# Broadway Limited smoke unit



## Mister Bill (Jan 30, 2014)

I am not a big smoke fan but want to stay informed.
My BLI steamer put out a nice plume of smoke when I acquired it about six months ago. I turn it on every once in a while.
Now, the smoke trail is just a tiny stream about the size of a #2 pencil lead (not the wood).
It functions OK but is just not very robust.
Is there a cure?

Bill


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## GN.2-6-8-0 (Jan 10, 2013)

You need to refill the smoke unit,there should have been a small tube of smoke oil and a tiny funnel included with your engine,5 or 6 drops in the stack should set you to smoking again.


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## Mister Bill (Jan 30, 2014)

I did not receive a smoke supply or funnel.

I called Broadway, and they said that due to a manufacturing glitch, some units went out without them.

They are "in the mail".

Bill


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## GN.2-6-8-0 (Jan 10, 2013)

Keep in mind to not overfill the reservoir 5/6 drops would be the max.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Personally, I've always found smoke units to be more trouble than they're worth.


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## GN.2-6-8-0 (Jan 10, 2013)

CTValleyRR said:


> Personally, I've always found smoke units to be more trouble than they're worth.



Absolutely Agree!!


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## Water Stop (Apr 18, 2015)

The first thing I did when I received my BLI 2-8-0 was to turn off the smoke unit with the switch under the cab.

Smoking locomotives are too toylike. To be realiastic, they should also have the white steam plume from the generator and the steam leakage around the pop-off valve. 

Also the burst of steam that acccompanies the Whistle.

Water Stop


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## Bkubiak (Oct 20, 2013)

Water Stop said:


> The first thing I did when I received my BLI 2-8-0 was to turn off the smoke unit with the switch under the cab.
> 
> Smoking locomotives are too toylike. To be realiastic, they should also have the white steam plume from the generator and the steam leakage around the pop-off valve.
> 
> ...


I think MTH Has a steamer that does a lot of that, it has two smoke units one for the stack and one for effects, of course it is in their most expensive line. There was a video on the Train World Site a few weeks back about it. Do not recall what scale it was in but it was very expensive, way more then BLI.


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## D&J Railroad (Oct 4, 2013)

Smoke units on locos that are run on very small layouts, i.e. 16 - 18" radius curves and run at race car speed gives it a toy like appearance, however, put that same loco on a long straight away or sweeping 48"+ radius curve and it will look great.

This video was done about 3 months ago of the new BLI release. The smoke really gets going at about the 2 min mark. But the better point is the wider curves and longer straights that give the steamers a better setting.


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## Water Stop (Apr 18, 2015)

HEY KEN,

I'm really impressed with your layout! It seems that your main line is more than a *scale *mile...it looks more like an *actual* mile!

Where did you ever acquire such space? Did you buy and convert a Dance Hall? A Convention Center? I know it's not a basement because of the windows.

Did you use an extreme wide-angle lens on the adjacent camera train to give the illusion of extreme depth?

You must have some bucks to do what you did, unless you're part of a Syndicate of model railroaders who all footed the bill!

Is the Loco a 2-10-2 or a 2-12-2?

I'm still gasping from the viewing experience!

Water Stop Hal


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## Mister Bill (Jan 30, 2014)

How long should one drop or "5-6 drops" last? Roughly?

Do you just run it until the smoke stops?

If you don't pay attention, I think you can damage the unit running on empty.

I agree that smoke units can be more trouble than they are worth, but I want to make sure mine is working properly while it is in warranty.

Bill


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## wisnulie (May 24, 2015)

nice information
thanks all


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## GN.2-6-8-0 (Jan 10, 2013)

It's going to depend on how often and how long you run your engine ,like you noticed just watch, when the smoke starts to thin out time to add a couple of drops


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## D&J Railroad (Oct 4, 2013)

Water Stop said:


> HEY KEN,
> 
> I'm really impressed with your layout! It seems that your main line is more than a *scale *mile...it looks more like a *real *mile!
> 
> ...


The empire is about 6 1/2 scale miles of double track. 13 miles if ya count each track separately.
That's my basement. The back of the house is at basement floor level while the front main floor is a couple steps up from ground. It's a three bedroom rambler on a couple acres of land. The house was new when I bought it in May of 2011 with the intent of building this layout. It's a little over 2000 square feet. I put up the drywall before I started the benchwork. I've been widowed since 2009, so the house was totally my choosing.
I started a thread over on the Model Railroad Forum back when I started the whole project. It's shows the earliest of days when I first started the drywall, into the benchwork, signals and scenery. I'll include the link here, but if the mods don't want links to other train forums, they can delete it.
The loco is the Broadway Limited 2-12-4 J9000. 

http://www.modelrailroadforums.com/forum/showthread.php?24509-The-D-amp-J-Railroad-From-Scratch


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## vikramgoel (Mar 2, 2015)

Water Stop said:


> The first thing I did when I received my BLI 2-8-0 was to turn off the smoke unit with the switch under the cab.
> 
> Smoking locomotives are too toylike. To be realiastic, they should also have the white steam plume from the generator and the steam leakage around the pop-off valve.
> 
> ...


Hi,

The only locomotive (I know of) which does some of the things you want is a Roco BR10. I have one of these. Here is a video of one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3I_VuJ41Hs

Regards,

Vik.


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