I've had a few of the die cast versions and I'm almost terrified to run them as fragile as the hand rails are.
I would assume the plastic bodied ES44's are just as fragile??
Thanks.
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I have several plastic ES44AC's and I have found them to be as robust as any other engine. Yes be careful when picking them up of the small details but that is not a problem.
I also have one diecast ES44AC engine that I treat the same as my plastic engines, just heavier.
Thanks David. One of the die cast I bought from my LHS shop had several of the rails broken. I always assumed if anyone knew how to handle them they would. I was wrong.
I echo David1's comments regarding the plastic ES44s.
Comparatively speaking, the ES44 die-cast versions do seem a bit more fragile, particularly the handrails. I have three and handle them with both care and caution (many minute and fragile detailed parts).
I also found that when the handrails come loose on the die-cast versions, you can re-attach the rails back to the stanchions (unless the rail has broken off completely).
Michael
I have 6 diecast ones and i dont find them fragile at all
The rails are not fragile on the plastic ones .. The diecast are not really fragile you cant handle a 16 pound engine by the rails something has to give .. You handle them with 2 hands and from the bottom or top if you got good grip on your hands. If you work on them a pillow seems to be golden to . With all the diecast ones I owned the biggest issiue I had is when the screws on the rails where not tight .. A eye glass screwdriver is perfect to tighten ..
I have (3) of the NS Heritage ES44's, and none of them feel fragile. have yet to experience any issues with the handrails. I should be receiving the Die-cast BSA ES44 any day now, and will be able to do a side by side comparison once its here. I've never heard of any issues with the Die-cast ES44's before, except that people complain about their heaviness. ;-). I don't consider the weight to be a drawback.
I have the die cast BNSF and the hand rails are a little fragile and do come apart pretty easy, but they are not to hard to snap back together,A Very heavy engine though, maybe that is why I love this engine so much.
Fred
