A few questions for the experts:
1. On original PW 746's, was the boiler front painted or unpainted?
2. In either case, did the boiler front have a higher shine than the rest of the shell?
3. On the tender, the short stripe was heat stamped. Was the long stripe also heat stamped?
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I believe that the boiler front was unpainted. The bare plastic is what would give that shiny look. I forget how Lionel stamped the long striped tender, but it should be in TM's Collectors Guide to Postwar Lionel....
FWIW: I bought one "like-new" several years ago; it appeared to have a painted boiler nose cap as the paint was peeling in some places on it. It was shiny underneath the peeled areas which is likely why the paint peeled in the first place. The paint on the nose was the same sheen as the boiler paint.
Can't help on the long stripe question as mine was a short stripe version.
I believe that the boiler front was unpainted. The bare plastic is what would give that shiny look. I forget how Lionel stamped the long striped tender, but it should be in TM's Collectors Guide to Postwar Lionel....
According to Touhy/McComas, the long stripe was silk screened, the short stripe was heat stamped.
Rusty
Thanks Frank, I'll stop in on Monday.
Rusty, is there any info on the boiler front?
Frank, thanks for the pics. It looks like the nose is a little more shiny than the rest of the shell although that could be a result of the angle/flash of the photo.
Everyone I have owned had unpainted plastic noses
quote:
FWIW: I bought one "like-new" several years ago; it appeared to have a painted boiler nose cap as the paint was peeling in some places on it. It was shiny underneath the peeled areas which is likely why the paint peeled in the first place. The paint on the nose was the same sheen as the boiler paint.
Can't help on the long stripe question as mine was a short stripe version.
This matches my recollection. Originally painted, but extremely prone to peeling.
Attached is a piece of one of Frank53's pictures. I've circled what looks like some of the remaining paint.
The original boiler front was painted. Often the paint is missing or partly missing. The MPC boiler front was unpainted but is almost impossible to tell from an original in every other way. The more difficult item is the headlight lens. An original has a very small mold number on it and slightly rounded edges on the part that is not visible on the inside. Originals have also yellowed a bit. They were not glued in and most times are lost. A repro lense is not yellowed, has sharp corners, and does not have a small mold number on it.
Here's an interesting tidbit:
Years ago I was offered a mold (die set) to mold the boiler front for the 746. This was well before the MPC re-issue.
Were I offered it today, I would purchase it, but back then I wasn't that interested.
I mentioned this to Carl at Madison Hardware during my next visit. He told me he had the mold but it "disappeared" from his warehouse. (Over the years, he told me of some other things that "disappeared")
I haven't thought about this for years. Was it the original mold? Who knows for certain!
Original postwar were painted
Thx
Joe S 
1.) The original post war fronts were painted but prone to peeling.
2.) the paint would match the shell unless totally peeled, then shiny plastic.
3.) the short stripe was heat stamped and the long stripe was rubber stamped.
neither of them was silk screened, a silk screened tender is a reproduction.
A rubber stamped piece will have fuzzy edges and lines and not real sharp letters. Silk screening is sharp and flawless.
Rob
Thanks to all for the good info.
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