@gunrunnerjohn posted:I go with can motors in a heartbeat. They're quieter, draw much less power, and the dual motored locomotives will easily outperform the single Pulmore motor in any contest that I can think of except perhaps generating Ozone. As far as replacing can motors, I do a LOT of locomotive repairs, I very rarely replace a can motor, they're way more reliable than some people suggest. Also, with can motors, that audio you paid extra for can actually be heard over the grown of the Pulmore motor.
John, I agree. The failure rate of DC motors for me is not even 5%. And on this particular mentioned Lionel engine, the DC can motors are readily available.
Still in my thinking, availability of parts is something I consider when purchasing either used, or a product from a company no longer in business with no service support. I'm certainly not paying anywhere close to top dollar for a locomotive I know I can no longer get parts for, regardless of the size of the original production run and/or, market value. Again, just my thinking.
Yes, I too prefer DC can motors to an open frame AC motor, but I have both and am against neither. But DC motors do eventually fail, and it's nice to know that you can find a replacement.
And it's not just the high end, lower production run products that have parts availability problems: The early runs of the Lionel starter set Dockside have obsolete frames and motors. So anyone purchasing one of those is basically buying a product not practical or worthwhile to repair. And even with Lionel, who is still in business, you often look on their parts listings to see DC motors (along with many other essential parts) listed as unavailable.
