I bought this engine used so I don’t know it’s age. This is my second season with it and noticing a lot of play on the rear truck thought a mounting screw had come loose. What I found was the truck was hanging by it’s 2 power supply wires, the top cover having many stress cracks, and the mount portion completely broken off still screwed to the underside of the chassis. The bottom truck “lid” screws to the threads of this top plate. Only a couple of these molded, threaded areas were intact. The others were broken and/or very brittle, as if dry rotted or deteriorating. You’d think this top plate which basically supports the relatively heavy truck assembly would have been metal! I will contact Bachmann to price replacement parts (if available) but may need to fabricate a new aluminum rig to harness and tighten the truck assembly. I would warn owners of this engine to avoid lifting the engine without supporting the trucks as perhaps was formerly done. I use only “plastic safe” lubes but not sure what was previously used which may have been a factor to the deterioration.
Stack