My 2026 has been running great since Santa brought it for me in 1951. I don't have much to add to what's already been said, except that you needn't necessarily assume that the smoke unit is shot just because it's cruddy with smoke pellet residue. When first I got back into 3-rail trains in the early Seventies, my own 2026's smoke unit was a mess, and I figured it was a hopeless case. But once I cleaned out all the decades of built-up waxy crud, it worked fine. And with some fresh shredded fiberglass stuffed into the now-clean smoke chamber, it worked like a charm with smoke fluid. Same with my other PW steam locomotives. I've never had to install a new smoke unit just to use liquid instead of pellets.
Your 2026 should be good for another century's worth of running. Just make sure your young son understands that running it full throttle through tinplate curves will result in it leaving the rails at high speed. I learned that particular lesson when I was four years old. Fortunately, there was a thick carpet to prevent any damage, but I never tried it again!
