UPS came through in a major snowstorm and got my Big Boy home this afternoon not long after Alex received his.
The outer shipping box really took a beating but when I unpacked it the loco box was fine. When I unpacked the loco it was really cold and full of condensation so I let it sit and warm up to room temp before messing with it.
Included with the engine was a message from Lionel customer service that described the problem and what was done to correct it also it had an area for tech comments.
The dead tender was the result of a broken solder joint on the pickup PCB. I have no idea what the PCB is but they said it is repaired. It looks to me though as if they sent back a new tender. There is no evidence of wear on the wheels or the rollers and the screws look un -tampered with.
The note from the tech also "STRONGLY" recommend using Lionel premium smoke fluid for this locomotive, "smoke output is far better than with fluid you are currently using" (Mega Steam Grandpa's pipe smoke)
After testing I am happy to say Lionel did a fine job and everything is working as it should. I did fill all smoke units with Lionel fluid and did notice the blowdown smoke was better than before but couldn't tell the difference in stack or whistle smoke... All in all I am happy she's home!