Are you sure that's Pullmor? The Frisco version has a can motor.
More discussion on storage and reliability: I spent about 30 yeas in the reliability engineering laboratory of a major manufacturer of power semiconductors. One of the stress tests we performed was Storage Life. This test was performed at an elevated temperature and rarely resulted in failure. On the other hand, the two moisture related tests we performed were problematic. The first was Relative Humidity Bias which was accomplished in a Humidity Chamber at 85 deg c and 85% relative humidity with bias applied. The second was Autoclave which was accomplished in an Autoclave at 15 psig, 121 deg c with no bias. There was a huge effort by package design people before this failure mechanism was finally put to bed. The long and short of it is that moisture and electronics do not mix well. There was some mention of the reliability of automotive electronics. All automotive electronics to the best of my knowledge, must meet the reliability requirements of an extensive reliability document called AEC Q-101. This document specifies very stringent requirements for acceptance from a reliability standpoint. Train manufacturers have no such document to the best of my knowledge. The thing that surprises me most is that there seems to be no mechanism to bring about corrective action and make the problems go away. In my repair experience, I saw a large number of PSII 5 volt boards go completely dead. Although repair was next to impossible on these boards, someone should have determined what was failing. The typical procedure is to make a determination of the failure mechanism and if related to a specific component return the failing component to the manufacturer for analysis and corrective action. Understand that it is not only semiconductor products which can cause problems. Things like sockets and plugs become corroded with exposure to moisture and contribute to the problem. The other factor which is difficult to assess is static electricity. I doubt that there is any data available relative to susceptibility to damage simply from handling for example. Should we, for example, be using ESD straps when handling? Should we store the locomotives in ESD proof bags? I do know that the CMOS logic used in most of the electronic packages is very susceptible to static damage. There is a lot to consider relative to this problem. I can't easily explain how an engine which was perfectly good does not survive being stored for some period of time but these are some things to consider. Feel free to ask questions which I will do my best to answer.
Buyer beware
Best regards,
Phranzdan
shorling posted:Let’s not overlook the fact that this member has 50% failed units. Something causing that. Cars, planes, etc electronics are specially designed and tested to withstand their service Environment. Conformal coat is just the first line of defense against humidity.
Ok, but 50% could be 1 out of 2 or 2 out of 4. We really need to understand the scale of the problem.
George
I just add oil once in a while .....these should last another 115 years or so no problem ......I wish I had a shelf life that long ....
It was partly the issues mentioned here that brought me back to conventional. Postwar Lionel. I have 11x16 room full of an n-scale layout that is all DCC. I love running it but have become increasingly frustrated at problems with new locomotives. I purchased an n-scale 4-6-6-4 for $400 that was dead out of the box. I returned and bought a second one, only to find it was defective as well. I sent it in for warranty repair in Oct and am still waiting to get it back with no ETA from the vendor due to a lack of spare parts. I was not alone in this experience. The increased electronics complexity combined with sub par assembly combined with very lacking quality control completely soured me.
You can contrast that with my postwar 2020 turbine locomotive and 631 NW-2 that sat in a box in my parent’s home’s attic at the coast for 40+ years that both fired right up. Yeah, they are not as pretty or have the sound (whistle still works though) or run as slow as the modern stuff but darn it they RUN and will probably continue to do so after I’m dead! There is something to be said for that.
Sure I continue to enjoy firing my NScale railroad but I’m right excited about building my 4x8 Postwar Pike, with a number of the old accessories that I’ll be able to just turn on after a hard day at work and just run trains.
Thanks,
kevin
