I'm very happy with the Premier Mikados MTH has offered in their 2016 volume 1 catalog, especially the two #4501's.
Though the tenders may get the nitpick bug to crawl out of me. The engine looks fine. Yes, the tender of the green version isn't too different from how it originally came during the early excursion years. But I like the look of the CoG 2-10-2 tender more, and since it's the current one being used, it makes more sense why the black version should have it.
I've seen that tenders have been available separate from their engines not all that often, but I have seen them, whether separated by owner, or ordered as spare parts from the manufacturer.
As a huge fan of the green 4501 since childhood and the film October Sky, I thought if any one had a spare Lionel 18018 tender from 1992 with its insides removed, or ordered the parts from Lionel, could have all the electronics and the trucks in the just announced PS3 version's tender by MTH moved into the accurate Lionel tender. Is that too much, or just crazy enough to work?
I did find the original body available by Lionel, but not the frame, although I did find that the later frame (and ladders) used by the 18079/80 Mikados from 1999 was available. Do you think the later frame would hold the older one alright?
