New Kato N UP ES44AC In Union Pacific "Small Flag" Scheme

Kato recently brought in a run of N scale ES44ACs in the Union Pacific's 2022 "small flag" scheme.

But it's worth noting that UP recently releaaed a photo of its American 250th Anniversary 1776 locomotive in what's basically just a revival of the former "large flag" scheme (UP photo):

The original "large flag" scheme lasted over 20 years, from 2001 to 2022. A big disadvantage of the scheme was that the flag could become so dirty and/or faded that it amounted to desecration:

I still remember my Boy Scout training in display of the flag, and I've sadly got to conclude that UP's decision to drop the large flag if they couldn't keep it clean was long overdue.

One point to note is that Kato's factory cab roof detail is as the locos were delivered. The photo above shows the prototype in as-delivered condition in November, 2012. However, after this time PTC antennas were added to the cab roof, changing the appearance greatly:

The photo above is from 2014, when this installation was pretty much complete. A loco with the as-delivered cab roof shouldn't have the 2022 "small flag" scheme. I'll have to see what kind of N scale PTC antenna I can find.

Norfolk Southern Retires Its Last SD70ACus

Kato released N scale SD70ACus earlier this year, just in time for Norfolk Southern to retire the last of its prototypes. These seem to have sold out almost immediately, and I didn't get one, but now it doesn't really matter. I discovered this from this Facebook post.

Which brings me to the next issue: there's no longer a reliable way to get this kind of locomotive news. In the 1970s and 1980s, there was Extra 2200 South, but according to AI,

Extra 2200 South, the renowned locomotive news magazine, remains technically in business but has faced significant publication delays as it transitions from a print-focused model to a digital one.

Owner Doug Cummings reported in August 2025 that the magazine is "alive and well" but has been delayed due to the complex process of switching to a digital edition. This involved a lengthy legal battle to separate the publication from its former web host, which was only resolved in mid-2025.

. . . Founded in 1961 by Jerry Pinkepank, the magazine became a vital resource for railfans, specializing in detailed locomotive rosters and news. Much of its original news function has since been superseded by real-time internet forums and sites like Trainorders.com.

The problem with online forums is that they aren't edited, and they're often dominated by young kids or emotionally immature adults, and that includes Trainorders.com. Meanwhile, remaining print venues have the problem that they aren't well indexed and aren't included in online searches. The cost of converting decades of print information to digitally indexed formats is prohibitive, as appears to be the case with Extra 2200 South.

On the other hand, if I'm forced to use AI, I might as well make lemonade out of lemons. I asked Chrome AI mode, "Can you give the history of the SD70ACu locomotive?" It answered,

The SD70ACu is a remanufactured diesel-electric locomotive created by rebuilding older EMD SD90MAC units. The program was designed to modernize the aging SD90MAC fleet by replacing unreliable Siemens electrical components with updated Mitsubishi technology and installing a more crash-resistant cab.

The SD70ACu was born out of a need to extend the life of "SD9043MAC" cores—locomotives originally built in the mid-1990s as a lower-horsepower version of the SD90MAC.

NS launched the first major rebuilding effort in September 2015 at its Juniata Shops in Altoona, Pennsylvania. They acquired 100 second-hand SD90MACs from Union Pacific via Progress Rail and another 10 through a trade with CIT Group.

In 2018, CP followed suit, contracting Progress Rail to rebuild 30 of its own long-dormant SD90MACs. This order was later expanded to 60 units, utilizing CP's remaining stored fleet and additional cores purchased from Union Pacific.

However, this answer didn't mention the SD70ACus NS sold to Progress Rail, which sold them on to Ferromex. I asked about this, and it replied,

Yes, Norfolk Southern (NS) reportedly sold approximately 30 retired SD70ACu locomotives to Ferromex (FXE) in 2024.

The units were not sold directly to Ferromex; instead, they were sold to Progress Rail, which then facilitated the acquisition by Ferromex. These locomotives are undergoing rebuilding at Progress Rail and Ferromex's Guadalajara shops in Mexico for future deployment on the FXE network.

Current Status: Being rebuilt and repainted into Ferromex colors (some units, like FXE-4155, have already been spotted in service).

Here's a photo of FXE 4155 that was recently posted on Facebook by a photographer who goes by Car Knocker Joe. It looks like Kato missed a good prototype.

If we dom't have X2200S, at least we have AI -- but you have to ask AI the right questions. X2200S, especially when the Dover family ran it, had editors who could anticipate the questions people had.

1980s Brass N Scale Diesels

Forty years ago, I was concentrating on N scale. I had a small N layout in an apartment walk-in closet. Eventually I wound up getting a number of painted brass N scale models from Hallmark, W&R and Sunset, and a number of others that I painted myself. Here's a Hallmark (I think) U36C that I painted myself:

As for looks, these locos have aged quite well. One thing I liked about them was that Hallmark in particular was bringing them out in up-to-the-minute paint and detail versions, so that these locos are now something of a memento of what I was railfanning in the mid-1980s. But the photo below shows their current Achilles heel for 21st century modeling:

These locos had open-frame motors, electrical pickup from only one side of each truck, neither incandescent light bulbs nor LEDs, and DCC wasn't even a glimmer in anyone's eye, much less sound.

Here's a factory-painted Hallmark SD45u. The "shouldn't have painted so fast" paint scheme dates it perfectly:

Another SD45u, factory painted in the traditional yellow bonnet:

A UP "fast forty" that I painted myself:

An SP SD45E, factory paint:

A check of Chrome AI mode tells me that these locos are selling for about half of their mid-1980s retail price, and that would be 2026 retail. I'd be lucky to get $100 for any of them if I were selling to a dealer. They'd be too much trouble to try to convert to DCC, although one possibility might be simply to swap out the chassis for a Kato -- but even rhen, the brass body might cause shorts against the Kato split frames.

But they do look great in their display case.