I bought an articulated heavy Lionel steam from the early 2000's. It arrived with the front pilot pieces bent. USPS must have thrown this as it was packed really well. Anyhow, I was able to bend back the thinner more decorated pieces. The cowcatcher can be glued to reattach where it broke. I then realized the thicker cast part is bent as well. You can tell the way the front coupler is pointing downwards. It looks ok, but it is too low hitting the middle rail when it goes across a switch with anything but perfect flatness. The slotted cow catcher is the part that is actually touching the rail. It seem like that couldn't be bent anymore due to hitting the coupler now. The parts are not available from Lionel, so if it breaks that's it! The only other option would be to remove the slotted cowcatcher part.
Is this something you think could be bent back without breaking? I could heat it somewhat with our wood stove, holding it over the top. It seems pretty thick though so I would think it would need to be heated pretty good. I also don't want to ruin the paint. Any advice?