How often and how long has Lionel been doing this with their engine's motors?

I never felt Lionel or anybody else was required to notify me when they made a design change. The company I work for doesn't do that either

The Chinese factories treat every new production run as an entirely new product. They will rarely make the same exact thing twice. The buzz words are "continual improvement" but that means there is little or no continuity of design and no spare parts for repair. Sometimes it actually is an improvement, but sometimes a perfectly good old design can be replaced with something that has bugs or is not as reliable.

Since all designs/products are essentially considered as single use (disposable) , the Chinese factories see no need for repair/replacement parts. Sometimes the "importers" have to order extra engines so they can cannibalize them for parts.

Companies don't announce component  changes because people don't like change and will complain.

jim pastorius posted:

Companies don't announce component  changes because people don't like change and will complain.

Heh!....Tell that to the auto industry (for one)!