# Looking for a steam loco that has DCC sound, smoke and runs on 18" radius.



## AdRockTrains (Mar 3, 2015)

And isn't crazy expensive. 

Tall order, right?

Any ideas? Recommendations? 

Thanks!


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

This is a very nice little steamer.

You might shop around and get better prices.

http://shop.bachmanntrains.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=258_276_621&products_id=4609

Don


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Well, if you're not too pick about WHICH steamer or how it looks, it shouldn't be too hard. Most anything with 6 or fewer drivers SHOULD be OK operationally; some of the bigger ones (Pacifics) won't look real good, but that's largely dependent on individual taste.


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## MtRR75 (Nov 27, 2013)

I have a couple of Bachman Spectrum 2-8-0s that I run on 18" curves. They run very smoothly. I also have a couple of 4-6-0 locos (different manufacturers). They also run on 18"curves, but not as well. They are sometimes stumble going trough the turnouts -- occasional jerks due to mini-shorts at the frogs, and occasional bumps as the wheels cross the gaps in the turnouts.

Disclaimer. My Spectrum 2-8-0s are older DC locos. I do not know if Bachman has made any changes to these locos - other than the DCC upgrade.


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## AdRockTrains (Mar 3, 2015)

CTValleyRR said:


> Well, if you're not too pick about WHICH steamer or how it looks, it shouldn't be too hard. Most anything with 6 or fewer drivers SHOULD be OK operationally; some of the bigger ones (Pacifics) won't look real good, but that's largely dependent on individual taste.


Thanks!

I have looked around at a lot of locos and very often they seem light on details. Most of the time I don't see minimum radius mentioned. 



DonR said:


> This is a very nice little steamer.
> 
> You might shop around and get better prices.
> 
> ...


Thanks!

It doesn't say smoke. It's funny, I see affordable locos from Bachmann that say smoke, and affordable ones that say DCC sound... but not both.

So, how's the sound on this one? Does it have start up? Bell? Whistle? Chuff? Man, I wish they listed more details.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Also, remember that you can install sound and / or smoke yourself. May sound daunting to a beginner, but really not that bad.

The sound is a function of the decoder and speaker quality, not the locomotive itself. Often, you have to figure out WHICH decoder is installed and look up the details of that.


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## JerryH (Nov 18, 2012)

If want smoke and sound DCC and 18 minimum, you will have to look at BLI and they aren't cheap. Here is an example.

http://www.trainworld.com/manufactu...-110-lines-west-tender-paragon2-sound-dc-dcc/


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## AdRockTrains (Mar 3, 2015)

JerryH said:


> If want smoke and sound DCC and 18 minimum, you will have to look at BLI and they aren't cheap. Here is an example.
> 
> http://www.trainworld.com/manufactu...-110-lines-west-tender-paragon2-sound-dc-dcc/


Oooooh! That's a purdy loco! Thanks!


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## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

AdRockTrains said:


> Thanks!
> 
> 
> So, how's the sound on this one? Does it have start up? Bell? Whistle? Chuff? Man, I wish they listed more details.


My brother has the Bachmann 2-6-0 with sound. It's quite good, chuff, breathing noises on idle, whistle and bell. Not sure of other sounds. It's a nice little loco for short trains
and switching.

Don


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## AdRockTrains (Mar 3, 2015)

DonR said:


> My brother has the Bachmann 2-6-0 with sound. It's quite good, chuff, breathing noises on idle, whistle and bell. Not sure of other sounds. It's a nice little loco for short trains
> and switching.
> 
> Don


Thanks for the input!

Maybe I don't need smoke. Maybe it's more trouble (and money) than it's worth. 

I'll take a good hard look at the Bachmanns.


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## JerryH (Nov 18, 2012)

It is likely that you will want to use the smoke only for spectator purposes. Generally it is a pain otherwise.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

AdRockTrains said:


> Oooooh! That's a purdy loco! Thanks!


Not a bad price, either.


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## dasB&M2-6-0 (Dec 13, 2014)

Another :thumbsup: for the Bachmann 2-6-0.....
Mine is a B & M....had to tighten the pilot truck to keep it from derailing on turnouts, but otherwise it's a pretty sweet machine!!
Re: smoke....if you can live without it, it's one less thing to fuss with (and smoke CAN dirty up your track(s), too....).....

May your freight ALWAYS roll smoothly...and ON TIME!!


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## dlplost (Oct 14, 2012)

I have the BLI 2-10-0. It does 18" radius but is fussy about track, it must be good. I have about 450' of track and had to do a lot of track work to get it to work, but it runs flawless now and never derails. The good side of that is that now everything runs on my track. it's my go to engine to test new track, if it will run on it everything will. 
It has excellent sound and smoke. but like others here have said the smoke is neat but can be a pita at times. My wife bitches every time I turn it on, I usually stink up the entire house with it. It is adjustable but I like lots of it if I turn it on. There is a switch on the loco so you can turn it completely off if you want.
The sound is complete, startup shutdown and everything else in between. all the station sounds, passenger freight and stock. it can even be set to automatically sound the whistle for stop, foreword, reverse. It is the smoothest running engine I have ever seen.


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## AdRockTrains (Mar 3, 2015)

Bought a loco:










Took a long time to land on the BLI and chose this particular one because I like the lettering and the fact that I don't really have a favorite line. 

I decided to spend 2x the $ on the BLI over the Bachmann because, hey, this thing should last me years and years and if I bought the Bachmann, I'd always be thinking I should have gotten the BLI. 

Looking forward to running it!

BTW - got it from ModelTrainStuff.com for $299 + shipping. Total was $306.69 with priority mail delivery.


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

That's a beauty. You will like the BLI. I have one BLI steam and one BLI diesel.
Love them both.


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## dlplost (Oct 14, 2012)

Another thing about BLI is they actually support their engines. I lost a driver screw on mine, sent them an email. They answered right back, verified which screw I needed and I had a new screw in just a couple of days. NO CHARGE!


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## Bkubiak (Oct 20, 2013)

I have been looking and looking for a deal on a new BLI K4s 4-6-2, it smokes, it has more sounds then you will know what to do with and it runs on 18 inch curves, only issue is that they are 460 bucks new. I like this one because they have the big driver wheels and at slow speed you can enjoy watching all the drive rods moving as it chuffs and pours out smoke, whistle blowing and bell ringing. GO to the BLI website and see the video's, most of their stuff is made to run on 18R track. I recently got a deal on a BLI diesel, a EMD SD40-2 with their paragon sound, found an auction on ebay and got it brand new for 140 bucks, I missed an auction for a BLI K4s by a keystroke in the final seconds, it went for 203.00 and I had a max bid of 200


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## Bkubiak (Oct 20, 2013)

Bkubiak said:


> I have been looking and looking for a deal on a new BLI K4s 4-6-2, it smokes, it has more sounds then you will know what to do with and it runs on 18 inch curves, only issue is that they are 460 bucks new. I like this one because they have the big driver wheels and at slow speed you can enjoy watching all the drive rods moving as it chuffs and pours out smoke, whistle blowing and bell ringing. GO to the BLI website and see the video's, most of their stuff is made to run on 18R track. I recently got a deal on a BLI diesel, a EMD SD40-2 with their paragon sound, found an auction on ebay and got it brand new for 140 bucks, I missed an auction for a BLI K4s by a keystroke in the final seconds, it went for 203.00 and I had a max bid of 200


Looks like there are no BLI New and Current K4S's anywhere at the present time
here is what a dealer that I bought many things from wrote to me a little while ago

New message from: kwajaburg (761Purple Star)
Mr. K. There aren't any out there at the distributor level..it appears most were scooped up with pre-orders. I checked all four of my major distributors (Walthers/Klein/Emery/Heartland Hobby) and all show the 4-6-2 K4 models as out of stock. Sorry I could not help you.

Regards,

Bert


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## Bkubiak (Oct 20, 2013)

AdRockTrains said:


> Bought a loco:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Which model BLI Steamer is that?


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## AdRockTrains (Mar 3, 2015)

Bkubiak said:


> Which model BLI Steamer is that?



It's the 2-8-0 Consolidation:

http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/Broadway-Limited-HO-2-8-0-GCRR-p/bli-2791.htm

Pretty excited to get my DCC setup and run it.


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## AdRockTrains (Mar 3, 2015)

Oh, and I just found 2 of these on ebay to go with it!


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