Whoops!  I neglected to mention that my layout is DC.  Even with the high voltage necessary to run the DCC loco on DC the headlamp remains barely visisible.

I have a C&O Kanawha Berkshire with a barely visible head lamp. Initially I had to refer to a prototype photo to determine where to look for it.  Then with my eye right down at track level I found a dim light at the bottom of the smoke box door where it is supposed to be.  My Pere Marquette berk has a nice bright headlamp that is very visible.  Anybody have a similar experience with a Kanawha?  I wonder if a replacement is likely to have the same problem.

Well, now it has been a couple years. I followed the suggestions and after a little more testing I began to detect the smell of electrical arcing.  At that point I decided the loco was a goner. I quickly ordered another J and it ran/runs beautifully. Smooth, quiet, good strong puller. Seems as good as my UP FEF. I sent the defective J to Bachmann and as a relacement I chose a Berkshire Pere Marquette for a reasonable upcharge. Good loco. Thanks again to those who offered suggestions.

Guys, thanks for your suggestions. Your time and expertise is much appreciated.  I will be away for a couple weeks and with your help I will take up the search for a solution upon my return.

Peace, Roger

garthumpy, I will do as you suggest. 

Thanks, Roger

This is a new J 611 with auxiliary tender, Bach #82154, purchased from a large internet dealer.  It's had about an hour of run time on Kato unit track with MRC Control Master II power pack.  As I turn up the throttle just enough to move the J it rolls forward exactly one full rotation of the drive wheels, stops briefly and head light goes off, then it rolls forward another full rotation, stops, then starts, stops, etc.  As I turn up the throttle the stop becomes a 'slow down' with the head light dimming briefly.  As it gets up to track speed the hesitation isn't visible but I can hear it in the sound of the mechanism.  I have lubed all the joints, pivot points, sliding parts of the drive gear on both sides with only a slight improvement.  I don't hear any obvious click indicating a side rod catching on another one. Reverse running is the same as forward.  Anybody have a similar experience or a possible solution?

Also Bachmann shows these locos as "sold out".  Does this mean they will not have a replacement available if I were to send it to them?

Thanks for any help.

Roger

I'm getting really tempted by this loco but I just read on another forum about an EM-1 stalling at an atlas turnout because it snags on the switch machine.  I had the same problem with a Bachmann C&O H-4 2-6-6-2.  Drive wheels were turning but couldn't get past the switch without me giving the pilot a nudge to the side away from the switch machine.  This occurred when approaching on straight track from the converging end heading toward the diverging end on the straight thru route. No problem when taking the diverging route. Only happened on two of about 30 switches on the layout.  The steam cylinder on the engineer side hit the switch machine. (The H-4 went back after the decoder died and was replaced with a different type of loco.) I have an Athearn Challenger, 2 Bachmann Heavy mtns, and a dozen older pacifics, mikes, berks,and hudsons all with no issues with switch machines. 

I'd like to know if anybody else has had this problem with an EM-1 and Atlas switch machines and if so, do you have a solution?  I'd hate to make the investment in one of these babies only to learn that it is incompatible with my track.

Thanks for any advice offered.

I saw the new berk and extra tender at Springfield, too.  I had one of the B-men compare the length of the two tenders.  The C&O was a bit longer than the NKP as they seem to appear on some dealer websites.  They didn't know which length tender the Pere Marquette will get, but it seems likely to be the longer one as PM was part of C&O, I believe.  They told me the berks would be available in about weeks.  That was on Sun, Jan 25.  In addition to the PM 1225 is sister PM 1223 on display in Grand Haven MI.