Office of Steam Forum for Model & Toy Steam Gas & Hot Air Engines

You're right Tommy.  Zinc pest has taken a toll on many of the older engines. Perhaps others know, but somewhere in the 50's Fleischmann fixed the issue.

I think we all inspect ebay photos closely looking for the rot. I'll keep a spot in my collection for the nicer (zinc pest free) examples of the model line.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zinc_pest