Is this normal?

I don't know the answer, but it sounds almost like something is loose. Did you check the drive rods, wheels, and electrical pickups? (loose screw?)

You'll get better video if you turn your phone horizontally.

Looks like a side rod may be hitting the track.

Thanks for the replies, better video attached. It's that piece under the smoke unit that goes up and down that's making the sound.

I believe the SKU is 6-38662. The axle has a cam on it that raises the push rod and smoke lever/smoke piston. There is some noise to be had with these arrangements, but your second video seems to show some potential binding in the smoke piston drivetrain with a plasticy sounding click and violent force on the push rod. If that locomotive were in my hands, I'd have it open and would be inspecting it to see if anything needs to be rectified such as an alignment issue, cleaning of the smoke chamber/piston, a broken piston spring and so on...

@bmoran4 posted:

I believe the SKU is 6-38662. The axle has a cam on it that raises the push rod and smoke lever/smoke piston. There is some noise to be had with these arrangements, but your second video seems to show some potential binding in the smoke piston drivetrain with a plasticy sounding click and violent force on the push rod. If that locomotive were in my hands, I'd have it open and would be inspecting it to see if anything needs to be rectified such as an alignment issue, cleaning of the smoke chamber/piston, a broken piston spring and so on...

I appreciate everyone's help. I'll pop the shell and see what I find. Won't be soon but I'll report back with any useful info.