Hey, I am in the process of deciding what new steamer I want. Any suggestions of the two? I would appreciate a comment.
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If you want a scale steamer that will negotiate o-48 and probably an even smaller radius get the berkshire, if not get the J.Its gonna be more locomotive for the money.
First, note that both the J ('12 Vol II page 8) and the Berkshire (its listed in both the '12 Signature catalog and in the '12 Vol II on page 22, I think) are rated as requiring O-54 curves.
I have Legacy Berkshire 6-11387, the ATSF Legacy Bershire from this year's catalogs. I have not tried mine on O-48 - some of my O-54 locos will run on O-48 -- sometimes I discover that an O-54 loco with make it through simple O-48 curves okay, but not handle the curved portion of O-48 turnouts, nor make it through O-48 switchbacks. I recommend verifying with someone else who has one that it will run on the type of O-48 you have, if that is important to you.
My Berkshire is quite detailed, with lots of equipment eye-candy separately applied (it matches well the picture in the catalog) and good paint and lettering. It runs very well and has good sounds, lights, etc.
However, it is considerably shorter than listed in the catalog. Length overall (including tender) is listed in the catalog as 26.5 inches. But mine measures in at just under 25 inches, more than 1.5 inches shorter than advertised. As I understand it, Lionel has two different casting molds for Berkshires, its own from the past, and the one used in my model (and I assume, all the others listed in the catalog along with it) which is a casting mold developed by K-Line back when it was an independent company. As I understand it, Lionel's older casting is for a loco that is about 26.5 inches long. The K-Line casting - used for mine - is shorter.
This shorter length is not necessarily a bad thing. It makes for a very nice, compact little loco, with good weight and appearance, nice pulling power, and great sound. The length, at 24.5 inches, is very close to scale for the later ATSF 4100 series Bershires (around 4190 and up), which the model fairly accurately depicts: they were quite small as Berks go.
The one issue I have with my model is the cab, which is not scale in my opinion. It has only a maximum 6 feet headroom (floor to max height of cab roof, whereas every other scale loco I have including the tiny little 0-4-0 shifter and the Atlantic, etc., has at least seven scale feet of headroom feet. I've verified from photos and drawings of the 4100s that the cab roof really should be raised about 1/4 inch - a project I hope to start this weekend. This tiny detail may not be important to you and should not blind anyone to the fact that this is a splendid model.
I have pre-ordered the J. I know little about it, but I hope it will be spectacular - and it will definately be much larger than my Berk. As already stated in another thread, I intend to repaint the J in a "fantasy" scheme as a Union Pacific loco, in the gray and black colrs used for many later UP steamers like the FEF and Challenger.
Go for the J,
Look at my videos of the Pennsy Texas, Milwaukee S-3, and particularly, the Santa Fe Northerns. All have whistle steam or steam chest steam.
Scrappy
If cost makes a difference, the Berks have been discounted from its original MSRP.
With the current Lionel discount, if you check around you may find the Berk selling a few hundred or more less then the preordered J.
Joe
All I can say is that all of your life decisions should be made up of such sweet alternatives. 
Get both, just wait for the sales!
I wish somebody would make N&W 610, the one which tested on the PRR!
Why must we be ruled by the tyranny of the "OR".
Instead find a way to discover the genius of the "AND".
Hey, thanks everyone. It was lively discussion. Yes, cost will make a difference. I can only get one. I am a poor graduate student and this is going to be my graduation present. However, I don't think I am that poor, I am in graduate school, on a scholarship, have a job, and have put almost 28 grand into my collection. I just think the J would make a great graduation/christmas gift. Go Southern Miss Eagles! 
And may the Powhatan Arrow always highball in our memories.
Originally Posted by BrianSouthernCrescentLimited:
Hey, thanks everyone. It was lively discussion. Yes, cost will make a difference. I can only get one. I am a poor graduate student and this is going to be my graduation present. However, I don't think I am that poor, I am in graduate school, on a scholarship, have a job, and have put almost 28 grand into my collection. I just think the J would make a great graduation/christmas gift. Go Southern Miss Eagles! And may the Powhatan Arrow always highball in our memories.
The J will be great, I'm sure. Makes a great graduation present/rewaqrd, too!
One more thing, is it just me or does that new Berkshire look like an extended Mikado. Not knocking the Mikado, I love the one I have, but I think it looks like the Mikado, and not the Lionel NKP 765, or the Pere Marquette 1225. Just me thinking here.
Originally Posted by BrianSouthernCrescentLimited:
One more thing, is it just me or does that new Berkshire look like an extended Mikado. Not knocking the Mikado, I love the one I have, but I think it looks like the Mikado, and not the Lionel NKP 765, or the Pere Marquette 1225. Just me thinking here.
Your absolutely right, as it should. The a1 berkshire IS just a "beefed up" mikado. The only thing it has in common with the 765 and 1225 is the wheel arrangement, everything else is smaller, drivers, boiler,weight length etc. These s1 berks were originally delivered with 4 axle tenders like the mikados. Railroads switch to 6 axle "hudson type" tenders later on.http://www.steamlocomotive.com/berkshire/ http://www.steamlocomotive.com/berkshire/?page=nyc
It would be like trying to compare one of the legacy mallets to the VL challenger,entirely different locomotives.
