BACHMANN Prairie 2-6-2 Steam Locomotive w/Smoke & Tender - PRR #2765 - HO Scale

The description says Die-cast blackened chassis when I am told it is die-cast I assume the body of the engine is metal but this is a plastic body. The next problem is the coupler on the tender, it loses the cars on turns and these are 22R tracks. Finally, I was expecting the engine and tender to be longer similar to my old 2-6-2 but it is closer in size to my old yard switcher. You get what you pay for.

The locomotive itself is well constructed (with the exception of the fake coupler on the front), very well detailed, and runs great. However, the tender is very cheap (all plastic, including the wheels) and connects to the locomotive via a sliding plastic post that slides under the back of the locomotive. I got only a couple months of use before the post cracked off - make sure to pull only modest loads of rolling stock (the locomotive has the strength to pull 16 cars on a level grade, but the tender’s plastic can’t handle the load). The locomotive is useless without the tender since it doesn’t have a coupler, meaning you can’t pull cars without the tender. I jerry-rigged a nail to replace the broken post, but it still doesn’t run as smooth as it should.