Hm. For some reason I thought this was Lionel’s first attempt at kinematic pilots on the SD40. I agree that the kinematic pilots on the ES44AC from five or six years ago look great, and I haven’t read many complaints about those.
It’s my understanding that each “run” is made in various Chinese factories on a contract basis. So there’s no guarantee that the quality or even parts content will be the same from one run to another. This is the reality of the modern toy industry.
