Quick question please - Are the pilot wheels actually scale sized? Lionel is notorious for undersized pilot wheels, even on some 'full scale' models...
Sam, do they build them that way to allow operation on tight radius curves?
Essentially, no 3RO models of large steamers have "scale" wheels. The real NYC J3a had 39" pilot wheels, as I recall. This does not include the flange.
This is required to let the pilot swing past the cylinders and so forth on our tiny curves. All the importers do this, but Lionel is particularly bad about it. It is a matter of degree and what hits your eye wrong.
MTH seems to be the best about this. Their steamer's pilot wheels look the best; K-Line's scale NYC Hudson had a better-looking pilot truck than Lionel's (I swapped a K-Line truck for the Lionel on my Lionel L2a Mohawk - they have bigger, but not big enough, wheels. Dropped right in. Better.)
Which is funny, as MTH locos go around the same curves as Lionel's. My Lionel 3751 ATSF 4-8-4 has silly little ballet dancer pilot wheels, while my MTH 2900-class ATSF 4-8-4 has much more presentable pilot wheels.
Now - the old Lionel 700E-tooling J1 Hudsons - the fancy, full-detailed ones, like 5340 from the 90's - came with 2 pilot trucks: one with small wheels for small curves, and one with nearly completely-scale pilot wheels for those of us with 072 curves. 60 seconds to change them.
Since these new locos cost a squillion dollars, could we not still get 2 trucks in the box? Like we did back in the old analog world? I have 072 curves and can take the "big" wheels. You can keep your smoking bells and swinging whistles - just give me a grown man's leading truck that these good models deserve.