Folks:
As I mentioned in another thread, I recently went to a local train show, and I continue to be amazed at the sheer volume of stuff that Tyco must have produced, and the sheer garbage quality of that Power-torque drive. Seriously, I helped the test-track owner (who was more a Lionel guy) convince some parents whose two kids had found a Mantua F-something with an MU-2 and a chrome-dipped Silver Streak Tyco Powertorque to forget about the Silver Streak and trade it for an almost-as-shiny Bachmann power- truck unit. The Bachtruck might not be much, but it sure ran circles around that Powertorque.
Seriously, that drive is the pits. It has no redeeming features. It's bulky, weak, won't swivel freely, has brass wheels, takes up a lot of space in the shell, and has no useful life. I swear, Tyco probably did more damage to model railroading with that steaming pile of dung than we will ever realize, and it keeps right on going. I think we model railroaders have a sacred civic duty to warn everybody we know never to pay more than $3 for a working PT unit, unless they are Tyco collectors who simply must have that Durango locomotive to go with their not-PRR caboose.
Cordially yours: Gerard P. President, a box of track and some plans