@Mike Wyatt posted:I am NOT saying that Menard's train products are anything bad at all. They are an outstanding value. Especially for metal wheels and trucks (which seem to be fading away toward more plastic).
(emphasis mine)
It isn't that metal wheels and trucks are fading away--everything that was first produced with metal wheels/trucks continues to be equipped with them. New models intended for the $19.99 end of the line are most likely equipped with plastic trucks to keep them comfortably at that price point. Possibly the only reason the Life-Savers tanker has die-cast trucks is that would have been the only way to have them in silver. They undoubtedly cost more to make than the other modern tank cars, if for no other reason than the (seemingly) plated bodies.
---PCJ
