announced previously, with the AC-4/5 in N and -11/12 in HO. After their release, could we see them released in the other scale too? I'm particularly keen on an AC-12 in N! On a broader note, are there certain engines that surprised you in the differences between how well they sell in one scale compared to the other?" - theveeker on Instagram

A: Usually before we decide to do something in N scale we want to see how it does in HO scale first. If it does well in HO it most likely will come to N scale at some point. So if you want the AC-11 or AC-12 in N scale, tell your friends in HO scale to buy ours when we announce it! For your other question, it's hard to say because the market compared for HO and N is very different. When it comes to steam locomotives it's even more difficult to judge. Diesels on the other hand are usually very strong sellers for us and we feel very confident with some future N scale diesel offerings.

Q: "I am very excited for ATSF 3751, and it will be my first n scale loco with smoke! Is there any special maintenance or care that the smoke unit needs? Is there a wick that needs to stay wet or anything along those lines?" -cryptid_triptych on Instagram

A: We're glad you're excited—we are too! Our N scale smoke units are easy to use. The reservoir for the smoke unit holds 0.3 milliliters of fluid. For the best results, we recommend using thinner viscosity smoke fluids, such as Marklin's 02421 or JT's Mega Steam. We also suggest purchasing a syringe from us to help load the smoke unit easily, preventing flooding or overfilling and avoiding fluid spills on the boiler. Joe Goddard demonstrated how to use it with the N scale Reading T1, and you can watch that video below.

Two other things to note:

First, our N scale smoke units are on a timer. If the locomotive stops smoking, simply press function key 7 on your throttle to restart it. You can adjust the timer length in your CV settings. CV 218 controls this setting, with a default value of 30. Straight out of the box, the smoke lasts about 60 seconds. If you want it to last longer, each value is equivalent to an additional 2 seconds of smoke time before the unit shuts off. For example, changing the value from 30 to 45 will extend the smoke time from 1 minute to 1 minute and 30 seconds.

Secondly, when you're done with the locomotive and ready to put it back in its box, make sure to remove the smoke fluid from the reservoir or allow all the smoke fluid to be used up first. This prevents any remaining fluid from spilling and getting all over your model.

Q: "How difficult would it be to have sound for different kinds of Holidays like Christmas, Halloween, July 4th and and maybe New Years Eve? You have animal sound cars and why not have cars that have sound for Holidays?" - JonathanColemanMoreTrains on YouTube

A: We actually did this in our most recent run of stock cars. We included sounds for 4th of July, Halloween, and Christmas/Happy Holidays. You can see the schemes here. These are in stores now so contact your dealer today! It's not difficult but if the sales aren't there, then we are less inclined to offer them in the future. 

Q: "DO you have plans to produce a HO scale Pennsylvania Railroad and Long Island Rail Road G5s 4-6-0?" - stuartaaron613 on YouTube

A: Yes we are! We have it in our current design que however we don't have a time line for when we will announce it just yet. 

Q: "Is or will BLI offer Paragon P4 Upgrade Decoders for Previous P3?" - train-addict4656 on YouTube

A: Our service department is more than happy to help you upgrade your decoders. You can email them during normal business hours, or give them a call at 386-673-8900 (Option 2) Tue.-Fri. 1-4PM EST.  

 

Wow that was a lot of questions! Sorry we couldn't get to everyone, we try and get new questions involved on a regular. If you didn't see your question answered, there is a chance we have answered it in a previous Flyer! You can visit our website to go back and read through. Thanks again for your continued support, and be sure to get your orders in before it's too late! As always, Happy Railroading!

 


- Curtis & the BLI team

Written by Curtis Koch

1 comment

Any plans for high-hood ATSF RSD-7/15’s in N scale? They had 10 on their roster of 60 total RSD’s.

Jack Withrow

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