I have a blinking billboard I bought at Wanamaker's in Philly in the mid-1970's. Its been on my layout since 1986. It still blinks. I never changed the bulb.

Hi Ricklab. One of the good things about growing older and having been around toy trains for sixty years is having both older and newer trains to run, maintain, and fix (and yeah, a guy will probably enjoy learning to fix postwar trains). Websites like this are filled with guys who have learned the joy and ease (and sometimes huge frustration) of fixing trains that were manufactured 40, 50, 60 or more years ago. Often they can be brought back to very good performance with a few hours of industry and if you need parts, they are out there in plenty. New trains are great but one nearly needs degrees behind their name to fix them; the older ones are like late 60s Beetles. A little baling wire, some scotch tape, a semi-logical mind and a brewski and Bob's your uncle...

I have the Intermodal Crane as well.  I bought it when it first came out.  Yes it still works perfectly.  The crane is made up of small dc motors to activate the various functions.  Very few electronics are in the controller.  Its a pretty simple piece.

The only weak point this accessory has is the main gear assembly which raises and lowers the crane.  If abused, the plastic gear can crack.  People have found creative ways to fix the problem to keep the crane running.

Overall its a good work horse.  I would expect it to be OK.

I do not know how often this person actually activated the crane. It is possible it got very little use. That does not stop the grease from getting hard or other problems over the years.