1948 set 1425B

I purchased a “set” from a gentleman that claims this was the way he bought it new from a train shop somewhere in New York City.  I immediately thought Madison Hardware but he wasn’t sure.  He was older and this was in 1991.  I actually questioned him at the time if it was a set and he claims it was the way he bought it boxed.  The only boxes were for the 1656 engine and tender with a master carton.  So would a master carton be included in this set 1425B?  The other reason I was skeptical that this was a manufacturer set was the fact that it contained the 2357 red caboose with smoke jack instead of the listed 6257 caboose. I’m thinking it was “pieced together” but unsure.  Anyway it’s one of my favorite “sets” even if it wasn’t a production set.  It sure would have been fun to have discovered this under the tree on Christmas morning.  Merry Christmas everyone!!