When I got back in this 4 years ago I think the second loco I bought was a Intermountain SD45T-2 off eBay for $70. I went to put a decoder in it and pulled the shell and the frame fell apart. So I learned about frame rot at that point. It was used and old so didn't expect Intermountain to do anything about it but contacted them to see if they sold frames. They didn't but did say they would replace it for free. That impressed me as how many other things can one buy used and old that the manufacture will do anything about the problem. About a month later I got the frame. Went to use it and it fell apart. Didn't go back to them again. Decided to just move on. I used the motor on my DCC decoder tester above so it wasn't a total wash and I don't buy used Intermountain locos either. Sumner
Just wish we could find frames from some other manufactures locomotives that would fit the shells... *sigh*
I'm too busy to try doing it but I'd think it wouldn't be too hard to design and 3D print some frames. The harder part would be designing the truck frames. I'm not suggesting powered frames but non-powered that you could add some weight to and run them in a consist with powered units. If I ever get bored I might try it with the one I have if I can find the shell. Sumner
Interesting.... And A/B unit with a dummy B unit ?? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm. The 'dummy' wouldn't have to be heavy. Much the same weight as a freight car. With the 3D printed frame it might be enough weight. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Well I am not alone with the IM issue, which means I am not crazy. It is sad how worthless their QA standards that allowed this. And to answer the question about environment. All of mine were kept in a temperature and humidity controlled room in the house. So it is not environment dependant, it is poor production control. Never had a Kato unit or and Atlas unit have this sort of issue.
That would be a no. Several of my SD40-2T locomotives were running a great deal and one day the frame just fell apart on one then I started seeing the issue on a ATSF FT ABBA set that was running a lot at shows. It is not time in the case it is bad metallurgy from a mediocre factory.
As far as production, there is no way those assembling the locomotives would ever have known about the problem, at that stage, because the new frames would have been apparently in perfect condition. They wouldn't have been cracked or falling apart at that point. Standard QA would never have caught it. Time is the factor here. The metal deteriorates as time passes. Only QA at the metal formulating/die casting stage would discover the inferior metal. I don't know exactly what tests they would conduct to weed out bad Zamac or even if there ARE such tests. Of course, a reliable manufacturer should still stand by any products which contain Zamac as the possible deterioration is a known problem in the industry. Lionel had some of their drivers and other Zamac castings warp and fall apart with models made back in the early part of the 19th century. Some early Rivarossi N scale locomotives made for Atlas were afflicted. Since time is the factor, the problem may not show up until a warranty period is over but a manufacturer should still have a remedy to compensate an affected customer. Doug
IM's reputation is in tatters, in my country you can't really sell an IM tunnel motor, SD45-2, F3's or F7's. FT's seem okay (i did buy one not so long ago and thoroughly checked it when I got it). If I owned Intermountain, I would have done a small production run of frames, offered David (or anyone else affected) the option of sending back all affected loco's (at IMs cost) and then replaced the frames then shipped them back to him fully assembled. Yes it would cost but the hit to IMs reputation means that their sales will never recover, at least not for a generation - once bitten twice shy. The zinc pest is purely due to the corners cut by the particular Chinese manufacturer that IM uses, the fix seems to be well known by the other Model Train manufacturers like Atlas, MT, Kato, Arnold etc and their factories. Manufacturers used to stand by their product, the good ones still do like MT, Atlas, Kato.
It's been awhile since I've posted, but just to let you folks know. I have seven Atlas SD-35's that have Zinc Rot. They are from the 2009 time frame, so Atlas is not totally free from the problem. Some of the frames have only deformed, but most are elongated and crumbly. I haven't contacted Atlas about the problem, and don't intend to. Knock/touch wood my Intermountain locomotives are good except two. One F-7, IM replaced the frame over five years ago, and another, I just filed one frame half until everything lined up. It seems like one side tends to deform and the other is OK??? Made on a different day?? Who knows? I have "fixed" most of my very old Rivarossi locomotives. Thank you Doug Gosha.
