can someone give me some idea which lionel engines had plastic gears and u-joints? I am looking at a couple of early tmcc lionel engines and I do not want to invest my precious dollars into a locomotive that would be at risk of broken gear/u-joint problem which I understand are not repairable.
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My advice stick with Postwar.
As far as steamers go
. The single biggest offender is the CC II Niagara.
Plastic gears and driveshaft. Add to that crumbling tender deck plate, pitting of the drivers, driver tires that fall off, and failing chuff switch.
The next most notable Loco is the B&O EM 1. This has a driveshaft prone to failure. Outside of that it's a solid runner.
Having said that. Both engines can be upgraded/ repaired.
AFAIK, every other tmcc steamer from 2000 onward has metal gears and driveshaft.
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