Berkshire 2-8-4

Sounds like a power pickup or hot wire from a pickup shorting intermittently to the frame somehow.

What make and product number?

Conv or command?

Rod

Video in "TRACK PLANS"  

Another possibility is a misaligned pickup roller that is shorting to ground somehow at that location on your layout.

Or perhaps the weight distribution of this particular engine is causing an intermittent short in the track at that exact location.

In any event there is not much any of us can see or suggest that you try. You will have to cintinue to investigate and eventually you should find it.

As a last resort, pull the track at that location and replace it with another piece/switch or pieces if you have spares. Sometimes that is the only fix.

Rod

I'd put it on a short section of test track with a transformer.  If it's drawing 4.5A at idle there, you need to fix it!

Turn smoke off and see what it draws.  You may have a pinched wire.

I think he is saying that it draws 4.5 amps with the passenger cars on the track as well as the engine, which seems reasonable. Not sure though.

Rod

Rod you are correct.

 No pinched wires

Has anyone looked at the video?

I'd start by diagnosing the issue with just the locomotive in that case, you're dragging a Red Herring into the mix by adding environmental factors.

Heres a link to the video for folks here.

1drummer video

Thats quite an expansive layout hard to tell what size wire or how many feeders your using but it could be a power/ delivery issue.

You've got alot going on there lengthy track and I see some other lit up passenger cars and cabooses on other tracks as well.

Have you tried running it without the passenger cars?

RickO  Yes it seems I can run all the passenger cars and cabooses if I do not run the Berk pulling them

If I run the Southern 4-6-2 pulling all the passenger cars I have no electrical problems

the wire is 18 gauge stranded

it parallels the track and the only place that it is not connected directly to the rails is on the sections of the Gargraves..but there is MTH connections on each side of the Gargraves...

Thanks for posting the link..

Well for starters,  IMO 18ga is pretty thin, especially for the expansive amount of track you have.

14-16ga is more effective for power delivery, I use 14ga on mine and its the best thing I ever did, voltage is the same anywhere on the track as it is coming out of the transformer.

Check various areas of of the track as the trains run and see if there are voltage drops.

Most folks have feeder wires every several feet. If you up the wire guage and have the necessary feeders and still have problems you maywant to consider adding another transformer.

Put your southern on the track and run it with out cars and see what Amps it pulls.  Compare to Berk.

Run southern with passenger cars and measure amps, the do same with Berk.  Report results.

Your Berk Motor may be going bad if it is drawing too much current.  Or if it only pulls high current at a certain point on the track and Southern doesn't look at the pickup configuration, wheel spacing, etc... To see why the Berk shorts it out.  G

Based on train running. The issue gets its ugly head up, when I run the Berk and the lighted Passenger cars, no matter what engine is pulling them, my brick kicks its breaker.

I get consistent voltages around the track.

Changing wire from 18 to 16 is not going to affect how many amps the brick can allow.

But when I get a 10 amp AC power supply, wire change will be in order.  Hopefully by that time I will have added more Yard tracks,  I need turn outs,   so donations are accepted.  Because pride will never get between me and running trains . Lol

While changing the wire will indeed not change the power capability of the brick, it can actually affect the current in the circuit.  If you have excessive voltage drop in the feeds, you get less voltage to the track, and thus for the same speed you need more current, this is to make up for the voltage loss in the wiring.

I hasten to add that changing from #18 to #16 probably isn't going to change much, if I were recommending a wiring change, I'd go to at least #14 in this case.

I just looked and the wire I will be utilizing, if we get to keep

so our house past Jan 1 2014 will be 16 age than machine tool wire

Which in conjunction with my 10 amp ac power supply, that I WILL FIND  for this price I am willing to pay should solve my little problem

Of course if we do not get to keep our home. My biggest problem will be keeping my lovely wife from forcing me to sell my trains. And that in includes the 7 mth engines, 50various rolling stock and a boat load of mth and fragrances track. PLUS 55 ho engines many with svc 300 various rolling stock. And an ocean. Liner of atlas repackage

On one ho forum the question was asked about Train wrecks. One of my worst was when the basement flooded and my dear wife saw an atlas #6 turnout that had a $10.90 price tag.  She stopped counting at 70 to mad to continue. She did not see the 30 or so I had already removed or the 25 or so still in packages under th he layout in a sack.   She enjoys my hobbyist not when she sees the cost...

And for those doing the math and wondering if my money could have been better used to keep my home...I have two words UNINSURED DRIVER that is what destroyed my income flow. Missing over a month of wages, saddled with enormous medical debt. I had no alternatives. Add in my wife's employers VS. That has her "disabled" yet no reason given for her "disability"  And her loss of wages. Spells DISCRIMINATION. And law suit.  I WANT THIS RIDE TO END. So I know where I will be running my trains.  Sorry to vent...

16awg thhn. Stupid auto correct on kindle

Gargraves track. Not fragrance

DCC ON HO TRAINS NOT WHATEVER IT SAID