Red and silver Santa Fe means that it's a diesel, probably a passenger one.  Now -
How long is the engine?
Are the cab windows in the front over a streamlined nose?
It has two sets of trucks, one in the front, one in the back.  How many wheels are in each truck?  While looking at the wheels - how far apart are they?
Gene

I ran one of my USRA light Mallet 2-6-6-2's yesterday to check clearances.  I ran it upgrade twice and downgrade twice, both forward and reverse.  No slop of any sort except for the dirty track.  I'm with Sheldon - they are smooth runners.  I run DCC, too.
Gene

Please describe the box - shape, color, markings, and material.
Gene

Jim,
How can your grandmother only be 25? 
Gene

Just to clarify, Bachmann does 0n30, not 0n3.  There is a six inch difference between them. 
Gene

The actual NKP Berkshire is 99 feet long.  The C&O and PM should be the same length.   You need a 100ft plus turntable. 
Gene

Normally Bachmann is very reasonable with the warranty issue.  I'd go ahead and bundle up the cards and send them in.
Gene

My understanding is that Tycho and Bachmann are the Ying and Yang of model railroading.  One started out as good quality and went down hill and the other started out as poor quality and went uphill.   
Gene

wehonesdt may be selling under another name as well.  Watch the price of the trees and the price s/h very carefully.  You may find a higher priced tree set to be cheaper because of lower s/h.  Also as a rule, if you win two sets the same day, you may well pay s/h for each purchase instead of being combined.   I've heard this allows the seller to keep the payment to eBay as low as possible as eBay charges for the selling price, not the s/h. 

Variation - you bet.  I've looked at lots of pictures but have not actually seen any coal mine entrance labeled as such.  Obviously for a vertical shaft there has to be a head house for the elevator(s) to gain entrance and exit and for protection from the weather - there's enough danger of flooding without summer thunder storms or winter blizzards adding to the mix at the bottom.  It just seems logical that a horizontal shaft would also have some sort of a protected opening - for security if nothing else. 
Thanks for all the advise. 
Gene

You will need the 130 foot.  A real Van Sweringen (sic) 2-8-4 is longer than 90 feet.  In fact, it's almost longer than a stock USRA light Mallet. 
Gene

I'm probably being influenced by one viewing of the movie about the high school kids who starting building rockets after Sputnik.  It takes place in Coalwood, WV and there are a couple of scenes of going into the mine - which was a vertical shaft mine.  I THINK I remember some sort of a locker room.  OTOH, I know coal mining is dirty and hosing down of miners by the wife was common. 

I have to totally agree with Sheldon.  Had you said that you took the loco and bashed it into a Santa Fe, I would understand - other than doing the bashing before the running in...
Gene

Jim,
I may be using the term very loosely.  I know what you mean.  What I am looking for is the entrance to the mine shaft as used by the miners themselves.  The tipple in question is the Walther's kit, which I built per instructions and which has conveyor belts bringing coal from the mine to the tipple.  Logic says that the miners would probably NOT enter the mine from the tipple in this case or the coal from the mine would go directly into the tipple.  So a minehead or head house would be necessary someplace.  I assume that they wouldn't just walk into a hole in the ground, but have some place to store hard hats, lamps, overalls, etc. 
The Schultz Garage might not be my first choice, but I happen to have the kit (one of those 100 unbuilt necessary to be a true model railroader.... ) and I think it might serve rather than buy another DPM that might be a bit more realistic. 
Thoughts?

The length of the Bachmann C&O K4 Kanawha is 14 5/8 inches, coupler face to coupler face.  Since it doesn't have the correct pilot, I'm going to assume its length is the same as for the Berkshsires as well. 
Gene