Micro-Trains warped frame

[donzi]

Looking for something else in one of my tubby's, filled with rolling stock, I came upon this MT car.
Frame has twisted so badly it broke the car body in the center and on the ends.
I salvaged what parts I could, but the body and frame and one of the stirups are lost.
I’ve never seen this warpage on any frame and very surprised to see it on a Micro-Trains car.
The frame is not crumbly nor cracked, just has an extreme twist, so I’m not calling it frame rot just yet but that may in fact be what’s happening internally.
I’ve got a duplicate in another tubby in which I haven’t looked, but I'll expect the worst, and hope for the best, when I find that one.

Bummer.

[ChicagoNW]

Where was the tub stored?
Could it have been a weird heat thing.
Like a beam of sunlight.

[donzi]

Dark bedroom closet, temperature controlled environment.

[Doug Gosha]

John Allen did it.



Doug

[donzi]

Dark bedroom closet, temperature controlled environment.
I could see sunlight or heat melting a plastic body, but hardly a metal frame.

[Doug Gosha]

Bad Zamac.

Doug

[pbender]

Likely “zink rot”. Basically, the chassis swelled and broke the car body.

You might want to contact MicroTrains about this car. Be sure you send them the pictures.

MTL apparently got a bad batch of the alloy that is used for their frames and weights a while ago. I had this happen with a RailSmith Special run RPO-Baggage not too long ago. Fortunately I had that car in a train at the NMRA convention in Dallas and Lowell was there. Lowell mentioned something about it before I had a chance to say anything to him…. I was able to save my car because of that ( and Lowell sent me a new weight ).

Paul

[Intermodalman]

I wonder what else is at risk