I have the Southern Pacific 675 and had it for about 9 years. I find it a good runner for a starter locomotive. It's the typical Dockside switcher.
I can't answer your question about the can motor, but I know I've had no issues of any kind with the motor.
The only issues when running was on a 90-degree 0-27 crossover- lost power when crossing so it set into neutral. My fix to that was to give it some more power but in my setting when it happened was there was a sharp curve right after it so I had to set the transformer to a certain spot so it wouldn't fly off the rails (the annual Christmas layout).
Also on my unit I've had to have the smoke repaired twice with it. The first time was the little piston that lifts the smoke out of the stack broke inside ( bridge shifted on Christmas layout and it crashed into it is what I suspect caused it to break). I had my local train repair guy fix it.
The second time was I had to replace the smoke unit. Shortly after the first repair above, the resistor decided to change colors to a bright red glow when power was applied. It was close to the end of the Christmas season so I decided to not fix it then. I got it out a while later and opened it up myself. I couldn't find anything wrong with the wiring. I got a whole new smoke unit installed and has worked well ever since with no red glow.
