I have a question regarding Athearn Big Boy locomotives (2013 release) and the missing tender drawbar spring. I have two Big Boys from that release (#4012 and #4014) that I just test-ran the other day, and discovered that it looks like the tender drawbar spring is missing on both. I see that many other people had the same problem, according to forum posts. Both engines seem to run okay nonetheless, even though I did not hook them up to a train during the test run. Other than keeping the tender a little straighter, is it really necessary to have it installed? Unfortunately, I am probably going to need to sell both engines, but don't want to list a defective product. If I were to have Athearn send out some replacement springs, would it be difficult to install? If so, would Athearn even consider installing them for me, since it would probably be described as warranty work. I don't know how helpful Athearn is on such matters. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks, William Gilbert upbnsffan@gmail.com
