Well, it took about a 2 months, but I'm happy to report my EL U33C has returned from Lionel with all it's striping present and accounted for!
As you may recall, the yellow carbody striping was missing from the left side:
They've arrived, safe and sound with a new, replacement shell:
Life is good once again, and the AM caboose I bought over two years ago is no longer lonely :
Rusty