The Menards Beta 4 Santa Fe locomotives

The Menards Beta 4 Santa Fe locomotives are the latest version of the company’s foray into motive power.

A year or so ago Menards tested the waters with a diesel locomotive in Santa Fe paint. Let’s take a look at this set and see what’s changed with this latest release.

In this Beta 4 version, we received one powered and one unpowered unit. The set comes with the remote control that works by radio frequency. Outwardly, the locomotive shells are very much the same as the original run, except you have the “bluebonnet” scheme, which Santa Fe actually had in the early 1970s following the formation of Amtrak. They used this scheme for former passenger engines in freight service along with the “yellowbonnet” scheme. Maybe those will come out too at some point.

Menards Beta 4 Santa Fe locomotives

The units feature pretty nice detail. Both have operating thumbtack style couplers and crew figures in the cab. They also have operating headlights and the number boards are also lit. They have separately applied horns, representations of cooling fans and exhaust stacks, and simulated steam-generator equipment.

Like many of you out there, we had a problem with smoke emanating from the unpowered unit due to a capacitor that went bad. Apparently it afflicted the entire run, including the recently released unpowered red “warbonnet” units. The good news is the mishap isn’t fatal for the locomotive and it’s not dangerous to run it.

We talk more about it in the video and run the units on the Central Terminal & Transfer layout.