773 right loco wrong tender or right tender wrong loco?

Wrong tender.  Without seeing it, you can't tell whether the tender is from a 1950 773 or a 1946-49 726.  I don't know about the box.  You can't see the box end in the photo.

If this begs more info...photos...clarification...whatever, I've found Trainz to be very responsive to and appreciate of questions.

A few months ago they posted a 3rd Rail engine that was a mismatch of loco and tender.  I traded several emails with their representative who was very nice about it all.  Finally, they confirmed that an earlier engine/tender sold from the same collection had the matching 'mismatched' engine/loco.  There was no possible way that either set would be operational as-built, unless they had been modified.  The earlier buyer had made no comment before or after the sale.  They confided that the whole collection had been boxed by the estate heirs who were not as involved in the hobby as the deceased.

Nonetheless they indicated they were going to contact that buyer, see if a swap of tenders could be made.  In the meantime, they pulled the mismatched auction.

Long story shortened, the earlier buyer agreed, the tenders were swapped, Trainz made a properly priced sale of the second set.  (I chose to not bid, already having the same set, different engine number.)

Bottom line...they communicate...they listen...they'll take steps to make it right, if possible.  I have NO hesitation in communicating with or buying from Trainz.

In fact, I think for an item like this highly desirable/collectable 773 set, it behooves us all to bring a possible mismatch to the seller's attention.  If it's sold as posted to someone lacking the concern for and/or knowledge of the potential mismatch, someday it'll probably hit the market again and the same error will be even more embedded by time.  If, as in my example, this is a recent error, a responsive seller like Trainz might be able to get everything (pun intended!) 'back on track' sooner, rather than later!  Not everything need be 'It is what it is!'.

FWIW....

KD

Never heard of the 2426 being part of a 773 engine in the 60's.  That was the point of getting the 1950 version.  I've only had one and it didn't have the boxes. 

My experience with Trainz supports the positives mentioned above.  Pending a purchase from Trainz, I asked about minor flaws noted in the item being sold. The reply was almost immediate, I made the purchase, and when the item arrived, the 'flaw' was so minor that it is a wonder that Trainz even noted it.  And speaking to delinquent tenders, I have a 783 that came without a tender.  It has wires hanging out of the cab, I don't know what year and all of that...but I either sell it as is,  find a tender, or appreciate a near perfect tender-less doorstop. Wouldn't you think that any self respecting Locomotive could hang on to its tender, or, in my case, this bargain really wasn't such a bargain after all!  LOL, and no matter what, life is good.

@Chuck242 posted:

My experience with Trainz supports the positives mentioned above.  Pending a purchase from Trainz, I asked about minor flaws noted in the item being sold. The reply was almost immediate, I made the purchase, and when the item arrived, the 'flaw' was so minor that it is a wonder that Trainz even noted it.  And speaking to delinquent tenders, I have a 783 that came without a tender.  It has wires hanging out of the cab, I don't know what year and all of that...but I either sell it as is,  find a tender, or appreciate a near perfect tender-less doorstop. Wouldn't you think that any self respecting Locomotive could hang on to its tender, or, in my case, this bargain really wasn't such a bargain after all!  LOL, and no matter what, life is good.

When I was running my 783, I didn't connect the wires to the tender. The sounds were awful and I personally liked it without and ran it like a 773. That being said, a 2426 tender will look nice behind the 783.

The sound of steam was never a good sounding unit and the one tender I had with it in it, was gutted and Railsound commander went right in.

Gents, I agree.  A beautiful engine, no sound (the way I grew up with them) and a stellar period tender, such as a 2426 is as good as it gets.

I have the 783 (bought from Trainz in fact). The "mighty sound of static" didn't work and the tender deck paint was flaking off - BUT - it was a fantastic price and the engine works perfectly. I'm having some health problems right now, but when I'm up to it I'll continue my 700T project: I found a cheap styrene copy of the tender shell and a AmFlyer choo-choo in the tender mechanism and a Lionel whistle. All I have to do is make a frame and mount it all. When I'm done, I'll have the Hudson I had wanted Lionel to build when they bought AmFlyer in the 60's.

I read somewhere that many people bought these engines in 1964, then called up Madison Hardware to get the 2426w tender. It may not be Lionel correct, but they could have been together since 1964.

On the flip side, others do swap them out. When I got my 773 (cheap would be an understatement), it came with a Lionel Lines 2046W tender. Since it was wrong anyway, I went ahead and bought a 2426w tender for it.

Much better than the plastic Pennsy tender. I would have switched tenders too.