Model Railroading > Renumbering BNSF ES44AC's. Keeping up with variations.

I have two Intermountain ES44AC's with the same running number, BNSF 5764. It would be simple to renumber just one or two digits on one of the locomotives but I'd really like to spread the fleet out a bit and renumber it to a later build in the 6000 to 6438 series. Can anyone comment on the external cosmetic differences within the BNSF ES44AC fleet and point to which batches of them I can or cannot renumber this unit to without altering anything except its running number.

Thanks in advance.
Rugby
UK

Rugby, you may or may not remember a thread I authored back in April 2011 discussing this very matter, wow has it been that long?

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?3,2442770


I took a stock (1st Run) HO scale InterMountain BNSF ES44AC #5778, and updated it to BNSF 6003 with very little exterior modification. All that I recall really being required to change was the removal of the side ladder along the engine compartment, and the intake screen below the rear brake wheel. I don't recall specifically how high one could go with a renumber before additional modifications are required, but the 6003 was a good choice for my needs.

The grabs were easily removed by dabbing a little Testors plastic cement on the mounting holes/points from inside the shell. The MEK wicked into the holes just enough to soften the bonds, allowing me to pull the grabs straight out from the outside. The slightest little dabs of touch-up paint filled the rather tiny holes. I custom blended my own BNSF acrylic colors, but you can try True-color paints or other store brand BNSF colors, just double check the colors before applying.

The grill below the brake wheel was shaved off with a chisel tip X-acto blade. The remaining area painted orange, with a short piece of Microscale yellow BNSF cigar band decal to fill the void. You can see the color isn't exactly a perfect match below. Weathering can cover up that issue (and has since the pic was taken 6 years ago).

~ Mr. MRL



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/16/17 18:19 by MrMRL.

---

---

BNSF ES44ACs that match the Athearn and Intermountain models:

5748 through 5876 - these are a match
5877 through 6001 - match except the bolted panel to the front of the inverter box gains two hinges along the back edge (see pic below).
6002 through 6017 - panel hinges, plus the omission of the hood side ladder and grill under the brake wheel per MrMRL's model.
 

---

MrMRL Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Rugby, you may or may not remember a thread I
> authored back in April 2011 discussing this very
> matter, wow has it been that long?
>
> https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?3,
> 2442770
>
>
> I took a stock (1st Run) HO scale InterMountain
> BNSF ES44AC #5778, and updated it to BNSF 6003
> with very little exterior modification. All that I
> recall really being required to change was the
> removal of the side ladder along the engine
> compartment, and the intake screen below the rear
> brake wheel. I don't recall specifically how high
> one could go with a renumber before additional
> modifications are required, but the 6003 was a
> good choice for my needs.
>
> The grabs were easily removed by dabbing a little
> Testors plastic cement on the mounting
> holes/points from inside the shell. The MEK wicked
> into the holes just enough to soften the bonds,
> allowing me to pull the grabs straight out from
> the outside. The slightest little dabs of touch-up
> paint filled the rather tiny holes. I custom
> blended my own BNSF acrylic colors, but you can
> try True-color paints or other store brand BNSF
> colors, just double check the colors before
> applying.
>
> The grill below the brake wheel was shaved off
> with a chisel tip X-acto blade. The remaining area
> painted orange, with a short piece of Microscale
> yellow BNSF cigar band decal to fill the void. You
> can see the color isn't exactly a perfect match
> below. Weathering can cover up that issue (and has
> since the pic was taken 6 years ago).
>
> ~ Mr. MRL


I always look forward to seeing your modernisations. Looks like you only just pipped the threshold judging by the post below yours. I have six orange AC's and will consider renumbering and updating a second one too.

Cheers mate.
Rugby
(can you believe it's been ten years since I met you?)

atsf5704 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> BNSF ES44ACs that match the Athearn and
> Intermountain models:
>
> 5748 through 5876 - these are a match
> 5877 through 6001 - match except the bolted panel
> to the front of the inverter box gains two hinges
> along the back edge (see pic below).
> 6002 through 6017 - panel hinges, plus the
> omission of the hood side ladder and grill under
> the brake wheel per MrMRL's model.
>  

I am aiming to model BNSF 6000 so a couple of orange semi-dowel plasticard sections should do the trick and then I'll renumber another one with Mr MRL's mods. Thank you so much guys. You saved me trawling through my photos. What of 6018 and higher?

Cheers
Rugby

37176 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ...
>
> Cheers mate.
> Rugby
> (can you believe it's been ten years since I met
> you?)


Yeah buddy... you still remember that long hike from the bus or train stop you got off at?

Mr. MRL

MrMRL Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> 37176 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > ...
> >
> > Cheers mate.
> > Rugby
> > (can you believe it's been ten years since I
> met
> > you?)
>
>
> Yeah buddy... you still remember that long hike
> from the bus or train stop you got off at?
>
> Mr. MRL


Yeah. Felt a bit unsafe on that bus.

So, Robbie, have you done any research into the differences between batches of UP Gevo's (5xxx vs 7xxx/8xxx) and both UP and BNSF's SD70ACe's?

Rugby

Yikes, not that much detail... especially with the UP units. If you think BNSF's methodology of numbering has become screwy in reguards to order of delivery, try following UP! Sorry, can't help much.

~ Mr. MRL

MrMRL Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yikes, not that much detail... especially with the
> UP units. If you think BNSF's methodology of
> numbering has become screwy in reguards to order
> of delivery, try following UP! Sorry, can't help
> much.
>
> ~ Mr. MRL


I have a couple of UP 8634's. Am gonna have to look through some pics of the latest ones in the 9000 series.

Rugby

Largest difference between the UP 8600 series and the 9000 series is the inverter cabinet grill. The 8600s have one that is vertical while the 9000s have one that is horizontal. I have seen some 8600s that have been modernized with the horizontal grill. There is also a slight difference in the UP yellow, and the Athearn models (83-600 vs newer 8700s) reflect that. Stock athearn 8600s also have no PTC, so you would have to add it. Your best bet would be to get a "modern" 8700 series ACe to start with. The PTC array on those is a primer grey while the 9000s have a UP grey PTC array, so that would need to be changed. Also, making a 9000 series would require printing SD70AH decals, since the Athearn ones are still SD70ACes.

Picture 1: 8600 series inverter cabinet.

Picture 2: 9000 series (8700 series and up) inverter cabinet. You can see the slight difference in paint color.

Picture 3: My HO SD70AH. Base model was a 8700 series SD70ACe from Athearn. All that needed to be changed was the numbers, designation, and the PTC array.

---

---

---

Thanks for this Suvart. I just have to have a look at the BNSF 9300 vs 8400 onwards series now.

Rugby
UK

suvart Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Largest difference between the UP 8600 series and
> the 9000 series is the inverter cabinet grill. The
> 8600s have one that is vertical while the 9000s
> have one that is horizontal. I have seen some
> 8600s that have been modernized with the
> horizontal grill. There is also a slight
> difference in the UP yellow, and the Athearn
> models (83-600 vs newer 8700s) reflect that. Stock
> athearn 8600s also have no PTC, so you would have
> to add it. Your best bet would be to get a
> "modern" 8700 series ACe to start with. The PTC
> array on those is a primer grey while the 9000s
> have a UP grey PTC array, so that would need to be
> changed. Also, making a 9000 series would require
> printing SD70AH decals, since the Athearn ones are
> still SD70ACes.
>
> Picture 1: 8600 series inverter cabinet.
>
> Picture 2: 9000 series (8700 series and up)
> inverter cabinet. You can see the slight
> difference in paint color.
>
> Picture 3: My HO SD70AH. Base model was a 8700
> series SD70ACe from Athearn. All that needed to be
> changed was the numbers, designation, and the PTC
> array.

Looks like the UP SD70ACe inverter difference is 8670 upwards