Ed, I've never heard of the 2nd run turbine (1993) having any running issues, except that they were under-powered for really long trains with only the "A" unit powered. Agree with you that the grease in the gearboxes could be solidified. I've owned several of these over the years (#18 bought new in 1993) and would like to find another one. OMI advertised that motor to be 1/10th HP when the model came out and Tom thought that would handle just about anything you could put behind it, but with only 6 axles pulling, the motor never met its full potential before wheel slip.
One of the best O scale models OMI ever imported and equal to any brass turbine in any scale. Stunning.
