I ordered a Bigboy to please our grandson. I like it enough, I'd be just as happy with a Challenger. I got to ride behind the 765 on the excursions from Fort Wayne HS. So at least for me, there's a connection to the Berk.
I had a HO scale berk style engine I think, when I was a kid. It kept derailing on me. The front 2 wheels would seem to jump for any reason. I didn't know enough to modify it for more reliable tracking.
I'm staring at the new MTH catalog and there's a scale wheeled Berk. So although I prefer diesels, once again I'm tempted to order a steamer and deal with it.
A couple of my steam engines have acted up and need repair. I have to replace a board set it one, add wipers to a few, and deal with them not liking my recently ballasted trackwork. The diesels run fine and just keep running. So do I please my guests with another steam, or make life easy on myself???
