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Q I have five Digital Command
Control- equipped N scale engines on
my layout with about 20 meters of
main line. Most of the locomotives will
run for extended periods. But one
steam engine will only run for a couple
minutes before stopping for a minute
or so, then starting again for another
few minutes, then stopping, then
starting, and so on. I’ve had the engine
serviced by the manufacturer, and their
technicians have overhauled it a couple
of times. The second time, the guys
called me to say they had all been over
the engine and run it continuously,
forward and reverse under load, for a
total of four hours without a problem.
But when the engine arrived home, it
was back to its usual misbehavior.
I don’t want to exile it to the round-
house. Any thoughts?
Ross Jeffcoat, Chermside South,
Queensland, AustraliaA Intermittent issues are always the
hardest to diagnose, since they’re hard to
reproduce. But I can make some guesses
that might guide your own testing.
Whenever electronics stop and restart
intermittently, my first thought is over-
heating. When your locomotive stops,
does the tender feel warm to the touch?
(I’m assuming the decoder is in the ten-
der). If so, try removing the tender shell
and seeing if allowing cooling airflow
around the decoder fixes the problem. If
it does, try adding some ventilation to
the tender by drilling holes in the bot-
tom. You might also allow heat to escape
by replacing the coal load with one made
of black window screening topped with a
thin layer of scale coal.
Does it always happen in the same
part of the layout? If so, get a multimeter
and check for voltage drops in that area.
It might be that this particular engine
needs more voltage than your others.
Lessen voltage drops to the area by add-
ing more feeders to your track bus.
Does it happen mostly while other
locomotives are also running elsewhere
on the layout? Your DCC system might
not have enough amperage to run them
all at once. Look into dividing your lay-
out into more power districts and adding
a booster to handle the current load.
Good luck tracking down your elec-
trical gremlins.Q
I’m about to start building my layout. Over the years I’ve collected
many Burlington Northern and Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe loco-
motives. Around what date did BNSF start repainting its locomotives, and
when did the BNSF stencil start showing up? My preference is to run as
many locomotives as I can without the stencil, as I’m sure that in the early
’90s you could see both road names on the same trains.
Manny Gamallo, Sand Springs, Okla.A
The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe and the Burlington Northern merged
on Dec. 31, 1996, to form the Burlington Northern & Santa Fe. The
merged railroad experimented with several paint schemes derived from
its two predecessors, including Santa Fe “war bonnet” schemes and
orange-and-green BN “heritage” schemes. The railroad officially changed
its name to BNSF Ry. in January 2005, unveiling what railfans call the
“Swoosh” logo.
Model Railroader’s resident BNSF aficionado, Group Technical Editor
Cody Grivno, fills us in on the details:
BNSF Ry. started repainting former Santa Fe and Burlington Northern
units in 1996. Electro- Motive Division GP60Ms were some of the earliest
Santa Fe units repainted, with more than a dozen completed between
June and November 1996.
The renumbering process has been ongoing. The bulk of the renumber-
ing took place between 1997 and 2000, though BNSF is still renumbering
units (and bringing back predecessor reporting marks) to open up number
slots today. Locomotives with “BNSF” stencils in ATSF paint (both the
blue-and-yellow and red-and-silver warbonnets) can still be found in 2019,
though the number of units is dwindling.
To learn when a specific locomotive was renumbered, I’d recommend
getting a copy of Robert C. Del Grosso’s BNSF Railway Company Locomo-
tive Review (Great Northern Pacific Publications). The books, produced
from the late 1990s through 2011, list the date each locomotive was
renumbered and (if applicable) repainted, and in what scheme. Though
the books are out of print, you can find copies through used booksellers,
at railroad swap meets, and on internet auction websites.
Microscale makes a couple of sets for modeling units that have been
renumbered but not repainted. Sets 87-1035 (HO) and 60-1035 (N) contains
“BNSF” stencils, circle-cross heralds, and numbers in a variety of sizes and
colors. Sets MC-4254 (HO) and 60-4254 (N) contain patches in Cascade
Green and Santa Fe Yellow.Burlington Northern and Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe merged to form the
BNSF Ry. in 1996. Shortly thereafter the railroad started patching out and
repainting diesel locomotives, like the three former BN and ATSF engines seen
in this photo shot at Garretson, S.D., on July 31, 2004. Cody Grivno photoWhen did BNSF start patching out diesels?
Send questions and tips to associate editor
Steven Otte at [email protected].